Tag Archives: Kampcon 2028

Pixel Scroll 2/9/24 The FTL And The Furriest

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(1) TOR ACCUSED OF USING AI ART COVER, AGAIN. [Item by Anne Marble.] People strongly suspect that Tor used yet another AI cover for a release by its Bramble imprint. In this case, the book is their hardcover reprint of Gothikana, a dark academia romance by an anonymous author known as RuNyx– an indie book that is both loved and hated. (Both the writing and the “hero” have been criticized.) Tor published this new edition in hardback with sprayed edges and what looked like a gorgeous new cover. Even people who already had the book bought it for the cool presentation. This is an adult hardcover priced around $30. But now, many people are saying that this new cover is probably AI.

Gabino Iglesias has one of the best posts on this:

This is not a first for Tor. In December 2022, File 770 published the news when Tor was caught using AI elements on the cover of an SF novel by Christopher Paolini – “Pixel Scroll 12/20/22 The Filezentian Gate” item #3.

You can see the Tor cover, the Solaris cover, and the indie covers of Gothikana on Goodreads.

Emma Skies devoted a TikTok video to analyzing the artwork: “I’m So Sick Of This”.

@emmaskies

I’M SO SICK OF THIS I really don’t understand why we keep having to have this conversation in *creative* spaces. Stop ???????? using ???????? AI ???????? art ???????? It doesn’t even look good! Frankly this is beyond embarrassing and I’m incredibly disappointed in Tor. This is lazy and it’s insulting to authors, consumers, and artists who should and historically would be getting hired for these jobs, and this is only going to keep getting worse as the publishing industry is obsessed with pumping out more and more work for less money utilizing fewer employees. We are not heading in a good direction. ???? #torbooks #torpublishinggroup #brambleromance #gothikana #runyx #bookcover #aiart #noaiart #romancebooks #darkromance #fantasyromance #booktok #emmaskiesreads #greenscreen

? original sound – emmaskies

BTW I can’t tell whether a cover is AI or not. But when you look at the mysterious gate closely… Ugh. And I persuaded myself to buy this book because of the cool cover and sprayed edges…

More recent posts on Gothikana include Ed Crocker’s thread on X, started to celebrate covers by humans — which is a great response!

By the way, you can see the Solaris cover, which is complete different, in this post:

(2) MEDICAL UPDATE. Kaja Foglio had emergency gall bladder surgery last weekend, and had to be readmitted to the hospital on Monday. Phil Foglio posted the news at Bluesky.

(3) UGANDA WORLDCON BID REPLIES TO SENSITIVE QUESTION. Steve Davidson reported on Facebook that Amazing Stories recently asked the Ugandan Worldcon Bid —

“Given the laws of Uganda regarding LGBTQ+ how are you planning on handling this for attendees?”

The “the official committee stand” responded and I wanted to share their response, the first line of which states:

“This law is in courts of law and we can’t comment about it for fear of prejudice.”

The balance of their statement says:

“However, as a country so far, we have hosted and planning to host major global conventions like the Commonwealth Speakers of Parliament and Presiding Officers, NAM summit, the G77 + China in 2024 all have been completed without incidents consequential from this law and later AFCON in 2027 will be hosted here. We also have seen a successful football World cup in Qatar, the Worldcon has been successfully hosted in China in 2023 some of these parts of the world have more harsh laws against homosexuality. These precedents will help inform Kampcon in planning mitigation measures. The experiences of previous hosts with similar legal challenges will be instructive on how Kampcon approaches this issue in terms of its code of conduct to guide all the operations. In the meantime, we are also involving every stakeholder in the planning of this event right from bidding and we are receiving support of a number of forms from the national convention bureau (MICE Bureau) so we are doing all within means not to have any conflict legal or otherwise with the authorities of the land and the host community. The number one commitment for any host is safety first! This is not different for Kampcon. “

Davidson’s post includes quotes from media coverage about the enforcement of laws against homosexuality.

(4) FIVE BOOKS TO ENJOY. Lisa Tuttle’s new Guardian column reviews The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown; Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon by Wole Talabi; Red Side Story by Jasper Fforde; Past Crimes by Jason Pinter; and The City of Stardust by Georgia Summers. “The best recent science fiction and fantasy – reviews roundup”.

(5) BRISTOW Q&A. A lot of sff mentioned in the Shelf Awareness interview with Su Bristow:

Favorite book when you were a child:

There were so many! But I guess the one I returned to over and over again would have to be The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis. It’s the origin story of Narnia, and how evil was unintentionally brought in right at the start. It felt important to me, in a way that I couldn’t have articulated at the time.

Your top five authors:

Ursula K. Le Guin. Her Earthsea trilogy had a profound effect on me in my teens. The Taoist philosophy that underpins it, and the idea of equilibrium in nature–and of course in magic–struck me with the force of truth. It still does.

Barbara Kingsolver. Her versatility is extraordinary, and I’ve loved all her books, particularly The Lacuna and Demon Copperhead. I hope there are many more to come.

J.R.R. Tolkien. An obvious choice, maybe, but it’s not the writing so much as the depth and breadth of the world he created. He was aiming to set up a mythology for Britain, and he succeeded; his influence is everywhere.

Alan Garner. A master weaver of language, landscape, and legend. He creates songlines for his corner of the British Isles.

Terry Pratchett. The humanity, humour, and passion in his books is breathtaking, not to mention the immense wealth of detail and unforgettable characters….

(6) LIFE ON THE DEATH STAR? [Item by SF Concatenation’s Jonathan Cowie.] Mimas is the moon of Saturn that famously looks like the Star Wars Death Star. But his week in Nature research reveals that it yet may be another place in our Solar System that might, just might, harbor life… (though personally I think we will just find some interesting pre-biotic chemistry…). “Mimas’s surprise ocean prompts an update of the rule book for moons”.

The shifting orbit of one of Saturn’s moons indicates that the satellite has a subsurface ocean, contradicting theories that its interior is entirely solid. The finding calls for a fresh take on what constitutes an ocean moon.

The detection of liquid water oceans under the icy surfaces of outer Solar System moons suggests that these moons could provide abodes for life under conditions that differ markedly from those on Earth. However, it can be a challenge to detect subsurface oceans directly, so inferences about candidate ocean moons are typically drawn from comparison to moons known to harbour oceans, such as Jupiter’s Europa and Saturn’s Enceladus. These moons have many similarities in terms of both the conditions that sustain their oceans and the way that their surfaces indicate the existence of an internal ocean. If the criteria were set by these moons, the small Saturnian moon Mimas would easily be ruled out as an ocean moon. It therefore comes as a surprise to learn that Mimas must have an internal ocean, according to results reported in this week’s Nature. Primary research paper here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06975-9.pdf 

(7) BODYING THE COMPETITION. “’Three Body Problem’ Coming to Peacock Before Rival Netflix Version” says The Hollywood Reporter.

Now Netflix has a two Body problem.

An adaptation of Liu Cixin’s epic sci-fi novel The Three-Body Problem is going to land on a major U.S. streaming service just weeks ahead of Netflix launching its own version.

Peacock announced Friday it has acquired Tencent’s Three-Body, the Chinese adaptation that was released internationally last year. The streamer will launch all 30 episodes Feb. 10.

While Tencent pegged the release date choice to the Lunar New Year, the launch is also clearly timed to get ahead of Netflix’s big-budget version, titled 3 Body Problem, coming March 21…

…The two adaptations are very different, however. The Tencent version is considered an ultra-faithful adaptation (to the point that some have criticized it as being a bit tedious) that, like the novels, remains squarely focused on characters from China who grapple with an alien invasion. Netflix’s version expands the story to an international cast and takes liberties to adapt the dense and physics-heavy novel for a mainstream audience. Also, while the Tencent version avoids the book’s brutal portrayal of the Chinese Cultural Revolution — a key sequence in the story — the Netflix version was able to be more faithful in that regard….

(8) TODAY’S BIRTHDAY.

[Written by Cat Eldridge.]

Born February 9, 1931 — Algis Budrys. (Died 2008.) I usually can’t remember the cover art for a novel I read nearly fifty years ago but I remember that for Rogue Moon by Algis Budrys. It was the Equinox / Avon edition of 1974 with the cover illustration by William Maughan. I picked up on some newsstand in those days when newsstands still existed and they had SF novels to purchase along with comics and zines as Amazing and If.  I’ll get nostalgic later…

It was the first work I read by him and I remember that it was quite good. I see it was nominated for a Hugo at Seacon, the year A Canticle for Leibowitz won.  It was by no means his first publication as that goes to “The High Purpose” which been printed in Astounding in 1952, the year he started as an editor and manager for such publishers as Gnome Press and Galaxy Science Fiction. 

