Tag Archives: Chris Garcia

Pixel Scroll 7/25/24 Dentist Savage, The Man Of Fluoride, By Les Doctor

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(1) CHRIS GARCIA ANALYZES THE AGENDA. In Claims Department 74 – “2024 Business Meeting”, Chris Garcia will be happy to tell you what he thinks about every proposal or amendment up for ratification at Glasgow 2024.

Welcome to another Claims Department, and this one is hella SMoFish, so if you got loins, you might wanna gird them….

There are things Chris is for, things he’s against, even one thing “I’m all the damn hell crap balls of the way for!” There’s another he disapproves of because “It’s clear to me that some people just hate fun”. And one piece of business he writes down with, “It’s garbage.”

However, all the commentary is substantial and well-informed.

The issue also includes a six-page Q&A session with Business Meeting Presiding Officer Jesi Lipp. For example, Lipp says about the items which are going to be confined in an Executive Session:

…I want to clarify a few misunderstandings that I’ve seen. First, if you are an attending member of WSFS, you don’t have to leave the room. Second, the rules around divulging what happens in executive session only apply to non-members. Any member at the meeting is free to discuss what happened with other WSFS members (so long as they do so in a way that does not also divulge the proceedings to non-members) because they also have an interest in the happenings of the society. Third, minutes are still recorded in executive session, they just don’t become a part of the publicly available minutes, but they will be retained and could be read at a future meeting (if that meeting was itself in executive session)…

There is no misunderstanding that the idea is to keep the transactions of the Executive Session from becoming known to the general public.

(2) HUGO BALLOT STORY HAS LEGS.  The Worldcon’s announcement covered here as “Glasgow 2024 Disqualifies Fraudulent Hugo Ballots” has been picked up by some mainstream news and popular culture sites:

(3) VINTAGE SAFETY. “Can a flight safety video be hilarious?” asks Abigail Reynolds. “Yup, especially if you like Bridgerton, Outlander, Pride & Prejudice, or Downton Abbey!” Will some of you be seeing this en route to the UK and Glasgow? “British Airways | Safety Video 2024 | May We Haveth One’s Attention”.

(4) TOXIC SPINES. “Old books can be loaded with poison. Some collectors love the thrill” – Yahoo! finds literary tastes can be a hazard.

As a graduate student in Laramie, Wyo., in the 1990s, Sarah Mentock spent many weekends hunting for bargains at neighborhood yard sales. On one of those weekends, she spotted “The Lord of the Isles,” a narrative poem set in 14th-century Scotland. Brilliant green with a flowery red and blue design, the clothbound cover of the book – written by “Ivanhoe” author Walter Scott and published in 1815 – intrigued Mentock more than the story.

“It was just so beautiful,” she says. “I had to have it.”

For the next 30 years, “The Lord of the Isles” occupied a conspicuous place on Mentock’s bookshelf, the vivid green sliver of its spine adding a shock of color to her home. Sometimes she’d handle the old book when she dusted or repainted, but mostly she didn’t think too much about it.

Until, that is, she stumbled upon a news article in 2022 about the University of Delaware’s Poison Book Project, which aimed to identify books still in circulation that had been produced using toxic pigments common in Victorian bookbinding. Those include lead, chromium, mercury – and especially arsenic, often used in books with dazzling green covers.

“Huh,” Mentock thought, staring at a photo of one of the toxic green books in the article. “I have a book like that.”

Mentock shipped the book – tripled-wrapped in plastic – to Delaware. It wasn’t long before she heard back. The red contained mercury; the blue contained lead. And the green cover that captivated Mentock all those years ago? Full of arsenic.

“Congratulations,” the email she received said, “you have the dubious honor of sending us the most toxic book yet.”…

(5) ACTORS UNION STRIKES AGAINST TOP VIDEO GAME PUBLISHERS. “SAG-AFTRA Calls Strike Against Major Video Game Publishers” Variety tells why.

SAG-AFTRA will go on strike against major video game publishers, the actors union announced Thursday, following more than a year and half of negotiations, with the main sticking being protections against the use of artificial intelligence.

“Although agreements have been reached on many issues important to SAG-AFTRA members, the employers refuse to plainly affirm, in clear and enforceable language, that they will protect all performers covered by this contract in their A.I. language,” SAG-AFTRA said.

The strike was called by SAG-AFTRA national executive director and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland and the Interactive Media Agreement Negotiating Committee. It will go into effect July 26 at 12:01 a.m….

The video game companies included in the strike are: Activision Productions Inc., Blindlight LLC, Disney Character Voices Inc., Electronic Arts Productions Inc., Formosa Interactive LLC, Insomniac Games Inc., Llama Productions LLC, Take 2 Productions Inc., VoiceWorks Productions Inc., and WB Games Inc….

