How
many of these apply to you?
1.
I have read fiction when I was depressed, or to cheer myself up.
2. I have gone on reading binges of an
entire book or more in a day.
3.
I read rapidly, often 'gulping' chapters.
4.
I have sometimes read early in the morning or before work.
5.
I have hidden books in different places to sneak a chapter without being seen.
6.
Sometimes I avoid friends or family obligations in order to read novels.
7.
Sometimes I re-write film or television dialog as the characters speak.
8.
I am unable to enjoy myself with others unless there is a book nearby.
9.
At a party, I will often slip off unnoticed to read.
10.
Reading has made me seek haunts and companions which I would otherwise avoid.
11.
I have neglected personal hygiene or household chores until I have finished a
novel.
12.
I have spent money meant for necessities on books instead.
13.
I have attempted to check out more library books than permitted.
14.
Most of my friends are heavy fiction readers.
15.
I have sometimes passed out from a night of heavy reading.
16.
I have suffered 'blackouts' or memory loss from a bout of reading.
17.
I have wept, become angry or irrational because of something I read.
18.
I have sometimes wished I did not read so much.
19.
Sometimes I think my reading is out of control.
20.
I feel like I know characters in books better than I know my friends and
family.
If
you answered 'yes' to three or more of these questions, you may be a literature
abuser. Affirmative responses to five or more indicates a serious problem. Once a relatively rare disorder, Literature
Abuse, or LA, has risen to new levels due to the accessibility of higher
education and increased college enrollment since the end of the Second World
War. The number of literature abusers
is currently at record levels.
SOCIAL
COSTS OF LITERARY ABUSE
Abusers
become withdrawn, uninterested in society or normal relationships. They
fantasize, creating alternative worlds to occupy, to the neglect of friends and
family. In severe cases they develop bad posture from reading in awkward
positions or carrying heavy book bags. In the worst instances, they become
cranky reference librarians in small towns. Excessive reading during pregnancy
is perhaps the number one cause of moral deformity among the children of
English professors, teachers of English and creative writing. Known as Fetal
Fiction Syndrome, this disease also leaves its victims prone to a lifetime of
nearsightedness, daydreaming and emotional instability.
HEREDITY
Recent
Harvard studies have established that heredity plays a considerable role in
determining whether a person will become an abuser of literature. Most abusers
have at least one parent who abused literature, often beginning at an early age
and progressing into adulthood. Many spouses of an abuser become abusers
themselves.
OTHER
PREDISPOSING FACTORS
Fathers
or mothers who are English teachers, professors, or heavy fiction readers;
parents who do not encourage children to play games, participate in healthy
sports, or watch television in the evening.
PREVENTION
Pre-marital
screening and counseling, referral to adoption agencies in order to break the
chain of abuse. English teachers in particular should seek partners active in
other fields. Children should be encouraged to seek physical activity and to
avoid isolation and morbid introspection.
DECLINE
AND FALL: THE ENGLISH MAJOR
Within
the sordid world of literature abuse, the lowest circle belongs to those
sufferers who have thrown their lives and hopes away to study literature in our
colleges. Parents should look for signs that their children are taking the
wrong path--don't expect your teenager to approach you and say, "I can't
stop reading Spenser." By the time you visit her dorm room and find the
secret stash of the Paris Review, it may already be too late.
What
to do if you suspect your child is becoming an English major:
1. Talk to your child in a loving way.
Show your concern. Let her know you
won't abandon her-but that you aren't spending a hundred grand to put her
through Stanford so she can clerk at Walden books, either. But remember that she may not be able to
make a decision without help; perhaps she has just finished Madame Bovary and
is dying of arsenic poisoning.
2. Face the issue: Tell her what you
know, and how: "I found this book in your purse. How long has this been
going on?" Ask the hard question--Who is this Count Vronsky?
3. Show her another way. Move the
television set into her room. Introduce her to frat boys.
4. Do what you have to do. Tear up her library card. Make
her stop signing her letters as 'Emma.' Force her to take a math class, or
minor in Spanish.
5.
