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Posted on March 10, 2025 by Mike Glyer

(1) BULWER-LYTTON RIDES OFF INTO THE SUNSET. Last week Scott Rice told fans of The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest, “Au Revoir, Noble Bulweriers!”

It is with deep regrets that I announce the conclusion of the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest. Being a year and a half older than Joseph Biden, I find the BLFC becoming increasingly burdensome and would like to put myself out to pasture while I still have some vim and vigor!

When I initiated the competition in 1983, inviting entrants to submit bad opening sentences to imaginary novels, I never dreamed that we would receive thousands of entrants from all over the U.S. and the globe, or that the contest would survive for over four decades.

I am especially grateful to our entrants for keeping the contest alive and to our Panel of Undistinguished Judges who dutifully selected each year’s “winners.” And, of course, I would like to thank my daughter, EJ, who has been indispensable the last several years of the contest. It’s been 42 good years but, alas, all good things must come to an end. Rest assured we’re keeping the BLFC spirit alive by maintaining our archive for posterity so that generations and generations hence may witness your greatness!

(2) ERRATA REDUX. The UK’s SF Gateway bookselling site is having a little trouble identifying author “William Rotsler”, co-author with Gregory Benford of Shiva Descending. As Andrew Porter pointed out to them, this is a photo of Robert Silverberg.

It isn’t the first time something like this has happened to Rotsler. When he was the 1973 Worldcon Fan Guest of Honour, the designer of TorCon 2’s program book erroneously ran a photo of John Schoenherr instead of Rotsler. (Coincidentally, Robert Silverberg was the author of that 1973 bio!)

(3) DROPPING FAST. The Guardian reports “US added to international watchlist for rapid decline in civic freedoms”.

The United States has been added to the Civicus Monitor Watchlist, which identifies countries that the global civil rights watchdog believes are currently experiencing a rapid decline in civic freedoms.

Civicus, an international non-profit organization dedicated to “strengthening citizen action and civil society around the world”, announced the inclusion of the US on the non-profit’s first watchlist of 2025 on Monday, alongside the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Italy, Pakistan and Serbia….

(4) NEW DAVE HOOK POSTS. A Deep Look by Dave Hook praises “’Deep Dream: Science Fiction Exploring the Future of Art’, Indrapramit Das editor, 2024 The MIT Press”.

The Short: I recently read Deep Dream: Science Fiction Exploring the Future of Art, Indrapramit Das editor, 2024 The MIT Press. My favorites of the ten short stories were “Encore“, by Wole Talabi, “The Quietude” by Lavie Tidhar, and “Autumn’s Red Bird“, by Aliette de Bodard. The essays and art were great also. My overall rating was 3.88/5, or “Great”. Strongly recommended.

And for an encore, Dave Hook shares “My 2025 Hugo Nominations”. His list includes —

Best Related Work nomination:

I nominated “The 2023 Hugo Awards: A Report on Censorship and Exclusion“, Chris Barkley & Jason Sanford Author/Editors, File770/Genre Grapevine, February 14, 2024.

(5) FUTURE TENSE. February’s Future Tense Fiction story is “Mothering the Bay,” by Deji Bryce Olukotun—a story about AI, misinformation, and parenting, set on the BART public transit system in California’s Bay Area.

The response essay, “The Awareness Imperative”, is by educational technologist Babe Liberman.

(6) PAGING CAPTAIN PIKE’S BARBER. “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 Character Posters” – there are 13 images in the gallery. The Captain looks like he stuck his head out a porthole while the ship was at Warp 3. I rather like the photo of Scotty, though.

Paramount+ reveals new character art for Season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds!

The new character art features Anson Mount as Captain Christopher Pike, Rebecca Romijn as First Officer Una Chin-Riley, Ethan Peck as Spock, Jess Bush as Nurse Christine Chapel, Christina Chong as La’An Noonien-Singh, Celia Rose Gooding as Nyota Uhura, Melissa Navia as Erica Ortegas and Babs Olusanmokun as Dr. M’Benga.

In addition to the main cast, we have recurring guests Paul Wesley as James T. Kirk, Melanie Scrofano as Marie Batel, Martin Quinn as Montgomery ‘Scotty’ Scott, and Carol Kane as Pelia.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is based on the years Captain Christopher Pike manned the helm of the U.S.S. Enterprise.

(7) KAZUO ISHIGURO Q&A. [Item by Steven French.] With a 20th Anniversary special edition of his science fiction novel Never Let Me Go about to be published, Nobel prize winner Kazuo Ishiguro is interviewed by the Guardian and discussed his openness to speculative fiction, his own opinion of his prose style and the dangers posed by the increasing use of AI: “’AI will become very good at manipulating emotions’: Kazuo Ishiguro on the future of fiction and truth”.

Never Let Me Go had a long gestation period, as Ishiguro explains in his introduction to a new edition; for many years, it existed merely as thoughts and notes about a group of students whose lifespan – perhaps as the result of a nuclear accident – was markedly different from their peers. The breakthrough came via a combination of external factors and timing: societal interest in the potential benefits and dangers of cloning, at its most headline-grabbing in the shape of Dolly the sheep; and a shift in writing and publishing that made a place in so-called literary novels for the techniques and practices of speculative fiction.

“I gave myself permission to use what traditionally might have been called genre tropes,” Ishiguro explains. “And that wasn’t because I was being terribly brave or anything. I think the climate around me changed; the next generation of writers, people about 15 years younger than me, didn’t see anything weird about it, at least the people I happened to become friends with, David Mitchell or Alex Garland. They were taking their cues from all kinds of places and I really liked their work.”

(8) SIMON FISHER-BECKER (1961-2025). “Simon Fisher-Becker dead: ‘Harry Potter,’ ‘Doctor Who’ actor was 63” reports USA Today.

Simon Fisher-Becker, a British actor known for his roles on “Doctor Who” and in the first “Harry Potter” film, has died. He was 63.

Fisher-Becker’s death was confirmed by his agency in a statement issued to USA TODAY on Monday.

“Today, I lost not only a client Simon Fisher-Becker, but a close personal friend of 15 years standing,” the statement said. “I shall never forget the phone call I made to him when he was offered the part of ‘Dorium’ in Dr Who. He had been a fan of the show since he was a child.

“Simon was also a writer, a raconteur and a great public speaker. He helped me out enormously and was always kind, gracious and interested in everyone. My condolences go to his husband Tony, his brother, nieces and nephews and his legion of fans.”

Fisher-Becker portrayed the Fat Friar, a ghost from Hufflepuff, who appeared in 2001’s “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” In the film, he comes through the floor of the Hogwarts dining hall as several ghosts arrive, including Nearly Headless Nick.

The actor also starred as Dorium Maldovar on the British sci-fi series “Doctor Who.” He played the role in the fifth and sixth seasons of the modern reboot opposite Matt Smith’s Doctor….

(9) MEMORY LANE.

[Written by Cat Eldridge.]

Frederik Pohl’s Gateway wins the Hugo for Best Novel (1978)

Forty-six years ago at IguanaCon II, where Tim Kyger was the Chair, Harlan Ellison was the pro guest, and Bill Bowers was the fan guest, Frederik Pohl’s Gateway wins the Hugo for Best Novel.

The other nominated works for that year were The Forbidden Tower by Marion Zimmer Bradley, Lucifer’s Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, Time Storm by Gordon R. Dickson and Dying of the Light by George R. R. Martin.

It was serialized in the November and December 1976 issues of Galaxy prior to its hardcover publication by St. Martin’s Press. A short concluding chapter, cut before publication, was later published in the August 1977 issue of Galaxy.

It would win damn near every other major Award there was as it garnered the John Campbell Memorial for Best Science Fiction Novel, the Locus Award for Best First Novel, the Nebula Award for Novel and even the Prix Pollo Award for Best Science Fiction Novel published in France. It was nominated for but did not win the Australian Ditmar Award.

It’s the opening novel in the Heechee saga, with four sequels that followed. It is a most exceptional series. I’ve read I think all of them.

I’m chuffed that Pohl was voted a Hugo for Best Fan Writer at Aussiecon 4. Who can tell what works got him this honor?

Gateway of course is available at the usual suspects.

If I’m remembering right, there was talk of a film for awhile.

(10) COMICS SECTION.

Bizarro has a break-up line.
Brewster Rockit is too ready for a close-up.
The Argyle Sweater gets ready to compress.
Yaffe provides a start.

(11) THE NEXT DISRUPTION. The Guardian asks, “Are AI-generated video games really on the horizon?”

Another month, another revolutionary generative AI development that will apparently fundamentally alter how an entire industry operates. This time tech giant Microsoft has created a “gameplay ideation” tool, Muse, which it calls the world’s first Wham, or World and Human Action Model. Microsoft claims that Muse will speed up the lengthy and expensive process of game development by allowing designers to play around with AI-generated gameplay videos to see what works.

Muse is trained on gameplay data from UK studio Ninja Theory’s game Bleeding Edge. It has absorbed tens of thousands of hours of people’s real gameplay, both footage and controller inputs. It can now generate accurate-looking mock gameplay clips for that game, which can be edited and adapted with prompts.

All well and good, but in an announcement video for Muse, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer caused confusion when he said that it could be invaluable for the preservation of classic games: AI models, he implied, could “learn” those games and emulate them on modern hardware. It’s not clear how this would be possible. Further muddying the waters, Microsoft’s overall CEO Satya Nadella then implied in a podcast interview that Muse was the first step in creating a “catalogue” of AI-generated games.

But Muse, as it stands, can’t create a game – it can only create made-up footage of a game. So just what is this new gaming AI tool? A swish addition to game developers’ tool belts? Or the first step towards an era of AI-generated gaming detritus?…

(12) CLIPPING SERVICE. Filer Lise Andreasen says, “I made a joke!”

(13) MIND INTO MATTER. “Vesuvius Turned a Roman Man’s Brain Into Glass. Now, Scientists Reveal How the Extremely Rare Preservation Happened” in Smithsonian Magazine.

In 79 C.E., Mount Vesuvius erupted, burying the nearby ancient Roman city of Pompeii and the smaller town of Herculaneum under deadly layers of volcanic ash, pumice and pyroclastic flows. But the disaster that demolished the two settlements also immortalized them, preserving everything from the shape of victims’ bodies to frescoes in private villas and library scrolls.

Archaeologists even discovered the remains of a young man whose brain and parts of his spinal cord had turned into glass. Scientists had never seen a glassy soft tissue in nature before—and no one has found anything like it since….

…The recent study, however, supports the 2020 research claiming that the remains are indeed a brain—they found preserved neurons and axons, as well as proteins known to be common in brain tissue. They conclude the vitrification was caused by an ash cloud that arrived in Herculaneum before the pyroclastic flows from the volcano….

…But there’s a catch: “Conditions must have been very, very specific, because the organic tissue must have experienced a heating fast enough not to entirely destroy it (which is instead the most common occurrence) and then fast-cool to turn into glass,” Giordano says to Popular Science’s Andrew Paul.

To achieve those specific circumstances, the skull and spine acted as protective layers, shielding the soft tissue within from a bit of the heat. “The glass that formed as a result of such a unique process attained a perfect state of preservation of the brain and its microstructures,” the team writes in the paper.

Giordano tells Live Science’s Tom Metcalfe that they found charcoal fragments in Herculaneum that supported their idea. These fragments “experienced multiple [heating] events, and the highest temperatures were associated with the early, super-hot ash cloud.”

Benjamin Andrews, a volcanologist at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History who was not involved in the study, tells Science’s Collin Blinder that the team’s findings are “remarkable.”

“There’s a huge story, a huge wealth of information, contained in these little particles,” he adds.

Not everyone agrees with the new conclusions, however. For example, Alexandra Morton-Hayward, a forensic anthropologist at the University of Oxford in England who was also not involved in the research, is not convinced that the glassy material is indeed parts of the man’s brain. She maintains that soft tissue vitrification is “incredibly unlikely,” per CNN….

(14) LUNAR ECLIPSE VISIBLE FROM THE AMERICAS. Coming March 14: “Total lunar eclipse to mesmerise skywatchers in March” reports the Guardian.

This week, the moon experiences a total lunar eclipse, which although not as spectacular as a total solar eclipse is still a beautiful celestial sight to behold.

A total lunar eclipse occurs when the full moon passes directly behind Earth, through our planet’s shadow. Skywatchers first see the shadow of Earth creeping across the face of the moon. This is known as the partial phase.

Then, during the total phase, when the moon is engulfed by Earth’s shadow, the lunar surface turns a deep red colour. In the last phase, also known as a partial phase, Earth’s shadow slips off the lunar surface and all returns to normal.

It is a leisurely process, taking more than three hours to complete. On 14 March, the partial eclipse begins at 0509 GMT. The total phase begins at 0658 GMT before returning to a partial phase at 0731 GMT. This final partial phase then ends at 0847 GMT.

Unfortunately for European and African viewers, only the initial partial phase will be visible. Observers in North and South America, however, will be treated to the whole thing. Parts of Asia and Australia will then catch the final partial phase.

(15) FILK HISTORY. “Margaret Middleton – A Shaper of Modern Filk (Part 2 of 2), interviewed by Edie Stern” has been posted by FANAC.org on YouTube.

Title: Margaret Middleton – A Shaper of Modern Filk (Part 2 of 2), interviewed by Edie Stern

Description: FANAC History Zoom: February 2025: Named to the Filk Hall of Fame in 1996, and a long time officer of the Filk Foundation, Margaret Middleton has been instrumental in the shaping of modern filk, as well as a mainstay of Arkansas fandom. She’s published multiple fanzines, including Kantele, and was a founder of the first specialized filk convention, Filkcon 1.

In Part 2 of this 2 part recording, the conversation ranges from Margaret’s taxonomy of filk, to tips for busking at the Farmer’s Market, and to the effect of the internet on filking and the filk community. We also learn about Margaret-when-she’s not filking, including her involvement in the Civil Air Patrol, quilting and her professional responsibilities for “measuring piles of dirt and holes in the ground.” … It’s a wide-ranging conversation, and ends with barbershop quartets, the Ballad of Eskimo Nell (discussed – not sung), the relationship of quilts to filk conventions and audience Q&A…For those interested in the history of filk, this 2 part interview is highly recommended.

[Thanks to Teddy Harvia, Mike Kennedy, Andrew Porter, Joey Eschrich, John King Tarpinian, Chris Barkley, Cat Eldridge, SF Concatenation’s Jonathan Cowie, Mark Roth-Whitworth, Steven French, and Kathy Sullivan for some of these stories. Title credit belongs to File 770 contributing editor of the day Daniel Dern.]

Pixel Scroll 1/15/25 Merry Pippins, Halfling Nanny For Hire

Posted on January 15, 2025 by Mike Glyer

(1) COSTS OF BOOK/JOURNAL PIRACY. “New Government Report Cites Ongoing Concern Over Pirate Sites” — Publishers Weekly counts the losses.

Several international websites that publishers argue continue to actively pirate copyrighted material were included on the U.S. Trade Representative’s frighteningly named Notorious Markets List (NML). NML is the centerpiece of the USTR’s annual Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy, the goal of which is to “motivate appropriate action by the private sector and governments to reduce piracy and counterfeiting.”

The 2024 report features a list of sites that are violating the copyrights of companies across a wide range of industries. Rather than try to document that monetary loss to American companies caused by these websites (though the report does cite a study which found that digital piracy cost the U.S. economy $29.2 billion in 2019), NLM reviews what actions, if any, companies have taken to stop their sites from engaging in piracy.

The two companies that drew the most attention from the Association of American Publishers are Library Genesis, commonly known as Libgen, and Sci-Hub. As part of a series of actions against Libgen, in 2023, textbook publishers filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against the company. Libgen, which is believed to operate from Russia and has been used by Meta to train its AI efforts, hosts 80 million science magazine articles, 2.4 million nonfiction books, 2.2 million fiction books, and 2 million comic strips. According to the report, Libgen sites are “subject to court orders in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States.”…

(2) FANTASTIC NEWS. Fantasy Magazine has officially returned, with a new publisher.

Co-Editors-in-Chief Arley Sorg and Shingai Njeri Kagunda will curate a wonderful selection of short fiction, flash fiction, poetry, and more in quarterly issues for publisher Psychopomp (known for Psychopomp.com, Psychopomp novellas, and of course, The Deadlands magazine, edited by E. Catherine Tobler)!

Kagunda and Sorg both bring engaging visions and eclectic, sharp sensibilities to the field, as well as a history of positive involvement in the genre community. Kagunda’s writing has earned her Ignyte and British Fantasy Award nominations, and her work as co-editor at PodCastle made her a two-time Hugo Award finalist. Sorg has received two community service awards, and his work as co-editor at Fantasy made him a three-time Locus Award finalist and a two-time World Fantasy Award finalist.

The first issue of Fantasy with Psychopomp is scheduled for June 2025 publication. Fantasy plans to open to submissions February 1 – 7. See submission guidelines at the link.

Subscribe to Fantasy Magazine via email for $5 per quarter. Use this link to subscribe. Psychopomp will publish Fantasy content on the Fantasy Magazine website after an exclusive to-subscribers period. Digital issues will also be available at their Grave Goods store and on WeightlessBooks.com.

For more information, see publisher Sean Markey’s blog post.

(3) THANKS FOR THE STAR WARS MEMORIES. Craig Miller will do a Q&A and signing in conjunction with a showing of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope at The Frida Cinema in Santa Ana on January 19 at 4:00 p.m. Address: 305 E. 4th St, STE 100, Santa Ana, CA 92701. Craig hears that a small number of droids will be present…

You’re invited to a special screening of the 1997 Special Edition of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope with special guest Craig Miller! Craig was director of Fan Relations for Lucasfilm from 1977-1980. He created and oversaw the official Star Wars Fan Club as well as having edited and written virtually all of the first two years of Bantha Tracks as well as being a producer for Lucasfilm Ltd.

Craig will be appearing for an on-stage discussion about his experiences at Lucasfilm and his time during Star Wars! The discussion will be moderated by Scott Zilner. Craig will also be available to meet fans, and also be signing his book Star Wars Memories.

(4) SFWA ADDITIONS. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Association (SFWA) has announced a new office assistant, and that two past presidents of the organization are taking on new volunteer service roles.

Office Team: Misha Grifka Wander (he/they) joined operations this week.

You might recognize Misha as our Nebula Awards Commissioner. He is stepping down from that position after participating in a competitive round of hiring. Thank you to all the candidates who applied. Misha is a game designer, writer, artist, and academic from the American Midwest. He obtained his PhD in English from Ohio State University and has worked in nonprofits and office management. Misha will be joining our Interim Executive Director Russell Davis in the virtual office from 10:00 AM to 6:30 PM EST. Welcome, Misha!

Historian: Michael Capobianco will be stepping into the volunteer role of Historian. As Historian, Capobianco will be supporting the board and organization, providing historical perspective and guidance when needed.

Past President Advisor: Mary Robinette Kowal has been appointed Past President Advisor.

(5) STOP THAT TRAIN(ING)! [Item by Steven French.] “British novelists criticise government over AI ‘theft’” reports the Guardian.

Kate Mosse and Richard Osman have hit back at Labour’s plan to give artificial intelligence companies broad freedoms to mine artistic works for data, saying it could destroy growth in creative fields and amount to theft.

The best-selling novellists spoke out after Keir Starmer a national drive to make the UK “one of the great AI superpowers” and endorsed a 50-point action planthat included changes to how technology firms can use copyrighted text and data to train their models….

(6) PERSONAL DEFINITIONS OF SPECPO. Seattle Worldcon 2025 poet laureate Brandon O’Brien has launched a department on the Worldcon’s website called “Con-Verse”. He picked a logical topic for his first post.

…What better place to start this blog, then, by trying to ask and answer the one question that comes up often from people outside the space: what is a “speculative” poem? But like most things in art, and poetry in particular, there are as many answers as there are poets and readers themselves. Hopefully, with enough of them we may notice some patterns of understanding, so I figured it was only right for you to hear from a multitude of expert voices on the matter. Here’s what some members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association (SFPA) had to say…

Read the quotes he compiled from 16 poets at the link.