“We’re not going to consent to a contract that allows companies to abuse A.I. to the detriment of our members,” SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher said. “Enough is enough. When these companies get serious about offering an agreement our members can live — and work — with, we will be here, ready to negotiate.”…

(6) WE ARE NOT AT THE SINGULARITY. [Item by SF Concatenation’s Jonathan Cowie.] Nature’s cover story this week “Garbage Out” looks at artificial intelligence.  Apparently artificial intelligences (AIs) are really easy to induce to hallucinate if the AIs are trained by computer-generated data. One definition of a Singularity is that it is the point in time in which technology itself creates technology: such as robots building the computers and the computers programming the robots and themselves.  Such a singularity was popularized by the  mathematician and SF author Vernor Vinge….  The good news from this research is that humans are still key… (For now.)

The explosion in generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as large language models has been powered by the vast sets of human-generated data used to train them. As these tools continue to proliferate and their output becomes increasingly available online, it is conceivable that the source of training data could switch to content generated by computers. In this week’s issue, Ilia Shumailov and colleagues investigate the likely consequences of such a shift. The results are not promising. The researchers found that feeding AI-generated data to a model caused subsequent generations of the model to degrade to the point of collapse. In one test, text about medieval architecture was used as the starting point, but by the ninth generation the model output was a list of jackrabbits. The team suggests that training models using AI-generated data is not impossible but that great care must be taken over filtering those data — and that human-generated data will probably still have the edge.

The open access research is here.

(I do warn folk that the machines are taking over, but nobody ever listens…)

(7) DONATE TO DEB GEISLER AWARD. In honor of the late Deb Geisler, who died in March, her husband Mike Benveniste has established the Deb Geisler Award for Journalistic Excellence Fund at Suffolk University (where she taught) “to provide an annual stipend to a deserving student in the Communication, Journalism, & Media Department.”

Donations to the fund can be made online or by check: Link to give online: https://Suffolk.edu/Summa. By mail: Suffolk University, Office of Advancement, 73 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02108. Attn: Kathy Tricca

(8) TOGETHER FOR A LUNCH “TREK” WITH THE FABULOUS NICK MEYER! [Item by Steve Vertlieb.] Together with the wondrous Nicholas Meyer on July 24, 2024. In addition to having directed the definitive “Star Trek” film … Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan, as well as the last motion picture with the original television crew, Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country, Nick also directed the unforgettable romantic sci-fi fantasy, Time After Time, directed The Day After, the controversial telefilm predicting the devastating consequences of nuclear war, composed the screenplay for Star Trek: The Voyage Home, the teleplay for The Night That Panicked America (concerning Orson Welles radio production of “The War of the Worlds”) and authored The Seven Percent Solution.

He is a brilliant raconteur and conversationalist, as well as a charming and most delightful lunch companion. His newest Sherlock Holmes novel, Sherlock Holmes and the Telegram from Hell, from the Reminiscences of John H. Watson, M.D. is enjoying critical success and brisk sales.

Had the pleasure of chatting with Nick once more on Sunday afternoon following a screening of Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country at the Aero Theater, and spent an absolutely delightful two hours over lunch this afternoon, enjoying more quality time with this sublimely gifted artist who I’m honored to think of as my friend.

Nicholas Meyer and Steve Vertlieb

(9) SHINING MEMORIES. IndieWire cues up the trailer for Shine On — The Forgotten ‘Shining’ Location”, a new Kubrick documentary.

Few movie sets in Hollywood history have generated more interest than the Overlook Hotel from Stanley Kubrick‘s “The Shining.” The fictional Colorado hotel provides the backdrop for Jack Torrance’s (Jack Nicholson) descent into madness, and Kubrick devotees have spent countless hours analyzing symbolism in the production design and the disorienting effects created by the hotel’s impossible floor plan. The hotel sets, hailed by many as some of the defining craftsmanship of Kubrick’s filmmaking career, now get their moment in the spotlight in a new documentary set to be released on the late director’s birthday.…

…The film will see the collaborators revisiting some of the last remaining studio sets from “The Shining,” which were thought to have been destroyed years ago….

“There have been so many rumors about some of the sets from ‘The Shining’ still existing at Elstree Studios, but to actually find them and walk around them was like discovering a holy grail of film history,” [Paul] King said in a statement announcing the film…

(10) TODAY’S BIRTHDAY.

[Written by Paul Weimer.]

July 25, 1973 — Mur Lafferty, 51.

By Paul Weimer: The Mighty Mur Lafferty, to be truthful. Back in the early days of the modern SFFnal internet, when before even blogs were quite a thing, there was Mur Lafferty, doing audio versions of stories, doing her podcast (I should be writing) and being one of the early adopters and early heralds of the SFFnal internet. I came into the SFFNal internet not long after, and thus discovered her work, and her podcast, just when I was getting my own start in writing reviews and such (this was in 2008 or so).  I started with her Afterlife series and followed her career along. In those days, self-published work “didn’t count” for publication, which is why she managed to be a 2013 John C. Campbell  Award nominee and then winner (now the Astounding Award) for Best New Writer, which was odd, because I’d been reading her for half a decade.