Algis Budrys. Photo by and (c) Andrew Porter.

Between 1965 and 1961, he had two short stories, a novelette and two novels nominated for Hugos. None would win.

I’ve read three of his novels in total, the others being Some Will Not Die and Who?, none of the other novels are ones I recognize at all.  Both of these were well worth my reading time as well. I caution that I’ve not re-read any of these in thirty years so I don’t how well the Suck Fairy would react to them now. 

He was extremely prolific with his writing of short stories, penning well over a hundred. I’ve read enough of them to say he had a deft hand at this story length. So after the early sixties, he wrote far less fiction and worked in publishing, editing, and advertising to make a much better living. 

One was the Tomorrow Speculative Fiction magazine from 1993 to 2000. It was nominated for a Hugo at ConAdian and the next year at Intersection. Alas he did not win.

He’s best known I think for his F&SF book columns that ran for almost forty years starting in 1975. I know that I looked forward to them immensely. They’re collected in Benchmarks Continued, Benchmarks Revisited and Benchmarks Concluded. There’s also Benchmarks: Galaxy Bookshelf which collects his columns there. 

And let’s not overlook A Budrys Miscellany: Occasional Writing 1954-2000 which collects some of his fanzine writings. It’s available at the usual suspects.

(9) COMIC SECTION.

(10) REVIEW OF ‘MACHINE VENDETTA’ BY ALASTAIR REYNOLDS. [Item by SF Concatenation’s Jonathan Cowie.] Machine Vendetta by Alastair Reynolds, his latest novel came out a couple of weeks ago and SF² Concatenation has an advance post review ahead of its summer season edition. It sees a return to ‘Revelation Space’ and a Prefect Tom Drefus Emergency. The full review is here.

A terrorist incident, resulting in a conflagration in a large orbiting habitat, was caused by racism species-ism between uplifted pigs (to human sentience levels) and humans. The habitat was one of thousands that formed the Glitter Band orbiting the planet Yellowstone. Humans had arrived at Yellowstone centuries earlier but the planet has an unbreathable atmosphere, so that while some humans established a colony on its surface, others remained in orbit, hence the hundreds of habitats. Each of the habitats was largely self-policed (usually by local constables) but overall, inter-habitat, peace-keeping and the maintenance of democracy (via strictly controlled computer voting) was undertaken by just a thousand prefects operating from Panapoly – an asteroid hollowed out to provide habitation, space docks etc.

Then a prefect – Ingvar Tench – visits Stadler-Kremeniev orbital habitat. Ingvar Tench thinks she has been ordered there for a routine inspection of its voting mechanisms, but back at the Panapoly, the senior prefects are puzzled as no orders had been given Ingvar: what could she be doing visiting a habitat on the prefects’ watch list? Further, they are perturbed that communications with her have been cut… 

Enter senior prefect Tom Drefus who is sent to Stadler-Kremeniev to find out what Ingvar Tench is doing. Alas, he arrives too late and, long story short, she is dead…. 

(11) READY, WILLING, AND ABLE. RadioTimes quotes“Louise Jameson on Doctor Who return: ‘I’d be back in a nanosecond’”.

Doctor Who legend Louise Jameson has insisted she’s game for a return appearance as classic character Leela.

Jameson recently reprised the role in live-action for Leela vs the Time War, a short film made to promote the Doctor Who – The Collection: Season 15 Blu-ray set.

Speaking at a BFI Southbank screening of 1977 story Horror of Fang Rock held to mark the release, Jameson suggested she wouldn’t hesitate if asked to return to the BBC sci-fi series.

“Let’s see… I’d absolutely love to do one,” she said. “I’d be back in a nanosecond.

“Can you just tell Russell [T Davies, Doctor Who showrunner]? Can somebody ask him to watch it [Leela vs the Time War]?”…

(12) THE DOORS OF HIS MOUTH, THE LAMPS OF HIS WHYS. [Item by Steven French.] Not really genre related but so bizarre I couldn’t resist! An Atlas Obscura post from 2017: “Encryption Lava Lamps – San Francisco, California”.

Why use lava lamps for encryption instead of computer-generated code? Since computer codes are created by machines with relatively predictable patterns, it is entirely possible for hackers to guess their algorithms, posing a security risk. Lava lamps, on the other hand, add to the equation the sheer randomness of the physical world, making it nearly impossible for hackers to break through.


While you might think that such an important place would be kept in secret and locked off from the public, it’s actually possible for visitors to witness these lava lamps in person. Simply enter the lobby of Cloudflare’s San Francisco headquarters and ask to see the lava lamp display. 

It may seem bizarre that Cloudflare would allow average people to affect the video footage, but that’s actually intentional. External disturbances like human movement, static, and changes in lighting from the adjacent windows all work together to make the random code even harder to predict. So, by standing in front of the lava lamp display, you add an additional variable to the code, making it even harder to hack. In a way, by visiting Cloudflare’s wall of lava lamps, you can play a role in making the internet more secure…

(13) IRON MAN COSTS PLENTY OF GOLD. Speculative Fiction Collectors will happily sell you the “Iron Man Mark 2 Life-Size Statue” for a mere $12,399 – stand by to torch your credit card!

Paying homage to Tony Stark’s iconic armor from Iron Man (2008), Queen Studios crafted this piece with the utmost precision. Capturing Iron Man’s signature silver suit, he embodies a powerful stance. At a remarkable height of 214cm tall, the statue boasts a detachable breastplate for a customizable display. Dotted with internal lighting located in various components, it includes: the eyes, arc reactor, and palm repulsors. With fitting illumination around the base, this statue is a stunning addition to any collection.

[Thanks to Chris Barkley, Anne Marble, Kathy Sullivan, Cat Eldridge, Daniel Dern, David Goldfarb, Steve Davidson, SF Concatenation’s Jonathan Cowie, Steven French, Mike Kennedy, Andrew Porter, and John King Tarpinian for some of these stories. Title credit belongs to File 770 contributing editor of the day Daniel Dern.]

Smofcon 40 Posts Worldcon and Smofcon Bidder Questionnaires

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Smofcon 40, a convention for conrunners taking place December 1-3 in Providence, RI asked Worldcon and Smofcon bidders to answer a questionnaire.

The responses have been posted at Smofcon 40’s website. There are direct links below to the answers that have already been returned. Check back there for possible later submissions.

The con will also host a Q&A session on December 2 where bid representatives will make presentations and take questions.

Standing Worldcons

Worldcon bids

Smofcon bids

Pixel Scroll 10/20/23 A Pixel Like That, You Don’t Scroll All At Once

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(1) CHENGDU WORLDCON UPDATE. [Item by Ersatz Culture.]

What is the Tianwen Program/Award?

Right now, this is a bit of an enigma.  I stumbled across a link to this Chinese-language news article at the bottom of the article covered in the next item.  Here are some extracts via Google Translate (my emphases, I haven’t attempted to correct likely mistranslations):

Under the premise of the vigorous development of Chinese science fiction, in order to discover science fiction talents, support science fiction works, and promote the integrated development of the science fiction industry, the “Tianwen Project” jointly launched by the Chinese Writers Association and the World Science Fiction Conference Organizing Committee was officially “debuted” at the summit .

The plan includes a science fiction award “Tianwen Award” and N actions to promote the integrated development of China and even the global science fiction industry. The “Tianwen Award” is oriented to encourage emerging and young writers and has permanently settled in Chengdu. It has become a useful supplement to the “Hugo Award” of the World Science Fiction Conference. While awarding the award, it also holds various activities such as IP roadshows, theme exhibitions, and salon promotions. . At the same time, it will be displayed on the platform of the World Science Fiction Conference and hold exchange activities to promote the in-depth integration of Chinese science fiction into world science fiction.

“We very much appreciate Chengdu’s plan to establish the ‘Tianwen Prize’. It is not only for China, but also for the world.” In the view of Dave McCarty, a member of the Hugo Award selection committee, the “Tianwen Prize” will become China’s An important channel for science fiction to integrate into world science fiction, it has become a platform to promote in-depth exchanges between Chinese fantasy fans and world fantasy fans.

Given the highlighted bits, and with quotes from the current Hugo Administrator, and on a stage with “WSFS” at the bottom, it was hard to shake the impression that this award/project is in some way WSFS affiliated?  On re-reading, I suspect that’s actually a red herring, likely caused by a reporter not fully understanding all the different entities and relationships and/or machine mistranslation.  I presume “World Science Fiction Conference Organizing Committee” is a reference to the fact that three (I think) of the eight people on the stage for this announcement are on the Chengdu 2023 concom; four if you count Cixin Liu who was listed as part of the original bid team.