(7) NYT NOTES DISNEY SUPPORT FOR FIRE-AFFECTED EMPLOYEES. The New York Times explains how “Hollywood’s Filmmaking Continues Despite L.A. Wildfires”.

…With thousands of homes destroyed, many of them in neighborhoods favored by producers, executives, agents and stars, and roughly 300,000 people under evacuation orders or warnings, little work got done at studio headquarters. Some studios closed entirely, and others encouraged employees to work remotely.

Consider the impact of the fires on Disney alone. As of Monday, 64 Disney employees had lost their homes and hundreds more had been evacuated, including Robert A. Iger, the chief executive, and three members of his senior leadership team.

Mr. Iger has been overseeing Disney’s relief effort from a hotel, approving $15 million for community services and rebuilding efforts, arranging for Disney employees who have lost their homes to receive two months of free furnished housing and opening Disney’s studio wardrobe warehouses to employees who need clothes and shoes. He has also been calling Disney employees who lost their homes.

“I want them to know that people at the top of the company are looking after them, that we care,” Mr. Iger said by phone on Monday. “We’re going to go through some really tough times here, but we’ll get through it together.”

Meanwhile, Disney’s movie assembly lines — like the rest of Hollywood’s — have been almost completely unaffected.

Disney has seen some flurries of ash on its Burbank lot, but no flames. Pixar and Lucasfilm, both owned by Disney, are based in Northern California.

Sony Pictures is in Culver City, far from any of the fires. Paramount Pictures and Netflix are in Hollywood, the neighborhood, which is 40 minutes by car from the two biggest fires. The sprawling Warner Bros. and Universal Pictures lots in the San Fernando Valley have been untouched.

For the most part, live-action movies are no longer shot in the Los Angeles region. It’s too expensive. Instead, movie production has moved to states like Georgia, New York, New Jersey and New Mexico and countries like Britain and Australia — all of which offer generous tax incentives.

Only two movies from major studios were affected by the fires. Filming was halted on “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle,” a 20th Century Studios remake of the 1992 thriller. The third “Avatar” movie, also from 20th Century, which Disney owns, briefly paused production, too….

(8) TODAY’S DAY. [Item by Daniel Dern.] According to The Kitchn’s article “National Bagel Day Deals 2025: What You Need to Know”:

The holiday was originally celebrated on February 9, which coincided with National Pizza Day…

Some bagelries and we-also-sell-bagellers have bagel freebies/deals, lists online or ask wherever you get your bagels.

(9) TODAY’S BIRTHDAY.

[Written by Paul Weimer.]

Born January 15, 1935 — Robert Silverberg, 90.

Editor’s note: Robert Silverberg is ninety years old today!

By Paul Weimer: A legend of science fiction whose work I came to in an oblique way.

In a short story, “Half-Baked Publisher’s Delight”, in a collection of “great short short stories”, I first came across the name Robert Silverberg. It was a weird little story where Isaac Asimov (a name I knew well at that point) and someone named Robert Silverberg, competed to be the most prolific SF author. I had no idea who Silverberg was, but I was intrigued that the story had put him up against Asimov. Clearly, I needed to read his work.

Robert Silverberg. Photo by Allen Batson.

My first Silverberg was, as it so happens, the science fantasy Lord Valentine’s Castle. I thought it was a simple fantasy novel, but imagine my delight as, we follow the story of the titular Valentine and the troupe of entertainers he has joined with, that the narrative mixed science fiction elements, particularly the psionics, and the old Earth technology still on the planet. The novel is long and sprawling and concentrates heavily on the worldbuilding and the wandering across the landscape. Aside from the deceptively young Valentine, the other characters recede into the background somewhat to focus on the world presented. In other words, it was perfect for me as a teenaged reader.

I would only later find out that it was slightly atypical, and that the interior life of Silverberg’s characters, his concentration on their inner lives and problems, and depth of their plights, is really the more typical Silverberg. I admire and enjoy both sides of Silverberg’s writing. (Kingdoms of the Wall is much more like Majipoor in this regard, for instance, too, than his character-oriented novels and stories.)

I’ve read a lot of Silverberg, as you might tell, including novels, now and again, since. I enjoyed his work in the Heroes in Hell series. I enthused to his historical fiction turn in Gilgamesh. His variety of time travel stories, from Up the Line to the heartbreaking Sailing to Byzantium, have always enthralled me. Nightwings, taking place on a far future Earth, I first encountered in an incomplete graphic novel edition that inspired me to go and find the original and complete story. I meant to, but never found the Mouth of Truth in Rome, which features in the story.

I have a lot of favorite Silverberg stories. If I had to go with one story, it is going to be a story I’ve mentioned before. “Enter a Soldier, Later, Enter Another”. It’s the story that starts his Timegate sequence of historical personages brought back as artificial intelligences, and it has the programmers have Francisco Pizarro encounter Socrates, to memorable and sometimes very funny results. The story shows Silverberg’s skill at dialogue, at character, and using history.

If I had to go with one longer work, I am going to cheat again and not name one of his novels, and instead go with his Roma Eterna sequence. A series of short stories set in a world where the Roman Empire wound up in a dynastic cycle of rises and falls but never complete collapses, the stories in the collection explore a variety of themes of empire, of renewal and destruction, and lenses of looking at our own history by showing a funhouse version of it in his alternate historical path.

I’ve seen Mr. Silverberg at a couple of Worldcons…but have not actually exchanged any words with him.

(10) TODAY’S BIRTHDAY, TOO.

[Written by Paul Weimer.]

Born January 15, 1944 — Christopher Stasheff. (Died 2018.)

By Paul Weimer: Back in the 1990’s, Christopher Stasheff seemed to be everywhere in my fantasy and my science fantasy reading. I kept encountering his work again and again, and in a variety of contexts. Trying to remember what was actually first is a murk of memory, because I seem to recall being bombarded with several different early Stasheff’s that I read.

Her Majesty’s Wizard starts off as a portal fantasy. Matthew Mantrell, graduate student, finds a strange piece of paper in a copy of the sagas. He translates it, and it translates him to an alternative magical medieval Europe. He falls in love with the Princess he rescues, teams up with an unlikely set of companions, and has to face the dark lord Malingo. Matt might know Shakespeare for his poetry based magic, but it might not be enough.

The Enchanter Reborn and The Exotic Enchanter were compilations edited by Stasheff of additional stories of L Sprague De Camp’s Harold Shea, aka The Incompleat Enchanter. Stasheff not only was the co editor of the two volumes, but he also contributed stories to each volume. The quality of the stories vary according to the author but Stasheff’s entries “Sir Harold and the Hindu King” and “Sir Harold and the Monkey King” help expend Harold’s adventures beyond the usual Western Canon.

Stasheff contributed to one of my favorite shared world verses, the Time Gate stories created by Robert Silverberg. In an age here and now where LLMs are being labeled as AI, talking about true AI is a bit tricky. But in this verse of the shared world, in the 22nd century, real sentient AI recreations of historical personages are created (Silverberg’s “Enter a Soldier, Later, Enter another” with Pizarro and Socrates, kicks that all off). So, Stasheff writes a story where a couple of the AIs decide to create one of their very own.

Stasheff also did a shared world of his own, called “The Gods of War”. The Gods of War supposes that Gods of conflict and battle fight throughout history, and sometimes they are created from the minds of men, tulpa style. Tek, the God of technological battle, is the newest God of War. Needless to say, this young and energetic God gets the ire and the attention of much older Gods of War and strife.

What I remember was definitely not first, but I read a little later, was Stasheff’s turn into science fantasy, The Warlock in Spite of Himself. Rod Gallowglass works for an interstellar agency in a polity looking for lost and forgotten colony planets. He might be a cynic and a grump, but even Rod is a bit stumped when he finds the planet of Gramarye. Rod doesn’t believe in magic, magic can’t possibly exist, his mindset is completely and utterly scientific and rational. And yet he is confronted with witches, warlocks, elves and monsters. There has to be a rational explanation for all of it…doesn’t there? I read a few of these, but there are well over a dozen of novels in this setting.

A very fun writer.

(11) COMICS SECTION.

Bizarro continues variations on vampire names.
Bliss introduces a strange new breed.
Dinosaur Comics is skeptical about the Vader reaction.
Eek! is about a different Vader reaction.
Rubes knows there no place like this home.
Strange Brew is the problem.

(12) TODAY’S THING TO WORRY ABOUT. “World Monuments Fund Puts Moon on List of At-Risk Sites” reports the New York Times. (Story behind a paywall.)

…With a growing number of wealthy people going to space and more governments pursuing human spaceflight, the group warns that more than 90 important sites on the moon could be harmed. In particular, some researchers are worried about Tranquillity Base, the Apollo 11 landing site where the astronaut Neil Armstrong first stepped onto the moon’s surface.

Protections for cultural heritage are typically decided by individual countries, which makes the task of taking care of important international sites like the moon more difficult.

Since 2020, the United States and 51 other countries have signed the Artemis Accords, a nonbinding agreement that outlined the norms expected in outer space. The rules included a call to preserve space heritage including “robotic landing sites, artifacts, spacecraft and other evidence of activity on celestial bodies.” A separate binding United Nations agreement provided for the protection of lunar sites, but there has been little progress in getting key countries to sign it.

“The moon doesn’t belong to anybody,” de Montlaur said. “It is a symbol of hope and the future.”

For almost 30 years, the World Monuments Fund has received nominations for its watch list of endangered sites from heritage experts around the world. The list is an educational and promotional tool serving the nonprofit’s other efforts to preserve cultural heritage.

A division of the International Council on Monuments and Sites devoted to aerospace heritage nominated the moon for the nonprofit watch list. Gai Jorayev, president of that division, said that members wanted to see sustainable management because of the “sheer number of human artifacts on its surface.”

Beyond the lunar orbiters and rangers scattered across the moon’s surface that express scientific achievements, there are also artifacts of human culture. Apollo 11 astronauts left a golden olive branch to symbolize peace, while a SpaceX rocket lifted a lander that carried 125 miniature sculptures by the artist Jeff Koons to the moon’s surface last year….

(13) THAT NUMBER SOUNDS FAMILIAR. Indianapolis station WTHR reports “FEMA isn’t giving California wildfire victims just $770”.

… Multiple viral posts imply that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is giving the victims just $770 in federal assistance. Some of the posts also compare the disaster relief spending to the government’s spending on foreign aid….

…Fact checking dispels the rumor that FEMA is giving Los Angeles wildfire victims just $770. Where did that number come from? President Joe Biden announced that people will receive a “one-time payment of $770 so they can quickly purchase things like water, baby formula and prescriptions” under the Serious Needs Assistance program. But that is not the only disaster relief available. People can apply for additional assistance.

If you are affected by the Los Angeles wildfires and in need of assistance, please contact FEMA at https://www.disasterassistance.gov.

(14) MUPPET APPEARANCE. “Kermit the Frog Sings for Hoda Kotb on Her Final ‘Today’ Show” on January 10 reports ToughPigs.

As journalist and television personality Hoda Kotb said goodbye to Today, the show she’s been part of since 2007, she got a visit from a very special guest: Kermit the Frog.

Kermit’s appearance had a special significance, as Hoda brought on her daughters, Hope and Haley. During the broadcast, it was revealed that Hoda sings one of Kermit’s signature songs to her children [Hope and Haley] every night… “Rainbow Connection.” And if you thought that was a perfect excuse for Kermit to sing “Rainbow Connection,” you must be psychic, because that’s exactly what he did!

View Kermit’s performance at the Today website: “See Kermit the Frog sing ‘Rainbow Connection’ for Hoda Kotb”.

(15) SF² CONCATENATION SPRING EDITION. [Item by SF Concatenation’s Jonathan Cowie.] SF² Concatenation now has its spring (northern hemisphere academic year spring) up. It has the usual large, seasonal news page together with articles and convention reports, plus some 40 standalone book reviews. Table of contents…

v35(1) 2025.1.15 — New Columns & Articles for the Spring 2025

Newscast for the Spring 2025. This includes within it many key sections. See also the master newscast link index that connects to all its SF/F genre and science news sub-sections. In the mix are its Film News; Television News; Publishing News; General Science News and Forthcoming SF Books from major British Isles SF imprints for the season, among much else.
Best Science Fiction of 2024: books and films – SF² Concatenation team
Each Christmas, the team puts forward their suggestions as to the best SF of the year and we list the most suggested. – It is just a bit of fun but scroll down and you’ll see, with past years’ performance, that it has form.
What makes a Hugo-worthy novel? – The Worldcon survey – Rebecca Montgomery
Those that attended the 2024 Glasgow Worldcon were asked what determines their Hugo nominations.
Detecting warp drives – Jonathan Cowie
Do we have the technology to detect a starship’s warp drive and how far away would it work?
Eurocon 2024 – Rotterdam, Netherlands – Leadie Flowers
Around 600 attended the five programme streamed Erasmuscon Eurocon.
Glasgow – The 2024 SF Virtual Worldcon – Mark Yon
6% of the Worldcon attended online. What did they get for their registration fee? (Not the con publications.)
Sci-Fi London Film Fest 2024 – Jonathan Cowie
The 2024 Fest nearly never happened… But it did!
2024 SF Film Top Ten Chart and Other Worthies
(All past annual film charts are archive indexed here)
SF Convention Listing & Film Diary with links to con sites and film trailers
The list of the major, fan run, national and international level, SF cons and British Isles general release film diary.
Ten years ago exactly. One from the archives:
Eurocon 2014 – Dublin, Ireland (2nd review) – Peter Tyers
Interesting programme and lots of friendly people.
Twenty years ago exactly. One from the archives:
Eurocon 2004 – Bulgaria – Jim Walker
The first Eurocon to be opened by a Head of State… and there was an astronaut in the mix too.

v35(1) 2025.1.15 — Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Reviews

v35(1) 2025.9.15 — Non-Fiction SF & Science Fact Book Reviews

(16) GRRM FILM ADAPTATION ARRIVING IN MARCH. A trailer has been released for In the Lost Lands, based on the George R.R. Martin short story. Entertainment Weekly reported that the project, starring Milla Jovovich and Dave Bautista, is directed by Paul W.S. Anderson and will premiere March 7.

A queen, desperate to find happiness in love, takes a daring step: she sends the powerful and feared witch Gray Alys to the “Lost Lands” to give her the magical gift of turning into a werewolf. With the mysterious hunter Boyce, who supports her in the fight against dark creatures and merciless enemies, Gray Alys roams an eerie and dangerous world. And only she knows that every wish she grants has unimaginable consequences.

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

Pixel Scroll 11/2/24 Pixie Scroll Is Unexpectedly Whimsical! As If All The News Is Being Delivered By Pixies

Posted on November 2, 2024 by Mike Glyer

(1) MINUS ONE GETS PLUS ONE. “Godzilla Minus One Sequel in Development From Takashi Yamazaki” reports CBR.com. So will it be titled Godzilla Minus Two or Godzilla Zero? (Wasn’t “New Math” supposed to prepare me to answer this question?)

Godzilla Minus One is getting a sequel. Toho and Takashi Yamazaki are reuniting for a new movie featuring the iconic monster.

The “EMERGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT” was made on the official X account for Toho’s Godzilla franchise. The 10-second video confirmed that production had been greenlit on a new Godzilla movie, with Yamazaki returning to write, direct, and supervise VFX. The last detail is perhaps the most important, as Yamazaki and his VFX team won the Best Visual Effects category at the 96th Academy Awards for Godzilla Minus One.

The 8-second “emergency announcement” is on X.com here.

(2) NO ASTRONOMICON OR HELIOSPHERE IN 2025. Ralston Stahler told Facebook readers today that Astronomicon, held annually in Rochester, NY is taking 2025 off.

Well, some bad news. Due to me being somewhat burned out from trying to organize a NASFiC for the last two years, after Heliosphere it really made me think that my fannish energy has been severely depleted.

The NASFiC did good, people liked it and we did good financially, I just don’t have the energy to run Astronomicon for 2025. I let our guests know that things have changed and at least I need a break for a bit.

Heliosphere (I’ll post their announcement later) after running World Fantasy in Niagara Falls is also taking 2025 off. So the only science fiction con left anywhere nearby will be Albacon in Albany in 2025. They will be the only SF con in New York state next year.

I urge everyone to really think about attending. One of the things I have been saying is that SF cons are becoming very fragile things. They are put on by ever decreasing numbers of science fiction fans. Which is one of the things we need to work on. Getting people to help run them.

New Jersey’s HELIOsphere made a comparable announcement two days ago.

We regret to announce that New Amsterdam Science Fiction and Fantasy Fandom (NASF3) will not be presenting HELIOsphere in 2025.

HELIOsphere was to be held May 2–4, 2025 in Piscataway, New Jersey.

The chief reason is that we feel the need to take the extra time to organize, regroup, and refocus on what we want our home convention to be.

We fully expect to return in 2026, with a new, improved convention that more fully reflects the vision we had when we founded this event in 2017.

Our Guests of Honor, Catherynne Valente and Adam-Troy Castro, have, of course, already been informed of our change in plans. We regret not hosting them next year, but look forward to seeing them at other events … perhaps even at a future HELIOsphere.

We had not yet opened membership for HELIOsphere 2025, except for the memberships we took at the close of HELIOsphere 2024.

We will be issuing refunds for those memberships as soon as possible.

This is far from the end of HELIOsphere. In the coming year, we will be discussing our direction and focus, and planning a new beginning for our event.

(3) CLARION WEST ART OPPORTUNITY. “Call for Clarion West 2025 Featured Art” – complete guidelines at the link.

Clarion West is searching for an artist to create artwork for our 2025 featured artwork. Clarion West seeks to commission one custom illustration with unlimited global rights. Please share this call with the artists you know that might be a great fit, and see below for details.

What we’re looking for

Each year, we seek artwork that inspires us and our writers to create and explore with bravery and freedom. The art needs to represent the genres of science fiction, fantasy, and/or horror in some way, while also supporting our core values of diversity, inclusion, and supporting emerging writers. (You can see the work of our 2024 poster artist, Carolina Rodríguez Fuenmayor, here as just one example.)…

(4) BATTLING SCAM AI STORY SUBMISSIONS. Sue Burke reports from sff’s front lines in “AI Is Fueling a Science Fiction Scam That Hurts Publishers, Writers, and Even Some of the Scammers” at Chicago Review of Books.

…“The deluge is different now,” but it continues unabated, Clarke said at this summer’s World Science Fiction Convention in Glasgow, where he received a Hugo award for Best Short-Form Editor for the third time. His exasperation has grown with the “torment nexus” that he finds himself trapped in. He quietly reopened submissions in mid-March last year, and he’s created a sort of spam filter (which he won’t detail so it can’t be evaded) that he shares with Asimov’s. It moves likely AI stories to the end of the submission line, although they still get read because the filter can make mistakes. He’s banned thousands of spammers…

As to any attempt to defend AI here:

…So, it’s easy to claim—and perhaps believe—that an AI can create fiction and art, cure cancer, and eliminate your job, all in a matter of seconds, just before it destroys the Earth. Or this might be overhype. In any case, the AI programs are owned and controlled by major multinational corporations. Can we trust them with creativity?

“Experience should have taught us all by now that large corporations are the last entities that should be entrusted with our future, much less with what becomes of human creativity,” says Tonya R. Moore, poetry editor at Solarpunk Magazine, a poetry acquiring editor at FIYAH Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction, and an associate writer at Galactic Journey. “AI is still extremely undeveloped, and large corporations are already using the technology to manipulate and cheat people in the most underhanded ways.”…

(5) A FAPA JUBILEE. [Item by John L. Coker III.] Robert Silverberg has just reached another major milestone: as of November 2024, he has been a continuously contributing member of FAPA for 75 years!

