Monthly Archives: January 2011

Rogers: Peanuts! T-Shirts! Pre-Supporting Memberships!

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By M. Lee Rogers: Ron Zukowski and M. Lee Rogers hope y’all will mark the date of Saturday June 18 on your calendars for an evening to remember a very special event.

Things are still tentative, but June 18 is the planned date for the ConFederation 25th Anniversary Celebration. The facility and other plans will be announced later, but this will give you as much notice as possible.

The Celebration will be a one-day party for Southern SF fandom and its friends to remember that weekend when we brought the science fiction community to our part of the world. It is not a convention itself. It will be open to members of ConFederation and to those other fans who are known to the organizers. The Celebration is not open to the general public, primarily because it is not trying to be Dragon*Con.

The Celebration will request a small donation but will not turn anyone away for financial hardship. Any material surplus will be donated to fan funds.

Obviously, the organizers will need some help in pulling this shindig together. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact us at mleerog (at) bellsouth (dot) net.

NOTE: ConFederation was the 44th World Science Fiction Convention held in Atlanta, GA on August 28-September 1, 1986 at the Atlanta Hilton, Hyatt Regency, and Marriott Marquis Hotels. Ray Bradbury was Guest of Honor, Terry Carr was Fan Guest of Honor, and Bob Shaw was Toastmaster.

Much Ado About Who

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Doctor Who’s David Tennant and Catherine Tate will perform Much Ado About Nothing in London’s West End this summer and tickets are going fast. BBC reports:

The stars will portray reluctant lovers and constant sparring partners Beatrice and Benedick in the Bard’s comedy.

It will be Tate and Tennant’s first appearance together since starring in BBC One’s Doctor Who. The play, directed by Josie Rourke, will open at Wyndham’s Theatre on 1 June and run until 3 September.

The production was announced on Friday. Colin Harris, past Worldcon chair, lives in London and hurried to snap up some tickets. He reports that nearly all the good seats were gone in the first 48 hours on sale. He predicts the whole run will have booked up in another week.

Snapshots 56 – Cart Run!

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Trivia answer: 56 was my employee number when I worked for K-Mart in the summer of 1970.

Now for 9 developments of interest to fans…

(1) The opening of Hugo nominations also means the beginning of the long season of elbow-jogging and outright vote-begging from people who obviously feel the purpose of the award is to “recognize the best in science fiction, plus the stuff I wrote.”

So, if you swing that way, at least try to be as humorous as Jason Cordova who is pitching hard for people to nominate his novel Corruptor:

Have I no shame, you ask. Hell no. If I had shame I wouldn’t suggest you use nominating me to assuage your white guilt. Yeah, I have more nationalities and races in me than Nina Hartley. You want a list? Fine…

I have Uyghar (Chinese minority), Spanish (General Gonzalo Fernandez de Cordoba is a distant relative), German (Saxony, from John George) and British (some peasant wench) in me. I also have a smidgen of Blackfoot (Native American), but I don’t see it and generally don’t claim it.

So see? Vote for the… uh… American guy. Damn it, there went my whole argument. *grumble*

…Well, nominate me anyways. It’d be cool to stand up there with John Scalzi and say “I blame him for this award”.

Jason, I’m tempted.

(2) Speaking of John Scalzi, life is full of odd coincidences. Can you imagine anybody being less representative of Scalzi than Representative John Boehner, his Congressman and now Speaker of the House?

(3) Book pirates no doubt hailed this new product introduced at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show, Ion’s do-it-yourself scanner for books, magazines, and comics:

Fed up of paying through the nose for e-books? Ion, the company best known for its USB turntables, is readying a gadget that will help you digitise your paperbacks, hardbacks, magazines and comics.

Called the Book Saver, it’s a large frame into which you place an open book. Tap the Scan button and the spread is digitised and dropped onto an SD card, ready to be transferred to your computer. Each page is saved separately, thanks to the unit’s two flash-equipped cameras.

Duncan Jones with the Hugo for MOON.

(4) Duncan Jones, director and co-writer of 2010 Hugo winning film, Moon, blogs about the arrival of the trophy:

It was back in September 2010 that MOON had the honor of winning a prestigious Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, a fantastic achievement, beating fellow nominees Avatar, District 9, Star Trek & Up.

We featured a lovely pic of the award in the original announcement, designed by Nick Stathopoulos, described as “An organic Art Nouveau Hugo”

And now the award itself has found its home with Duncan in LA, pictured here with Sam Bell’s original suit from MOON. What a stunna!

(5) Slate Magazine has a grim story about “Swords: The murder weapon of nerds”:

That is to say, the sword is the weapon of nerds. It’s also the weapon of schizophrenics. And, most of all, it’s the weapon of schizophrenic nerds.

Consider how Michael Brea described his mother’s slaying in November: ‘I felt like Neo from THE MATRIX.’ Then he added, ‘It’s a powerful sword’ — as if his murder weapon had been forged by goblins. It’s said there are crimes of passion and crimes of logic. Brea’s was one of science fiction and fantasy.