Mur Lafferty in 2017.

And it is heartwarming that she remembers me from those early halcyon days.

But besides the Afterlife novellas, and the Shambling Guides, and her fun twitter threads of pretending to watch minor league Baseball in the guise of a lady of Westeros come to North Carolina, I’ve been listening to her podcast, interacting with her on social media, meeting her at cons for a good long time. She’s played the long game in honing her skills, craft and writing abilities. Mur Laffery is simply the embodiment of the “10,000 hours” school of writing, getting better by writing and writing and writing. Mur proves the grind can work.

I think her Midsolar Murders novels (starting with Station Eternity) are probably the best place to begin with her work. I find her voice as a writer quirky, comfortable, and relentlessly entertaining, Although Six Wakes, which really marks the start of her more recent career (and a Hugo finalist) is a good single novel to take the measure of Mur’s work, if you want to try it.

And yes, Mur, yes, as you say, I should be writing. Happy birthday my friend.

(11) COMICS SECTION.

(12) POEM BY ROB THORNTON.

Greenwish

The city blooms
Solar flowers drink life
Unwood towers soar

The city glistens
Buffalo browse in
shade Commuters
step carefully

The city works
Nests of mage-makers
shape great info-dreams

The city pauses
Crowds shimmer
rainbow
Talk lazily in siesta

The city eats
Trini-Hunan tofu
and gorgeous greens

The city sleeps
Inhales waste
Exhales air and water

The city awakes and sighs

“Christ, what an imagination I’ve got.”

(13) WHO’S WATCHING? The BBC says they like the numbers the show is pulling: “Doctor Who praised by BBC in annual report as ratings continue to grow” at Radio Times.

The BBC’s annual report has praised the impact of Doctor Who – as ratings for the recently concluded season 14 continue to grow on BBC iPlayer.

The beloved sci-fi series was mentioned several times throughout the report, which spotlighted it as one of the shows driving the corporation’s “huge audiences”, while also mentioning its “economic impact” in Wales and across the UK….

… The 60th anniversary specials were also mentioned as one of the year’s “content highlights” alongside Eurovision coverage and the third season of Planet Earth.

The latest figures for the new season, as reported by The Times, now make it the highest-rated drama for young viewers (under 35s) across the BBC this year.

Overnight ratings for the season had been lower than is typically the case due to the show’s new release strategy – which saw each episode debut on BBC iPlayer at midnight on Fridays, several hours before the BBC One broadcast on Saturday evening.

But a spokesperson for the show explained that this had always been the expectation, saying: “Overnight ratings no longer provide an accurate picture of all those who watch drama in an on-demand world.

“This season of Doctor Who premiered on iPlayer nearly 24 hours before broadcast, and episode 1 has already been viewed by nearly 6 million viewers and continues to grow.”

(14) BY NO MEANS A DREAD PIRATE. “SpongeBob SquarePants Rings in 25 Years; Mark Hamill Joins Next Movie” and Variety is there for the announcement.

To celebrate a quarter century of “SpongeBob SquarePants,” Nickelodeon pulled out all the stops at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, starting with an epic Hall H panel.

Mark Hamill made a surprise appearance to reveal that he’d be voicing The Flying Dutchman in the upcoming fourth SpongeBob film, “The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants,” out in 2025. “He’s the most fearsome goofball pirate you’ve ever seen. The movie is more cerebral. It’s more thoughtful, intellectually challenging. No, I’m just yanking your chain. It’s inspired silliness from start to finish.”…

(15) NOT EXACTLY AN EXTENDED VACATION. “NASA says no return date yet for astronauts and troubled Boeing capsule at space station” – Yahoo! has the update.

Already more than a month late getting back, two NASA astronauts will remain at the International Space Station until engineers finish working on problems plaguing their Boeing capsule, officials said Thursday.

Test pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were supposed to visit the orbiting lab for about a week and return in mid-June, but thruster failures and helium leaks on Boeing’s new Starliner capsule prompted NASA and Boeing to keep them up longer.

NASA’s commercial crew program manager Steve Stich said mission managers are not ready to announce a return date. The goal is to bring Wilmore and Williams back aboard Starliner, he added.

“We’ll come home when we’re ready,” Stich said.

Stich acknowledged that backup options are under review. SpaceX’s Dragon capsule is another means of getting NASA astronauts to and from the space station.

(16) IN SPACE, NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU. [Item by Steven French.] Maybe aliens are already nearby — they’re just small and quiet! “The Fermi Paradox May Have a Very Simple Explanation” according to Scientific American.

… The absence of evidence for aliens could be because they don’t exist or because our sampling depth is inadequate to detect them—a bit like declaring the entire ocean free of fish when none appear in a scooped-up bucket of seawater. Sampling depth refers to how thoroughly and keenly we can conduct a search. Fermi’s question is valuable because it narrows the possibilities down to two: either aliens are not present near Earth, or our current search methods are insufficient….