While still a teen-ager, Bob joined the Fantasy Amateur Publishing Association in November 1949. This was back when Harry S. Truman was still the U.S. president.

(6) IT’LL DO. Camestros Felapton gives Agatha all Along his seal of approval. “Review: Agatha all Along (Disney)[some spoilers]”.

…Aside from anything else, WandaVision had one clever trick (playing off the cliches of suburban sitcoms from different eras) and the lead characters (Wanda Maximoff and Vision) where now dead in the MCU. Would Kathryn Hahn’s meddling witch carry a sequel?

Actually, yes. This was an enormously entertaining miniseries….

(7) NEGATORY, GOOD BUDDY. “John Williams Shot Down One Request While Filming Disney+’s Music By John Williams, But I Think His Reasoning Makes So Much Sense” – read the explanation at CinemaBlend.

Music by John Williams – a new title streaming this week – provides viewers with an intimate portrait of the prolific composer behind films like Jaws and Schindler’s List. Through his conversations with Williams, director Laurent Bouzereau sheds light on the conductor’s personal life and his creative process as well. Bouzereau had many memorable moments working on the documentary, including one he revealed to CinemaBlend – which saw Williams shoot down a request. Yet the living legend’s rationale made so much sense.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Mr. Bouzereau ahead of the release of his latest doc. During the interview, he regaled me with details on his film as well as fun anecdotes regarding his chats with its main subject. It was the latter that led the Five Came Back helmer to reveal that he asked the celebrated maestro to perform the original pieces of music he concocted for Close Encounters of the Third Kind. But, as Bouzereau explained to me, the now-92-year-old conductor declined for a very specific reason:

“Well, I had wanted John to – I knew that he had, for Close Encounters of the Third Kind, created different versions of the five notes and, sometimes, there were more than five. And I had said to him, ‘ [It would] be great if you could play on the piano the different incarnation[s] of those notes.’ And he said, ‘No.’ Because it’s so iconic that you are betraying something that is in everybody’s mind. And he didn’t want to suddenly have someone say, ‘Oh, that would have been better,’ or whatever, you know, what is in the movie, [is] what is in the movie. So I was kind of disappointed, but he said, ‘I’ll get you something. You’ll see.’”…

(8) MEMORY LANE.

[Written by Cat Eldridge.]

Anniversary— Doctor Who’s “The Happiness Patrol” (1988)

The first part of Doctor Who’s “The Happiness Patrol” aired thirty years ago on this date.

Written by Graeme Curry, it was intended (by him and the other writers) to be a parody of Thatcherism, with Helen A representing Margaret Thatcher herself. As you can seeing the picture below, she may or may not have more than passing resemblance to The Iron Lady.

This was the Seventh Doctor so Sylvester McCoy was The Doctor and Sophie Aldred was Ace, who is still one of my favorite companions, and there’s one episode they did where I’m still cursing them for the emotional cruelty they did to her. Not saying which episode that was of course.

All of the classic Doctor Who is available in the United States on Britbox.

The guest performers were Shelia Hancock as Helen A. with David John Pope as Kandy Man.

Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, referred to this story in his 2011 Easter sermon, on the subject of happiness and joy. Really. Truly. So what is the story that he so truly liked?

SPOILERS NOW, SO GET A CUP OF DARJEELING TEA AND A CHOCOLATE BISCUIT.

They find themselves on a colony that is under the dictatorship of Helen A. where sadness and misery are capital crimes, and killjoys which is anyone, well, is sad, are is executed on the spot by female assassins known only as The Happiness Patrol.

Now this being the Whovian reality, we also have, according to the Tardis Wiki, “The Kandyman was a pathological, psychopathic android, employed as an executioner by the egocentric Helen A. It delighted in inflicting torture and destruction with confectionery. One of its favourite methods was drowning people in pipes filled with its “Fondant Surprise”, a thick solution composed of boiling liquid candy.”

Needless to say the Seventh Doctor had to defeat Helen A., the Killjoys, the Kandyman and assorted less than sweet individuals in this episode. That they did in the usual Whovian manner, though the Seventh Doctor put his slightly darker twist on it.

About this parody of The Iron Bitch, errr, Thatcher and her years in power? The story makes it very apparent that it what is happening here. Remember the Miners Strike under her and her violent suppression of it? Well, this colony has an oppressed underclass of workers – depicted here as a literally different species. So they turn out to be miners. And they are victims of Helen A.’s regime. “Well, they may not look like it,” the Doctor tells Ace, “but they’re on the edge of starvation. No sugar in the pipes.” Sugar being their only food.

ENJOY THAT TEA AND BISCUITS? GOOD, YOU CAN COME BACK.

I can’t really discuss the critical response to it at the time as they give away way the much of the plot when they reviewed it. Suffice it to say that some like it, some thought it was utter shite because of the anti-Thatcher spin (need I note which papers they wrote for?), some never warmed to the Seventh Doctor so every episode got a blah at best review.

Me, I thought it was a fun story though stretching what was a thin plot over three episodes was just not a great idea.

It got novelized and the story expanded even more, oh god. Big Finish brings the Kandyman back in the Eighth Doctor: Ravenous story.

We’ll let Helen A. have the final words, “And don’t forget, when you smile, I want to see those teeth.”

(9) COMICS SECTION.

Mutts visits a classic bird.
Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal explores customs.
Tom Gauld has a suspect.

My cartoon for this week’s @GuardianBooks pic.twitter.com/GYCiwWo5ic
— Tom Gauld (@tomgauld) November 2, 2024

(10) CANON TO THE LEFT OF THEM. “Queen Berúthiel is a Childless Cat Lady!” – Robin Anne Reid has found a Tolkien text resonates with a catchphrase from this year’s Presidential election campaign.

…Queen Berúthiel caught my attention in my very first reading (1965) and has resurfaced on a number of occasions in great part because of the lack of information about her in The Lord of the Rings. Even with just that one brief reference, she stood out: she was a Queen, and, more importantly, she had cats (plural!). She’s (possibly?) the only character in the legendarium who has cats (if you know of any others, please let me know in the comments!)

And although it turns out that she was married (but no children!), there was no mention of her husband in Tolkien’s first introduction of her…

(11) THE AVENGERS’ ELECTION PICK. “The Avengers Stars Reunite to Endorse Kamala Harris in New Video” – The Hollywood Reporter sets the frame.

As Election Day nears, Scarlett Johansson had her fellow Avengers join forces for a get-out-the-vote video.

In a video shared by Vanity Fair, Johansson, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Don Cheadle, Danai Gurira and Paul Bettany came together on a Zoom call to brainstorm a new catchphrase for Kamala Harris as she takes on Donald Trump. Some of their suggestions referenced moments from their respective movies, including Iron Man and Black Panther….

We're back. Let's #AssembleForDemocracy. In the #ElectionEndgame, every vote counts ????? #VoteBlue! Vote @KamalaHarris @Tim_Walz pic.twitter.com/Xp7YdUEqxa
— Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) October 31, 2024

(12) YOUR INFINITY MAY VARY. [Item by Mike Kennedy.] Could all the chimpanzees in the world (OK, so technically not monkeys) ever type the works of Shakespeare? Not before the heat death of the universe say a pair of Australian mathematicians. “Monkeys will never type Shakespeare, study finds” at BBC News.

Two Australian mathematicians have called into question an old adage, that if given an infinite amount of time, a monkey pressing keys on a typewriter would eventually write the complete works of William Shakespeare.

Known as the “infinite monkey theorem”, the thought-experiment has long been used to explain the principles of probability and randomness.

However, a new peer-reviewed study led by Sydney-based researchers Stephen Woodcock and Jay Falletta has found that the time it would take for a typing monkey to replicate Shakespeare’s plays, sonnets and poems would be longer than the lifespan of our universe.

Which means that while mathematically true, the theorem is “misleading”, they say.

As well as looking at the abilities of a single monkey, the study also did a series of calculations based on the current global population of chimpanzees, which is roughly 200,000.

The results indicated that even if every chimp in the world was enlisted and able to type at a pace of one key per second until the end of the universe, they wouldn’t even come close to typing out the Bard’s works.

There would be a 5% chance that a single chimp would successfully type the word “bananas” in its own lifetime. And the probability of one chimp constructing a random sentence – such as “I chimp, therefore I am” – comes in at one in 10 million billion billion, the research indicates…

(13) 24 CARROT TRIVIA. “Bugs Bunny Facts That Fans Never Figured Out (What You Always Wanted To Know About Bugs Bunny)” at Idolator. Here’s one example:

Bugs Changed The Meaning Of The Word “Nimrod”

Bugs Bunny is so influential in American culture that he is the sole reason why America uses the term “nimrod” to mean idiot. Before Bugs, nimrod referred to a mighty hunter, named after the Biblical figure, Nimrod.

Bugs would sarcastically compare Elmer Fudd to Nimrod, and America picked up the phrase. The fact that the cartoon was able to change the definition of an established word shows just how much of a lasting impact it had on the world.

(14) ALIEN ASPIRATIONS. [Item by Steven French.] In the Guardian’s ‘Week in Geek’, hopes and concerns are expressed over the prospect of a sequel to Alien: Romulus: “Alien: Romulus thrilled fans – how can its follow-up avoid the saga’s past mistakes?”

Romulus’s power lay in its ruthless singlemindedness. Like the xenomorphs themselves, it was the perfect movie organism, a simple slasher-in-space tale of a bunch of kids lost in the cosmos who find they have bitten off more than they can chew, and are about to be bitten back hard. Part two should really be more of the same but somehow bigger, and yet the distinct impression from this mercurial saga is that whenever somebody tries to widen the Alien canvass, they wind up with a sprawlingly portentous or downright weirdmural where we really just wanted a nasty little close-up.

Perhaps all we need next time out is another hyper-focused horror romp, with just the tiniest side order of Weyland-Yutani intrigue. Anything more, and once again there’s a danger that this sleek and venerable old beast starts looking like an unwieldy colony ship with a leaking fuel line and a loose facehugger in the cargo hold….

[Thanks to Teddy Harvia, Mike Kennedy, Andrew Porter, Michael J. Walsh, 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 Nigel.]

Pixel Scroll 10/22/24 Now We See The Scrollence Inherent In The Pixels

Posted on October 22, 2024 by Mike Glyer

(1) BEAR NECESSITY. “Paddington Bear given UK passport by Home Office” reports the Guardian.

He has been one of the UK’s favourite and most prominent refugees for two-thirds of a century. Now Paddington Bear – official name Paddington Brown – has been granted a British passport.

The co-producer of the latest Paddington film said the Home Office had issued the specimen document to the fictional Peruvian-born character – listing for completeness the official observation that he is, in fact, a bear.

“We wrote to the Home Office asking if we could get a replica, and they actually issued Paddington with an official passport – there’s only one of these,” Rob Silva told Radio Times….

(2) TIANWEN AWARDS CEREMONY. Ersatz Culture reported the winners of the Tianwen Awards 2024 in a File 770 post today.

And last week the award’s official website promoted the forthcoming ceremony with an article that quoted many sf figures including Ben Yalow: “Nebulae are twinkling! More than 100 science fiction celebrities gathered in Chengdu, and the countdown to the release of the “Tianwen” results has begun”

…Ben Yalow , a senior American science fiction activist who served as co-chair of the 2023 Chengdu World Science Fiction Convention, will come to Chengdu again as vice chairman of the “Tianwen” judging committee. This is the first time that Ben Yalow has served as a judge for the Chinese Science Fiction Literature Competition. “Although the judging schedule is relatively tight, in addition to focusing on browsing, this process also brings me a lot of enjoyment.” He said, “The Tianwen Chinese Science Fiction Literature Competition has set up a number of creative awards, hoping to further broaden the breadth of China’s science fiction field. At the same time, I also hope that this competition will allow more readers to understand and fall in love with science fiction-this is a literary genre that is very helpful for readers to think about the possibilities of the future. No matter how far technology goes, its charm will not disappear.”…

Ben Yalow on stage. Source: HELLO Chengdu’s Twitter”

(3) HIS LIFE IN COMICS. Scott Edelman has launched a new podcast, “Why Not Say What Happened?” in which he talks about his early experiences in comics and writing. The fourth episode just went live.

It’s time for another trip back to when teen me strode through the Marvel Bullpen like, well, a big teenager, as I share what I remember (and what I’ve forgotten) about writing the Avengers, what Marvel’s paying Assistant Editors these days vs. what I was paid in 1975, why Steve Gerber called me the most violent man on Earth, the way Conan caused me to write my first short story, the embarrassing cover letter I wrote at age 16 to accompany my first short story submission, how I unwittingly destroyed my comic book collection, what Dennis Etchison wrote in an acceptance letter which made me cry, and more.

(4) AS TOLD BY JIM BROADBENT. [Item by Steven French.] In 1976, Ken Campbell, who had a career-long involvement with science fiction (subsequently putting on the first stage version of A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) decided to launch a theatrical production of The Illuminatus Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, in the form of a nine hour cycle of five plays (the production eventually transferred from Liverpool to London’s National Theatre). Here Jim Broadbent, who’s appeared in everything from the Harry Potter series to Game of Thrones (and more!) described how Campbell’s play changed his life: “The play that changed my life: Jim Broadbent on Ken Campbell’s electrifying epic Illuminatus!” in the Guardian.

…The Illuminatus! Trilogy [by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson] is a sort of science fiction piece, drawing together an awful lot of the then current conspiracy theories. It’s a huge thing that spreads over lots of different stories and characters.

It was the hot summer of 76, and the play was going to start in Liverpool. There was a character in the books of Illuminatus! called Fission Chips. I think he was sort of based on James Bond, And so I went along and quoted from the book in my Sean Connery accent.

If you wanted to be in it, you could be. I mean I don’t think he turned anyone away….

(5) A ROOMBA WITH THEOLOGY. Muse from the Orb wants to know: “Are We Ready for a Robot Pope?”

Awhile ago, I made a Note in which I quipped about the dearth of robot pope stories these days. I included a panel from a comic I was reading — a looming robot crowned with the triregnum, draped in gem-encrusted robes. Reaction was positive, so I figured that I’d devote a post to the extended lore behind the Robot Pope….

…His official name is Sixtus the Seventh, and he’s the central focus of Robert Silverberg’s classic short story “Good News from the Vatican,” in which the Catholic Church elects its first — is this a spoiler? — robot pope. The story first appeared in Universe 1 (1971), an anthology commissioned by the influential Ace editor Terry Carr, and it won the Nebula Award that next year. In 1975, it was adapted into comics form in the magazine Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction, which I purchased at Worldcon and whence I got the photo. Silverberg has called “Good News” a “lighthearted little item,” and it’s a fun approach to classic questions of humanity, technology, and religion….

(6) REMEMBER: MONEY SHOULD FLOW TO THE CREATOR. [Item by Steve Green.] I know there’s a Writers Beware website, but maybe there needs to one for artists? This publication sounds somewhat sketchy, as Ron signals. A warning about “Narrative Magazine” by Ron Coleman at Colemantoons.

I’m writing to discuss Narrative Magazine. This magazine pays $50 for cartoons, but there is a catch all cartoonists should be aware of. They request a submissions fee to review your cartoons and they don’t guarantee that they will buy anything. I understand this submission fee does include a subscription to their magazine, however. One cartoonist told me they had to pay a $20 submission fee but the magazine did buy a cartoon from them for $50. To test how this worked I tried to submit a few cartoons to them and they were asking me for a $60 fee. I didn’t go for it….

…In my 60 years of cartooning this is the first time I’ve ever come across a publisher requiring a submission fee to consider cartoons….

(7) BREVITY, ALWAYS BREVITY. Or something like that. The Hollywood Reporter announces a “New Shorter Version of ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ on Broadway”.

A revised, shortened version of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will come to Broadway in November.

The new version of the play clocks in at under three hours, including intermission, compared to the current running time of three-and-a-half hours. The new version will premiere on Broadway when new cast members take over and begin performances at Lyric Theatre on Nov. 12, 2024.

This marks the second time the play has been shortened while on Broadway. The original production, which opened on Broadway in April 2018, was shown in two parts which ran five hours and 15 minutes in total….

(8) IT’S FROM AN OLD FAMILIAR SCORE. Speaking of brevity, the amount of rollover Dune music to the sequel seems to have been too much. “Hans Zimmer’s ‘Dune 2’ Score Ruled Ineligible for Oscars”.

One of the year’s most anticipated and epic musical scores won’t be in the running for an Academy Award.

Warner Bros.’ “Dune: Part Two,” directed by Denis Villeneuve, was met with critical acclaim when it hit theaters in March. Both critics and audiences lauded the film’s visuals, storytelling, and, most notably, the music score by Academy Award-winning composer Hans Zimmer. However, Zimmer’s powerful and evocative score for the sci-fi epic is not eligible to be submitted for this year’s Oscars due to surpassing the Academy’s limit on pre-existing music; therefore, it cannot be nominated in the best original score category.

The Academy’s rule states: “In cases such as sequels and franchises from any media, the score must not use more than 20% of pre-existing themes and music borrowed from previous scores in the franchise.” Since Zimmer’s composition for “Dune: Part Two” incorporates substantial elements from his work on 2021’s “Dune,” it falls outside of the eligibility criteria….

… However, Zimmer’s work on “Dune 2” remains in contention to be recognized by other awards bodies, including the Critics Choice Awards, Golden Globes, BAFTA, and even the Grammys….

(9) TODAY’S BIRTHDAY.

[Written by Cat Eldridge.]

Born October 22, 1938 — Derek Jacobi, 86.

Remember I’m not covering everything here, just what I find find interesting.

I first fondly remember Derek Jacobi from the Cadfael series where he played Brother Cadfael, the monk mystery solver. He had an edge to him that belied his supposed monkness.

It lasted for a much shorter period than I thought as the series only went thirteen episodes. There were twenty-one novels, not all of which were filmed, and there are many differences between the plots and characters in the novels.

(Neat note here: Sean Pertwee was Sheriff Hugh Beringar in four episodes (not all).)

Much earlier and certainly less gentle was I, Claudius in which he played Claudius who was considered rather sane after Caligula, who didn’t survive assassination, and before Nero who succeeded him. He plays the role brilliantly over the twelve episodes and I recommend it to anyone who hasn’t yet seen it.

By no means a major character in it, but he is Probert, Sir William’s valet in Gosford Park. He, in his scenes, is spot on. And this film is of my favorite of the Manor House mysteries.

He was in The Golden Compass film as Magisterial Emissary which according to the film wiki “was a man from Lyra’s world who worked for the Magisterium. He talked to Pavel Rasek about Bolvangar and how it should be protected. He said that Marisa Coulter was going to demonstrate the intercision process on Lyra Belacqua. His dæmon was a black panther.” Now if you read the series and don’t recognize him that’s because they invented his character for the film.

I just discovered he was in Tolkien, a biography of, well, you can guess who. He played as Joseph Wright, Professor of Comparative Philology at the University of Oxford. Tolkien himself was played by Nicholas Hoult, with a younger one performed by Harry Gilby as he would been at eighteen, so presumably during the War.

I’m going to finish off with his performance as Professor Yanna the Tenth Doctor’s “Utopia” episode.

SPOILERS FOLLOW. THERE’S A NICE CUP OF TEA IN THE TADRIS AS LONG YOU’RE POLITE TO HER.

Derek Jacobi here plays the fifth version of the Master whom the Doctor will encounter on screen, and John Simm will the sixth of eight to be so far. This will be the first of three episodes that form a single story along with “The Sound of Drums” and “Last of the Time Lords”.

The episode serves to re-introduce the Master (John Simm), a Time Lord villain of the show’s original run who last appeared in the 1996 television movie Doctor Who.”

SPOLIERS ARE FINISHED. ENJOY THAT CUPOF TEA? SHE MAKES A GOOD ONE, DOESN’T SHE?

Those are my choices. I’m sure yours might be different.

P.S. Cadfael is available on BritBox; I, Claudius is on Acorn; Gosford Park is available to rent on Amazon Prime, as is The Golden Compass; Tolkien’s on Hulu; the new Doctor Who is on Disney+.