I tried searching on a few Chinese sites for 天问计划 (Tianwen Program) and 天问奖 (Tianwen Award), but found only one relevant result, a Weibo post.  The text appears to be much the same as the above linked article, but it does have a short, slightly strange, clip from the announcement.

My guess is that this is actually a domestic Chinese award, possibly with some extra stuff to help promote the finalists or winners internationally, perhaps similar to the Galaxy Awards 1 anthology that came out last year.

Media coverage of the “First Industry Development Promotion Conference”

Red Star News has an article on one of the handful of programme items deemed worthy of streaming to virtual attendees. The following extract via Google Translate (no manual cleanup edits):

Judging from the investment amount, the “Chinese Story·Science Fiction Situation Drama Incubation Base Project” with an investment amount of 2 billion will use the “program + park + base + academy” model to aggregate high-quality resources from the science fiction industry chain to create a first-class domestic science fiction sitcom Incubation platform.

From the perspective of project level, the Trisolaran Universe Global Headquarters project with a total investment of 1 billion yuan is committed to building a top Chinese science fiction brand with international influence. It will focus on developing Three-Body games, film and television drama content products, brand derivatives and other businesses, presenting A more three-dimensional three-body world.

(Note: 1 billion yuan is approximately 137 million USD.)

Huawei sponsoring the “Science Fiction vs Science Fact” panel?

Although they aren’t one of the previously announced corporate partners of the con, judging by this tweet it would appear that Huawei are sponsoring the “Science Fiction vs Science Fact” panel/event on Saturday.  This is another item that is being streamed.  Nnedi Okorafor is listed as one of the speakers.

Galaxy Award winners announced

These were announced on Thursday evening; winners include Hugo Short Story finalist “On the Razor’s Edge” by Jiang Bo.  The “Ghost of Tsushima” art book that was in the leaked list of Hugo finalists was also a winner in the Related Work category.  Weibo links: (1), (2), (3), (4)

Links to official (?) photo galleries

Earlier today, Adaoli/SF Light Year messaged me this photo of QR codes for what I presume are official photo galleries.  I think the first one has been previously linked in a Facebook post from the official con account, but I’d not seen any other mention of them online.

As yet, I’ve not been able to get my phone to recognize the QR codes for the 21st and 22nd; if anyone else can extract the links, please post in the comments.  I’ll try to get a better photo of that poster tomorrow, in the hope that I can get a readable image.  The links for the first three days are:

  • Wednesday 18th: here
  • Thursday 19th: here
  • Friday 20th: here

The galleries are arranged by the room the photos were taken in.  As far as I can tell, the UI and room names are only in Chinese, but the translation functionality built into Chrome does a decent enough job.

Photo galleries posted by publishers, writers and fans to Weibo

Eight Light Minutes Culture had several Weibo post showing some of the panels (1), (2), (3), (4)  as did Future Affairs Administration.  The latter also posted a gallery of an area documenting Worldcon history.

Translator Tian Tian posted photos of her meeting people and being on panels.  (As an aside, I notice from her CSFDB page that she co-wrote an essay which Google Translate renders as “The 2019 Hugo Awards are here. Will the United States continue to use science fiction to resist reality?”, which I am now dying to read.)

There were quite a lot of user comments on this post about James Bryant making his way alone to his 15th Worldcon at the age of 81.

Xie Yunning has written for SF World magazine, and also has a few gallery posts on his Weibo page.

2023 Chengdu Worldcon
“In Chengdu Meet the Future” slogan

Wandering Earth team video

I’m not sure exactly what the team behind the Wandering Earth film (including director and star) are doing here, but they seemed to enjoy themselves doing it.

Queue for Cixin Liu signing

Short video on Weibo; Twitter video; Weibo photo gallery posted by Adaoli/SF Light Year.

English language videos from China Daily

China Daily posted a minute-long video to Twitter, with a couple of English native-speaker presenters, one of whom was the interviewer in the Chris M. Barkley video featured in yesterday’s Scroll.  As a guide to the quality of journalism on display, the presenter refers to the con venue as “the Space Museum”, although whoever did the Chinese subtitles evidently knows what it’s really called.  Still, it could have been worse.

Those presenters also appeared in a short comedic (?) video, and briefly in another China Daily video posted a couple of days ago.  Dave McCarty and Liza Groen-Trombi can be seen in the latter video at 0:25 chatting at what I assume is the Locus table.

(2) UGANDA BID TABLE. Micheal Kabunga, Kampcon 2028 bid chair/coordinator, sent this photo of the Kampcon booth at the Chengdu Worldcon — booth B40.

(3) MEDICAL UPDATE. Tony C. Smith of Starship Sofa told subscribers today that his surgeon has declared him cancer free.

That is a great feeling.

If folks don’t know… I had bladder cancer, only picked up by the fact I was going to the toilet more often through the night. Huge thanks to my wife Melanie for pushing me to go get it checked out. So, I’m minus a bladder, prostrate and glands and now have a bag attached to my side for the rest of my life but it’s a small price to pay.

This means SSS is rebooting her engines on Tuesday 24th November. Hope you can join me, as we travel into deep space looking for amazing SF stories.

(4) GOING VIRAL. Editors Brian Keene and Christopher Golden have announced The End Of The World As We Know It: Tales Of Stephen King’s The Stand — an original short story anthology based on the highly influential and seminal work of apocalyptic fiction and good versus evil; featuring an introduction from Stephen King himself and new fiction from a world ravaged by the virus “Captain Trips” and the minds of Josh Malerman, Paul Tremblay, Richard Chizmar, S. A. Cosby, Tananarive Due, Alma Katsu, Caroline Kepnes, Michael Koryta, Scott Ian, Joe R. Lansdale, Maurice Broaddus and Wayne Brady, Bryan Smith, Somer Canon, Hailey Piper, Jonathan Janz and many others. Thanks to Stephen King for entrusting these two constant readers with this task.

Brian Keene added this update on Facebook:

F.A.Q for THE STAND Anthology:

1. Yes, this is 100% authorized by the Big Man himself.

2. No, we are not open to submissions. Anything sent will be deleted unread.

3. No, we don’t have an official release date yet, nor info on various editions.

4. No, we can’t release the final full line-up yet.

5. Yes, *that* Wayne Brady with Maurice Broaddus.

(5) IT’S A TRAP! Sarah Rees Brennan has discovered something about NaNoWriMo.

(6) TODAY’S DAY

October 20, 1955 — J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Return of the King, the final volume of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, was published sixty eight years ago today by Allen & Unwin with Tolkien’s artwork on the cover. 

In The Letters Of J.R. R. Tolkien as edited by Humphrey Carpenter, he says he felt the chosen title revealed too much of the story, and that he would have instead preferred The War of the Ring as the title for the volume. 

The entire series was nominated for a Hugo at Tricorn in Cleveland, though the Foundation series would be the winner that year.

(7) TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS.

[Compiled by Cat Eldridge.]