…From our privileged position in history, we know that advances in energy use often come with increases in efficiency, not simply increases in size or expansiveness. Think of the modern miniaturization of smartphones versus the mid-20th-century trend of computers that filled up whole rooms. Perhaps we should be looking for sophisticated and compact alien spacecraft, rather than motherships spewing misused energy….

(17) EYE ON AN EXOPLANET. “Webb images nearest super-Jupiter, opening a new window to exoplanet research” from Max-Planck-Gesellschaft.

Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), a team of astronomers led by the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy imaged a new exoplanet that orbits a star in the nearby triple system Epsilon Indi. The planet is a cold super-Jupiter exhibiting a temperature of around 0 degrees Celsius and a wide orbit comparable to that of Neptune around the Sun. This measurement was only possible thanks to JWST’s unprecedented imaging capabilities in the thermal infrared. It exemplifies the potential of finding many more such planets similar to Jupiter in mass, temperature, and orbit. Studying them will improve our knowledge of how gas giants form and evolve in time….

What do we know about Eps Ind Ab?

“We discovered a signal in our data that did not match the expected exoplanet,” says Matthews. The point of light in the image was not in the predicted location. “But the planet still appeared to be a giant planet,” adds Matthews. However, before being able to make such an assessment, the astronomers had to exclude the signal was coming from a background source unrelated to Eps Ind A.

“It is always hard to be certain, but from the data, it seemed quite unlikely the signal was coming from an extragalactic background source,” explains Leindert Boogaard, another MPIA scientist and a co-author of the research article. Indeed, while browsing astronomical databases for other observations of Eps Ind, the team came across imaging data from 2019 obtained with the VISIR infrared camera attached to the European Southern Observatory’s (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT). After re-analysing the images, the team found a faint object precisely at the position where it should be if the source imaged with JWST belonged to the star Eps Ind A.

The scientists also attempted to understand the exoplanet atmosphere based on the available images of the planet in three colours: two from JWST/MIRI and one from VLT/VISIR. Eps Ind Ab is fainter than expected at short wavelengths. This could indicate substantial amounts of heavy elements, particularly carbon, which builds molecules such as methane, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide, commonly found in gas-giant planets. Alternatively, it might indicate that the planet has a cloudy atmosphere. However, more work is needed to reach a final conclusion.

(18) ATOMIC CLUBHOUSE. [Item by Steven French.] “‘Every 14-year-old boy’s dream’: Cumbrian nuclear bunker goes to auction” in the Guardian. A must-have for the budding tech billionaire:

…It’s a property with no windows, no running water and no mod cons except for a phone line. But there is parking, the countryside is phenomenal and when Armageddon happens it could be perfect.

This week will bring the rare sale of a 1958 nuclear bunker in the Cumbrian Dales near Sedbergh…

(19) VIDEO OF THE DAY The YouTube channel Grammaticus Books has released another vintage SF video as part of the multi-YouTube-channel, Rocket Summer, event. This time his 9-minute review looks at the Robert Heinlein novel Tunnel in the Sky.

Tunnel in the Sky (1955).  Arguably not his best book – it is a young adult coming of age story – it does though reveal some of the themes that recur in a number of his works including societal structure.  This one has a bit of a Lord of the Flies feel: that novel came out the previous year. Grammaticus does pick up on something Heinlein does not openly convey but does hint at in a few places, is that the main protagonist is from an ethnic minority: remember, this novel was published in 1955 USA.

[Thanks to Teddy Harvia, Mike Kennedy, Andrew Porter, Paul Weimer, Rob Thornton, Steve Vertlieb, John King Tarpinian, Chris Barkley, Cat Eldridge, SF Concatenation’s Jonathan Cowie, Steven French, and Kathy Sullivan for some of these stories. Title credit belongs to File 770 contributing editor of the day Daniel “DD Not DDS” Dern.]

A Resolution by Chris J. Garcia

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EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION: We begin our series of reprints from Journey Planet’s “Be the Change” issue with a resolution that Chris J. Garcia will soon submit to the Glasgow 2024 Business Meeting, cosigned by James Bacon, Frank Wu, Jean Martin, Chris Barkley, and Steve Davidson.

By Chris J. Garcia:

Resolved, that it is the spirit of the World Science Fiction Society Business Meeting to stand for the values of fair treatment, transparency, and openness in all dealings with the World Science Fiction Society and the Hugo Awards;

Therefore, we must stand together and condemn the actions taken by the Hugo Award Administration Subcommittee of the 2023 Chengdu Worldcon, along with the 2023 Chengdu Worldcon Committee, in regard to the management of the 2023 Hugo Awards, including the decision to disqualify rightful nominees without clear explanation, removing rightfully-cast votes, as well as releasing clearly wrong nomination data, all of which is contrary to the spirit of the awards and decades of administrative precedent.