(10) COMICS SECTION.

Off the Mark follows directions.
The Argyle Sweater presents an unmade movie.
Jerry King updates a monster’s priorities.
Loose Parts writes a Hollywood epitaph.
Zack Hill makes an alarming culinary connection.

(11) STICK-TO-ITIVENESS. “At Comic Con, Emergency Tailors Keep Cosplayers in Character” – behind a New York Times paywall.

When cosplayers descend on New York Comic Con, they’re looking to meet their favorite creators and show off their outfits — but they often end up in need of costume triage. Armed with glue guns, zip ties, Popsicle sticks and safety pins, the Paladins of Cosplay come ready to fix wardrobe malfunctions — like a dangling shoulder pad, an imploding jetpack or any number of hazards that costumed fans face.

“I really love helping people,” said Law Asuncion, 46, who founded the Paladins in 2017. The group is named after the pilots of the robotic hero Voltron, and the term is also an olden-days word for champion. Asuncion and the repair team will be at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, home of New York Comic Con, through Sunday….

…The Paladins set up their first table in 2021, the year New York Comic Con returned to in-person attendance after going virtual in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

At that show, they came to the aid of Boba Fett, the “Star Wars” bounty hunter. “He looked immaculate,” Asuncion said. But his jetpack, which was created using 3-D printing, was problematic, he recalled.

When someone in the crowd bumped into Boba Fett, the jetpack shattered. Boba Pfft. “We were able to Humpty Dumpty, piece it back together and locate areas where it needed additional structure and support,” Asuncion said. On average, about 500 cosplayers visit the group daily at the convention, he said, and the amount doubles on Saturday, the most popular day of the event….

(12) MORE LIKE FROM THE HEAD OF ZEUS. It’s hard to think of Miss Marple as a baby – which is just as well, since this article doesn’t mean it that way: “The Birth of Miss Marple—the Perpetual Spinster Detective at the Heart of Agatha Christie’s Works” at CrimeReads.

…However, by the time that Miss Marple made her debut in December 1927, Christie’s life had been turned upside down. In 1926, she had a breakdown following the death of her mother and [her husband] Archie’s decision to leave her for another woman. Both this breakdown and the subsequent well-publicised disappearance took some time to recover from, and yet these diﬃcult events also coincided with the publication of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, a novel that has since taken pride of place as one of Christie’s masterpieces….

…Agatha Christie’s career was ﬂourishing just as her life seemed to be falling apart. So it is notable that it was shortly after these events that she created a new character, whose entire raison d’être was to be a calm point in a stormy sea. Miss Jane Marple is an unmarried older lady who has spent most of her life in the small village of St Mary Mead, and her quiet observations of people and relationships give her great insight into character….

(13) IN YOUR EYE. [Item by Chris Barkley.] File Under “I Think We’ve Seen This Movie Already… NO Thanks!” “Sam Altman’s Worldcoin becomes World and shows new iris-scanning Orb to prove your humanity” at TeleCrunch.

Worldcoin, the Sam Altman co-founded “proof of personhood” crypto project that scans people’s eyeballs, announced on Thursday that it dropped the “coin” from its name and is now just “World.” The startup behind the World project, Tools for Humanity, also unveiled its next generation of iris-scanning “Orbs” and other tools at a live event in San Francisco….

…The World project is predicated on the idea that advanced AI systems — like the one Altman’s OpenAI is trying to build — will one day make it impossible to tell whether you are talking to a human online. Its solution is “human verification services” based around blockchain…

(14) INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DISNEY STUDIES CALL FOR NEW CO-EDITORS. “The International Journal of Disney Studies is looking for new co-editors! IJDS examines the Walt Disney Company, an international media conglomerate that impacts our global culture.” They will begin reviewing applications on December 1.

This international, peer-reviewed journal draws from a variety of academic and industrial lenses, perspectives, methods and fields, while providing a space for scholars to present new research, review current research and comment on wider Disney commodities. IJDS currently publishes two issues a year (with issues due to the publisher approximately in March and September) with a special issue every other year (for more information, see our webpage: https://www.intellectbooks.com/ijds). Join current co-editor Rebecca Rowe and the rest of our associate editor team to help IJDS keep moving forward!

Co-editor responsibilities include (and can take 2-10 hours a week):
● Timely and professional communication with contributors during different stages of the publishing process, including but not limited to legal document signing, editing and proofreading;
● Coordinating peer reviews for all submissions, including recruiting subject matter experts as peer reviewers;
● Recruitment and training of members of the editorial team and board;
● Preparing and implementing a style guide specific to the study of Disney across many disciplines and countries;
● Soliciting contributions (articles, book reviews, and commentaries) and special issues, including reaching out to organizations and/or specific authors;
● Relaying communication between the publisher (Intellect), the editorial team and board, and contributors;
● Delegating additional duties and responsibilities as necessary.
Financial compensation: co-editors split 10% of the royalty based on Intellect’s net receipts from sales of the journal.

We are recruiting two new co-editors who will serve for three years, with an option for renewal.

We are looking for:
● Ideally, one person from within our current editorial team or board who already knows how the journal works and one person currently unassociated with the journal who can bring new ideas and perspectives to the journal.
● We hope to hear from scholars from a variety of perspectives, positionalities, and backgrounds in order to reflect the global, multivocal engagement with the journal’s stated scope. We are especially looking to support leadership opportunities from historically institutionally marginalized scholars.
● People with a terminal graduate degree in their field (e.g., PhD, EdD, MLS, MBA, MFA, etc.), preferably with previous experience with journal management/editorship. We do not require that you be in a tenure-track position nor even directly involved with academia as long as you regularly engage with research.
● People who are:

○ Motivated, detail-oriented, and organized with experience with the moving parts of publication flows;

○ Strong and compassionate in their verbal and written communication skills in English (preferably in the professional context of editing for a peer-reviewed journal or academic book) and dealing with scholars, co-editors, and publishers;

○ Experienced with team management and working in collaborative settings across languages and time zones;

○ Effective at offering constructive (positive and helpful) feedback to writing projects and at suggesting informed workarounds or concrete alternatives during the revision process;

○ Knowledgeable about Disney (you don’t have to know everything, but a basic understanding helps in the editing process);

○ Practiced in interdisciplinary approaches to cinema and media studies, popular culture studies, and reception, including literacy and fan studies, along with awareness of globally situated scholarship and methodologies.

Selection Process:
● While we will continue accepting applications until the positions are filled, we will begin reviewing applications 1 December. If you are interested, email the following materials (or any questions) to IJoDS@intellectbooks.com with the subject heading “IJoDS Co-Editor Application”:

○ 1-page single-spaced cover letter explaining what skills, knowledge, and experience you hope to bring to the editorial team

○ Curriculum Vitae or resume

● December: finalists will be notified and interviews will be scheduled for December/January with Rebecca, an associate editor, and a representative from the publisher
● Late January: decision will be communicated

(15) TOP SHOWRUNNER’S NEW PROJECT. “’God Of War’: Ronald D. Moore Boards Amazon Series As New Showrunner” reports Deadline.

With Ronald D. Moore back in the Sony Pictures TV Studios fold, the prolific creator/showrunner is taking on a high-profile IP for the studio. He has been tapped as writer, executive producer and showrunner of Sony TV and Amazon MGM Studios’ Prime Video series God Of War, based on PlayStation‘s hugely popular ancient mythology-themed video game.

Moore’s involvement with God Of War follows the recent exit of the project’s original creative team, showrunner/executive producer Rafe Judkins and exec producers Hawk Ostby and Mark Fergus, who had been with the show since its inception two and a half years ago. As Deadline reported, they had completed multiple scripts prior to the changeover, which marks a shift in the creative direction of the series adaptation.

…Since its 2005 launch on the PlayStation 2, the God of War franchise from Sony’s Santa Monica Studio has spanned a total of seven games across four PlayStation consoles. At the center of the story is ex-Spartan warrior Kratos and his perilous journey to exact revenge on the Ares, the Greek God of War, after killing his loved ones under the deity’s influence. After becoming the ruthless God of War himself, Kratos finds himself constantly looking for a chance to change his fate…

(16) THIS SUCKS. Malwarebytes reports “Robot vacuum cleaners hacked to spy on, insult owners”.

Multiple robot vacuum cleaners in the US were hacked to yell obscenities and insults through the onboard speakers.

ABC news was able to confirm reports of this hack in robot vacuum cleaners of the type Ecovacs Deebot X2, which are manufactured in China. Ecovacs is considered the leading service robotics brand, and is a market leader in robot vacuums.

One of the victims, Minnesota lawyer Daniel Swenson, said he heard sound snippets that seemed similar to a voice coming from his vacuum cleaner. Through the Ecovacs app, he then saw someone not in his household accessing the live camera feed of the vacuum, as well as the remote control feature.

Thinking it was a glitch, he rebooted the vacuum cleaner and reset the password, just to be on the safe side. But that didn’t help for long. Almost instantly, the vacuum cleaner started to move again.

Only this time, the voice coming from the vacuum cleaner was loud and clear, and it was yelling racist obscenities at Swenson and his family. The voice sounded like a teenager according to Swenson.

Swenson said he turned off the vacuum and dumped it in the garage, never to be turned on again….

(17) VIDEO OF THE DAY. Ryan George takes us inside the “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Pitch Meeting”. Whether we want to be there or not….

[Thanks to Steven French, Kathy Sullivan, Teddy Harvia, N., Ersatz Culture, Scott Edelman, Steve Green, John A Arkansawyer, Mike Kennedy, Andrew Porter, John King Tarpinian, Chris Barkley, Cat Eldridge, and SF Concatenation’s Jonathan Cowie for some of these stories. Title credit belongs to File 770 contributing editor of the day Jim Janney.]

Pixel Scroll 1/31/24 It’s A Beautiful Day In The Pixel Scroll, A Beautiful Day For Some Pixels, Would You Be Mine?

Posted on January 31, 2024 by Mike Glyer

(1) 1632 AT FANTASCI. The first 1632Con from 1632 & Beyond will be at FantaSci in Raleigh-Durham, NC from April 19-21. Kevin Ikenberry, author of the Assiti Shards book The Crossing, is one of the con’s Special Guests. Bjorn Hasseler, Bethanne Kim, and Chuck Thompson will all be there, as will other authors from the series.

(2) A PASSENGER ABOARD SILVERBERG’S SPACESHIP. Todd Mason researches the early sff of Fred Chappell, who died early in January: “Fred Chappell’s 3 (earliest published?) short stories, in Robert Silverberg’s SPACESHIP, April 1952, April and October 1953” at Sweet Freedom.

Fred Chappell (born 28 May 1936/died 4 January 2024) and Robert Silverberg (born 15 January 1935) were teenaged fantastic-fiction fans in 1952, but were already showing some promise of the kind of writers (and editors) they would soon and continue to become…both had discovered the fiction magazines, among other reading, that would help shape a notable part of both their careers, and were involved in the (somewhat!) organized fantasy/sf/horror-fiction-fandom culture of the late ’40s and early ’50s…so much so that three issues of young New Yorker Silverberg’s fanzine (or amateur magazine meant for other fans and any other interested parties) Spaceship (first published by Silverberg in 1949) would each offer one of three vignettes from young Canton, North Carolina resident Fred Chappell, in Starship’s 4/52, 4/53 and 10/53 issues….

(3) IN MEMORIAM LIST. “In Memoriam: 2023”, Steven H Silver’s compilation of sff figures who died last year, has been posted at Amazing Stories.

(4) FOLLOW THE MONEY. Jason Sanford’s “Genre Grapevine for January 2024” at Patreon about the Hugo controversy and other news is a free read.

… And here’s a great reason why all this drama likely happened in the first place: MONEY!

According to China.org.cn, “Investment deals valued at approximately $1.09 billion were signed during the 81st World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) held in Chengdu, Sichuan province, last week at its inaugural industrial development summit, marking significant progress in the advancement of sci-fi development in China. The deals included 21 sci-fi industry projects involving companies that produce films, parks, and immersive sci-fi experiences. Others were related to the development of melodramas, games, and the metaverse. Additionally, various service platforms for sci-fi franchise incubation projects and sci-fi cultural and creative funds will be developed.”

As Charles Stross wrote, “That’s a metric fuckton of moolah in play, and it would totally account for the fan-run convention folks being discreetly elbowed out of the way and the entire event being stage-managed as a backdrop for a major industrial event to bootstrap creative industries (film, TV, and games) in Chengdu. And—looking for the most charitable interpretation here—the hapless western WSFS people being carried along for the ride to provide a veneer of worldcon-ness to what was basically Chinese venture capital hijacking the event and then sanitizing it politically.”…

(5) OUT AT HOME. For what good it will do the Florida governor now that he’s out of the GOP primary race, The Hollywood Reporter brings this news: “Disney-DeSantis Lawsuit: Court Dismisses Free Speech Suit”.

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit from the Walt Disney Co. against Ron DeSantis that may decide the entertainment giant’s authority to control development around its sprawling theme park.

U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor, in an order issued on Wednesday, found Disney “lacks standing to sue the governor” and DeSantis’ handpicked board that now controls the district in which the company’s park operates. He concluded that the statute reshaping the leadership structure and granting the governor the authority to appoint every member of the tax district’s governing body is “facially constitutional” and cannot be challenged with a free speech claim….

(6) TANGLED UP IN BLUE. “’Avatar’ VFX Artists in U.S. Vote to Unionize” at The Hollywood Reporter.

U.S.-based visual effects artists who help bring James Cameron’s Avatar epics to life have voted to unionize in a National Labor Relations Board election.

Of an eligible 88 workers at Walt Disney Studios subsidiary TCF US Productions 27, Inc. who assist with productions for Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment, 57 voted to join the union and 19 voted against, while two ballots were void. These workers include creatures costume leads and environment artists as well as others in the stage, environments, render, post viz, sequence, turn over and kabuki departments…

(7) WE’RE NOT KIDDING. “The Onion Union Reaches Tentative Deal With Management, Averting Strike” also at The Hollywood Reporter. Try saying “Onion Union” three times fast…

A strike has been averted at The Onion and several of its sister publications, at least for now.

Hours before their current labor agreement was set to expire, The Onion union — representing staffers at The Onion, Onion Labs, The A.V. Club, Deadspin and The Takeout — reached a tentative deal on a new contract with owners G/O Media. According to union, affiliated with the Writers Guild of America East, the new agreement “made important gains in wages and workplace protections.” No other details were immediately available.

(8) TODAY’S BIRTHDAY.

[Written by Cat Eldridge.]

Born January 31, 1934 — Gene DeWeese. (Died 2012.) This Scroll I’m looking at a writer this I’ve never heard of before, Gene DeWeese. He was a member of fandom, and his stories were published in fanzines such as The Chigger Patch of Fandom, Fan-Fare and Yandro. He was a member of the Eastern Indiana Science Fiction Association and the Midwest Nomads. Fancyclopedia notes, “He tried to attend Midwestcon 4 in 1953 with his friends Bev Clark and Buck Coulson, but left when she wasn’t permitted in due to Beatley’s Hotel’s racist Jim Crow policy.”

Gene DeWeese

His first professional novels appeared in the Sixties, a Man from U.N.C.L.E. book co-written with Robert “Buck” Coulson under the name Thomas Stratton, The Invisibility Affair. They would do one more book in this continuity, The Mind-Twisters Affair.

(I do wish that these, like so many works of that era, had become digital publications. They didn’t obviously.)

In the Seventies he and Coulson wrote under their own names two novels set in fandom, Now You See It/Him/Them… and Charles Fort Never Mentioned Wombats.

Most of us remember DeWeese for his Trek novels which is interesting as they were written later in his career. The four that are set in the original continuity were written the Eighties onward, all by him except one he wrote with Margaret Wander Bonanno and Diane Duane. He also wrote three set in the Next Generation continuity as well.

What else did he do? There’s Dinotopia novels, something I swear exists by the dozens even if they don’t. I think. And one in the Lost in Space continuity as well.

What’s more interesting is the series that I’ve never heard of. The Black Suits from Outer Space YA trilogy involves, well, Men (possibly) in Black, plucky teenagers, spaceships, aliens (some cute, some not) and nothing terrible challenging. Fun is the best word to describe them.

He wrote two novels in the Birthstone Gothic series which as near as I can tell is the standard cookie cutter gothic mansion pulpish series with no redeeming alue ehat-so-ever that a writer would do because, well, there’s money there. (The reviewers on Goodreads admit that they were really, really horrible. In an entertaining way.)

He wrote three novels in the Ravenloft continuity, a campaign setting for Dungeons & Dragons. I just got the giggles, errr, laughs reading the summary of that module, but then I never played fantasy RPGs, just SF ones like the Traveller RPG. What a fantastic RPG that was!

There’s still a lot of other novels that I’ve not mentioned and quite a bit of short stories (none collected).

(9) COMICS SECTION.

Eek! is holding sidekick interviews for Batman.
The Argyle Sweater has a hearing problem.

(10) ENDLESS TROUBLES. Artist Colleen Doran tells how the sky fell on her after she agreed to adapt Good Omens: “Great Big Good Omens Graphic Novel Update”. You think Job had it bad?

Anyway, as a long time Good Omens novel fan, you may imagine how thrilled I was to get picked to adapt the graphic novel.

Go me!

This is quite a task, I have to say, especially since I was originally going to just draw (and color) it, but I ended up writing the adaptation as well. Tricky to fit a 400 page novel into a 160-ish page graphic novel, especially when so much of the humor is dependent on the language, and not necessarily on the visuals.

Not complainin’, just sayin’.

Anyway, I started out the gate like a herd of turtles, because right away I got COVID which knocked me on my butt.

And COVID brain fog? That’s a thing. I already struggle with brain fog due to autoimmune disease, and COVID made it worse.

Not complainin’ just sayin’.

This set a few of the assignments on my plate back, which pushed starting Good Omens back.

But hey, big fat lead time! No worries!

Then my computer crawled toward the grave….

(11) COME LIVE THAT DAY ALL OVER AGAIN. [Item by Daniel Dern.] Groundhog Day cast members will reunite in Chicago on February 2 to celebrate the life and career of director Harold Ramis.

The reunion will feature an immersive experience inspired by the 1993 film, as well as iconic costumes, props and set pieces.

The comedy’s mayor himself, Brian Doyle-Murray, will appear with a real groundhog to forecast the next six weeks of weather, just like in the movie. Groundhog Day Cast Will Officially Reunite for the First Time in Chicago (movieweb.com)

According to the release (per Harry Caray’s Tavern), nine Groundhog Day actors are expected to show up at Harry Caray’s Tavern, Navy Pier, on Friday, February 2. Unfortunately, the movie’s two leads, Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell, were not listed among those expected to appear. Given Murray’s love of Chicago Cubs baseball, though, he could pop in as a surprise guest, but that’s not been confirmed. However, Stephen Tobolowsky, the actor who played the unforgettable insurance salesman, Ned Ryerson, will be in attendance.

Joining Tobolowsky is another prominent cast member, Bill Murray’s brother, Brian Doyle-Murray (the mayor who almost chokes to death). Marita Geraghty (Nancy Taylor — the woman who makes noises like a chipmunk when she gets “real excited”), Robin Duke (Doris the waitress), Ken Hudson Campbell (the hotel guest who says “ciao”), David Pasquesi (the psychiatrist who asks if Murray’s character can come back tomorrow), Peggy Roeder (Phil Connors’ piano teacher), Richard Henzel (DJ) and Don Rio McNichols (drummer) are all scheduled to show up at Harry Caray’s Tavern. And fans can check out one of Phil Connors (Murray) and Ned Ryerson’s memorable scenes (below) to whet their appetities:

And there will be a related promiotion next door:

Chef Art Smith’s Reunion, located right next door to Harry Caray’s Tavern, will be playing Groundhog Day on their monitors and treating guests to a complimentary taste of their signature Punxsutawney Punch which will be available for purchase all day. Additional offerings include a GREAT Instagrammable moment where guests can take their pic being a groundhog. Make sure you say the line “I had groundhog for lunch, tastes like chicken” to get dessert comped on the house! Click below to make a reservation.