(6) Even regular old swords in the hands of peasants inflicted ghastly damage at the Battle of Towton, archeologists have shown:

The skeletons had clearly been the victims of great violence. Many display the same frenzied wounding as Towton 25. “Imagine one of those movie scenes with people closing in on a cornered individual,” says Christopher Knüsel, one of the original team of archaeologists and now at the University of Exeter. “Usually the camera has to pan away because you cannot show some things. Here you see it.”

Over 28,000 soldiers died in this 1461 battle, the turning point in the Wars of the Roses.

(7) Ed Park comments that Bill Patterson’s Heinlein bio is well-written, in a review for the LA Times. I agree. Yet Park also feels he was told a lot more than he needed to know about such things as the day-to-day treatment of Heinlein’s tuberculosis. I figure – what else is a science fiction fan reading a bio about Heinlein for but to get that level of detail? Besides, David McCullough had just as much to say about John Adams’ illness during a diplomatic mission to Holland, and McCullough is one of the best biographers around.

(8) A recent status on Facebook: “Richard Desk is thinking that if we have to change key words in the novels of Mark Twain because a contemporary audience may find them offensive, perhaps we need to go back and revise Orwell’s 1984 so that Big Brother fellow doesn’t seem so cruel — after all, it might offend dictators.”

Like.

(9) Count on The Register for hard-hitting science journalism like this story, “Runaway hydroponic fungus attacks real-world Starship Voyager”:

The Leicestershire Trekkie who turned his flat into a replica of the Starship Voyager spent two years battling an alien mould attack, unaware that it was caused by a dope farm in the property below…

[Thanks for these links goes to Andrew Porter, Vincent Docherty and David Klaus.]

2011 CUFF Nominations Open

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The Canadian Unity Fan Fund (CUFF) is looking for a fan from western Canada to send to CanVention, being held in conjunction with SFContario 2 in Toronto November 18-20.

CUFF alternates sending a fan from eastern and western Canada to CanVention, the annual convention of the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association. This is a “western” year, so the CUFF delegate must come from nominees residing in Manitoba and the provinces farther west.  

Diane Lacey, last year’s Canadian Unity Fan Fund (CUFF) winner, writes, “The delegate is welcome, even encouraged, to stay longer than just the convention and hang out with the local [Toronto] fans. In fact our Third Monday pubnight, a regular gathering of local fans happens to fall on the Monday immediately following the convention.”

Any fan wanting to be nominated for CUFF must apply by March 31, 2011. The application should contain a letter from the fan with a self-description, plus a statement about why selection as the CUFF delegate would be beneficial for the fan and his/her community. And it must have at least three references from people in eastern and western Canada. Send the application to to d dot lacey at gmail dot com.

Once one or more nominees have been identified, voting will run from April 5 through May 31. This long lead time allows the successful candidate to work with SFContario’s program organizers and plan the trip.

[Thanks to Diane Lacey for the story.]

2011 Corflu Nearing

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Cover art by Dave Hicks.

“E CorFlu Vitus,” the 28th edition of Corflu, the convention for fanzine fans, will be held February 11-13 at the Domain Hotel in Sunnyvale, CA.

Chris Garcia (The Drink Tank), who’s chairing the con, reminds everyone Corflu is where the Fan Activity Achievement Awards are presented and now is the time for you to help decide who gets the awards. You do not need to be a member of the convention (though bless you if you are.) Vote by snail mail using this downloadable form (PDF file) or electronically by sending your choices in an e-mail to egoboo28 (at) corflu (dot) org. Votes must be in by February 4.

Attending memberships in Corflu 28 cost $60 (US). Supporting memberships are also available – they really do help defray the costs of the con – for $10 (US).  Other national currencies are accepted, see details at the website, as well as information about where to send payment.

Also, Dave Hicks, artist and faned, has been selected to receive the funds donated by “the Corflu 50” so he can get across the Atlantic and attend the con.

Jerry Weist Passes Away

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Jerry Weist, one of the leading collectors and dealers in the comics field, died January 7 after battling cancer for several years.  

Weist is the author of Bradbury: An Illustrated Life, The Comic Art Price Guide, and The Art of Frank R. Paul. From 1990 to 2001 he was a consultant at Sotheby’s specializing in popular culture, overseeing the auction of Sam Moskowitz’s collection.

He grew up in Wichita and was introduced to comics while working at his father’s grocery store. Discovering Famous Monsters of Filmland on the grocery store rack led him to fandom. He later started Squa Tront, the E.C. fanzine, and owned one of the first specialty comic stores, The Million Year Picnic. Steve Duin explained on OregonLive:

The existence of The Million Dollar Picnic, the comic-book store Weist opened on Harvard Square, undoubtedly owes to a New York heroin addict with a wicked knife. Weist was living in one of the artist lofts at the corner of Delancey and Clinton in Manhattan’s Lower East Side in 1973 — “Not the greatest neighborhood” — when that addict whipped out the knife and tied up Weist in his loft.