  • Born October 20, 1905 — Frederic Dannay. One half with Manfred Bennington Lee of the writing team who created Ellery Queen.  ISFDB lists two Ellery Queen novels as being genre, And on the Eight Day and The Scrolls of Lysis, plus a single short story, “A Study in Terror”. The Roman Hat Mystery, the first Ellery Queen mystery is free to all Audible members. Yes, I’m going to listen to it next. (Died 1982.)
  • Born October 20, 1916 — Anton Diffring. A long career with many genre roles which I’ll note but a few of here. He was Fabian in Fahrenheit 451, Graf Udo Von Felseck of Purbridge Manor in The Masks of Deaths (a rather well-crafted Holmes film) and he played De Flores, a neo-Nazi in “Silver Nemesis”, a most excellent Seventh Doctor story. (Died 1989.)
  • Born October 20, 1913 — Barney Phillips. Though he’s best remembered as Sgt. Ed Jacobs on the Dragnet series and yes, I remember him well from it, he did do some genre work of which his most notable being was one on The Twilight Zone, in which he played a Venusian hiding out on Earth as Haley, the short-order cook in “Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?” episode. Remember you can see it on Paramount+. I just did and he’s amazing. I’m not forgetting his other three appearances there, the first being in “The Purple Testament” as Captain E. L. Gunther, next in “A Thing about Machines” as television repairman which is also a brilliant role for him, followed by the Venusian role, and in “Miniature” as Diemel. Quite a feat that many appearances!  He also appeared on The Invaders, Shazzan, Three Musketeers where he was voice of Porthos for all 18 episodes of the animated series, Get Smart! And The Funky Phantom, the latter being a clone of Scooby-Doo! that was set in the American Revolution. Really, I’m not kidding. (Died 1982.)
  • Born October 20, 1934 — Michael Dunn. He’s best remembered for his recurring role on the Wild Wild West as Dr. Miguelito Loveless attempting to defeat our heroes over and over, but he has had other appearances in genre television. He would be Alexander, a court jester, in the Trek “Plato’s Stepchildren” episode and a killer clown in the Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea’s “The Wax Men” episode. He was even in the Get Smart! pilot as Mr. Big. (Died 1973.)
  • Born October 20, 1937 — Emma Tennant. To the manor born and a lifelong supporter of Labour, ISFDB lists nine of her novels as being as SFF. As the Literary Encyclopedia says “Her work is feminist, magical and wicked, and uses the fantastic and the Gothic to interpret and explore everyday women’s roles.” I’ve not read her, so do tell me about her please if you’ve read her!  (Died 2017.)
  • Born October 20, 1946 — Thomas Wylde, 77. He’s here because he’s got two stories in the Alien Speedway franchise, Roger Zelazny’s Alien Speedway #2: Pitfall and Roger Zelazny’s Alien Speedway #3: The Web. I’ve never heard of these. Anyone read them?  He’s also got two stories in L. Sprague de Camp’s Doctor Bones series as well. 
  • Born October 20, 1955 — Magdalena Tulli, 68. Polish writer of many, many novels, a few of which are fantastic tales. Some were translated into English and are available from the usual suspects. The one work by her that I wish to single out is Tryby, published in translation as Moving Parts, as it is a metafiction in which the novel in question takes over from its author.
  • Born October 20, 1966 — Diana Rowland, 57. New Orleans writer with a fascinating job history that includes cop, a crime scene investigator, and a morgue assistant. She’s best known for her Kara Gillian series and White Trash Zombie series. Her only award is a Phoenix Award, a lifetime achievement award for a science fiction professional who has done a great deal for Southern Fandom, given by DeepSouthCon. 

(8) COMICS SECTION.

(9) EARTHLY CHILD BLOCKS UNEARTHLY CHILD. “First Doctor Who Story Excluded from BBC iPlayer in Legal Dispute” – Gizmodo has the story.

Nearly 60 years to the day that Doctor Who began airing, next month, the BBC will launch an unprecedented collection of over 800 episodes from the show’s distant and not-so-distant past on its streaming platform, iPlayer—the first of its kind from the corporation. But it turns out that the very first story that kicked all those adventures off in the first place won’t be a part of it.

Known by the title of its first episode, “An Unearthly Child,” the four-part serial was written by Anthony Coburn, at the time a staff writer for the BBC, who would go on to write three more stories for Doctor Who that never made it to air….

Decades later, Coburn’s son, Stef Coburn, has repeatedly pushed back against the BBC over what he perceives as a mistreatment of his father—especially over the conceptual ideas behind, and eventual name of, the Doctor’s time-travel machine, the TARDIS. Coburn first attempted to legally challenge the BBC’s ownership of the TARDIS in 2013, timed to the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who—alleging that the corporation lost the rights to use ideas leveraged in Coburn’s script for “An Unearthly Child” when he died in 1977, despite the corporation having held various copyrights and trademarks on the ship and its police box design for decades prior.

Now, a decade later, Coburn has taken to social media to confirm that he has rejected attempts by the BBC to license “An Unearthly Child” for streaming on its platforms, claiming that the corporation refused a proposed deal to license the story….

(10) THE MAYOR’S ON THE LINE. “Eric Adams Uses A.I. to Robocall New Yorkers in Languages He Doesn’t Speak” reports the New York Times.

The calls to New Yorkers have a familiar ring to them. They all sound like Mayor Eric Adams — only in Spanish. Or Yiddish. Or Mandarin.

Has the mayor been taking language lessons?

The answer is no, and the truth is slightly more expensive and, in the eyes of privacy experts, far more worrisome.

The mayor is using artificial intelligence to reach New Yorkers through robocalls in a number of languages. The calls encourage people to apply for jobs in city government or to attend community events like concerts.

Privacy advocates still criticized the robocalls, arguing that it was “deeply Orwellian” to try to trick New Yorkers into thinking that Mr. Adams speaks languages that he does not. The group has previously criticized the mayor’s embrace of facial recognition technology and his dispatch of a police robot to patrol the Times Square subway station.

“Yes, we need announcements in all of New Yorkers’ native languages, but the deep fakes are just a creepy vanity project,” said Albert Fox Cahn, executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project….

(11) TO HELL AND BACK. 100 Places to See After You Die: A Travel Guide to the Afterlife by Jeopardy! host and champion Ken Jennings is a thing.

Ever wonder which circles of Dante’s Inferno have the nicest accommodations? Where’s the best place to grab a bite to eat in the ancient Egyptian underworld? How does one dress like a local in the heavenly palace of Hinduism’s Lord Vishnu, or avoid the flesh-eating river serpents in the Klingon afterlife? What hidden treasures can be found off the beaten path in Hades, Valhalla, or TV’s The Good Place? Find answers to all those questions and more about the world(s) to come in this eternally entertaining book from Ken Jennings.

Written in the style of iconic bestselling travel guides, Jennings wryly outlines journeys through the afterlife, as dreamed up over 5,000 years of human history by our greatest prophets, poets, mystics, artists, and TV showrunners. This comprehensive index of 100 different afterlife destinations was meticulously researched from sources ranging from the Epic of Gilgamesh to modern-day pop songs, video games, and Simpsons episodes. Get ready for whatever post-mortal destiny awaits you, whether it’s an astral plane, a Hieronymus Bosch hellscape, or the baseball diamond from Field of Dreams.

Fascinating, funny, and irreverent, this “gung-ho travel guide to Heaven, Hell, and beyond” (The New Yorker) will help you create your very own bucket list—for after you’ve kicked the bucket.

(12) WAS IT JUSTIFIED? JustWatch’s Owen Harris asks, “Are you as astonished by the Netflix price increase as I am?” 

We all just got to know the news about the subscription price change. What we don’t know, however, is how their catalog justified such an increase. 

That’s why I thought you might want to see our data, which will show you the top 5 streaming services by catalog size over time and quality. It shows that Netflix’s price rise is not justified.

[Thanks to Chris Barkley, Cat Eldridge, SF Concatenation’s Jonathan Cowie, Lise Andreasen, Daniel Dern, Nickpheas, Mike Kennedy, Andrew Porter, Ersatz Culture, and John King Tarpinian for some of these stories. Title credit belongs to File 770 contributing editor of the day Bill.]

Kampcon 2028 Uganda Worldcon Bid Presentation to Smofcon

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Micheal Kabunga, chair of the Kampcon 2028 Worldcon bid for Uganda, reports bid representatives had funding to attend Smofcon 38 in Montreal, however, they were unable to get Canadian visas. They made a virtual presentation instead. Here is Kabunga’s report about the experience.

Statement on Kampcon 2028 bid team presentation at the Smofcon 38 convention 2022

Once again we beat all probabilities to present the Kampcon 2028 bid at a sitting Smofcon convention. On December 3 the Kampcon bid to host the Worldcon in Uganda in 2028 was virtually presented by the bid chair Kabunga Micheal at Smofcon 38 convention taking place in Montreal, Canada.

Earlier on the team had made arrangements to participate and present the bid in person at the Smofcon 38 convention in Le Center Sheraton Montreal Canada. Despite getting enough sponsorship form a local print industry Inline Print Services Uganda Limited and CWCF to facilitate the travels to Canada, our efforts were deterred by the bureaucracy of acquiring visas to other continents by African residents. After submitting full applications to the relevant authorities efforts to hear from the Canada Embassy before the Smofcon 38 convention date were futile. Thanks to the Smofcon 38 team that made virtual capabilities possible.

Travel barriers continue to exclude African residents from international activities held on other continents, hence leaving a lot of talent untapped in this part of the world. This is the core of the Kampcon bid inviting the Worldcon to the African continent.

Uganda is the pearl of Africa and hosted the first international gathering of writers and critics of African literature in Africa, “the first Africa Writers Conference” held at Makerere University in 1962. Although this was at a time as many Africa nations were breaking free from colonialism, non-Africans like Langston Hughes were welcomed, this explains how courteousness and hospitality is inherent in the Ugandan population.

We hope to host an all inclusive Worldcon at the Speke resort and Commonwealth resort Munyonyo southeast of Kampala at the shores of one of the world’s fresh water lakes with average temperatures of 27c, a five star eco resort 12kms from the city center and 37kms from Entebbe airport. No doubt this landscape will offer rich poetic inspirations.

As the bid team we have great aspirations for next year, we intend to continue to embed the home team into in person Worldcon and international convention running activities to be able to gain experience while recruiting experienced colleagues to join the Kampcon team thus plan and host one of the best Worldcons ever.