(12) KEEP WATCHING THE SKIES. “NASA’s Webb Depicts Staggering Structure in 19 Nearby Spiral Galaxies – NASA Science at NASA Science.

“Webb’s new images are extraordinary,” said Janice Lee, a project scientist for strategic initiatives at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore. “They’re mind-blowing even for researchers who have studied these same galaxies for decades. Bubbles and filaments are resolved down to the smallest scales ever observed, and tell a story about the star formation cycle.”

… Something else that amazed astronomers? Webb’s images show large, spherical shells in the gas and dust. “These holes may have been created by one or more stars that exploded, carving out giant holes in the interstellar material,” explained Adam Leroy, a professor of astronomy at the Ohio State University in Columbus.

Now, trace the spiral arms to find extended regions of gas that appear red and orange. “These structures tend to follow the same pattern in certain parts of the galaxies,” Rosolowsky added. “We think of these like waves, and their spacing tells us a lot about how a galaxy distributes its gas and dust.” Study of these structures will provide key insights about how galaxies build, maintain, and shut off star formation….

(13) DOUBLE DIP. Two new trailers for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, coming to movie theaters March 22. This is the US trailer:

This is the international trailer, which reportedly includes some different footage.

[Thanks to Andrew Porter, John King Tarpinian, Chris Barkley, Steven H Silver, Kathy Sullivan, Todd Mason, Daniel Dern, Dariensync, Cat Eldridge, SF Concatenation’s Jonathan Cowie, Steven French, and Mike Kennedy for some of these stories. Title credit belongs to File 770 contributing editor of the day Jayn.]

Pixel Scroll 11/7/23 Pixel Scrollightly Seems Like A Good Character Name

Posted on November 7, 2023 by Mike Glyer

(1) PHILADELPHIA SCIENCE FICTION SOCIETY CONTEST GOES INTERNATIONAL. [Item by Lew Wolkoff.] For the past 25 years the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society (PSFS) has run a Young Writers’ Contest for students in grades 5-8 and grades 9-12. Winners receive a cash prize and two free memberships (winner and parent or guardian) to the Philadelphia Science Fiction Conference (Philcon). This year, Philcon will be November 17-19 at the Doubletree by Hilton in Cherry Hill, NJ.

The contest is open to any student in the grades mentioned, but in past years, most submissions have been from the greater Philadelphia area. This year, things were different. The contest was mentioned in some Asian scholastic magazines, and there were submissions from India, Nepal, and Afghanistan. The second place winner in the High School category was, in fact, B.S. Raagul of Tasmil Nadu, India.

Some of the winning stories may be posted on the PSFS or Philcon website after Philcon is over says Lew Wolkoff, Contest Committee Chair.

(2) NORWESCON LOVES TERRY BROOKS. Seattle Met’s profile “Terry Brooks Has Found a Family in Seattle’s Fantasy Scene” includes a quote from Norwescon chair SunnyJim Morgan.

… It’s safe to say that Brooks—who now splits his time between Seattle and Cannon Beach, Oregon—made the right choice. If you’re a fantasy fan, you might know that Brooks has written 23 New York Times bestsellers and sold over 25 million novels worldwide. Sister of Starlit Seas, the third book in his Viridian Deep fantasy series hits shelves on November 14.

It didn’t take long for the Emerald City to embrace Brooks when he first moved here in 1986. Nearly 38 years later, Brooks is still repaying the support that galvanized his career, regularly communicating with the huge fantasy and sci-fi community in Seattle and trying to inspire the next generation of writers in the genre. Later this month he’ll take part in a speaking tour across the Pacific Northwest, visiting Spokane, Seattle, and Tukwila, before heading out of state.

“He is a fan favorite,” says SunnyJim Morgan, the chair for Norwescon, Seattle’s annual science fiction and fantasy convention that has run continuously since 1978 and attracts up to 2,300 fantasy and sci-fi fans every year. “He’s one of those A-list, top-tier genre authors that we would love to have come every year. But they often can’t make it because they’re so overwhelmed with requests.”…

(3) 2025 WESTERCON NEEDS YOU TO FILL IN THE BLANK. In a post at Westercon.org, Kevin Standlee announces that the Westercon 77 (2025) Site Selection Ballot has been released. However, because there are no filed bids for 2025 he goes into some detail about how the fate of the convention will be decided.

The ballot to select the site of the 77th West Coast Science Fantasy Conference (Westercon 75) to be held in 2025 is now available online at http://www.westercon.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Westercon-75-Site-Selection-Ballot-for-Westercon-77.pdf. No bids filed to host Westercon 77 by the filing deadline for the ballot, nor have any write-in bids files as of the date of this posting. The final deadline to file a bid as a valid write-in is the close of voting at Westercon 75 (Loscon 49) on Friday, November 24, 2024 at 6:00 pm Pacific Standard Time. The results of voting will be announced at the Westercon 75 Business Meeting on the morning of Saturday, November 25, 2024. Should no valid bid win the election, the Westercon Business Meeting will determine the site of Westercon 77 per the provisions of the Westercon Bylaws.

There is a site for the 2024 convention — Westercon 76. It will be held in Salt Lake City, UT from July 4-7.

(4) SAG-AFTRA STRIKE PROGRESS. Note: the main articles at the links mainly discuss Monday’s negotiations, with some updates from Tuesday’s session.

“Actors Strike: SAG-AFTRA & Studios End Talks For Night; Guild Responds To Offer” reports Deadline.

…As has been the case for months, AI remains one of the major issues that divides the two sides. The studios are looking to seal the deal with what one source called “an expanded version of what the WGA agreed to,” while the guild wants project-specific protections on scans of performers and re-use of their likenesses. Well-positioned sources on both sides admit that part of the problem is coming up with effective guardrails for a technology that is evolving in leaps and bounds….

The Hollywood Reporter adds, “As SAG-AFTRA Responds to Studio Offer, AI Protections for High-Earning Members Remain Sticking Point”.

… Multiple sources familiar with the state of the negotiations tell The Hollywood Reporter that SAG-AFTRA has pushed back on an AI clause that is included in the studios’ latest offer. The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers is seeking to secure AI scans for Schedule F performers — guild members who earn more than the minimum for series regulars ($32,000 per TV episode) and feature films ($60,000). The companies’ suggested clause would require studios and streamers to pay to scan the likeness of Schedule F performers. SAG-AFTRA is seeking to attach compensation for the reuse of AI scans, as AMPTP member companies would also need to secure consent from the performer. The language in the AMPTP’s offer would see the studios and streamers secure the right to use scans of deceased performers without the consent of their estate or SAG-AFTRA, according to a union-side source….

(5) UNLISTED NUMBERS FROM NOW ON. “The ‘Wall Street Journal’ Drops Its Bestseller Lists” – Publishers Weekly tells why.

The Wall Street Journal has stopped running its weekly bestseller lists. The final lists were carried in the past weekend’s editions. The paper ran a total of six fiction and nonfiction lists, as well as a hardcover business list. All were powered by Circana BookScan.

The fiction and nonfiction categories were both divided into hardcover, e-book, and combined lists. In something of a unique feature, the lists combined adult and children’s titles on one list. Thus, last week’s top-selling hardcover fiction book was Jeff Kinney’s No Brainer, while The Woman in Me by Britney Spears was number one in all three nonfiction categories, including the e-book/print combined list.

Paul Gigot, editorial page editor at the WSJ, said that the company’s contract with Circana expired, “and we are not renewing it.” He added that all other aspects of the paper’s book coverage will “continue as usual.”

(6) TOTALING THE UNACCOUNTABLE. The New York Times’ Ian Wang reviews Naomi Alderman’s new novel, The Future: “In ‘The Future,’ Earth Barrels Toward Fiery Destruction”.

There are few figures in the Bible more cruelly evocative than Lot’s wife, who is transfigured into a pillar of salt for looking back at Sodom. The poet Anna Akhmatova mourned “her swift legs rooted to the ground”; Kurt Vonnegut wrote of her backward glance, “I love her for that, because it was so human.” Naomi Alderman’s “The Future,” like much great science fiction, turns the symbolic into tangible, chemical reality. Early in her novel, a woman is frozen to death with a chemical refrigerant made of paramagnetic salts: a Lot’s wife for the Information Age.

Alderman’s Sodom is our own polarized, plutocratic world. Some names have been changed — instead of Bezos or Musk, we have Lenk Sketlish, Zimri Nommik and Ellen Bywater as our unsavory tech tyrants — but the pressure points are the same: A.I., algorithms, deadly pandemics and the existential threat of climate change, all bound up with the rise of an increasingly unaccountable billionaire class. Whether by divine will or not, “The Future” finds the earth barreling toward fiery destruction….

(7) THE MEASURE OF AMERICANS AND THEIR BOOKS. Book Riot attempts to answer a question with the help of two studies: “What Are The Book-Owning and Book-Reading Habits of Americans? Two New Reports Shed Insight”.

The poll from YouGov includes this information:

20% of Americans own between one and ten books;
14% own between 11 and 25 books; and
13% between 26 and 50.

There are more interesting numbers related to book ownership, too. Only 9% state that they own no physical books, while 69% own fewer than 100. Some 6% have no idea how many books they own. For those of you thinking that you’re now among the percentage of Americans who own a lot of books, you might be right: 4% of Americans claim to own between 500 and 1,000 books, while 3% claim to own more than 1,000 books. These numbers represent physical books, which remain the most common type of book for Americans to own. About 50% of Americans own an ebook, while 9% claim to own at least 100 ebooks…

The article also covers results of a survey by the National Endowment for the Arts.

(8) IF AND ONLY IF. When Worlds of IF is revived the staff will include Robert Silverberg as contributing editor. And bonus content is already being posted to the website.

Worlds of IF is pleased to welcome science fiction legend Robert Silverberg as contributing editor. A multiple winner of both Hugo and Nebula Awards, a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, and a Grand Master of SF, his input and stories will be a welcome addition to the revival of the magazine.

In addition to finalizing the editorial staff and acquisitions for the inaugural issue, Worlds of IF is rolling out bonus content on the website with new features added frequently including “An Interview with Gideon Marcus of Galactic Journey”, multiple time Hugo Finalist, and audio adaptations of classic stories from the pages of IF, most recently “Double Take” by Wilson Parks Griffith from 1955 and “Communication” by Charles Fontenay from 1956.

(9) TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS.

[Compiled by Cat Eldridge.]

Born November 7, 1910 — Pearl Argyle. Catherine CabalI in the 1936 Things to Come as written by H.G. Wells based off his “The Shape of Things to Come” story. Being a dancer, she also appeared in 1926 The Fairy Queen opera by Henry Purcell, with dances by Marie Rambert and Frederick Ashton. Her roles were Dance of the Followers of Night, an attendant on Summer, and Chaconne. At age thirty-six, she died of a sudden massive cerebral hemorrhage while visiting her husband in New York. (Died 1947.)
Born November 7, 1914 — R. A. Lafferty. Writer known for somewhat eccentric usage of language. His first novel Past Master would set a lifelong pattern of seeing his works nominated for Hugo and Nebula Awards as novels but not winning either though he won a Hugo short story for “Eurema’s Dam”. He had received a World Fantasy Lifetime Achievement Award, and was honored with the Cordwainer Smith Foundation’s Rediscovery award. (Died 2002.)
Born November 7, 1950 — Lindsay Duncan, 73. Adelaide Brooke in the Tenth Doctor‘s “The Waters of Mars” story and the recurring role Lady Smallwood on Sherlock in “His Last Vow,” “The Six Thatchers,” and “The Lying Detective”. She’s also been in Black Mirror, A Discovery of Witches, Frankenstein, The Storyteller: Greek Myths, Mission: 2110 and one of my favorite series, The New Avengers.
Born November 7, 1954 — Guy Gavriel Kay, 69. So the story goes that when Christopher Tolkien needed an assistant to edit his father J. R. R. Tolkien’s unpublished work, he chose Kay who was then a student of philosophy at the University of Manitoba. And Kay moved to Oxford in 1974 to assist Tolkien in editing The Silmarillion. Cool, eh? Kay’s own Finovar trilogy is the retelling of the legends of King Arthur, Lancelot and Guinevere which is why much of his fiction is considered historical fantasy. Tigana likewise somewhat resembles Renaissance Italy . My favorite work by him is Ysabel which strangely enough is called an urban fantasy when it isn’t. It won a World Fantasy Award.
Born November 7, 1960 — Linda Nagata, 63. Her novella “Goddesses” was the first online publication to win the Nebula Award. She writes largely in the Nanopunk genre which is not be confused with the Biopunk genre. To date, she has three series out, to wit The Nanotech Succession, Stories of the Puzzle Lands (as Trey Shiels) and The Red. She has won a Locus Award for Best First Novel for The Bohr Maker which the first novel in The Nanotech Succession. Her 2013 story “Nahiku West” was runner-up for the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award, and The Red: First Light was nominated for both the Nebula Award and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel. Her site is here.
Born November 7, 1974 — Carl Steven. He appeared in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock as a young Spock, thereby becoming the first actor other than Leonard Nimoy to play the role in a live action setting. Genre one-offs included Weird Science, Teen Wolf and Superman. He provided the voice of a young Fred Jones for four seasons worth of A Pup Named Scooby-Doo which can be construed as genre. Let’s just say his life didn’t end well and leave it at that. (Died 2011.)

(10) COMICS SECTION.

The Far Side demonstrates that aliens need anger management too.

(11) LOST RELIC OF THE LIGHTER-THAN-AIR AGE. Any number of times I drove past this structure just to soak up the history. Gone now. “Fire destroys second world war-era blimp hangar in California” – the Guardian has the story.

A giant second world war-era wooden hangar that was built to house military blimps based in southern California was destroyed on Tuesday in a raging fire that authorities expect could continue burning for days.

Firefighters responded to the blaze just before 1am, the Orange county fire authority said, and found the hangar “fully engulfed” with flames tearing through the roof. The ferocity of the fire brought more than 70 firefighters to the scene and prompted authorities to make the unusual decision of deploying helicopters typically used to fight wildfires in an effort to slow the blaze.

Crews were unable to stop it from within the hangar due to the “dynamic nature” of the fire and the collapse risk, fire chief Brian Fennessy said at a news conference on Tuesday morning. Officials determined the only way to fight the fire was to allow the landmark to collapse.

“It’s a sad day for the city of Tustin and all of Orange county,” Fennessy said.

Fennessy said no injuries were reported. The blaze could continue burning for hours, or even days, he said.

The historic hangar was one of two built in 1942 for the US navy in the city of Tustin, about 35 miles south-east of Los Angeles. At the time, the navy used lighter-than-air ships for patrol and antisubmarine defense.

According to the city, the hangars are 17 stories high, more than 1,000ft long and 300ft wide, putting them among the largest wooden structures ever built. The burning structure was known as the north hangar….

(12) A BRIEF HISTORY OF MUSIC FOR THE MOVIES (2011), AND FILM COMPOSERS ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION. Steve Vertlieb invites you to read “Vertlieb’s Views: Tribute to Film Music” at The Thunder Child.

“A Brief History Of Music For The Movies! (2011)”

Much of the most profoundly beautiful music of the twentieth century was composed for films. From the earliest days of sound with scores by Max Steiner for both RKO Radio and Warner Bros, Erich Wolfgang Korngold at Warners, Alfred Newman at Fox, and Victor Young at Paramount, this distinctively Western art form would evolve and mature into some of the most significant, and influential symphonic scoring of the last century.

As the late thirties and early nineteen forties arrived, composers such as Max Steiner, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Miklos Rozsa, Bernard Herrmann, Alfred Newman, and Victor Young would dominate the soundtrack of the American motion picture screen, while Arthur Bliss and others would favor British films with their own original music.

Hugo Friedhofer’s sublime score for William Wyler’s “The Best Years of Our Lives” pervasively influenced the sounds of post war America, while Dimitri Tiomkin, Franz Waxman, Elmer Bernstein, Leonard Bernstein, Alex North, John Green, Henry Mancini, Ernest Gold, William Alwyn, Phillip Sainton, Jerry Goldsmith, John Barry, James Horner, Ennio Morricone, David Amram, Lee Holdridge, James Bernard and, of course, John Williams would both transform and reinvent the soundtrack of our lives.

Steve also recommends viewing this three hour “live” lecture commissioned by writer/director Robert Tinnell for his film class at The Factory Digital Filmmaking Program on May 4th, 2011, presenting a significantly compressed overview of the history of motion picture music.

It was never intended as definitive but, rather, an understandably simplified evening’s exploration for a then youthful audience of the significance and enduring importance of a century of original film scoring.

A FILM COMPOSERS ROUNDTABLE

This remarkable roundtable of composers and orchestrators assembled ten years ago for a sequence in the unfinished feature length motion picture documentary “The Man Who ‘Saved’ The Movies.”

Below: Pictured from left to right are acclaimed motion picture orchestrator Patrick Russ, Erwin Vertlieb, Emmy winning film and television composer/conductor Lee Holdridge, writer/film score musicologist Steve Vertlieb, and one of the most brilliant composers working in film today, the marvelous Mark McKenzie.

(13) PICKLE FLAVOR TRENDING. Reviewer Angela L. Pagán uses her tastebuds to put the product to the test: “Here’s What the New Heinz Pickle Ketchup Tastes Like” in The Takeout.

…As both an advocate for all applications of ketchup and an ardent pickle lover, I have a lot riding on this new condiment. I’ve chosen to try the ketchup innovation on the perfect blank canvas: a fresh batch of French fries, hot out of the fryer. Two of my favorite items have finally come together as one, but are they truly a match?

Well, as with any real relationship, the pairing isn’t perfect.

One dip of the fries into the new ketchup and the answer is immediately clear. The ketchup tastes like classic Heinz ketchup, full of sweet tang, blended with a dill scent and such a light dill note at the end that you might miss it if you don’t get enough ketchup on your fry.

This isn’t to say that Heinz is pulling a fast one on consumers by not delivering on what the product says it contains (as some brands have lately). Heinz Pickle Ketchup is clearly labeled as containing “pickle seasoning,” which is exactly what it tastes like—a sprinkle of dill flavor mixed into a whole lot of ketchup.

Unfortunately, since this is meant to do justice to pickle fans, the ketchup falls just a bit short of that goal. For a brand that touts its pickle prowess profusely (say that five times fast) in the announcement of this new release, it seems to have fallen victim to the same mistake many other brands make when it comes to pickle products. There’s not enough pickle flavor in this Pickle Ketchup for my taste….

(14) VIDEO OF THE DAY. Ryan George sells himself on the idea in “Five Nights at Freddy’s Pitch Meeting”.

[Thanks to Andrew Porter, Ersatz Culture, John King Tarpinian, Chris Barkley, Lise Andreasen, Lew Wolkoff, Steve Vertlieb, Jean-Paul L. Garnier, Cat Eldridge, SF Concatenation’s Jonathan Cowie, Mike Kennedy for some of these stories. Title credit belongs to File 770 contributing editor of the day Jack Lint.]

Pixel Scroll 6/4/23 Wednesday’s Pixel Is Full Of Scroll

Posted on June 4, 2023 by Mike Glyer

(1) CHIANG CALLS AI “A POOR CHOICE OF WORDS”. Behind a paywall in the Financial Times: “Sci-fi writer Ted Chiang: ‘The machines we have now are not conscious’”.

…Before we have had a chance to order, the proprietor, who also doubles as the waiter, turns up with two steaming bowls of peppery red lentil soup. The flavours instantly awaken my taste buds: salty and pungent. As we dive in, Chiang, in his contemplative way, takes issue with my observation that his fictional worlds and the one we’re inhabiting are getting uncomfortably close together.