We call on the Chairs, the Committee, the Hugo Administrator, and the Hugo subcommittee of the 2023 Chengdu Worldcon, and any official continuing entities rising out of it, to:

  • provide all information on the decision-making process
  • accept full responsibility for their actions
  • issue an official apology for the damage their actions have caused the individuals excluded from the ballot, the Hugo Awards’ reputation, and the Worldcon community in general
  • recuse themselves from all future World Science Fiction Society committees and organisations

(Note: If you would like to be a co-signer of this resolution, contact us at [email protected])

Journey Planet Releases Issue #80

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Journey Planet has released Issue #80, a one-page fanzine edited by Sara Felix, James Bacon, and Chris Garcia focused on the creation of the Glasgow 2024 April Fools Hugo.

The one-off Hugo was designed by Sara Felix and the sculpt was a joint effort between Sara and Vincent Villafranca. Sara and Vincent also designed the Worldcon 76 base together back in 2018.

The JP walks through the basics of where the idea came from and follows through the process.  After reading an article that appeared in the souvenir book for Noreascon 4 written by Peter Weston, Sara thought a tartan rocket was possible with the design and approval of Landing Zone Glasgow which Sara designed for the convention previously.

Sara says, “This design is dedicated in loving memory to Deb Geisler.  If it wasn’t Deb sending me a link to the article that Peter wrote I would never had the idea in the first place.  She was amazing and always a source of inspiration for me.”

The link to the Journey Planet can be found here.

Directions for folding the fanzine can be found here.

If you would like a copy of the small 2”x3” print of the April Fools Tartan Hugo it is on Sara’s ko-fi page.

Sara also produced a video about making the base: “April Fool’s! Sara Felix shares her creation process of a tartan rocket!”

Journey Planet 76 – The American War in Vietnam

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Journey Planet 76 – The American War in Vietnam
7th December 2023. Ho Chi Minh City.

On December 7, 1968 PFC Joe W. Haldeman wrote “Notes from the Jolly Green Jungle” about his experiences in Vietnam, which first appeared in the fanzine ODD #20. 

55 years later this, plus his “Tales from the Jolly Green Jungle,” which appeared in ODD #19, are reprinted in the new issue of Journey Planet which looks at the American War in Vietnam. 

Journey Planet co-editor James Bacon writes from the War Remembrance Museum in Ho Chi Minh City:

“It is important to pay respects to those who suffered so much, and so I am here in the War Remnants Museum, where so much time and effort is spent educating and sharing the horror of the American War in Vietnam. Whole sections are dedicated to war crimes and the effects of the use of Agent Orange by the U.S. These consequences are shown through exhibits and through paintings by children. It is a hard and challenging series of documentations. There is a requiem and photo exhibition for journalists and soldiers alike; there is acknowledgment of those who fought. As much as there is about Lt Calley’s role in the Mỹ Lai massacre, and Senator Bob Kerrey, who was a Navy SEAL and part of the atrocities at Thanh Phong Village, the museum also notes the Veterans Against the War, soldiers who marched for peace, and those like Lawerence Manley Colburn and Hugh Clowers Thompson Jr. who fought in their own way to stop atrocities by comrades.” 

“This issue of Journey Planet looks at the American War in Vietnam and its connections to fans and professionals as we consider the impact of the War. As I sit here among the artifacts of war, and contemplate it, remembering it, aware of the unbelievable losses, the sadness, the horror and the injuries and death, I am grateful to the fans who have allowed us to share their stories and memories of the War. These are personal and important stories. It is right that we confront and consider our history, and it is right that we confront and consider the experiences of the Vietnamese–those who lived through the War and those who left and those who extensively wrote about it. We started this issue five years ago, and now, at 104 pages, with dozens of people helping bring it together, we hope that you find the issue of interest.

“We look thoughtfully at Vietnamese voices, and how they shared their experience through writing and film. We discuss the works of novelists Doan Phuong Nguyen, Aliette de Boddard, Lê Minh Khuê, Dương Thu Hương, and Hoa Pham; filmmaker Eirene Tran Donohue; graphic novel writer/artists GB Tran, Clement Baloup, Marcellino Truong, Thi Bui, and Minh Lê as we carefully consider how the War is portrayed and shared.”

Along with these Vietnamese voices, they share the writings and art of Joe Haldeman and David Thayer from their time of service in Vietnam, along with excerpts of Dick Eney’s fanzine, “Curse you Red Baron!” which he published from Saigon while he was stationed there for over five years. Bacon says, “We are honored to share first-hand accounts of these vivid experiences with readers.”

Snoopy after Schultz by Col Art

Fans have taken the time to share very personal matters, writing about their family members, some of whom were lost in the War, as they contemplate carefully the personal impacts. Sara Felix, Errick Nunally, Guy Lillian, III, and co-editor Christopher J. Garcia have shared articles about their family members.  