We expect to participate fully in Pemmi-con in Winnipeg Manitoba Canada, Worldcon 2023 in Chengdu, China, Smofcon 40, and in number of sci-fi, fantasy and comic cons in Africa. Please visit our website Kampcon.org to get involved. A downloadable PDF brochure will be available on our website. Connect to Sci-fi, fantasy & comicFans, Talents & Stories in Africa.

Kampcon Bid for Uganda in 2028 Releases Statement

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Micheal Kabunga, Coordinator of the Kampcon bid to hold the Worldcon in 2028 in Kampala, Uganda had this statement presented at Chicon 8 today.

Statement of intentions to bid and host the 86th Worldcon in 2028 in Kampala Uganda (KAMPCON)

It is with regrets that the KAMPCON bid team is not present in Chicago to announce its intentions to bid host the Worldcon in 2028. This is due to visa challenges to enable the team to travel to the United States of America. Yet not that this came as denial of visas, but absence of interview appointment dates at the USA Embassy in Kampala. This is not an isolated case for people traveling from Africa to many countries on different continents. This saddens the fandom community but we have to respect the rights of any sovereign state wholesomely. This affirms to our intentions to bid and host the Worldcon a global convention in a country with less travel restrictions. Thanks to the World Science Fiction Society site selection committee that has allowed us to have this statement of intentions put forward.

Hence here in on the second day of September 2022, KAMPCON a nonprofit of science fiction, comics Artists and fans in Uganda announce that we are bidding to host the 86th Worldcon in Kampala the capital city of Uganda, East of Africa in August of 2028 at the Speke Resort and Commonwealth resorts Munyonyo.

Speke Resort and Commonwealth resort Munyonyo, lie on the shores of the World’s largest fresh water lake Victoria, spread across 90 acres with 472 accommodation rooms, 6 multi cuisine restaurants, 3 grand ballrooms, 19 state of the art indoor conference rooms and three outdoor spaces which can hold up to 8000 guests within a bespoke Marquee. Overflow accommodations are available within Entebbe and Kampala.

We intend to build a robust global diverse team of volunteers and staff that is committed and confident of not only bidding and hosting not only a fabulous Worldcon in Africa but also a more inclusive global convention averting discriminations of all forms that are not a prerequisite to being a Science Fiction fandom fan. Such a Worldcon can only be hosted in Kampala Uganda the pearl of Africa, the country that hosted the first African writers conference in 1962.

We understand that bidding and hosting a Worldcon is a huge undertaking that requires a lot of capitals not only limited to finances and human resource. We call upon the Worldcon community, science fiction and fantasy fans from around the world to support the Kampcon Bid concept in a verity of forms. We will be glad to hear from you through contacts on our website: kampcon.org. Join the Kampcon team at all levels. Learn more about the bid from our website and media handles.

Lets connect to Fans, Talents & Stories in Africa.

Chicon 8 Adds Worldcon Bid Q&As

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Four cities have answered Chicon 8’s call for Future Worldcon Bid FAQs.

They are Seattle (2025), Cairo, Egypt (2026), Tel Aviv, Israel (2027), and Kampala, Uganda (2028).

Now there’s a fascinating prospect — back-to-back Worldcons in Egypt and Israel.  I’m just going to spend a moment grokking that.

Cairo — PharaohCon – is the new venue proposed by the former JeddiCon committee, which started out bidding to host the Worldcon in Saudi Arabia.

Here is Chicon 8’s list of known Worldcon bids, with links to the four questionnaires they’ve received.

2025

2026

2027

2028

2029

  • Dublin, Ireland

2031

  • Texas, USA

(*) While Chicon 8 hasn’t received a Q&A from them, the equivalent information can be found here: Los Angeles in 2026 Worldcon Bid.

Kampcon 2028 Bids for a Worldcon in Uganda

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The Kampcon 2028 bid to hold a Worldcon in Kampala, Uganda stepped up its publicity this week. Full information about the group is at their website: Kampcon 2028 – Connect to fiction & fantasy fans, talent and stories in Africa.

Micheal Kabunga, Coordinator of the bid, provided File 770 with this summary of information about their project in a Smofcon-style Q&A format.

Name of Convention:

Kampcon: The 86th World Science Fiction Convention

What dates will your convention run?

August 23-27, 2028

What is your proposed convention host city? Is your convention site in a city center location or a suburb? If a suburb, what are the transport options into the city centre? How far is the site from the city centre?

Kampala Uganda. Our site is in an area on the northern shores of Lake Victoria and part of the metropolitan area of Kampala. It located only 12 km from the centre of Kampala connected by the express highway to Entebbe Airport

What are your main facilities? How far are your hotels from your main venue?

Speke Resort Munyonyo and Munyonyo Commonwealth Resort, is a 5-star luxury resort located 12km away from the capital city Kampala. Spread across 90-acres, the lavish estate lies on the shores of Lake Victoria and stands as the definitive pinnacle to opulent living, state of the art conference centre, multi leisure eco-tourism and a popular convention destination with a multi-cuisine restaurant and an array of leisure activities. Comprising of 472 luxury Deluxe, Superior, Executive, Presidential Suites and Presidential Cottages, Speke Resort Munyonyo is surrounded by sweeping and idyllic views over well-manicured landscaped gardens. The conference centre comprises of 19 state-of-the-art indoor conference rooms, three grand ballrooms, three large outdoor spaces which can hold up to 8000 guests within our bespoke marquee. The conference centre is installed with modern conferencing equipment, air con and state of art AV equipment.

Who is your bid chair? Who is on your committee? What experience do they have in general? In running Worldcons?

  • Bid Chair:  Kabunga Micheal
  • Vice Chair: Magala Simon Peter

Committee

  • Events: Mrs. Mwanje Easter, Mugabe Moses Wanyama
  • Exhibits: Kayondo John,Segawa Steven
  • Facilities: Mudaama Juluis Butamanya
  • IT: Isaac Kiwanuka, Nsimbi John Bosco
  • Legal: Mutyaba Charles Reagan
  • Promotions: El-Shadai Wonderful, Kawooya Sharif Ssebunya
  • Publications: Namirembe Juliet Mayinja
  • Registration: Nabuguzi Jessica, Nakalema Grace
  • Timeline: Matale Brandon
  • Facilitation: Kayongo Ismael
  • Treasurer: Ndugga Lawrence
  • Volunteers: Amoit Christine
  • Chair’s Advisory Group: Dorothy Tomkins, Steven Sanyi Masaaba, Anita Nanozzi Seruwagi, Hon. Kiyaga Hillary Innocent, Andrew Walakila, Hellen Mundaka, Ceasar Senkatuka.

[In Micheal Kabunga’s email to File 770 he added: “A previous version of this news article erroneously identified a prominent Worldcon Bid veteran as someone involved with Kampcon as a committee / board member. We have since been informed this is incorrect, and while they were initially happy to offer advice they have since ceased to be involved with Kampcon in any capacity.”]

If known, who will be the chair of the convention? What experience do they have?

This will be announced when we file the bid.

Have you agreed to participate in Pass-Along Funds? Would you be willing to increase the percentage from 50% to 70% of surplus?

Yes we will participate in Pass-Along Funds. The Board of Directors will consider the increase.

What is the typical current airfare to your closest airport from world cities such as London, Boston, Dublin, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Brisbane etc.?

Based on Expedia searches done in November 2021 for August, 2022:

  • Amsterdam: from $1005
  • Boston: from $1230
  • Tokyo: from $1700
  • Chicago: from $1100
  • Dallas: from $1475
  • Dublin: from $1350
  • London: from $800
  • Los Angeles: from $1153
  • Paris: from $640
  • New York: from $1150
  • Tokyo: from $870
  • Frankfurt: from $950

Do international flights, as well as domestic, fly into your local airport? Which airlines? If not, where is the closest international airport? Are direct flights from the cities above flown into your local airport?

The main entry point for flights into Uganda is Entebbe International Airport (EBB)

  • Delta Air Lines.
  • Turkish Airlines.
  • KLM.
  • United Airlines.
  • Brussels Airlines.
  • Emirates.
  • Ethiopian Airlines.
  • Lufthansa.

What hotel(s) are being used for the convention? How many rooms, what type, do they accommodate accessibility needs, etc.?

Speke Resort Munyonyo and Munyonyo Commonwealth Resort located 12km away from the capital city Kampala , and 37km from Entebbe airport, Comprising of 472 luxury Deluxe, Superior, Executive, Presidential Suites and Presidential Cottages, 19 state-of-the-art indoor conference rooms, three grand ballrooms, three large outdoor spaces which can hold up to 8000 guests within our bespoke marquee. The conference centre is installed with modern conferencing equipment, air con and state of art AV equipment.