“The machines we have now, they’re not conscious,” he says. “When one person teaches another person, that is an interaction between consciousnesses.” Meanwhile, AI models are trained by toggling so-called “weights” or the strength of connections between different variables in the model, in order to get a desired output. “It would be a real mistake to think that when you’re teaching a child, all you are doing is adjusting the weights in a network.”

Chiang’s main objection, a writerly one, is with the words we choose to describe all this. Anthropomorphic language such as “learn”, “understand”, “know” and personal pronouns such as “I” that AI engineers and journalists project on to chatbots such as ChatGPT create an illusion. This hasty shorthand pushes all of us, he says — even those intimately familiar with how these systems work — towards seeing sparks of sentience in AI tools, where there are none.

“There was an exchange on Twitter a while back where someone said, ‘What is artificial intelligence?’ And someone else said, ‘A poor choice of words in 1954’,” he says. “And, you know, they’re right. I think that if we had chosen a different phrase for it, back in the ’50s, we might have avoided a lot of the confusion that we’re having now.”

So if he had to invent a term, what would it be? His answer is instant: applied statistics….

(2) CHICON 8 WILL SHARE SURPLUS. The Chicon 8 Worldcon committee informed Facebook readers today the 2022 event has a surplus. Here’s how they will distributed it:

We are delighted to tell you that Chicon 8 has achieved a modest budget surplus, despite the challenge of a pandemic environment which reduced our membership numbers and increased our costs. This means that we will have funds to pass along to the next three Worldcons, as well as some other fannish organizations.

Additionally, we are offering a partial reimbursement to all qualifying staff, volunteers and program participants. You should have received the email last weekend, so do check your spam filters! Questions can be sent to reimbursements @ chicon.org

(3) POORFEADING. My reprinting “TYPOS by Mike Glyer” today reminded John Hertz of the popular poem “Ode to a Typographical Error” at Mighty Red Pen. The first two lines are:

The typographical error is a slippery thing and sly;
You can hunt till you are dizzy, but it somehow will get by.

(4) ON THE FRITZ. And while we’re on the subject, Andrew (not Werdna) suggested we check out the typos (at least two) on the back of this edition of Robert Silverberg’s Great Tales of Science Fiction.

(5) CELEBRITY BRUSH. Buzzfeed found “17 Stories From Former Classmates Of Celebs” – one of them writes sff.

Quite a while back, a since-deleted Reddit account asked, “Those who went to high school with celebrities, who were they and what were they like?”…

16. “My cousin went to high school with George R. R. Martin [the author of A Song of Ice and Fire, the series adapted into Game of Thrones] and recalled having a freshman lit class with him. When it was time for everyone to read their stories, George’s was BY FAR the best. Apparently, the entire class simultaneously dropped their jaws. Guy’s a talent. Oh, and apparently, he was a typical nice dude.”

(6) PLAY IT AGAIN, CARL. MeTV says “The music of Kolchak: The Night Stalker shares roots with Star Trek and Trilogy of Terror”.

From the first frame in the opening sequence of Kolchak: The Night Stalker, the music sets the tone. First, our protagonist whistles us a tune, a homespun melody that grounds us in Carl Kolchak’s world. Quickly, though, the playful music swells into a nearly-overwhelming orchestral score, contrasting the simpler sounds with blood-pressuring raising crescendos.

The title music is indicative of what’s to come. Carl Kolchak is seemingly a simple-enough man, however, his exploits are anything but. What could be a simple series about a regular newspaper reporter turns into a monster-of-the-week horror show. It’s a testament to the cast and crew that this tone is so expertly balanced.

Chief among the creatives who influenced the series’ direction is the show’s various composers. Initially, for the made-for-TV ABC movies featuring Kolchak, those duties were handled by Bob Cobert. Cobert was, himself, no stranger to television shows that go bump in the night; that’s his work soundtracking the vintage vampire soap opera Dark Shadows. You might also recognize his work in Trilogy of Terror, another terrifying made-for-TV flick.

The theme for the television series, though, was composed by Gil Mellé. That’s Mellé’s melody that Kolchak whispers in the opening moments. Shows like Ironside and The Night Gallery were all the better for their Mellé scores….

(7) YOUR MILEAGE MAY VARY. “20 Books to 50K is worse than KBoards now” opines Joe Vasicek.

I don’t think I have posted a single thing to the 20 Books to 50K Facebook group that hasn’t been declined by the moderators. None of my posts have been political, and I’ve gone out of my way not to throw any bombs.

Even in the wokest days of KBoards, before I was banned from that site (and just before they fell off a cliff in terms of being the main gathering place online for indie authors), the moderators were never this harsh.

Online communities have a life cycle, and in the later stages they either fall apart because the trolls take over, or the moderators become too tyrannical. Apparently, that now applies to real-life communities too, now that we all spend most of our time online. Right now, 20 Books is in perhaps the most advanced stage of a moderator takeover that I’ve ever seen….

(8) MEMORY LANE.

2003 – [Written by Cat Eldridge from a choice by Mike Glyer.]

Our Beginning is that of “A Night on the Barbary Coast”, a short story by Kage Baker that was first published in The Silver Gryphon anthology edited Marty Halpern and Gary Turner and published by their Golden Gryphon Press twenty years ago. Check out the contents on ISFDB — if you’ve not read it, you’ll want to. Oh and the wrap around illustration is by Tom Canty.

Kage and I as I have mentioned before had a long conversation ongoing in email and on the phone for years before her death. We were planning a Concordance consisting of interviews with her characters and other materials but she became too ill too fast for it to happen. Pity that as it would been a lot of fun to do.

Gods and Pawns where it was reprinted along with other Company stories is available from the usual suspects. The Silver Gryphon is about two dollars currently on ABE Books. Signed copies are considerably more.

And here’s our Beginning…

I’d been walking for five days, looking for Mendoza. The year was 1850.

Actually, walking doesn’t really describe traveling through that damned vertical wilderness in which she lived. I’d crawled uphill on hands and knees, which is no fun when you’re dressed as a Franciscan friar, with sandals and beads and the whole nine yards of brown burlap robe. I’d slid downhill, which is no fun either, especially when the robe rides up in back. I’d waded across freezing cold creeks and followed thready little trails through ferns, across forest floors in permanent darkness under towering redwoods. I’m talking gloom. One day the poets will fall in love with Big Sur, and after them the beats and hippies, but if vampires ever discover the place they’ll go nuts over it.

Mendoza isn’t a vampire, though she is an immortal being with a lot of problems, most of which she blames on me.

I’m an immortal being with a lot of problems, too. Like father, like daughter.

After most of a week, I finally came out on a patch of level ground about three thousand feet up. I was standing there looking down on clouds floating above the Pacific Ocean, and feeling kind of funny in the pit of my stomach as a result—and suddenly saw the Company-issue processing credenza on my left, nicely camouflaged. I’d found Mendoza’s camp at last.

There was her bivvy tent, all right, and a table with a camp stove, and five pots with baby trees growing in them. Everything but the trees had a dusty, abandoned look. Cripes, I thought to myself, how long since she’s been here? I looked around uneasily, wondering if I ought to yoo-hoo or something, and that was when I noticed her signal coming from… up? I craned back my head.

An oak tree rose from the mountain face behind me, huge and branching wide, and high up there among the boughs Mendoza leaned. She gazed out at the sea; but with such a look of ecstatic vacancy in her eyes, I guessed she was seeing something a lot farther away than that earthly horizon.

(9) TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS.

[Compiled by Cat Eldridge.]

Born June 4, 1936 — Bruce Dern, 87. Here for Silent Running, a film I’d completely forgotten I’d seen until compiling this Birthday. It’s the directorial debut of Douglas Trumbull who went on to much more famous projects. Dern also shows up in a number of other genre films such as The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant, The Haunting, The Astronaut Farmer and Freaks. Needless to say, you’ll find him on series such as The Outer Limits, Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Land of the Giants.
Born June 4, 1951 — Wendi Pini, 72. With husband Richard, responsible for Elfquest. Over the years Elfquest has been self-published by the Pinis through their own company Warp Graphics, then Marvel Comics, then the Pinis again, more recently DC Comics and then Dark Horse Comics. Everything prior to 2013 is free online. Be prepared to spend hours lost in great reading!
Born June 4, 1960 — Kristine Kathryn Rusch, 63. If you’ve not discovered the delights of her Diving Universe series, you’re in for a treat — it’s that good. Her Retrieval Artist series is one that can be read in no particular order so is a great deal of fun no matter where you start. Nor let us forget the Spade/Paladin series, I think we can call it a series, which is quite delightful. Ten Little Fen is the first novel in that series. Oh, and she won the Astounding Award for Best New Writer. Her Website is here; don’t miss her appreciation of A. J. Budrys.
Born June 4, 1960 — Bradley Walsh, 63. His first genre was on The Sarah Jane Adventures as Odd Bob Elijah Spellman aka The Pied Piper in “The Day of the Clown” story. His major genre role video wise however is Graham O’Brien, companion to the Thirteenth Doctor. Now it’s worth noting that he has a lot of theatre experience that is genre having appeared in multiple versions of Aladdin, Cinderella, Jack & the Bean Stalk, Peter Pan and Snow White.
Born June 4, 1964 — Sean Pertwee, 59. Let’s see, where did I see him first? Oh, of course, playing Sheriff Hugh Beringar on Cadfael but that’s not genre, is it? Captain Heinz in “Trenches of Hell, Part 2 “, on The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles was his first genre role followed being Pilot Smith on Event Horizon and Macbeth in a UK film of that name the same year. He did a bit of low-budget horror playing Bradley Cortese in Tale of the Mummy and likewise in being Sergeant Harry G. Wells in Dog Soldiers. There were some fairly low budget SF as well, say Father in Equilibrium. Not to mention Brother Proteus in Ultramarines: A Warhammer 40,000 Movie which I dearly want to see! All of which gets redeemed by his Inspector Lestrade in Elementary, a stunning take on that character. And then there’s his Alfred in Gotham.
Born June 4, 1972 — Joe Hill, 51. I’ve met him once or twice down the years as he shows up here in Portland for signings at both book shops and comic shops. Nice guy like his father. Actually the whole family is amazingly nice. Locke & Key is a superb graphic novel series and I’m fond of all of his short stories, particularly those collected in 20th Century Ghosts. I’ve got Full Throttle, his latest collection in my digital reading pile. I notice that though he’s not yet won a Hugo, he’s won a fistful of Stokers, many BFAs, a World Fantasy Award and even an International Horror Guild Award.
Born June 4, 1975 — Angelina Jolie, 48. I really liked her two Tomb Raider films and thought Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow was a really cool film with her role being quite magnificent. I never saw her early Cyborg 2 undertaking but think Hackers and her role as Kate “Acid Burn” Libby was rather good. I’ve not seen her Maleficent films.
Born June 4, 1991 — Jordan Danger, 32. She is best known for her role as Zoe Carter on Eureka. (Now inexplicably renamed A Town Called Eureka in syndication.) She also showed up in Ragin Cajun Redneck Gators which as horror is genre of sorts, plus the SF films, Higher Power and Beyond the Sky. And even a vampire film, Living Among Us. All low budget, all straight to DVD productions.

(10) TO START YOUR WEEK. Sunday Morning Transport seeks to encourage subscribers with this free read, “Hibernation Heirloom”.

For June, we begin with Chelsea Mueller’s evocative view of motherhood’s pressures and expectations. ~ Julian and Fran, June 4, 2023

(11) ROBERT J. SAWYER PROFILE. The Chengdu Worldcon’s latest “Dialogue with Sci-Fi Heavy Hitters” is: “Robert J. Sawyer: Go to Chengdu and You Will Meet the Best Sci-Fi Fans in the World”.

…Robert J. Sawyer’s latest sci-fi novel Download released this month also revolves around the two core themes. In the novel, humans have uploaded their consciousness into the meta-universe, opening up an alternative way of life. But suddenly, something happened. Some people vanish forever, and the survivors have to return to the real world.

The inspiration for the novel comes from Sawyer’s own feelings during the pandemic. “Before the pandemic, we were free to meet, to gather, to touch each other, to hug loved ones. Then the life we had taken for granted took a big hit and many had to connect online. So I thought, what if one day humans could only survive digitally and never return to the real world? Or what if they were suddenly forced to return to the real world after getting used to digital existence?”

Nor were his feelings confined to this point. “For decades, sci-fi writers have depicted various possible plagues, but when a plaue actually arrived, the world was still unprepared. People never learn from their mistakes, and this hasn’t changed for thousands of years.” Sawyer tells.

“And one thing hasn’t changed too. No matter how much convenience the Internet can provide, how exciting the video games can be, nothing can replace real human connection, laughter and clinking glasses, eye contacts, and soft breathing by the ears. Digital life has never been the direction of human evolution. In this era of rapid advances in AI, it is more vital than ever to appreciate human contribution and value.” Sawyer claims….

(12) WILLETT’S FIRST NOVEL BACK IN PRINT. Soulworm, the debut novel of Edward Willett, now the award-winning author of more than 20 novels and twice that many nonfiction books, has been made available once more in a new edition from Shadowpaw Press Reprise.

This YA fantasy novel, originally published in 1997, was written in the 1980s while Willett was news editor of the Weyburn Review newspaper, and is set in Weyburn in 1984—which nowadays gives it a Stranger Things vibe, although at the time it was a present-day tale.

Willett is an Aurora Award winner for Marseguro (DAW) and for Best Fan Related Work in 2019 for The Worldshapers podcast, and a Saskatchewan Book Award for Spirit Singer in 2002.

The story

For years, Liothel has waited in vain for her powers to manifest themselves, so that she can become a full-blown Warder, defender of the realm of Mykia from the mind-controlling spirit creatures known as soulworms. But when a soulworm escapes from the Warden’s citadel through a magical portal into the parallel world of Earth, it is her spirit that, entirely by accident, is sent in pursuit.

She finds herself, a helpless, unsuspected observer, in the mind of Maribeth, a teenage girl in the small Canadian prairie city of Weyburn, Saskatchewan, in 1984—and discovers the soulworm has possessed Maribeth’s best friend, Christine.

Somehow, she must find a way to save Earth from the plague of death and destruction the soulworm and its offspring will release if allowed to spread across the unprotected planet. Only she knows the danger—and only she can stop it.

(13) “NOT TODAY”. Michael Toman suggests those who have read Connie Willis’ novel Passage could be interested in this item: “Scientists saw a surge in brain activity in dying patients that could finally help explain mysterious near-death experiences” at MSN.com.

…The researchers found that two out of four of the dying patients experienced a swell of gamma waves — the brain activity associated with lucid dreams and hallucinations — even after their hearts had stopped, according to Smithsonian Magazine.

Scientists have long thought that the brain dies with the rest of the body, but the latest study suggests that people may retain a certain level of consciousness that lends to dream-like, out-of-body experiences as they die, Vice reported.

“The discovery of the marked and organized gamma activities in the dying brain suggests that [a near-death experience] is the product of the dying brain, which is activated at death,” the lead author of the study, Jimo Borjigin, told Vice.

“As far as I am concerned, our study may be as good as it will ever get for finding neural signatures of near-death consciousness,” Borjigin told Vice, adding that the “only thing better than this is to have the patients survive to tell the tale that correlates with the detected neural signatures.”…

(14) PROVING LOVE. A Midsummer Night’s Dream, with Gwendoline Christie and Oliver Chris, was captured live from the Bridge Theatre in 2019. Watch now on National Theatre at Home:

‘The course of true love never did run smooth.’ A feuding fairy King and Queen of the forest cross paths with four runaway lovers and a troupe of actors trying to rehearse a play. As their dispute grows, the magical royal couple meddle with mortal lives leading to love triangles, mistaken identities and transformations… with hilarious, but dark consequences. Shakespeare’s most famous romantic comedy will be captured live from the Bridge Theatre in London. Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones), Oliver Chris (Green Wing, NT Live: Young Marx), David Moorst (NT Live: Allelujah!) and Hammed Animashaun (The Barber Shop Chronicles) lead the cast as Titania, Oberon, Puck and Bottom.

(15) VIDEO OF THE DAY. The Daniel Radcliffe series arrives July 10 reports Collider: “’Miracle Workers: End Times’ Release Date Finally Set at TBS”.

It’s the end of the world as we know it, and we feel great. After several months of delay, TBS has finally set a new release date for its anthology series Miracle Workers. The upcoming fourth season, formally titled Miracle Workers: End Times, premieres on the network on Monday, July 10.

End Times primarily follows a warrior named Sid (Daniel Radcliffe) and a warlord named Freya (Geraldine Viswanathan), a couple who must now face one of their biggest challenges yet: acclimating to a suburban lifestyle. Because even dystopia comes with its own share of modern day struggles. Based on previously released trailers, Sid and Freya try their best to find normalcy in their new setting, offering support for each other through every up and down. Additionally, Steve Buscemi will play Sid’s boss, and from the current glimpses of him, things won’t be smooth sailing.

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

Empire Of Evil: Space Opera Duo

Posted on June 3, 2023 by Mike Glyer

Guest Post by G.W. Thomas: Space opera in the 1950s found its home at Amazing Stories. For the nuts-and-bolts fan there was Astounding (not renamed Analog for another ten years). The literary reader had Fantasy & Science Fiction. The sophisticated fan had Galaxy. But if you wanted good old blasters and spaceships, after the death of Planet Stories in 1955 it was Amazing.

The Empire of Evil is a two-part space opera series by Robert Arnette that crossed that timeline. But these two stories pose questions. Arnette was a house name that belonged to the Ray A. Palmer Amazing Stories and was handed down to Howard Browne and later Paul W. Fairman when they edited the magazine.

The questions partly arise from the fact that these magazines were filled (during Browne and Fairman’s time anyway) by a stable of a dozen writers who produced 50,000 words a month for various magazines, which was purchased sight unseen. The editors didn’t bother to even read them so long as the quality didn’t slip too much. Writers like Milton Lesser, Henry Slesar, Robert Bloch, Randall Garrett, John Russell Fearn and others appeared every month as Alexander Blade, S. M. Tenneshaw, E. K. Jarvis and of course, Robert Arnette. Many of the stories’ creators are still unknown.

Robert Silverberg was one of these pseudonymous pulp-mill writers. In Other Spaces, Other Times, 2009, he remembers the creation of one story in particular:

In the 1950s magazine covers were printed well ahead of the interiors of the magazines, done in batches of, I think, four at a time. This was a matter of economics — using one large plate to print four covers at once was much cheaper than printing them one by one. But sometimes the practice created problems. For example, the April 1957 cover of Amazing Stories was printed in the fall of 1956 with a group of others, well ahead of its publication date, bearing this announcement above the name of the magazine: BEGINNING—COSMIC KILL—2-part serial of thundering impact.

“Cosmic Kill” was supposed to be a sequel to a short novel that Amazing had published six years before — “Empire of Evil,” by Robert Arnette. The readers had supposedly been clamoring for a follow-up to that great story all that time, and now, finally, it was going to be published.

According to Silverberg, the author of Empire of Evil was Paul W. Fairman, who had been promoted to editor after Browne left, and didn’t have time to pen the sequel. Unfortunately ISFDB lists Rog Phillips as author. I don’t know which of these men was “Robert Arnette” when the story appeared.

Link: Amazing Stories January 1951 issue at the Internet Archive.

This space opera novelette concerns a band of raiders who live on Venus in the city of Venusia. They pillage Earth and other planets ruthlessly, stealing their women. (Sleaze was a big part of selling SF in 1951.) The pirates are led by a scientific genius named Darrien. He can get away with his raiding because he has built a giant force-field shield that destroys invaders. Our heroes, there will be two, are set to find and destroy the generator of the shield.

The story opens with the first of two Earth agents, Ron Kratnick, going to his boss, Blake Wentworth, for the suicide mission of trying to infiltrate the reavers. Wentworth warns him he may have sit idly by when he sees some pirate molesting an Earth woman. But Kratnick’s cover must not be blown if he is to find the generator and destroy it.