The impact of the War on comics is considered as they look at works by Vietnamese comic book creators Nguyễn Thành Phong, Khánh Dương, Huu Do Chi, Nguyễn Khánh Dương, Can Tiểu Hy, and Võ Hùng Kiệt (ViVi). They reprint State Representative Julian Bond’s anti-war comic, Vietnam, which was first published in 1967, look at Snoopy and Charles Shultz during the time of the War, chat to comic writer Garth Ennis, write about Joe Kubert’s connection to Vietnam, and look at how DC Comics and Marvel reacted through their publications to the War at the time, while also making recommendations. 

This issue contains a wide selection of art by Keith Burns, Sara Felix, Nguyễn Thanh Phong, Khánh Dương, Guillermo Ortego, Teddy Harvia, Joe Haldeman, Col Art, Arnie Fenner, Juan Gimenez, Võ Hùng Kiệt, TG Lewis, Huy Oánh, Marcia Rosler, Bill Rotsler, and Rick Swan.

Frank Castle. By Guillermo Ortego
Flight of helicopters. By Sara Felix
By Keith Burns

With extensive articles by Brenda Noiseux among many contributors, this issue saw Allison Hartman Adams join Christopher J. Garcia and James Bacon as co-editor in this broad look at the American War in Vietnam.

Download the issue here: Journey Planet issue 76.

Table of Contents

  • Editors’ Note
  • The Jolly Green Jungle Introduction by Chris Garcia
  • Tales From the Jolly Green Jungle by Joe Haldeman
  • How Vietnam Touched My Life by Sara Felix
  • A Vietnam Imagined by Errick Nunnally
  • ”The Smile of Victory”: The Women of the American War in Vietnam by Allison Hartman Adams
  • The Horrors of War and Other Morbid Cliches by David Thayer
  • No Capacity for More by Brenda Noiseux
  • Snoopy: A Metaphor, Mascot, or Comfort Puppy by James Bacon
  • Apocalypse: The Eyes of Doom by Jim O’Brien
  • Truyện Tranh: Piracy, Crowdfunding, and the Growth of Vietnamese Comics by Allison Hartman Adams
  • Hunter S. Thompson: Too Much Tension and Too Little News, by James Bacon
  • Lê Minh Khuê’s Postwar Fiction by Allison Hartman Adams
  • The Forever War and Coming Home by Chuck Serface
  • Little Saigon: How the Vietnam War transformed San Jose Cuisine by Chris Garcia
  • The Kubert Connection by James Bacon
  • To a Brighter Future by Brenda Noiseux
  • Star Wars: Is It an Allegory for the Vietnam War? by James Bacon
  • (Re)discovered loss by Brend Noiseux
  • What the War Left Behind by David Ferguson
  • A Not So Private Little War: Star Trek’s Muddled Vietnam War Protest Episode by Ryan Britt
  • ‘I love the smell of burning flesh in the morning. It tastes like cooked breakfast’: Teddy Bears’ Picnic and Britain’s Vietnam War by Jim O’Brien
  • It’s Not a War Story: Filmmaking and rebirth in modern Vietnam by Allison Hartman Adams
  • Advertising for Vietnam by James Bacon
  • Martha Rosler – Bringing the War Home by Chris Garcia
  • The American War in Vietnam in Marvel Comics During the Vietnam War up to 1975 by James Bacon
  • Dương Thu Hương’s A Novel Without A Name by Allison Hartman Adams
  • Box me up and ship me home: Tim O’Brien’s Vietnam by Jim O’Brien
  • DC Comics and the American War in Vietnam by James Bacon
  • The Vietnam Veterans Memorial by Chris Garcia
  • Comics of the Vietnamese Diaspora by Allison Hartman Adams
  • Curse You Red Baron! by Dick Eney
  • Vietnam Comics Recommendations by James Bacon
  • Introduction to Vietnam by Julian Bond and T.G. Lewis by James Bacon
  • Vietnam by Julian Bond and T.G. Lewis (illustrator)
  • War Fiction, A True Story by David Thayer
  • Garth Ennis talks about Vietnam with James Bacon
  • Gordon, Haldeman, Band and the Robot Jox by Peppard Saltine
  • My Cousin Jimmy by Guy H. Lillian III
  • In the End by Allison Hartman Adams
  • A Brief Note from Chris
  • Enditorial by James Bacon
  • JP 72: Operation Motorman Letters of Comment

Journey Planet 75: Fantastical Musical Instruments

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Hugo-finalist Journey Planet returns with a new issue dedicated at fantastical, mythical, and really just super cool musical instruments.

Jean Martin joins Chris Garcia and James Bacon in bringing together looks at musical instruments and the music they produce in everything from Futurama to Dune to Dungeons & Dragons to Star Trek and much much more! There are also a few pieces that look at the roles real-life musical instruments play and how they can become mythical in and of themselves! 

This is an 85-page look into worlds both real and imagined! Available now here.