We intend to arrange over flow accommodation in Entebbe and Kampala both cities connected to the main venue by the express highways.

What are your hotel room rates? Do these rates include breakfast? Do they include internet access in the room? How firm are these rates? What additional taxes and fees are there?

[No information under this question.]

What does parking cost at your main hotels?

Parking is free at the main venue. Extra parking can be arranged at $3 a day

What is the distance from the nearest door of your main hotel(s) to the closest entrance of the convention site? What are the transportation options for those who prefer not to walk or who have mobility difficulties?

The hotel and convention center are one site.

Where will your large events (i.e. Hugo Ceremony and Masquerade) be held?

They will be held Speke resort Munyonyo, three large outdoor spaces which can hold up to 8000 guests within our bespoke marquee, installed with modern conferencing equipment, air con and state of art AV equipment. We also intend to arrange overflow seating to watch livestream in two of the other large ballrooms.

Please describe the restaurant scene near your site.

Within the resort lie six multi-cuisine restaurants and bars – Nyanja Terrace & Grill, Stables, Lakeside, The Viking bar, & Olympic swimming – each with its own unique setup and style and serve continental, Indian and local dishes – not withstanding an infinity swimming pool, boat cruises and parties, equestrian centre, ultra-modern gym and wellness centre.

What arrangements will be made for evening socialising and party space? Do you have a corkage waiver?

Fun places are easy to reach, some are even within walking distance. Also Parties and the fan bars will be arranged in the resort ball rooms . We do not have any agreements for corkage and forkage waiver with the hotel yet but we are continuing to negotiate with the hotel on this.

Please describe the policies / laws regarding smoking in your hotel(s), convention centre, and city.

The Country’s policy prohibit smoking in public facilities. There are designated smoking areas outside of the hotel.

Given the current pandemic, have you considered any arrangements have been made for social distancing and the health and safety of members? If you have, can you describe what your current plans are?

We have not yet made decisions on public health related policies (including, but not limited to, COVID vaccination, masking, and social distancing) because the situation is still evolving. We will have a policy discussion by 2026 guided by WHO

What type of weather can we expect during your convention? What is the average temperature during that time of year?

Average temperatures are generally between 23-27C (73.4- 86F) Precipitation: 10%, Humidity: 52%,

Wind: 18 km/h

What are some of the main tourist attractions of your city?

Kampala is the largest city and capital of Uganda with over a population of 1.2 million (Census 2002). Kampala was founded on seven hills; Kasubi Hill which is where the Kasubi Tombs are found, Mengo Hill where the present Lubiri (Kabaka’s Palace) is and the Headquarters of the Buganda Court of Justice and of the Lukiiko, Bugand’s Parliament(Bulange), Kibuli Hill, which is home to the Kibuli Mosque, Namirembe Hill, home to the Namirembe Anglican Cathedral, Lubaga Hill, where the Rubaga Catholic Cathedral is, and was the headquarters of the White Fathers, Nsambya Hill, was the headquarters of the Mill Hill Mission. It now houses Nsambya Hospital and Kampala Hill, (also known as Old Kampala), meaning “the hill of the impala” and whence Kampala got its name, is where the ruins of Lugard’s Fort were. The city spread to other hills like Nakasero Hill, Mbuya hill making this a beautiful city

The National Museum is 3km along Kira road from the heart of Kampala city. It is the oldest in East Africa. The museum was established in 1908 with assortments of item/objects from the different traditional chiefs. The Museum holds items on Uganda’s history, natural historical samples, musical instruments and archeological artifacts.

These tombs are found on Kasubi Hill and are 5 km on Kampala Hoima Road. This place is the burial ground for kings from the Buganda Kingdom. There are four previous kings buried in this place and these are: Mutesa I ruled from1856 to 1884, Chwa Daudi ruled from 1899 to 1939, Mutesa II ruled from 1939 to 1966 and Mwanga who ruled from 1884 to 1897. The place has a main burial tomb which is the biggest in Africa. The other smaller adjacent tombs are used as resident places for the care takers and houses for some of the kingdom’s royal regalia.

The Bahai Temple is situated on Kikaya Hill just 7 km from the heart of the city on Kampala Gayaza road. This is the only temple of the Bahai faith in the whole of Africa.

The Uganda Martyrs Shrine Namugongo located along Kampala-Jinja highway and is one of the most distinguished shrines in Uganda and an important site among Christians in Africa. It is believed that, at Namugongo, 32 young Christian converts (Including Anglican & Catholics) were martyred on refusal to denounce Christianity, which was spreading like wildfire in Uganda right from 1870. This angered King (Kabaka) Mwanga II, prompting his to order the execution of the 32 men on Thursday 3rd June 1886.

Rubaga Cathedral is located on Rubaga hill, about 5 Kilometers north-west of the City center. The Cathedral is the seat of the Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church in Uganda. Rubaga hill was formerly a palace of Mutesa I but was donated to Bishop Hirth by his successor Mwanga in 1889. The Cathedral was opened on 31st October 1925.

Kibuli Mosque is one of the biggest mosques of Uganda with a beautiful view over Kampala; It’s located on Kubuli hill and regarded as the home for Muslims. A Buganda royal and colonial collaborator Prince Badru Kakungulu owned most of the hill. He donated the land atop the 3,973 feet hill where the Kibuli mosque stands today.

Gaddafi National Mosque also known as Kampala Mosque or National Mosque is a mosque situated at Kampala Hill in the Old Kampala area of Kampala, Uganda. Completed in 2006, it seats up to 5,000 worshipers and can hold another 1,100 in the gallery, while the terrace will cater for another 3,500. Colonel Muammar Gaddafi of Libya built the mosque as a gift to Uganda. But mostly to the Muslim’s in Uganda

Independence Monument is Located along Speke road in Kampala, just opposite Standard Chartered bank, the construction of the Independence Monument was funded by the British Colonial government in the days leading up to Uganda’s first independence cerebrations on October 9, 1962. Depicting a man unwrapping his child and raising it to touch the sky, the towering sculpture signifies a new born country let free from the bondages of colonization. This monument was made from cement, sand, iron bars and wire mesh. It is the work of Gregory Maloba, a Luhya sculptor from Kenya who studied and taught art at Makerere University from 1939- 1965.

Lubiri Palace or Mengo Palace is the royal compound of the Kabaka or king of Buganda, located in Mengo, a monarchy that dates back almost 800 years. Mengo has been the main palace since it was first constructed in 1885 by Danieri Mwanga II Mukasa, the 31st Kabaka of Buganda. Measuring 4 square miles (10 km2) in size, the palace is ringed by a six-foot brick fence and has a small airstrip within its walls. They are the official residence of the Buganda

The Kabaka’s lake is the biggest manmade lake in the country. It is found in township of Ndeeba close to 5 km from the city center in the west, on Kampala Masaka Road. It was under the orders of the previous king Mwanga of Buganda Kingdom that the lake was dug. The 52 distinct Buganda clans consider it sacred and the clan leaders mobilize their people to have it cleaned. Around the lake have been constructed several cottages to offer accommodation. Activities on the lake are: boat racing, catering services and pleasure trips. https://ugandatourismcenter.com/ [Note: Domain expired on August 2, 2022.]

Are you planning to have any membership discounts for certain demographic groups, such as young adults, military, or seniors?

We shall have specific rates for children, teenagers, and young adults and people living in Africa. We will also have a First Attending Worldcon rate, which is for anyone who has not attended a Worldcon in person.

What is your vision for your Worldcon? How do you plan to make it happen?

From the Chair, in no particular order:

  • I want staff and attendees to look forward to more worldcons in Africa.
  • We want to make Worldcon a global convention in nature and practice rotating around all continents,
  • We intend to connect friction fans, talents and stories in African to the rest of the world to foster more collaborations between Africa and rest of the world.
  • To showcase African friction fantasy and comic products, talents and stories on a global platform

What is a notable aspect of your local fan culture and how do you plan to incorporate it into your Worldcon?

Africa has a rich storytelling heritage and a wealth of folktales that have been passed down for generations. The African continent is home to a tradition of creation myths that on closer inspection bear a striking resemblance to speculative science fiction. The Dogon people of Mali believe they are the descendants of an extra-terrestrial race from the Sirius B star system, and the Zulu in South Africa trace their name and origin story to somewhere just beyond the heavens. In Uganda the Buganda kingdom that has continuity since the 14th century traces its origins from a supernatural being “Kintu” who came from another world. Some of such stories have informed great fiction works that have won major honors in the science fiction genre. Writers who connect with African culture in their works have had no limits to fresh new stories, like Nnedi Okorafor and Tade Thompson have, between them, won the field’s highest honors, including the Hugo.

