Monthly Archives: March 2013

Filed 2015 Worldcon Bidders

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LoneStarCon 3, this year’s Worldcon, confirms the following bids have filed for the 2015 Worldcon and the 2014 NASFiC. Site selection voting for those years is administered by LSC3.

The filed 2015 Worldcon bids are:

  • Helsinki in 2015: A bid for Helsinki, Finland. The convention would be held August 6-10. The proposed facilities are the Helsinki Exhibition and Conference Centre and the Holiday Inn Helsinki Exhibition & Convention Centre. Learn more at www.helsinkiin2015.org.
  • Orlando in 2015: A bid for Orlando, Florida. The convention would run from September 2-6. The proposed facility is Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort and Convention Center. Learn more at www.orlandoin2015.org.
  • Spokane in 2015: A bid for Spokane, Washington. The convention would be held August 19-23. The main facilities would be the Spokane Convention Center, the Doubletree Spokane, the Red Lion at the Park, and Red Lion River Inn. Learn more at www.spokanein2015.org.

Two bids have been filed for the 2014 NASFiC. WSFS runs a North American Science Fiction Convention whenever the Worldcon travels outside the continent, as it will in 2014. The NASFiC bids are:

  • Detroit in 2014: The convention would be held July 17-20 in the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center. Learn more at detroitin2014.org.
  • Phoenix in 2014: The convention would be held July 30-August 3, 2014, at the Tempe Mission Palms Hotel and Conference Center. Learn more at phoenixin2014.org.

Voting information is in the full press release which follows the jump.

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Zap, You’re Married

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Gandalf will officiate at the wedding of Professor X! Stop now – this is quite serious. How dare you suspect someone at the studio is concocting this scene to publicize Sir Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellen’s return in X-Men: Days of Future Past?

McKellen told the audience of the Jonathan Ross Show this weekend —

“I’m going to marry Patrick,” McKellen said, before clarifying, “I am going to officiate at his wedding.”

Sir Patrick plans to wed jazz singer Sunny Ozell.

McKellen assured everyone he has experience:

“I’ve done it once before, with two guys having a civil partnership [in the U.K.],” McKellen said. “I was crying my eyes out.”

While McKellen didn’t reveal what he’s going to wear for Stewart’s wedding… he does know he’s going to be careful not to steal the show.

“Last time, I went with a sort of gown, white, something I bought in India – it was rather fetching,” the actor told Ross. “You musn’t upstage the bride.”

A video clip of McKellen’s entire appearance is available on this page.

2013 Older Writers Grant Offered

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The deadline to apply for the Speculative Literature Foundation’s Older Writers Grant is fast approaching: applications must be in by March 31.

The $750 grant is available to any writer of speculative literature age 50 or older who is just beginning to work professionally in the field.

For full details about applying for the grant, please see the SLF website. There is no entry fee. SLF will announce the recipient on May 15.

K. C. Ball was the 2012 grant winner.

Gerhartsreiter Murder Trial 3/19

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Witnesses described for the court the 1994 discovery of John Sohus’ remains on the first full day of testimony at the Christian Gerhartsreiter murder trial.

Jose Perez Jr., who with his father dug nearly 9,000 pools in the San Gabriel Valley, was driving a Bobcat and digging about three feet below the surface when he struck something.

“We thought it was bags of garbage,” Perez, now a cement truck driver, recalled.  “After my father dragged that bag off to the side, he pulled out one of the bags and started digging through it. He grabbed a piece of rebar and pulled out a skull. At that point we were all freaked out.  He sat the skull down and called the cops.”

Joe Lucero, a former San Marino police officer, testified he was called to the scene because a human skeleton had been unearthed.

 “San Marino is a very exclusive neighborhood,” he said. “Something like that just doesn’t happen.”

John Sohus’ mother, Didi, owned the property until she sold it in 1986.

Apex Magazine Boosts Pay Rate

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Apex Publications has increased what Apex Magazine contributors are paid for their nonfiction, reprints, and artwork. “Thanks to the increase in the number of subscribers and single issue copies sold, we’re able to do this for our writers and artists,” says publisher Jason Sizemore. Apex Magazine was a 2012 nominee for the Best Semiprozine Hugo.

Payment for nonfiction will double, going from $25 to $50.

Payment for artwork will increase 20%, going from $50 to $60.