Transfer her to a Florida college.
You
may be dealing with a life-threatening problem if one or more of the following
applies:
·
She can
tell you how and when Thomas Chatterton died.
·
She names
one or more of her cats after a Romantic poet.
·
Next to her
bed is a picture of: Lord Byron, Virginia Woolf, Faulkner or any scene from the
Lake District.
Most
importantly, remember, you are not alone. To seek help for yourself or someone
you love, contact the nearest chapter of the American Literature Abuse Society,
or look under ALAS in your telephone directory.
Department of Defense
Personnel Are Cautioned
Minutes of First Friday
Meeting, 6 April 2001 taken by Lee Strong <Thanks Lee!> The regular First Friday business
meeting convened at 9:19 p.m., Friday, 6 April 2001. Sam Pierce presided in the absence of President Judy
Kindell. Lee Strong acted as recording
secretary in the absence of Secretary Sam Lubell. "Lettuce have a meeting," said Sam. "We have no secretary tonight.
The WSFA Journal is available
on our Website."
Sam
asked Treasurer Bob MacIntosh if we had any money. Bob responded, "Uhhhh."
"Be specific," demanded Sam.
"$1,088.40," specified Bob. Lee
contributed $100 at the last First Friday meeting. The club applauded Lee's generosity.
Sam
moved to Committee Reports. Alexis
Gilliland, chair of the Entertainment Committee, has been watching George Bush.
Bob,
Chair of Capclave Present, reported that things are progressing apace. He hopes to have a hotel flyer available at
the next meeting for a folding & stapling party, also known as an origami
party. Sam stated, "I believe that our
membership is trainable." Covert Beach
suggested that our folding parties demonstrated the "zen of origami."
Mike
Nelson, Chair of Capclave Future, said that there was nothing to report for
Capclave 2002. For Capclave 2001, we
have a dozen local program participants including Brenda Clough, Nancy Kress,
Charles Sheffield, and others.
Elspeth
Kovar reported that World Fantasy Convention 2003 is on the horizon. WSFA is sponsoring the con which will be
held in downtown D.C. The Omni Shoreham
wants $300 per night. The Capital
Hilton went to $149 due to Elspeth's negotiating skills. There was a week there when it seemed as if
we would have no con.
The Trustees reported that those who are interested in
holding office should please talk to either Lee Gilliland, Nicki Lynch, or Eric
Jablow. The Austerity Committee had
nothing to report. There was no Old
Business or New Business.
Sam
moved to hear Announcements. Acting
secretary Lee stated that anyone who wished their announcement to appear in
what they would consider to be proper form should submit to him in writing
after the meeting.
Alexis
announced that his nephew Dave was playing a duet at the Music Teachers'
Association con at the Omni Shoreham.
It's a really spiffy place with a large lobby and piano bar.
Keith
Lynch announced, "We are signing up people who wish on line notification when The WSFA Journal is available. The system works well." A sign up sheet was circulated.
Crown
Books is going out of business. Please
see an article in the April 2001 Journal for further details.
Andrew
announced that Tower Records is closing its book departments. Big discounts are available.
Lee
Gilliland had several announcements. Lunacon
is sold out. If you go to the bathroom
in Chez Gilliland, use kleenex, not paper towels. The Liberty Meadows comic strip is being replaced. Please sign Lee's petition. Elspeth added that you can also comment at
the Website "washingtonpost.com". Lee
is having a battle with Comcast and is looking for recommendations for a new
service. She found a key after a
previous WSFA meeting. If you think
that it's yours, please contact Lee and identify the color of the key.
Rebecca
Prather has information on Paine Weber accounts.
Someone
announced that someone dumped their entire 1950s-1970s SF collection at a
bookstore in Stony Ridge, Bethesda, Maryland.
Geoffrey
Drumheller has SETI at Home available for downloading.
Colleen
Cahill announced that Keith Lynch has a list of Library of Congress What If
dates. Brenda Clough will speak 12
April 01 at 12:10 p.m. in the Library of Congress.
Bernie
Bell announced low air rates to Europe:
$150 one way.