Table of Contents

Editorial by Chris Garcia
Musical Instruments in Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings by Jean Martin
Exploring Instruments in Dungeons & Dragons: The Instruments of the Bards by Robert Pleasant
Gurney Halleck Sings for Us by Allison Hartman Adams
The Baliset by Chris Garcia
Vulcan Lute by Christopher Erickson
Star Trek: The Musical Generation by Sarah Gulde
The Sounds of Star Wars by James Bacon
Native American Flutes by Jade Falcon
Fan Art by Terry Jeeves
Exploring the Oud: A Musical Time Machine for Ancient and Futuristic Soundscapes by Michael Larsen
Captain Eo: The Crew IS the Music by Chris Garcia
Play holophonor for me by Ann Gry (anngry.com)
“Of Holophonors” by Peppard Saltine
Fico in Flash Gordon by James Bacon
Pure Will, True Will, and The Hydrogen Sonata or How Aleister Crowley met Iain M. Banks by Richard Smothers
Music in the Works of Alan Moore Or Alan, Eno, and Me by Pádraig Ó Méalóid
On kings and fiddlers and the harp unstrung by Ethan Hay, MA
Instruments from the Moon to Gaia (via North Queensferry, Scotland) with Two Plugs by Gary Lloyd
A Refrigerator for Music – The Samson Box by Chris Garcia
Under The 5000 Fingers by James Langdell      
Animusic by Chris Garcia
The Legend of Zelda – The Magical Instrument by David Ferguson
Enditorial by James Bacon

[Based on a press release.]

Journey Planet 73: Hugo Nominee Gifts 

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Australian fan Alan Stewart has been tracking down all the little mementoes that Worldcons give to Hugo Nominees. In doing so he was helped by many fans, seeking images and information.   

Alan joined Chris Garcia and James Bacon on Journey Planet 73 – Hugo Nominee Gifts, as they sought to share the research and photos, of the wondrous things that have been gifted. And who knew that such a list existed?

Gifts for Hugo Nominees were generally given to nominees at the Hugo Losers party by the subsequent Worldcon, often seen as a promotional activity as well as welcome to those the community have celebrated to come to the following year’s Worldcon. 

A variety of fans have contributed the images, and a number have written for the issue including Evelyn Leeper, Steven H Silver, Guy Lillian III, Michael A Burstein, Deb Geisler, Rose Mitchell, Helen Montgomery, Sarah Gulde, Alison Scott, Craig Miller, Ian McDonald and Henry Balen who all share insight

It’s a list you might not know existed, and one that’s kind of fun.

Letters of Comment from Rob Hansen and Kerry Kyle also feature, as they both respond to issue 71, the Hugo Base issue.  

James Bacon adds, “We are currently working on an issue with Jean Martin about futuristic, mythical, fictional and imagined musical instruments with an end of June deadline and would love to hear from interested contributors.”

Letters of comment welcome at [email protected] on this or any issue.  

Operation Motorman —  Journey Planet 72 

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The latest issue of Journey Planet makes for difficult reading as James Bacon and Christopher J. Garcia present 20,000 words on the British military amphibious landing and military action on July 31, 1972 in Derry, Northern Ireland. 

Operation Motorman saw an innocent boy and innocent man gunned down. With landing craft deploying Centurion AVRE tanks directly to the city streets, the official view of a successful counter insurgency operation is considered and challenged. 

Families have spent decades fighting for justice, against immediate lies, denial and misrepresentation and the results of their perseverance is reflected on and documented.  

The subsequent murderous and pointless retaliation mere hours later by terrorists saw nine civilians killed in the small village of Claudy. This atrocity saw no one brought to justice.  The collusion between the British Government and Catholic Church to protect the perpetrator is presented.  

Shrouded in cover up and lies, much has come to light in the fifty years since these sad events occurred, as James attempts to present utilizing quotes and judgments for readers to draw their own conclusions, while reflecting on the research work and offering his own views especially on how the subject is presented by “strategists”. 

This special edition of Journey Planet includes photographs of the day by Eamon Melaugh who vividly captured the action. At 49 pages this single subject issue has been worked on for over fourteen years.  

The sadness of the loss for the families can never be undone. 

“Pamphlets, amateur press publications and Fanzines hold a historical place in the ability to independently present to readers views, opinions and subjects which are valid but often overlooked. The format  allows for freedom of expression, without external editorial pressure to curtail or censor and so here we present an issue on a subject that is difficult but we hope a compelling, informative and provoking read.” 

Download the issue here: Issue 72 – Operation Motorman – Journey Planet.

[Based on a press release.]

Journey Planet 68: Chinese Science Fiction and Space Dual Language Issue Part 1  

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Regina Kanya Wang, Yen Ooi and Arthur Liu join Chris Garcia and James Bacon to co-edit an issue dedicated to Chinese science, science fiction, space and fandom, with over 20 articles and interviews, all both in Chinese and English in parallel text. 

Featuring a stunning cover From Ocean in the Sky by Sharksden, there is a wide variety of articles, interviews and art. 

This issue has exceeded expectations in regard to volume of content, and the editors decided that they would split the issue into two parts, with Part 2 planned for publication in the Chinese New Year. 