Reprints will be bought for $.01 per word, up to 5,000 words (previously, it was a flat $25).

These increases in pay rates will become effective with issue 50.

Sizemore adds:

Apex Magazine editor-in-chief Lynne M. Thomas and I have goals of bringing our readers a third original story per issue, a second reprint, and to produce a nice podcast. Of course, that takes money (quite a bit of money), meaning we need to gain more subscribers and sell more issues. You can bet Lynne and I will work hard to keep Apex Magazine awesome to make sure this happens!

Subscribe to Apex Magazine via Weightless Books, Apex Digital, or Kindle Subscriber Services.

Mayday! Loncon 3 Rates Rising

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Memberships in the 2014 Worldcon, Loncon 3, will cost more as of May 1. Full Adult Attending memberships will go from £95 to £105 (US$170/$135). Only the supporting membership rate will be unaffected.

The discount available to London bid presupporters also ends on May 1.

Loncon 3 has released its first Progress Report #1, downloadable here [PDF file].

The full membership rate press release follows the jump.

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Gerhartsreiter Murder Trial, Day 1

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Attorneys made their opening statements in the trial of murder suspect Christian Gerhartsreiter on Monday, March 18.

Prosecutor Habib Balian told about John and Linda Sohus who, “without explanation, without any apparent reason, in early February of 1985, just vanished… and left their family and friends behind.” John’s body was discovered buried in his mother’s backyard in 1994, near a guest house where the defendant lived until shortly after the couple disappeared.

Balian acknowledged that some postcards sent to friends of Linda Sohus in April of 1985 were likely written by the missing woman —

But, “The experts will tell you that Linda did not write these postcards under normal circumstances,” Balian said. “The evidence will show you she did not send these from Paris, France. ”

“Besides,” Balian noted, Linda had no desire to go abroad. She had no passport, no money and no connections in Europe. “

Balian did not discuss any motive Gerhartsreiter had for the murder, or any physical evidence, like DNA, that would link him to the crime.

The defense’s opening statement by Gerhartsreiter’s attorney Brad Bailey pointed to John Sohus’ wife, Linda, as his murder.

“There isn’t going to be much more than that in terms of solid evidence to this quite old, once quite cold and still untold case,” he said…

Although Linda Sohus was never found, authorities have said they presume her to be dead.

Bailey told jurors it was possible that Linda Sohus, whom he described as “just as odd” as his client, killed her husband.

“There are just as reasonable inferences for you to assume that John Sohus’ murderer might have been … the missing Linda Sohus,” Bailey said.

The attorneys previewed one conflict over DNA evidence – Balian said a DNA analysis of stamps on three postcards sent by Linda Sohus indicated none were licked by Gerhartsreiter or either of the missing couple. In response, Bailey said the defense would produce a witness who will say Linda cannot be ruled out as a source of DNA on those postcards.

Here are links to first day coverage by local reporters.

Pasadena Star-News:

Jurors hear arguments in fake Rockefeller murder trial

Exclusive: Fake Rockefeller attorneys plan to pin murder on missing wife

Los Angeles Times:

Rockefeller impostor deceived and murdered, prosecutors claim

Rockefeller impostor acted odd but isn’t a killer, his lawyers say

Marianne Van Arnam (1932-2012)

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Marianne Van Arnam, widow of Dave Van Arnam who died in 2002, passed away October 30, 2012 at the age of 80. Robert Lichtman learned of her death over the weekend —

She was a member of a small private apa of which Dave had been a member. After his death, she carried on in order to stay in touch with friends though she was never active there herself (no minac requirement).

The OE of that apa wrote me to say that her copy of the latest mailing had come back marked “Vacant – not known.”  I Googled and found one hit, taking me to the Social Security Death Index where she topped the list of dead Van Arnams.

Dave Van Arnam co-chaired the 1967 Worldcon with Ted White and had several sf/fantasy novels published.

Kubrick Tribute at LACMA

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“Beyond the Infinite: Science Fiction After Kubrick”, a series of screenings at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art of films that were influenced by 2001: A Space Odyssey, begins March 22. It’s part of the Kubrick exhibit at LACMA running through June 30. The LA Times reports —

The series opens with a true rarity — Saul Bass‘ only narrative feature, 1974’s “Phase IV.” Bass, a graphic designer renowned for his bold poster designs and movie title sequences, directed this thriller about a cosmic event that causes the rise of intelligent ants that kill people and animals alike. The film was restored by the Academy Film Archive and will feature Bass’ original ending.