Also undercover is Agent Tanton, thought dead by the Earth brass, who works his way towards the shield machinery by a circuitous route. He makes an offer to a beauty named Margot, who is love slave to an ugly underworld figure known as Tza-Necros. Tanton plans to get Margot next to Lars Valcan, the officer in charge of the generator in exchange for taking her to Earth, away from Tza-Necros’s reach.

Tanton is jailed but eventually allowed to escape. He steals a slaver’s booty as cover to get to his meet with Valcan but is attacked by Kratnick, who has come from Earth in a slaver ship. He had been followed by agents and starts drinking at a cafe. Now the story becomes about both of the men.

Tanton flees to the Undercity with both the new agent and the beautiful woman-prize, named Glory Evans. Tanton has an appointment with Valcan so he sends Kratnick and Evans on alone. They don’t end up finding Margot but in the hands of the Undercity people, and their leader, Caliban. Kratnick’s only hope is Tanton. Unfortunately, he went to his meeting with Valcan, brought him to meet Margot and got caught by Tza-Necros. Tanton is in the same cell as the two new lovers.

Things look pretty bleak for the Earth agents. Valcan is killed by Tza-Necros and Margot is thrown into the cell with the others. Without her beauty drugs, she becomes an old crone and dies. Tanton has a plan. He charges up Caliban with news that Darrien has found the Undercity and will soon kill everyone in it with a lethal gas. He lies, saying Tza-Necros knows this. Caliban leads the under-people in a mad rebellion. Tanton also tells him the shield generator is the really the gas machine. In this way, Caliban takes the agents to the building where the shield machinery is guarded.

The generator building is heavily guarded. The mob can’t penetrate their defences. The Earth trio sneak in. Guards come to arrest them. Ron and Glory escape out the roof on floating grav disks. Tanton stays behind to destroy the ray generator. He does this by throwing himself off twenty stories and sacrificing himself. The story ends with Ron quitting the secret service because he will never be as good as Tanton. He decides to become a farmer. Glory is overjoyed to become a farmer’s wife.

The Space Opera of the 1950s had some sophistication over the 1930s version but in many respects it hadn’t changed much at all. Arnette supposes humans living on all the planets of the Solar System. (Leigh Brackett was still doing the same thing at Planet Stories, around this time too, so it wasn’t only in Amazing.) This is not the cutting edge SF of John W. Campbell’s Astounding Science-Fiction. Ray A. Palmer had made Amazing Stories into an adventure SF Pulp back in 1939 and it still remained such, aimed at the juvenile market.

The story was illustrated by Henry Sharp, who would return six years later to illustrate the sequel. The cover for Empire of Evil was painted by Robert Gibson Jones, showing women flying on anti-grav disks. These devices are in the story but women are not soldiers, only booty, to the Venusians.

The second tale, “Cosmic Kill”, appeared in the digest-sized Amazing Stories. The collapse of 1955 cleared a rather crowded field. Plenty of SF magazines died along with the Pulps. Amazing was one of the long-standing survivors, but one of the least prestigious magazines still around. But Space Opera survived despite the haters.

The introduction to the sequel to “Empire of Evil” reads:

“Empire of Evil” (Jan 1951) was one of the most popular novelettes ever published in Amazing Stories. Mr. Arnette has done a sequel, featuring the same fabulous characters, and charged with the same suspense and furious action.

Silverberg recalls having to write a 20,000 word novella in two days. Randall Garrett, Bob’s partner in their little fiction factory, helped him out by introducing him to speed:

…I went out of my way to mimic the style of the original story, using all sorts of substitutes for “he said” that were never part of my own style —”he snapped,”“he wheezed,”“she wailed” and peppering the pages with adverbial modifiers — “he continued inexorably,” “he said appreciatively,” “he remarked casually.”The next day I took the whole 80-page shebang down to Paul Fairman’s office and it went straight to the printer. It was just in time for serialization in the April and May, 1957 issues of Amazing, my one and only appearance under the byline of Robert Arnette. And on the seventh day I rested, you betcha.

Link: Amazing Stories April 1957 issue at the Internet Archive.

Silverberg uses the same plot format as the first story. There will be two agents, a beauty belonging to a tyrant and a new virginal Earth girl/love interest. Silverberg picks up right after Fairman. Wentworth has a new agent in Lon Archman. Darrien escaped the bombing of Venusia and has fled to Mars. There he plots in secret. Lon’s assignment is to find and kill the evil genius. He will have to be careful of the simulacra Darrien uses as decoys. The assignment is illegal and Lon can expect no official help from Earth.

Hendrin is also an agent but not of Earth. He has been sent by the ruler of Mercury to discover all of Darrien’s secrets, the space mines, the robot doubles, etc. then to kill the evil scientist. He ingratiates himself by buying an Earth woman named Elissa Hall, stolen from an Earth outpost. Hendrin plans to sell her to Darrien and work his way into the upper escalations.

Lon Archman runs into him in the bar where he buys the girl. The agent follows him to the office of Dorvis Graal, the Viceroy of Canalopis, Darrien’s capitol on Mars. Graal allows the Mercurian to take his prize to the master. Darrien is smitten with the girl, buying her for two hundred credas and a captaincy. Meryola, Darrien’s mistress, is not pleased. Meryola is beautiful but aging, despite the youth drugs. She will not put up with any rival. Hendrin double-deals with her, saying he will steal her away to the dungeons.

Archman plays his own desperate game with Dorvis Graal and is imprisoned. He is placed in the same cell as Elissa. With her help, he escapes while she remains imprisoned. Running, he encounters Hendrin who has just had a disastrous moment with Meryola and Darrien. Visiting the mistress, the Mercurian is caught by Darrien. But the scientist isn’t jealous. He just wants his play-thing back. He tells Hendrin if he doesn’t produce the girl, he will die. Meryola tells him the opposite, if he doesn’t kill her, he dies.

The two agents team up (as Tanton and Ron did before) and rescue Elissa. Together they put Hendrin’s plan into action. He and Elissa will go to Darrien and tell him that Meryola planned to assassinate him. Meanwhile Lon goes to the mistress and tells her that Darrien plans to kill her. When Martians come to take her, she falls in with Archman. She reveals that the real Darrien is hiding in a secret room only she knows. She takes the Earthman to the real Darrien.

But Lon can’t shoot him dead because he has Elissa as a shield. Meryola is all for shooting them both but Archman won’t. Hendrin and one of the Darrien robots show up and in a scene worthy of Hamlet, Hendrin, Meryola and the imposter robot all die. Lon is left to shoot Darrien dead and win Elissa’s love.

The plot seems very familiar with Hendrin in place of Tanton, Meryola in place of Margot, Darrien for Tza-Necros, Lon for Ron, etc. Silverberg livens it up by having the objective to kill Darrien rather than destroy the shield generator.

Silverberg passes judgment on his old story:

The funny thing is that “Cosmic Kill” isn’t really so bad. I had to read it for the first time in 48 years for Tales from the Pulp Era, and I was impressed with the way it zips swiftly along from one dire situation to another without pausing for breath, exactly as its author did back there in December 1956. It is the one and only example of Silverberg writing a story on speed.

My judgment is a little less lenient. Silverberg cannibalizes the first story heavily, giving a largely repeat performance. He hasn’t added much except a finale for Darrien, which Fairman hadn’t provided in Empire of Evil.

As a fan of Space Opera, I quite enjoyed both tales for its different races, each distinct and largely evil. The action is simple but effective. (Like when Hendrin blows the head off a Plutonian by shoving a zam-gun into his large, fishy mouth.) This is not Hugo-winning stuff and it never was meant to be. The spirit of the Clayton Astounding to Buck Rogers lives here. Today it lies in Star Wars but back in the 1950s it could only be found in Amazing Stories.

BIO: G. W. Thomas has appeared in over 400 different magazines, books, podcasts and webzines including Writer’s Digest, The Armchair Detective and Pseudopod. His latest book is a collection of Space Westerns called Whispers of Ice and Sand. His blog is gwthomas.org.

Barkley — So Glad You (Didn’t) Ask #69

Posted on November 5, 2022 by Mike Glyer

Fandom and the Pendulum: The Astronomicon 13 Fan Guest of Honor Speech

By Chris M. Barkley:

“We do not see things as they are. We see things as we are.” — Anais Nin

I was resetting a cuckoo clock the other day when I became transfixed with the motion of the pendulum. Back and forth, in a hypnotic, rhythmic action.

Looking at it, I think that it is the best visual representation of the passage of time.

In doing so, I was also reminded of several conversations I had with friends at Chicon 8 several weeks earlier.

Separately, without prompting or encouragement, each of them described how in the current state of sf fandom the pendulum had taken a strong, hard excessive turn and in a direction that they did not particularly like very much.

All of them had similar complaints and, oddly, all of them mentioned the same metaphor; that it seemed that the pendulum of change had taken a hard swing and it was in a direction that they didn’t like.

To wit, that recently, fandom seems to be a not a very inviting place unless they strictly adhered to a particular ideology.

And I concur.

Because, like the pendulum, the recent social and political shifts in sf fandom, particularly the branch I know well, literary fandom, can be observed and measured.

In order to understand where we are now, we must examine the origins of sf fandom. Even today, the general public believes a very persistent myth that conventions and fandom began after the cancellation of Star Trek and the gathering of fans that started taking place in the early 1970’s. In truth, it began over forty years before then…

In the early 1930’s, Amazing Stories and several other pulp magazines in the United States, began running letter of comment columns. The published letters included the addresses of the fans who sent them. These letter writers, who were nearly all white and male, began to correspond with each other. Local fans found each other and began to form clubs dedicated to science fiction and fantasy. A similar movement was also underway in the United Kingdom as well. By late 1936, they began to call some of these larger meetups conventions.

In the US, the New York contingent of fans decided to hold a World Science Fiction Convention (NyCon 1) in New York City, in conjunction with the futuristic theme of the World’s Fair being held in the nearby borough of Queens.

(BTW, fandom’s first significant feud began at that convention, as several well known members of First Fandom were excluded from attending, mainly because of personality conflicts but at the time, their political differences were played up. More on this later in this speech).

The progenitors of fandom began a whole host of fannish traditions; fanzines and fan writing, literary serious criticism of genre fiction, small press publishing, cos-play, filk singing, convention panels and ‘dead dog’ parties.

As the decades flew by, the marginal popularity of sf, fantasy and horror with the public came and went but remained constant in that initial group of fans, some of whom eventually became well known authors, editors, artists and convention runners.

In the early years, the first two main genre fiction awards, the Hugo (in 1953) and the Nebula (in 1965) were established.

Women authors and editors (Andre Norton, C.L. Moore, Cele Goldsmith, Leigh Brackett and Judith Merril) paved the way for the next generation of better known and renowned writers of the 1970’s and 1980’s, Ursula K. LeGuin, Anne McCaffrey, Vonda McIntrye, Joanna Russ and Octavia Butler among others.

I entered fandom in June 1976. I was a witness to and a participant in a lot of the pendulum swing in fandom; the slow but persistent emergence of women and the LGBTQ+ community, the calling out of sexism and harassment and the inclusion of more people of color in fandom.

In other words, the fandom of the early days is as far removed from today’s fandom as the fiction of Nathaniel Hawthorne is from N. K. Jemisin, the art of Rembrandt from Jon-Michel Basquiat, the musical Oklahoma! is to Hamilton and the swinging moves of Benny Goodman are from the grooves of Rihanna.

And I want to be quite clear about this, as an African-American citizen of the United States of America, I applaud, encourage and welcome all of these changes in fandom. Because in 2022, representation, in the face of an increasing societal turmoil and partisan division, matters even more than ever.

But, as a close observer (and an active participant) in some of these changes, I can tell you that none of this came very quickly or very easily.

As the pendulum swung, other factors and effects came into play; personal computers, cell and smartphones, social media sites and the internet became a double edged sword. Technological advances made it easier to call out toxic fans and their behavior but it also enabled bad actors to disrupt fannish activities and the lives of fans on an incredibly personal level.

Fandom is subject to the same major sources of social change, including population growth and composition, culture and technology, the natural environment, and social conflict as any other artistic movement.

Here’s the thing; these changes, shifts and, if you will, the swings of the pendulum are not only true and observable, they are unavoidable and inevitable.

Because, as history has shown us again and again, in every movement of substance, whether it be music, art, literature, science, sports and (especially) politics undergo the change on a regular and inevitable basis.

A sizable portion of the fans attending genre conventions are female, people of color and the LGBTQ+ community. The people who are a part of the sf/f community today are more diverse, more knowledgeable, technically adroit, and, for the most part, they’re unafraid to let you know how they feel. And, as much as their right-wing adversaries would like them to go away, this newly emerging segment of fandom is not likely because they are the new majority, which was mainly brought on by the Puppies’ overt and militant actions against fandom.

And inevitably, with the advances came some pushback, in the form of harassment and trolling, by privileged individuals, who are mostly white, are either frightened by an otherness of others outside of their own experiences or their own racist upbringing and xenophobic tendencies.

In the early to mid-2010’s, this all came to head with is now known as the “Puppy Wars” (Sad/Angry/Rabid) which were expertly chronicled by Camestros Felapton in his Hugo Award nominated non-fiction work, Debarkle.

The fannish backlash against this reprehensible group of egocentric bullies played out over several years; the Puppies may have disrupted the Hugo Award nomination process for a few years but they eventually lost the war when nearly all of their gamed nominees lost and the World Science Fiction Convention Constitution was sufficiently amended to stop it being successfully attempted again.

But this wasn’t to say there were no lasting effects from this conflict; while diversity has become even more celebrated (at least more so in this branch of fandom), there were several troubling, high profile incidents in the past few years:

Conservative provocateur Jon Del Arroz filed a lawsuit against Worldcon 76 (which was held in San Jose. California) when it banned him (rightfully so) from attending the convention due to his overtly inflammatory statements about fandom. But Del Arroz filed a lawsuit in response to the convention committee’s public announcement of that decision, which claimed he made racist statements. Worldcon 76 and Del Arroz announced in June 2021 they had settled the suit shortly before it was scheduled to go to trial. Four of the five claims had been dismissed by the judge, but the charge of defamation, of him being a “racist”, would have been the bone of contention if a trial had gone forward. The convention ceded a $4000 settlement to Del Arroz and a public apology, which can still be seen on the Worldcon 76 website. It is believed that the legal fees incurred by the convention committee were around $100,000.
In 2019 and 2020, sf writer Adam-Troy Castro and his late wife Judi were beset by a series of increasingly vicious cyber identity thefts that drained their bank accounts, ruined their credit rating and forced them to move out of their longtime home. Go-Fund Me campaigns saved them from being homeless but the culprits of these attacks remain unknown and at large.
A few months ago, white supremacist trolls somehow arranged the suspension of the Twitter accounts of authors Harry Turtledove and Patrick Tomlinson. Both accounts were eventually restored but Twitter has no explanation of how this occurred nor have they offered an explanation of how it happened or any whether they are investigating the breach.
Patrick Tomlinson and Hugo Award nominated Nigerian sf author and editor Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki received death threats as they attended Chicon 8. In the four years preceding the convention, Tomlinson and his family members were the constant and frequent targets of identity theft, trolling and death threats.

To counter these reactionary fans, many convention committees enacted Codes of Conduct over the past decade. The trouble was that in the years since they were first introduced, some of these CoC’s were either not very well defined, not very transparent on how they were implemented or, in the worst case scenario, poorly enforced. The most recent examples include:

At the 2022 Nebula Award Conference in Los Angeles, newly minted Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association Grandmaster Mercedes Lackey, during a panel titled “Romancing Sci-Fi and Fantasy”, was alleged to have uttered a racial slur. Author of color Jen Brown, complained about the incident on Twitter and Lackey, without the benefit of an investigation or a hearing, was summarily dismissed (along with her husband Larry Dixon, who vociferously defended her on social media) from further participation in the Conference. Lackey fully apologized two days later and said she had not intentionally said anything racist, but had fumbled saying “person of color”. While friends and colleagues (such as authors of color Samuel R. Delany and Steven Barnes) rallied to her defense, Jen Brown and a legion of others continued to condemn her and boycott her works. As of this writing, SWFA has not offered a full explanation, any indication that an investigation was conducted or an apology for their actions.

Almost exactly a week later on Memorial Day weekend at Balticon 56, local author and conrunner Stephanie Burke found herself in a strikingly similar situation; she was accused by the Programming staff of racist statements and behavior. To compound matters, Burke was accused of never responding to an email about the incident, but it was discovered later that the email was never sent. On top of all of that, Ms. Burke suffered the embarrassment of being removed from an ongoing panel she was on and then was verbally abused by a “senior staffer” of Balticon, who was found in violation of the Code of Conduct. The very next day,Yakira Heistand, the Chair of Balticon 56, publicly apologized for Ms. Burke’s treatment but also stated that the allegations would be fully investigated.
On September 1, 2022, 105 days after the alleged incident, Balticon 56 issued this statement:

“Of the complaints against Ms. Burke, our Investigation Team determined there were no Code of Conduct violations. Witnesses confirmed that she was speaking of her own experiences and not making general statements about another individual or class of people. Speaking one’s own truth is not a violation of our Code of Conduct. Ms. Burke is welcome to be a program participant in the future. Again, we apologize for the manner in which the reports were communicated.

“The BSFS Investigation Team and Board of Directors have found that Senior Staffer 1 who approached Stephanie Burke prior to her panel and asked her to step away acted courteously and in accordance with our policy. Senior Staffer 2’s behavior during the discussion violated our Code of Conduct. The Board has determined that Senior Staffer 2 will be barred from volunteering for Balticon for a period of 2 years and from serving as a Department Head for an additional 2 years.”

In researching this speech, I have read many Codes of Conduct from other conventions. My partner was reading one and they came across a line in one upcoming convention that really stood out:

(Convention X) prioritizes marginalized people’s safety over privileged people’s comfort.”

To me, there is nothing ordinary about this statement.

While it is all good and well to try to be welcoming to marginalized fans, Convention X’s committee would do well to focus on the safety of EVERY fan attending their convention.

The Code of Conduct should be a group’s fail safe to deal with fans and participants who commit unseemly and disruptive behavior but it must be done as fairly, equitably and transparently as possible.

These incidents I have outlined have exposed some of the more serious divisions within our fannish community. My feeling is that fandom, in my estimation, is rapidly approaching a societal impasse; it seems it cannot go towards any sort of future without reconciling with its present set of circumstances.

I take no joy in pointing out these deficiencies in fandom. I am also saddened that there will be those in fandom who will see this speech as a personal attack on the very progressive wing of fandom.

To them I say this; no one, including myself, is above criticism. And that constructive and earnest criticism can only be helpful.

Because together, we can change the direction and velocity of the pendulum in a more useful direction.

For the record, I will make the following confession; when stating one’s preferred pronouns or gender preference became an ongoing issue at the beginning of the last decade, I was very confused about the point of doing so. Gradually, I came to understand that it was a matter of personal acknowledgement, empowerment and respect for the trans community. And if asked, I show the same respect that is offered to me.

I also think that while I support this affirming stance, I am not in favor of anyone being forced, coerced or being required to do so in order to participate in an activity or social event.

Because when diversity is coerced in such a manner, it ceases to be that. It is perceived, rightly, as a matter of control. And when the cost of diversity is a rigid, inflexible set of standards that is almost impossible for anyone to meet, it disallows those who may have differing opinions. That’s the moment it becomes oppression and we become the sort of people we have come to loathe and fear.

Again, I refer to the pendulum of history, which has shown, time after time, that the exclusion or purging of members of the aforementioned groups I referred to earlier in this speech.

In many of those historical instances, in order for the movement to improve and become more just, those being excluded were involved in heinous, insidious and vile beliefs.

Robert Silverberg, who had attended an unbroken string of Worldcon appearances dating back to the early 1950’s, said that he would not attend Chicon 8 because he did not want to be subjected to any abuse because of his past statements that have been considered, even by me, as insensitive and ill advised. (You want to know what he said? Google it.)