However many speculative fiction works, talents, and stories by Africans living in Africa still struggle to find a place on global platforms for fans and consumers to admire because of a number of barriers including but not limited to proximity and technological differences which leaves a lot of untapped talent and virgin stories on the continent that would be of great value to the science fiction and fantasy industry. This will also encourage diversity and inclusion in the media space.

Africa is not only hub for talent and stories that can inform production of great works of science fiction and fantasy, but also commands a strong fan base for the genre. This has been proved by the recent explosion of the global media industries and streamers inking collaboration deals with African sci-fi producers in a bid to grow their markets and have succeeded.

Kampala hosted the first international gathering of writers and critics of African literature in Africa “the First African Writers Conference” held at Makerere University in 1962 attracting participants such as Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, and Langston Hughes.

Although held right as many African nations were breaking free from colonialism, non-Africans like Hughes were welcomed as “observers” This conference cemented the concept of an “African” writer. It is also where the young Ngũgĩ slipped the manuscript of what would become his first published novel, Weep Not, Child, to Achebe who, duly impressed, passed it along to his editors at Heinemann in London. All of this pioneering activity in Kampala laid fertile ground for the emergence of the already powerful African writerly tradition. No doubt the Kampala landscape offers rich poetic inspirations.

Do you have a code of conduct? If so, is it available online and if so, where?

Efforts are underway to develop a code of conduct that will guide our activities during the bidding and hosting of the convention. It will be available on our website as soon as it’s finalised. www.kampcon.org

What do diversity and inclusion mean to you?

Diversity is all about appreciating, respecting involving and welcoming people from a range of different social and ethnic backgrounds and of different genders, sexual orientations, age, disability, education, and religion. Inclusion is a practice of providing equal access to opportunities and resources for people who might otherwise be excluded or marginalized, such as those who have physical or mental disabilities and members of other minority groups.

How are you working towards your goals in these areas? What would concrete achievements look like in these areas?

We are working on our Anti racism policy which will be published on our website: www.kampcon.org

What changes or challenges do you expect the current pandemic to present?

Depending on the situation by 2028, we will remain flexible in our planning to make sure that we protect the health and safety of our members as required by the state of the world we are faced with then.

Have you planned for a virtual component to your convention?

There will be a Virtual component at Kampcon. We are still working out the details of what this will include, and determine the costs for members to attend virtually.

Your members vote for Hugo Finalists who are then excited and wish to play a full part in the convention programme. How do you plan to facilitate the Finalists input as recognised by your community?

We will develop an experienced team which will develop processes to ensure that we do not unintentionally leave finalists off of the program and make reasonable efforts to accommodate them.

File 770 has asked the committee what event-running experience they have, and hopes to receive an answer soon.

Pixel Scroll 8/11/22 Pixel Scroller, Qu’est-Ce Que C’est?

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(1) UGANDA BID FOR 2028 WORLDCON. Starburst Magazine’s Ed Fortune reports “Uganda To Bid For Worldcon 2028”.

…If successful, it will be the first time in the convention has ever been to the continent of Africa. The bid chair is Kabunga Micheal, an author, industrial artist and science-fiction fan. Other members of the bid committee includes the film director Anita Nannozi Sseruwagi.

The aim of the bid is to empower local artists and increase international awareness of Uganda’s contribution to world science fiction. The bid has not announced an exact location as yet, as it is very early days. Kampala has a plethora of possible sites….

The bid website is here: Kampcon 2028.

(2) DRAGON AWARDS 2022 BALLOT. The 2022 Dragon Awards Ballot was posted today. The public is invited to vote on the winners. You may register to receive a ballot until 11:59 (EDT) on the Friday of Dragon Con (September 2). Here’s the link — Dragon Con 2022 – Fan Awards Signup Form.

(3) DOWNTIME. Daily Science Fiction! told followers today they are going on hiatus. However, the site is scheduled to present stories into December.

Hi. Many of you have noted that we’ve been closed for story submissions for a bit. Many more of you (our most loyal supporters–Thank you!) noticed that today we just canceled automatic renewals for the DSF membership. This is because we have decided that, as we pass our 12th anniversary, we will go on a hiatus, either temporary or somewhat longer. The good news is that we have stories accepted and scheduled to present to you through the middle of December.

Thank you for reading and for your support through more than a dozen years of fun and stories.

(4) AWARD JUDGES. The Aurealis Awards 2022 Judging Panels have been announced – see the names at the link.

We are very pleased to welcome our 2022 Aurealis Awards judging panels. We had a massive response to our call out this year, and are delighted to welcome both returning and new panelists to the team. All our judges are volunteers and we are extremely grateful for their hard work and professionalism throughout the process. The Awards would not exist without them!

(5) THE WAY HOME WAS THROUGH THE COURTHOUSE. “Peter Beagle, Author of ‘The Last Unicorn,’ Is Back In Control” says the New York Times in a profile.

…After a lifetime writing whimsical stories and struggling to cover his bills, Beagle lost control of his intellectual property to his manager, Connor Freff Cochran, who also controlled his finances, and later claimed to friends and family that Beagle had dementia.

Now, after a lengthy court battle in which he accused Cochran of financial elder abuse, Beagle has the rights to his work back, and is making the most of it: A new edition of “The Last Unicorn” came out in July, a sequel called “The Way Home” is scheduled for publication next year, and he has another novel out on submission to his publisher.

“A line I wrote in ‘The Last Unicorn’ when I was in my early twenties,” Beagle said, turned out to be as prescient, for better and worse, as anything he’s written since. “‘Mortals, as you may have noticed, take what they can get.’”

Beagle, 83, has a mischievous sense of humor, and when he speaks, it sounds like he’s reading a play on a 1940s radio program, his full, rumbling voice spooling his stories and delivering the punchline just so.

“I know I’m a good story teller,” he said, “which makes my life sound more interesting than it actually is.”…

(6) RESISTANCE THROUGH CROWDFUNDING. “Residents raise almost $100,000 for Michigan library defunded over LGBTQ books” according to NBC News.

Residents of a small town in western Michigan helped raise almost $100,000 for their local library after it was defunded over the inclusion of LGBTQ books.   

Primary voters in Jamestown Township, a community 20 miles east of Lake Michigan, rejected a proposal last week to renew tax funds to support the Patmos Library in nearby Hudsonville that serves Jamestown and the surrounding area. The rejection, which passed with nearly two-thirds voter approval, eliminates 84% of the public library’s annual budget, or $245,000….

Two days after the vote, Jesse Dillman, a Jamestown resident and father of two, launched an online fundraiser to help raise the $245,000 to keep the library open. 

“I am very passionate about this, and I have people that are behind me to do this,” he said in an interview. “I think I have to do it now, because the iron is hot. If this is going to happen, it’s going to happen now.” 

As of Thursday morning, approximately 1,800 people had contributed more than $90,000. While many of those donors are local, people from as far away as Australia have contributed, Dillman said.

(7) DOES THE ORVILLE HAVE A FUTURE? “Seth MacFarlane has ‘no idea’ if The Orville will return” reports Winter Is Coming.

Last week marked the season 3 finale of The Orville, and what a run it has been. After two seasons on FX, the show made the jump to Hulu for its third season, where it flourished. Subtitled The Orville: New Horizons, season 3 of the comedic science fiction drama was not only better than its previous seasons by leagues, but also one of the most polished shows on TV.

But as of this writing, the fate of The Orville is still up in the air. Creator, executive producer, and star Seth MacFarlane (Captain Ed Mercer) spoke at length with Syfy Wire and gave a bit more insight into the state of the show and his approach to crafting its third season finale, which was intentionally designed to be satisfying for fans in case The Orville wasn’t renewed for season 4. The title — “Future Unknown” — is a nod to this. “You do want to continue to expand the world and, in a perfect scenario, tease what’s to come. But we just don’t know what’s to come. We just haven’t gotten a firm answer,” MacFarlane said.

(8) MEDIA BIRTHDAY.  

1989 – [By Cat Eldridge.] Yes, I’m a big fan of Bradbury with my favorite works being The Illustrated Man and Something This Way Wicked Comes (now that’s horror done properly), but I really do like much of his short fiction as well. (Yes, I know The Illustrated Man is really short stories.) And that is how we come to Ray Bradbury Theatre’s  “A Sound of Thunder” which aired for the first time thirty-three years ago on this evening.

It was adapted, of course, from “A Sound of Thunder” which was first published in Collier’s in the June 28, 1952, issue and published again in The Golden Apples of the Sun collection by Doubleday a year later. The Golden Apples of the Sun collection is available from the usual suspects. Interestingly Hard Case has Killer, Come Back to Me: The Crime Stories of Ray Bradbury which they released just two years ago. Ymmmm!