Covert
Beach announced a Scottish celebration on the Mall 7 April. This is Scottish Declaration of Independence
day in Scotland and National Tartan Day in the United States.
Victoria
submitted her resume electronically and is now a GS-13 civil servant. The club applauded Victoria's promotion.
Victoria
also asked "Whatever happened to the New Tradition of people announcing their
status as first, second or third time visitors?" That Tradition was officially killed off several years ago. Sam invited new visitors to make themselves
known without any pressure, and stated that they were eligible to join the club
on the third visit. If so, please see a
Trustee for the application procedure.
Lee
announced that Department of Defense personnel are cautioned not to do anything
that you won't want to see on the front page of The Washington Post. At the
First Friday meeting in March, he announced that his fellow employees had
forced 6 contractors out of business for violating contractual agreements with
the Federal Government. A Washington Post reporter showed up and
demanded to know what Lee's agency is doing about the problem. The projected article has not appeared
yet. Stay tuned for additional
information.
The
meeting unanimously adjourned at 9:46 p.m.
Attendance: Lee Gilliland, Alexis Gilliland, Charles
Gilliland, Covert Beach, Sam Pierce, Mike Nelson, Keith Lynch, Rob Thornton,
Andrew Williams (Guest), Sheri Bell,
Bernard Bell, Ron Kean, Rebecca Prather, Lee Strong, Eric Jablow, Dick & Nicki Lynch, Adrienne Ertman, Ivy Yap,
Scott Hoffman, Wayne Dionne, Victoria Smith, Bob Mac, Elspeth, Mike Taylor,
Geoffrey Drumheller, Colleen, Steve Smith, John Pomeranz, Kathi Overton, Keith
Marshall, and George Shaner.
FANZINES
By Ted
White
Fanzines
are a basic part of science fiction fandom, having been in existence as long as
fandom itself - the past 70 years.
Check out the fanzines below and broaden your participation in fandom.
::
THE
KNARLEY KNEWS (Henry L. Welch, 1525 16th Ave., Grafton, WI
53024-2017; e-mail to welch@msoe.edu; available
for trade, contributions, letters of comment of $1.50 a copy)
The Knarley Knews is
published bimonthly and the current (February) issue is #86. That tells you something right there: this is no fly-by-night fanzine. In some respects one can say this fanzine is
typical of many individually-edited fanzines, in that it reflects the
personality, interests and friendships of its editor. But in reflecting a specific editor's interests and milieu it is
also unique to that editor - in this case Henry Welch. Welch stands a little to one side of
fandom's major cliques and social structure, a self-professed anti-elitist,
choosing his own personal path and friends - and for that reason his fanzine is
perhaps an easier entry point for those new to fanzines. There are no secret hand-clasps and no
inside jokes here.
But
Welch puts plenty into the 24 pages of his fanzine: an editorial in which he talks about his life; a rather
pugnacious fanzine-review column by the rather pugnacious Rodney Leighton;
"Witchard's Armangnac," an idiosyncratic column by Gene Stewart; "Zazerath's,"
a review of Tad Williams' City of Golden
Shadow by Derek Miller; a meaty 13-page letter column; "Sue's Sites," a
short editorial by Henry's mother; and "Fanzines Received in Trade," a one-page
listing of fanzines received (with one-sentence descriptions) which occupies
the inside back cover.
The
whole thing is attractively published (double-columned computer-set type,
photo-copied) with a scattering of art inside and a cover by Hugo-winning
fanartist Teddy Harvia. If I had to use
one word to sum up this fanzine it would be "non-confrontational." Despite the
presence of firecrackers like Leighton and Stewart, Welch keeps his fanzine
down-home folksy and family-friendly.