Silent Running completes the first evening’s double feature. Still to come are THX 1138 and The Terminal Man on March 29, Dark Star and Solaris on March 30, Zardoz and Fantastic Planet on April 5, and Quintet and The Man Who Fell To Earth on April 6.

(Trivia fans take note — none of these movies, despite commercial success or devoted cult followings, won the Best Dramatic Presentation Hugo which Kubrick’s own films won twice – 2001 and A Clockwork Orange. As did 2010, a sequel written an directed by Peter Hyams.)

Additional interesting material is part of LACMA’s online Kubrick exhibit publicity: 

Stanley Kubrick was known for exerting complete artistic control over his projects; in doing so, he reconceived the genres in which he worked. The exhibition covers the breadth of Kubrick’s practice, beginning with his early photographs for Look magazine, taken in the 1940s, and continuing with his groundbreaking directorial achievements of the 1950s through the 1990s. His films are represented through a selection of annotated scripts, production photography, lenses and cameras, set models, costumes, and props. In addition, the exhibition explores Napoleon and The Aryan Papers, two projects that Kubrick never completed, as well as the technological advances developed and utilized by Kubrick and his team. By featuring this legendary film auteur and his oeuvre as the focus of his first retrospective in the context of an art museum, the exhibition reevaluates how we define the artist in the 21st century, and simultaneously expands upon LACMA’s commitment to exploring the intersection of art and film.

A LACMA blog post from one of Kubrick’s summer interns illustrates the director’s controlling style and command of details.

Another mystery quickly developed when the studio received a call from the manager of the Loews Capitol Theatre, MGM’s 5,500-seat showcase theater on Broadway (second largest in New York after Radio City Music Hall’s 5,700 seats). The projectionist was threatening to go on strike and close the theater, which meant no more showings of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Someone saying they were from MGM had gone into the projection booth and was using a chisel to file the aperture frame to remove the built up dust from the carbon arc projectors so that there would be sharp, not fuzzy, edges on the theater screen….

The smallest details, such as removing the built-up arclight dust, never escaped Stanley Kubrick, who was always finding new ways to ensure that his standards were met.

[Thanks to John King Tarpinian for the story.]

Gerhartsreiter Murder Trial Starts Today

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Linda and John Sohus

Linda and John Sohus. Photo by Lydia Marano, taken at her Dangerous Visions Bookstore.

“Only his lawyers still call him ‘Mr. Rockefeller,’” begins Christiane Heil’s trial preview for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. (It’s in German, so I resorted to Google Translate.)

Heil sent me some questions over the weekend and I responded by explaining my interest in the Sohuses and why I’ve pursued the case through File 770. Here’s the essence —

At its peak in the 1980s, LASFS’ weekly club meetings attracted 150 attendees. That’s when John Sohus and Linda Mayfield Sohus were active. John assisted in the club library for awhile.

I was acquainted with both of them, but wasn’t among the friends who socialized with them outside of club meetings.

A lot of people passed through the club, and when members marry that often leads them in another direction. After John and Linda married, eventually I stopped seeing them around. I didn’t attach any significance to it. Initially I didn’t consider it a “disappearance.” However, in time, some of their closer friends wondered what happened to them and asked around the club for information. Nothing was known until John’s body was discovered almost a decade later.

I didn’t meet or hear about Gerhartsreiter (under that name or his alias) in those days.

I started following the story once Gerhartsreiter was named as a suspect because the victims were fans I had once known. I feel outrage against what we now know happened to them. Beyond that, I feel the same sadness as when I hear another club member has passed away (from health reasons), who died alone and is discovered later — that it’s somehow unfair to go alone. In John’s case, he met a terrifying end, which also makes me want to follow this case because the person who did it (if Gerhartsreiter is that person) should not get away with it.

Having written so often about the case I’ve certainly thought about attending the trial, unfortunately, my hearing (even with hearing aids) is so bad I probably wouldn’t be able to follow what’s going on. However, Frank Girardot’s coverage for the Pasadena Star-News has been excellent and I’m relying on him for the daily details.