Contents in this issue include: 

  • If I Have a Dyson Sphere, I Can _______ – The Independent Science Fiction Game Dyson Sphere Program and Its Player Ecology by Bill Black. Translated by Scarlet Zhang
  • An Encounter with Mars at Lenghu by Arthur Liu. Translated by Shaoyan Hu
  • Twelve Space-Themed Chinese SF Novels In the 2020s by Arthur Liu
  • The Female Body and the Future of Humanity by Mia Chen Ma. Translated by Wang Jin and Lily Rathbone
  • “The Wandering Earth”: Should I Leave Behind the Heavy Shell? by Lyu Guangzhao
  • The Wandering Fan – A Diaspora View of Chinese Science Fiction by Kin-Ming Looi. Translated by Jiang Qingying
  • Hunt for the Hidden Treasures of Republican-Era Science Fiction by Ren Dongmei, edited by RiverFlow. Translated by Jack Hargreaves
  • Dugu Yue Refuses to Be Alone by Zhong Tianyi. Translated by Qing Zhao
  • Imagining Outer Space in Chinese Science by Huang Mingfen. Translated by Zhou Danxue
  • Original Art: Lunar Photosynthesis by Angela YT Chan
  • Narrating Fantastic Stories with Visual Arts – Interview with Feifei RuanInterviewer: Regina Kanyu Wang. Translated by RiverFlow
  • My Best Art is Always the Next Piece – Interview with Sharksden Interviewer: Regina Kanyu Wang, Translated by Scarlet Zhang

The issue is available here here.

The Chinese language press release is here.

[Based on a press release.]

A Swiftly Warming (Journey) Planet

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By Chris Garcia: Hugo-winning fanzine Journey Planet tackles the intersection of climate change and science fiction with their 67th issue now available here. 

The issue — titled “Anthropocene Ruminations” — features articles, fiction, and art from more than a dozen creators from across the fandom community. Amanda Wakaruk and Olav Rokne were brought on as guest editors for the issue, which delves into everything from geoengineering to how climate change affects parasites in changing environments.

“Climate change is the defining crisis of our age. We might suggest that climate change fiction — or cli-fi — is quickly becoming the defining subgenre of our time,” Wakaruk and Rokne explain. “People all across the globe are grappling with climate change — some more directly than others. Rising oceans, disappearing fresh water, massive heat waves, displacements, and droughts are all factors in this massive event, and it’s important to understand how that is being reflected in the stories that we tell each other.”

The issue kicks off with a three-page interview with America’s most prominent author of climate change fiction Kim Stanley Robinson, followed by commentary and analysis of the subgenre from authors from across the globe:

  • The Roadmap to Drought by Victoria Paterson
  • The Lies They Will Tell You by Camestros Felapton
  • The Loaner by A. L. Yakimchuk
  • Where The World May Wind Up by Juan Sanmiguel
  • Songs of a Disposable Earth by Jason Sanford
  • Disco and the Rising Tide of Cli-Fi Paul Weimer
  • Ponderings by Victoria Carter
  • Parasites in Peril by Collin Horn
  • Massive Moment for Cli-Fi by James Bacon
  • Apocalyptic Radio by Nicolas Pallaris
  • Choosing Van Gogh by Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki
  • Things Fall Apart, It’s Scientific by Chris Garcia
  • Is Geoengineering by The New Denial? by Stephen Griffith & Marshall Boyd
  • Dwelling in the Anthropocene by Cora Buhlert
  • Blowing Up The Ministry For The Future by Gautam Bhatia

Journey Planet 66: Robin Hood

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By Steven H Silver: Robin Hood, whether you picture Errol Flynn, a fox, or the cover of a book by Howard Pyle, at Journey Planet Steven H Silver joins Christopher J. Garcia and James Bacon for this issue which looks at the legend of Robin Hood, historically, cinematically, and affectionately.

Lawrence Ellsworth, Jeff Berkwits, and Anthony Roche look at the various cinematic versions of the Robin Hood legend, each bringing their own take to what the outlaw from Sherwood Forest means.

Robin Hood’s adventures on the small screen are covered by James Bacon, Bonnie K. Jones, Michael A. Burstein, and Alissa Wales.

Tina L. Jens describes a vast array of cartoon depictions of Robin, not just by Disney, but featuring Tom & Jerry, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Popeye, and less famous characters.

Laura Frankos shares her love of musicals with an article about a popular operetta based on Robin Hood that debuted in 1891 and helped chart the path for the American musical theatre.

Yilin Wang, David Stein, and Chris Garcia explore historical outlaws who share traits with the Robin Hood of legend.

James returns for a look at the comic The Real Robin Hood and Steven discusses Parke Godwin’s decision to set his novel Sherwood during the immediate aftermath of the Norman Conquest.

And finally, Graeme Davis interviews Robin Hood, or at least Tim Pollard, who has been the official Robin Hood of Nottingham and is a co-founder of the International League of Legends.

All this can be found in the latest issue of Journey Planet, available for download.