::
NO
AWARD (Marty Cantor, 11825 Gilmore St., #105, North Hollywood, CA 91606; e-mail
to martyhoohah@netzero.net;
available for "the usual" - trades, letters of comment, contributions - or
$5.00 a copy)
Marty
Cantor used to published a fat fanzine called Holier Than Thou back in the '80s, but after dropping that title he
started No Award a decade later. (The choice of title allows him to make the
facetious claim that this fanzine has been on every Hugo Award ballot for
years.) A 30-page "genzine" (or
generally-oriented fanzine), the latest issue (#8) is produced on a computer
but printed by a modern Gestetner super-mimeograph which produces a look close
to that of photocopying. The material
is solid, with Milt Stevens' review of Delaney's Dahlgren taking top honors.
There are columns by Thom Digby, Mike Glyer and Len Moffatt (the
latter's a memoir of his life in fandom), an essay-length fanzine review by
Joseph Major and a 7-page letter column, plus lots of little extra bits fitted
in here and there. No Award hasn't been around as long as The Knarley Knews, but
despite a slightly fussy layout it is better-edited and offers more to its
readers.
From: James Harper <innis@emry.net>
I read your entire website
only because George Nyhen apprised me some 7 months late of Joe Mayhew's
death. I'm sorry for your loss. Now to the levity.
I was amused at the
assertion WSFA was known for its beautiful wimmen. When I was a member, we had
precisely three (03) female memberes who'd be so categorized. Mary Gay Potter and two others. We always met on West Beach Drive, that was
where people came by Greyhound from Baltimore and by Chevvy from far off
villages northwest of Rockville.
Surprised to learn that Dick
Eney is no longer a member, but perhaps he's otherwise engaged. The last time I saw him, he was purchasing
ammunitiion for an antique pistol he was taking to Vietnam as his personal
sidearm. I don't know what that was
about... he wasn't in the
military, I don't think. Maybe.
Most of the people I knew
there are now deceased. I just recently
heard from the Haldemans of Gordy Dickson's recent death. Bob Pavlat's long gone, Bill Berg, Roger
Zelazny.... As Tarzan says "I yet
live," - if you can call this living.
Please add me to your list
of former members if you maintain such a thing, and know that I have many fond
memories of WSFA, even now, 3000 miles distant. I'd like it if you shared my e-mail address with members, and
would like to hear from anyone who remembers
From Kurt McCoy <kmccoy3@wvu.edu>
I was going to email a quick
"hullo" to the redoubtable Mrs. Madigan, but was thwarted by your
clever protective measures. Curses! Foiled again.
We knew each other, oh,
quite a long time ago. I get curious every once in awhile. I haven't heard a
word about her in so long that I was surprised to find that she'd married
again.
I'd be ever so grateful if
you'd pass on my belated Congratulations to Candy and John, and that quick
"hullo" I mentioned before.
The largely Irrelevant Kurt
Update is that I now work as a Night Staff Monitor at the WVU Towers Residence
Hall, where I'm doomed to wander the halls several times a night trying, for
far too little pay, to keep the kiddies from having more fun than State Law
allows. There is, of course, some little irony in this, but I try to ignore it
as much as possible.
I have a Masters in English
that I don't use. (Social Anxiety Disorder precludes teaching. something I
could have benefited from knowing, oh, a DECADE or more ago. sigh.)
I finally did finish a
novel, a 200,000+ word opus that I can safely proclaim is the "Single
Greatest Masked Mexican Wrestler VS Nazi Were-Hyena Novel EVER Written....In
English" (just in case).
Truthfully, I do not foresee
becoming a Major Literary Voice in the near future. Though, BAEN Books did say
that they'd be interested in seeing the full manuscript, after reading the
sample chapters and outline I sent them. Hope, however slim, is what we live
for.
Now that I know about this
WSFA connection, I'll have to point Monica toward you kind folks! (Monica
Gaudio, the latest in a long line of my
"not entirely successful engagements" who now lives in the DC area. Feisty, but good-natured lady.) I do so
enjoy Irony!
Thank you kindly!
A Meeting of the
Minds
by Lee Strong
"'Take
us to your leader!'"
The tall Earthling goggled his/her
stalkless eyes for a few seconds, bent over, slapped his/her middle leg joint,
and began making a series of gargling noises with his/her trumpetless
mouth. The heavy sounds were muffled by
the thick vegetation.