SPOILER ALERT (JUST IN CASE SOMEONE HAS READ OR SEEN IT) 

Two time travelers paid a hefty fee to Time Safari Inc. to go hunting dinosaurs who would’ve died in a few minutes. This means they don’t alter history at all. But they make a horrible, time stream altering mistake that they were told never, ever to make: don’t get off the marked path. One does and kills a a butterfly and changes the stream forever.  

Is Bradbury the origin of the oft told meteorological story about a butterfly flapping it’s wings in China altering weather conditions around the world?  

END SPOILER ALERT (WHO OF YOU COULD NOT HAVE SEEN IT?)

Unlike the latter film with Ben Kingsley which of course was padded out and critics like Roger Ebert saying that it was really bad and yes it gets a eighteen percent rating among audience reviewers at Rotten Tomatoes, I thought it did a more than just credible job of presenting Bradbury’s story. Given the low budget nature of the series, it carried off the SFX rather well. But then I thought the entire series was quite excellent.

The major streaming services carrying it are Amazon and Peacock. 

(9) TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS.

[Compiled by Cat Eldridge.]

  • Born August 11, 1902 — Jack Binder. Thrilling Wonder Stories in their October 1938 issue published his article, “If Science Reached the Earth’s Core”, where the first known use of the phrase “zero gravity” is known to happen. In the early Forties, he was an artist for Fawcett, Lev Gleason, and Timely Comics. During these years, he created the Golden Age character Daredevil which is not the Marvel Daredevil though he did work with Stan Lee where they co-created The Destroyer at Timely Comics. (Died 1986.)
  • Born August 11, 1932 — Chester Anderson. New Wave novelist and poet. He wrote The Butterfly Kid, the first part of the Greenwich Village trilogy. It was nominated for a Hugo Award at BayCon. He wrote one other genre novel, Ten Years to Doomsday, with Michael Kurland. Not even genre adjacent, but he edited a few issues Crawdaddy! in the late Sixties. (Died 1991.)
  • Born August 11, 1944 — Ian McDiarmid, 78. Star Wars film franchise including an uncredited appearance in The Empire Strikes Back, other genre appearances in Dragonslayer, The Awakening (a mummies horror film with Charlton Heston), The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles series and reprising his SW role in the animated Star Wars Rebels series.
  • Born August 11, 1959 — Alan Rodgers. Author of Bone Music, a truly great take on the Robert Johnson myth. His “The Boy Who Came Back From the Dead” novelette won the Bram Stoker Award for Best Long Fiction, and was nominated for a World Fantasy Award, and he was editor of Night Cry in the mid Eighties. Bone Music is his only work available from the usual suspects. (Died 2014.)
  • Born August 11, 1961 — Susan M. Garrett. She was a well-known and much liked writer, editor and publisher in many fandoms, but especially the Forever Knight community. (She also was active in Doctor Who and The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne fandoms. And no, I had no idea that the latter had a fandom given its short longevity.) She is perhaps best known for being invited to write a Forever Knight tie-in novel, Intimations of Mortality. (Died 2010.)
  • Born August 11, 1962 — Brian Azzarello, 60. Comic book writer. First known crime series 100 Bullets, published by Vertigo. Writer of DC’s relaunched Wonder Woman series several years back. One of the writers in the Before Watchmen limited series. Co-writer with Frank Miller of the sequel to The Dark Knight Returns, The Dark Knight III: The Master Race.
  • Born August 11, 1964 — Jim Lee, 58. Korean American comic-book artist, writer, editor, and publisher. Co-founder of Images Comics, now senior management at DC though he started at Marvel. Known for work on Uncanny X-Men, Punisher, Batman, Superman and WildC.A.T.s.
  • Born August 11, 1965 — Viola Davis, 57. Amanda ‘The Wall’ Waller in the first Suicide Squad film, and back again in The Suicide Squad; also appeared in The Andromeda Strain miniseries (2008), Threshold and Century City series, and the Solaris film.
  • Born August 11, 1976 — Will Friedle, 46. Largely known as an actor with extensive genre voice work: Terry McGinnis aka the new Batman in Batman Beyond which Warner Animation now calls Batman of the Future, Peter Quill in The Guardians Of The Galaxy, and Kid Flash in Teen Titans Go! to name but a few of his roles.

(10) COMICS SECTION.

  • The Far Side shows where prelates go when they’re not looking at the Sistine Ceiling.

(11) SUPERHERO CREATOR. The BBC’s Outlook program reports on an artist who is “Creating a Puerto Rican superhero to save the world” at BBC Sounds.

Puerto Rican Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez grew up in the Bronx, New York. By the time he was 18 years old he’d lived in 22 different places, but one constant in his life was his love of comic books. Edgardo was a natural artist and storyteller and even at primary school he would write stories for the other children. He is now a highly successful graphic novelist and has created a series based on a female Puerto Rican superhero called La Borinqueña. Her mission? To fight for social justice and save the world from climate change. 

(12) CENSORING AN ANTI-CENSORSHIP ICON. In the summer “Banned Books” issue of Reason​, “’Fahrenheit 451′ Was Once Sanitized for Public Schools” discusses the school edition of Fahrenheit 451.

…Starting in 1967, publisher Ballantine Books produced a second version of the text for consumption by high schoolers, omitting supposedly offensive curse words and a reference to a drunk. This version became known as the “Bal-Hi” edition, for Ballantine High School, and for several years it was available concurrently with the original text. In 1973, Ballantine began publishing only the Bal-Hi version, and it continued doing so until Bradbury, who had not consented to the publication change, complained in 1979….

(13) ESCAPE THE PODIUM. Ted Gioia shares “My 10 Rules for Public Speaking” and most of them make a lot of sense. This one is not quite as intuitive to me as the others, so I’m repeating it here to help keep it in mind:

(4) Remember That the Audience Always Wants You to Succeed:

I’ve never met anyone who went to an event hoping to be bored and disappointed. The audience really, really wants you to succeed, and if you give them even the slightest chance at having a good time, they will cheer you on. 

Just understanding this takes away much of the fear of public speaking. Even better, this desire for success is contagious—and in both directions: When you radiate enjoyment, the audience feels it too. When the audience is having a good time, you do as well.

That’s a virtuous circle, and you want you get into it as soon as possible. You should try to find a way of signalling within your first minute in front of an audience that everyone will have a good time today. Often you will even see the relief on the faces of people in the crowd in that moment when they realize that your talk won’t be a kind of punishment or chastisement. They will be grateful—and you will be too.

(14) S. KOREAN MOON PROBE. [Item by SF Concatenation’s Jonathan Cowie.] Reported in this week’s Nature journal, by this time next week, South Korea’s first lunar probe will be on its way to the Moon. The probe, Danuri, which means ‘enjoy the Moon’, should arrive at its destination by mid-December and orbit for a year…  Scientists in South Korea say the mission will pave the way for the country’s more ambitious plans to land on the Moon by 2030. Success for Danuri will secure future planetary exploration. “South Korea set for first Moon mission”.

(15) TIME TO CONSIDER HUMAN EXTINCTION. The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) has posted “Climate Endgame: Exploring catastrophic climate change scenarios”.

Scientists are usually rather measured in their proclamations even if they do think outside of the box. However, when it comes to climate change, the scientific community has not considered the ultra-extreme situation, a possible extinction level threat.

Now, https://www.pnas.org/doi/epdf/10.1073/pnas.2108146119  research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS) calls for the need to explore catastrophic climate scenarios. The proposed agenda covers four main questions: 1) What is the potential for climate change to drive mass extinction events? 2) What are the mechanisms that could result in human mass mortality and morbidity? 3)What are human societies’ vulnerabilities to climate-triggered risk cascades, such as from conflict, political instability, and systemic financial risk? 4) How can these multiple strands of evidence—together with other global dangers—be usefully synthesized into an“integrated catastrophe assessment”? It is time for the scientific community to grapple with the challenge of better understanding catastrophic climate change…

(16) MORE MORTAL. Warner Bros. dropped the trailer for Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind.

(17) VIDEO OF THE DAY. [Item by Andrew Porter.] “Goldilocks (Sci-Fi Short Film by Blake Simon)” on YouTube.

[Thanks to Chris Barkley, Michael Toman, Cat Eldridge, Bill, Andrew (not Werdna), SF Concatenation’s Jonathan Cowie, Mike Kennedy, Martin Morse Wooster, JJ, John King Tarpinian, and Andrew Porter for some of these stories. Title credit belongs to File 770 contributing editor of the day John A Arkansawyer.]