“A long-haired pacifist hippie” at the time, Weist had a few nevous moments while the addict packed up his guitar amplifier, his girlfriend’s raincoat and $63 in cash. “Then he put his hand on my neck and said, ‘I’m sorry. It’s over. When I get 30 minutes away, I’ll call the police,'” Weist said. “And he turned the stew off on the stove so it wouldn’t boil over.”

The next day, Weist went down to the local NYPD precinct to look at mug shots: “That’s when I decided to leave New York. Only one in 10 of these guys were incarcerated. The rest were out on the street.” Weist subsequently moved to Boston and a year later, in 1974, opened The Million Dollar Picnic.

When he announced Weist’s death on the PulpMags list Doug Ellis added, “We can look forward to a few more projects coming out that he was working on — he completed the third edition of his comic art price guide, which should be out later this summer, and I think he also completed an expanded Frank R. Paul book which will be forthcoming — but these are just a few of the things that he had planned. It’s a very sad day.” 

[Thanks to Andrew Porter for the story.]

Ruth Kyle (1930-2011)

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Ruth Kyle

Ruth Kyle died January 5 after a brief illness. She had turned 81 only the day before.

She met her future husband, noted fan Dave Kyle, at a convention in 1955. The next year she served as Secretary of the Worldcon in New York, which Dave chaired, and the year after that they married, trufannishly honeymooning at the 1957 Worldcon in England, traveling there with 53 friends and in-laws on a specially chartered flight.

A memorial service will be held in the spring. In lieu of flowers, contributions in her name can be made to Trinity Church, 8 Maple Street, Potsdam NY 13676-1181.

Ruth and Dave’s nephew, Dave Knechel, posted a short reminiscence here.

Dave Kyle told about the first time he met Ruth in “Sex in Fandom”, published in Mimosa 10:

Ruth Kyle, my wife, entered fandom as Ruth Landis, a minister’s daughter from New Jersey. Months before the 1955 Clevention, she read about the worldcon in Astounding Science Fiction. A genuine sf enthusiast, she decided she wanted to meet those who were bringing her such enjoyment. Knowing no one and not being familiar in any way with fandom, Ruth showed up alone at the Manger Hotel in Cleveland. I became aware of her presence when Ken Bulmer and his wife Pamela alerted me….

She was very attractive and I considered myself lucky. (Bless Ken and Pam!) For one brief moment I left Ruth unattended while I crossed the lobby to speak to a new arrival. “Excuse me, Ruth. Be right back.” My back was turned, the unexpected took place, and Isaac Asimov torpedoed me. He touches upon this in his autobiography. What happened next was a simple case of TDOM (The Dirty Old Man), the Good Doctor, spiriting off this pretty young thing for himself. He saw her, grabbed her arm, wondered what she was doing all alone and, commanding, “C’mon!” started to rush her toward the elevator. “We’re going to a party!” “I’m with someone,” she protested feebly. “Who?” he asked. “Dave Kyle,” she said. “Fine! Dave’s going to the party, too.” And without further discussion, whisked her away. I returned. She was gone. Obviously, I had struck out….

[Thanks to Andrew Porter for the story.]

I’m My Own Father-in-Law

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“Doctor Who to marry Doctor Who’s daughter” is the headline in The Register:

Doctor Who the 10th, David Tennant, is planning to get hitched to his fictional daughter Georgia Moffett, who also happens to be the real daughter of his fictional fifth incarnation.

David Klaus offered to help me navigate the tangle:

An actor who played The Doctor is to wed daughter of another actor who played The Doctor.

David Tennant is to wed Georgia Moffett, whose father is Peter Davison. “Moffett” is her real name; both “Tennant” and “Davison” are stage names picked to avoid conflict with other actors who had similar names before they — Tenant and Davison — began their careers.

To further complicate matters, on Doctor Who, Georgia Moffatt portrayed Tennant’s Doctor’s genetic daughter.

I see, said the blind man. Now… “where did all you zombies come from?”

SFL Supports SF&F Translation Awards

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The Speculative Literature Foundation has pledged $250 annually to help fund the SF&F Translation Awards. The awards recognize the work of those who translate science fiction and fantasy into English and promote the fiction of non English-speaking authors.

The current plan is for the award to be given for the first time to work published in 2010. The presentation is expected to be at the Eaton Conference. There are two award categories, long form (40,000 words and above) and short form. The winning translator and author will both receive a trophy and cash prize.

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Awards are administered by the Association for the Recognition of Excellence in SF & F Translation, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organization whose directors are Gary K. Wolfe, Kevin Standlee, Melissa Conway, Rob Latham and Cheryl Morgan.

The full press release follows the jump.

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