George R.R. Martin, the creator of Game of Thrones and a multiple winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards, said he wasn’t attending this year’s Worldcon, either. Although he is quite busy writing the last two novels in the Westeros series and overseeing several television projects for HBO, he may have an entirely different reason for not attending. After hosting and producing a disastrously long winded and nostalgia tinged 2020 Hugo Award Ceremony, many think that he has worn out his welcome at Worldcons.

I know both of them quite well and I, for one, would tell either one of them that they would be welcomed at any convention I was running. Why?

Because neither of them are our enemies. Our enemies are fear, hate and prejudice in the absence of understanding.

My good friend David Gerrold has repeatedly stated over the years that when you attend Worldcon, it is like an annual family gathering. Fathers and mothers, siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles and so on. And, like all families, there are rivalries, grudges, simmering resentments, educational, class and political differences as well.

But despite those differences, we all unite because of our mutual love of science fiction, fantasy, films, television shows, art, comics, manga, graphic stories and much, much more.

Any imposition of a lock-step set of ideological beliefs, no matter on which extreme of the political spectrum it comes from, are dividing fandom right now and fandom, particularly this progenitor of all the others, will eventually, and tragically, become unsustainable.

The first mention of a “graying of fandom” came to my attention around the turn of this century. In short, the people who are currently attending, running and administering conventions and other fannish activities are getting older.

I have observed that there are a number of younger fans attending Chicon 8, they were far outnumbered by older fans. Collectively, we need to attract a legion of younger, more diverse fans, who are not only interested in merely extending our existing traditions, but creating new ones as well.

Being one of those older fans, I can see that my time in fandom will someday be coming to an end. I have already announced (to anyone who will listen) that I will be attending conventions and other events into the near future, I will no longer be actively working on any future local conventions or Worldcons.

I am not doing this because I am tired or unenthusiastic, I am doing so because I have other, more pressing pursuits such as remaining healthy and active, seeing to the safety and well being of my four adorable grandchildren and other family members and, of course, more writing.

I wrote this speech not just as a warning (although it can be read that way), but as a cry into the abyss that we need not act against our own best interests and be seen as the overseer of the death of fandom.

As I see it, the pendulum has already swung to an extreme position. And the direction it swings next may cleave fandom into many, many pieces that cannot be made whole again. We must not let this happen.

My final words of advice to everyone consists of the following:

As a family, we should treat each other as peers, not rivals with agendas.

And in this family, there will be arguments and disagreements. And when we have these arguments, we’ll argue ferociously. But let’s argue with facts, logic, evidence, and most of all respect for the person you are arguing with. Argue with empathy.

Act towards others as you would act towards yourself. People who are unable to do that will become evident and will soon find themselves on the outside of our social circles, looking in.

Let’s show kindness, even in the face of hate and adversity.

Be the change you want to see in the world.

And finally, ask not what fandom can do for you, but what you can do for fandom.

“Never seen a true statement, a wise statement, that existed in only one culture or tradition. Truth isn’t created, it is observed.”

– Steven Barnes

Pixel Scroll 12/17/21 I’m Hermione The Eighth I Am

Posted on December 17, 2021 by Mike Glyer

(1) SAVE THE BEBOP. The Change.org petition to “Save the live action Cowboy Bebop” now has over 18,000 signatures. Comic Book Resources‘ Kellie Lacey’s report “Cowboy Bebop Fans Launch Petition to Save the Cancelled Netflix Series” notes:

Cowboy Bebop premiered on Nov. 19 but was axed by the streaming service less than three weeks later, on Dec. 9….
…Several fans have left comments along with signatures on the petition. One such message says, “I loved the anime, and I loved this live-action adaptation. Please, please, produce more!” Other signees expressed their gratitude and sympathy for the creators, saying, “This team put a lot of hard work into this project for the sake of the fans and deserve to see the vision through to its full potential.”…

(2) WORLDCON CHAIR ON BBC. BBC World’s Victoria Fritz had DisCon III chair Mary Robinette Kowal on the air, and tweeted the video clip afterwards.

Feel like you've been living in a dystopian sci-fi novel the last 2 years? Yeah, you and me both.

How will the sci-fi community respond to the pandemic & has it foreseen other life- changing events? Here's Hugo award winner @MaryRobinette on @BBCWorld with me pic.twitter.com/n0W5KWZaTC
— Victoria Valentine (@VValentineNews) December 16, 2021

(3) SILVERBERG STREAK. Robert Silverberg maintained his record of participating in consecutive Worldcons since he attended his first in the Fifties when his previously-recorded conversation with DisCon III GoH Nancy Kress was shown as part of the program on December 16.

(4) PUT THEM ON THE MAP. Aviation pioneers Sally Ride and Bessie Coleman have been honored by having features on Pluto named after them reports NASA.

More than 60 years after Bessie Coleman broke the bonds of terra firma to become the first African American woman and Native American to earn a pilot’s license, Sally Ride blasted off aboard shuttle Challenger to become the first American woman in space.
The lives and accomplishments of both women aviation pioneers have now been honored with the naming of landmarks on Pluto. The International Astronomical Union recently approved the names “Coleman Mons” and “Ride Rupes” for two large geological features on the southern hemisphere of Pluto, which itself was explored for the first time by NASA‘s New Horizons spacecraft in 2015.
Members of the New Horizons mission team proposed the names to the IAU, in line with a convention that Pluto features include those named for “historic pioneers who crossed new horizons in the exploration of the Earth, sea and sky.”
“Sally Ride and Bessie Coleman were separated by generations, but they are forever connected by their great achievements, which opened doors for women and girls around the world,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “In breaking barriers they motivated so many women to pursue dreams – and careers – they didn’t think were possible, and their sheer persistence and pursuit of equality inspire people to this day.”

(5) DID YOU HEAR? Spock’s ears have been donated to the Smithsonian. The National Air and Space Museum website shared the details: “The Iconic Ears of Mr. Spock”.

Is there a more iconic set of ears in science fiction than those of Mr. Spock? The half-human, half-Vulcan science officer, first portrayed by Leonard Nimoy in Star Trek: The Original Series and subsequent films, was known for his shrewd intelligence, his cool logic, and his pointed ears.
We are excited to share that a new prop from Star Trek has joined our collection: a set of Spock ear tips from Nimoy’s personal collection. These ear tips were made for Nimoy to transform into Mr. Spock in the filming of The Original Series and were taken home from set by the actor, who hand-built a display box to keep them safe. We are honored that his children Adam and Julie and the Nimoy family have donated his father’s keepsake ears to the National Air and Space Museum.
“When he finished filming the original Star Trek series in 1969, my father brought home a small memento to commemorate his three years of dedicated work on the original series—a pair of Spock’s Vulcan ears,” Adam Nimoy shared with us regarding the donation. “Mounted in a black box, those ears have been in our family for over fifty years as a tribute to Dad’s outstanding performances as Mr. Spock and the inspiration and hope that Star Trek have given to generations of fans all over this planet. Today it’s my honor to donate the iconic Spock ears to the National Air and Space Museum, home to the starship Enterprise studio model, where they can be experienced by visitors firsthand. The donation honors Beit T’Shuvah and the Leonard Nimoy COPD Research Fund at UCLA, two organizations supported by our family and dedicated to the Vulcan salutation of long life and prosperity.”…

(6) TREK AUCTION. You can’t own Spock’s ears, but you’re just in time to bid on Yeoman Rand’s signature red Starfleet Uniform with integral miniskirt and black leather, zippered knee boots. They will go on the block in Heritage Auction’s specialty Star Trek Auction on February 22. “Minis Are Maximum Fashion in Star Trek”.

The 1960s were fashionably wild! Vibrantly colored fabrics were cut into new styles and shapes that hadn’t been seen before. Defiant and rebellious not only on the street but also making their impact on movies and TV shows. It’s not surprising to me that Star Trek would also be fashion-forward with the designs of futuristic uniforms. Bill Theiss designed the instantly recognizable utilitarian Starfleet uniforms, but it wasn’t until Grace Lee Whitney “Yeoman Rand” herself approached Theiss with the idea of implementing the fashion styles of the day that miniskirts emerged!…

Some of the other gear that will be sold includes –

William Shatner “Captain Kirk” (3) Piece Alternate Universe from the Episode: “Mirror, Mirror” of Star Trek: The Original Series.
Leonard Nimoy “Spock” (2) Piece Alternate Universe Ensemble from the Episode: “Mirror, Mirror” of Star Trek: The Original Series.
George Takei “Lt. Sulu” (3) Piece Ensemble from the Episode: “Mirror, Mirror” of Star Trek: The Original Series.
BarBara Luna “Marlena” Starfleet Blue Duty Uniform from the Episode: “Mirror, Mirror” of Star Trek: The Original Series.

(7) PULLMAN ADAPTED FOR STAGE. [Item by Martin Morse Wooster.] In the Financial Times behind a paywall, Sarah Hemming reviews The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage, an adaptation of Sir Philip Pullman’s 2017 novel playing at the Bridge Theatre through February 28.

Pullman has said the story is about consciousness, but it’s also about conscience. Moral quandries come thick and fast for young Malcolm (the show’s protagonist): first instructed by nuns to keep silent about the baby hidden in their priory; then directed by the sinister Marisa Coulter (Ayesha Dharker, silkily nasty) to turn informant on parents and teachers. In this parallel world, despotic religious organisation The Magisterium is tightening its grip on society. As Malcolm and Allee discover, ‘good’ is a concept that can be moulded to terrible ends…
…Adapted for stage by Bryony Lavery and directed by fleet wit and customary clarity by Nicholas Hytner, the tale becomes a swirling maelstrom of ideas around a firm core of basic humanity. On Bob Crowley’s versatile set, beautifully atmospheric video work (Luke Halls) and lighting (Jion Clark) keep the narrative moving, inundating the space with teeming rain and raging waters.

(8) AMBITIOUS VIRTUAL CON. The schedule has been posted for FanFiAddict’s TBRCon 2022, which will be streaming live from January 23-30. More detail about the individual panel items is at the landing page. (Click for larger image.)

(9) MEDIA BIRTHDAY.

1971 — [Item by Cat Eldridge.] Fifty years ago, Diamonds Are Forever premiered. It was based off the Ian Fleming novel of the same name that he wrote at his Goldeneye estate in Jamaica. It had been published in 1956. It was produced by Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli from the screenplay by Richard Maibaum and Tom Mankiewicz.

It is the sixth and final film to star Connery, who returned to the role having declined to reprise the role in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service which instead had George Lazenby in that role, the shortest tenure of any actor in that role.

Critics in general loved it with Roger Ebert saying that it is “great, absurd fun, not only because it recalls the moods and manners of the sixties (which, being over, now seem safely comprehensible), but also because all of the people connected with the movie obviously know what they are up to.” It cost just seven million to make and returned nearly one hundred and twenty million at the box office. Very impressive indeed. It doesn’t have the greatest of ratings at Rotten Tomatoes currently getting just a fifty-eight percent rating from audience reviewers.

(10) TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS.

[Compiled by Cat Eldridge.]

Born December 17, 1929 — Jacqueline Hill. As the history teacher of Susan Foreman, the Doctor’s granddaughter, in the role of Barbara Wright she was the first Doctor Who companion to appear on-screen in 1963, with her speaking the series’ first lines. (No, I don’t know what they are.) Hill returned in a Fourth Doctor story, “Meglos” as the Tigellan priestess Lexa. She also appeared on two genre anthologies, Out of This World and Tales of The Unexpected. (Died 1993.)
Born December 17, 1930 — Bob Guccione. The publisher of Penthouse, the much more adult version of Playboy, but also of Omni magazine, the SF zine which had a print version between 1978 and 1995. A number of now-classic stories first ran there such as Gibson’s “Burning Chrome” and “Johnny Mnemonic”, as well as Card’s “Unaccompanied Sonata” and even Harlan Ellison’s novella, Mephisto in Onyx which was on the Hugo ballot at ConAdian but finished sixth in voting. The first Omni digital version was published on CompuServe in 1986 and the magazine switched to a purely online presence in 1996. It ceased publication abruptly in late 1997, following the death of co-founder Kathy Keeton, his wife. (Died 2010.)
Born December 17, 1944 — Jack L. Chalker. I really, really enjoyed a lot of his Well World series, and I remember reading quite a bit of his other fiction down the years and I loved his short story collection, Dance Band on the Titanic. Which of his other myriad series have you read and enjoyed? I find it really impressive that he attended every Worldcon from except one, from 1965 until 2004. One of our truly great members of the SF community as was a member of the Washington Science Fiction Association and was involved in the founding of the Baltimore Science Fiction Society. I was surprised that his Hugo nominations were all for not for his fiction, but twice for Best Amateur Magazine for his Mirage zines at Chicon IIII and Discon, and once for Best Non-fiction Book for The Science-Fantasy Publishers: A Critical and Bibliographic History at MagiCon. (Died 2005.)
Born December 17, 1945 — Ernie Hudson, 76. Best known for his roles as Winston Zeddemore in the original Ghostbusters films, and as Sergeant Darryl Albrecht in The Crow. I’m reasonably sure his first SF role was as Washington in Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone, a few years before the first Ghostbusters film. Depending on how flexible your definition of genre is, he’s been in a fair number of genre films including Leviathan, Shark Attack, Hood of Horror, Dragonball Evolution, voice work in Ultraman Zero: The Revenge of Belial, and, look there’s a DC animated movie in his resume! as he voiced Lucius Fox in the superb Batman: Bad Blood. He’s in the just out Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
Born December 17, 1953 — Bill Pullman, 68. First SF role was as Lone Starr in Spaceballs, a film I’ll freely admit I watched but once which was more than enough. He next appears in The Serpent and the Rainbow which is damn weird before playing the lead in the even weirder Brain Dead. Now we come to Independence Day and I must say I love his character and the film a lot. Post-Independence Day, he went weird again showing up in Lake Placid which is a lot of fun and also voiced Captain Joseph Korso in the animated Titan A.E. film. Which at least in part was written by Joss Whedon. He reprises his Thomas J. Whitmore character in Independence Day: Resurgence which I’ve not seen.
Born December 17, 1954 — J.M. Dillard, 67. Yes, I know this is a pen name but I’m interested only in her Trek output tonight. She’s written at least fifteen tie-ins starting with Star Trek: Mindshadow in the mid Eighties And her last seemingly being Star Trek: The Next Generation: Resistance in the late Oughts. She also wrote one of the many, many non-fiction works that came out on Trek, Star Trek: ‘Where No One Has Gone Before’: A History in Pictures, which was actually largely written by Roddenberry’s assistant on a work for hire contract as a another book that didn’t get published, a woman named Susan Sackett. Memory Alpha has the story here.
Born December 17, 1973 — Rian Johnson, 48. Director responsible for the superb Hugo nominated Looper, also Star Wars: The Last Jedi which was Hugo nominated and Knives Out. I know, it’s not even genre adjacent. It’s just, well, I liked Gosford Park, so what can I say about another film deliciously similar to it? He has a cameo as an Imperial Technician in Rogue One, and he voices Bryan in the BoJack Horseman series which is definitely genre.
Born December 17, 1975 — Milla Jovovich, 46. First SFF appearence was as Leeloo de Sabat in The Fifth Element, a film which still gets a very pleasant WTF? from me whenever I watch it. She was also Alice in the Resident Evil franchise which is seven films strong and running so far. I see she shows up as Milady de Winter in a Three Musketeers I never heard of which is odd is it’s a hobby of mind to keep track of those films, and plays Nimue, The Blood Queen in the rebooted Hellboy.

(11) COMICS SECTION.

Bizarro shows the latest eye test.

(12) MARVEL REVISITS 1962. It turns out that June 1962 was an important month in the history of Marvel comics – it’s the month Spider-Man made his debut in Amazing Fantasy #15. But that wasn’t the only thing going on, and the forthcoming Marvel: June 1962 Omnibus highlights these Marvel milestones:

Thor first held aloft the hammer Mjolnir.
Hank Pym donned his cybernetic helmet, becoming Ant-Man.
The FF squared off against Namor and Doctor Doom.
Kid Colt mixed it up with the Circus of Crime.
Millie the Model got mixed up in more Hanover hijinks.
Patsy and Hedy worked on their frenemy-ship.
Star-crossed lovers dealt with the ups and downs of romance, all while tales of horror and fantasy stories crept from the pages of titles like Strange Tales.

The volume arrives in June 2022. In the tradition of the recent Marvel: August 1961 omnibus which celebrated the Fantastic Four’s debut, the Marvel: June 1962 Omnibus will collect every comic from this month of Marvel milestones: Journey Into Mystery (1952) #83; Amazing Fantasy (1962) #15; Tales To Astonish (1959) #35; Kathy #18; Life With Millie #18; Patsy Walker #102; Kid Colt, Outlaw #106; Fantastic Four (1961) #6; Linda Carter, Student Nurse #7; Millie The Model #110; Strange Tales (1951) #100; Tales Of Suspense (1959) #33; Love Romances #101; Incredible Hulk (1962) #3; Gunsmoke Western #72; Patsy And Hedy #84 And Rawhide Kid (1955) #30.

(13) SUPERINFLATION. “Up, up and they pay: $2.6M winning bid for Superman #1 comic” – AP News has the story.

A rare copy of a Superman #1 comic book that sold on newsstands for a dime in 1939 was purchased for $2.6 million in an auction.
The comic showing Superman leaping over tall buildings on the cover was sold Thursday night to a buyer who wishes to maintain a secret identity, according to ComicConnect.com, an online auction and consignment company.
The seller, Mark Michaelson, bought the comic in 1979 from its original owner and kept it in a temperature-controlled safe. Michaelson, now semi-retired and living in Houston, paid his way through college by buying and selling comics….

(14) CHECKING IN. Androids and Assets podcast about the “political economy of science fiction” did a Q&A with Cat Rambo: “Where You From: In conversation with Cat Rambo”.

Marshall and Steve sit down with the brilliant and ever didactic Cat Rambo to discuss their newest book You Sexy Thing. Out now.

(15) WHAT KEEPS HIM WATCHING? [Item by Ben Bird Person.] Mythbuster‘s Adam Savage lists his favorite media for 2021 in this YouTube video. Among them are Dune, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, The Good Place, Loki, and Project Hail Mary.

(16) WALK, DON’T WALK. Camestros Felapton and Timothy the Talking Cat conspire to give us “The Cat Who Walks Through Omelas”.

…Camestros: Well…OK…let’s go with that then. It’s called “Omelas” and it is like a really excellent version of Bristol.
Timothy: Great! Well, that was a great story. Could have done with more action but at least it was wholesome and positive and featured pirates.
Camestros:…but there’s a twist…
Timothy: Oh no! I should have seen that coming! There’s always a twist!…

(17) A DIZZYING EXPERIENCE. You can see all the finalists and vote in the Best Illusion of the Year Contest 2021 at the link.

In this pandemic era the Contest needs your support more than ever. Any amount that you can contribute will ensure that the Contest remains free for all who enjoy spectacular misperceptions, and also for the contestants who submit illusions from anywhere in the planet, completely free of charge.

(18) THE PLAN FROM S.A.N.T.A. The Late Show With Stephen Colbert presents “A Conspiracy Carol”.

It’s Christmas Eve, and Santa is about to certify the Naughty & Nice List in the Klaus of Representatives, when he’s interrupted by a “Stop the Sleigh” rally, fueled by the shadowy internet cult “Scrooge-Anon.” Will Christmas survive a full-scale tinsel-rection led by Ted Cruz and Marjorie Taylor Greene? Only Santa and Mrs. Claus stand in their un-merry way.

[Thanks to Mike Kennedy, Martin Morse Wooster, JJ, John King Tarpinian, Ben Bird Person, Dan Bloch, Bill, Dann, Andrew Porter, Michael Toman, and Cat Eldridge for some of these stories. Title credit belongs to File 770 contributing editor of the day Daniel Dern.]

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