The stocky, bipedal Sqarra uniformly turned from neutral
mauve to butter yellow in puzzlement.
They had been carefully trained for a number of possible Earthling
reactions, but gargling sounds was not one of them. The Captain and Monitor swiveled their twitching eyestalks and
mouth trumpets towards the Alien Contacter.
She/he turned a plum color, silently signaling them to wait
patiently. The aliens returned to mauve
as they waited. Eventually, the
Earthling stopped gargling and straightened up.
"I'm sorry," he/she said. "It's very rude to laugh at our first genuine alien visitors to
Earth, but I couldn't help it. First,
that phrase is such a cliché in bad
science fiction that it seemed funny to actually hear it from alien... ah,
mouths."
The Contacter assumed a diplomatic lime green and pointed
both eyestalks at the Earthling. Being
in a diplomatic role, the Captain duplicated his/her officer's color and
posture. The Monitor, of course, turned
a judicious purple and curled his/her eyestalks, eerily like human question
marks.
The
Contacter spoke, "Affirmative/we understand.
We/the Sqarra have intensively studied your/your Earthling/human customs
for many years before initiating this First Contact/Close Encounter of a Third Kind.
We/the Sqarra believed that a familiar-greeting would ease the
inevitable culture shock/terror/fear-and-loathing you/your people might
experience."
The Earthling nodded his/her upper body part vertically
and changed his/her trumpetless mouth in a gentle upward crescent. "Yes, yes, you are very wise. Many humans are all too ready to become
hysterical or even belligerent. You are
indeed fortunate to have landed here in the countryside rather than in a stressful
major city."
The Contacter momentarily flashed soft gray in agreement,
saying "Affirmative/ we understand.
But/however the decision to land in Marion-Virginia was a design-play/
not fortune. We/the Sqarra have
observed your/your Earthling/human custom of Independence-Day and other movies/flicks. We/the Sqarra believed that we/the flying-saucer-Tsalla would obtain move favorable
results by avoiding your/your population concentrations. Once we/the Sqarra made First Contact with
you/a typical-Earthling, then you/a knowledgeable-person can guide us/the
Sqarra to your/your leader/leaders."
The Earthling changed his/her trumpetless mouth into a
more pronounced upward crescent. "That
was the second reason why your request seemed funny. You are indeed fortunate in choosing to land where you did
because I happen to be the President
of the United States of America. While
I may not be the leader of the entire human race, I am (if I may hoot my own
horn) the leader of the greatest nation on Earth."
The aliens flashed orange in astonishment but rallied and
returned to green or purple respectively.
The Contacter resumed, "You/yourself say that you/yourself are the
President-of-the-United-States/Commander-in-Chief. This statement/sentence seems unusual/risible since
Marion-Virginia is not the Capital-of-the-United-States."
"Ah, yes," said the President/Commander-in-Chief. "No wonder you're confused. Marion is not the Capital. Washington, D.C. is. However, the reason why I am here rather
than there is that I established my Vacation White House here shortly after I
assumed my present office. One of the
perks of the Presidency is establishing your own vacation spot."
The Contacter started to turn a pleased soft pink but the
statement triggered a memory and she/he changed to a questioning yellow. "We/the Sqarra understand your
explanation/diatribe. But/however,
President-Patricia-Douglas famously vacations in Aspen-Colorado-Rockies. And/furthermore, you/yourself seem fuzzier
than she/her."
The President/Commander-in-Chief replied gently, "You are
thinking of my predecessor. She has
been a private citizen for several months now, and I would have to ask my aides
to track her down if you wish to speak with her. I can confirm that I am `fuzzier' than she is, tho." He/she rubbed his/her hairy face fringe with
his/her bony hand and moved his/her trumpetless mouth in another upward
crescent.
The Monitor spoke up, "Contacter, we/the flying-saucer-Tsalla have been in hyperactive-space
for several months/some time.
Apparently/maybe, our knowledge-banks are not as up-to-date as we/the
Sqarra thought." His/her eyestalks
elevated to their maximum heights.
To the
Earthling, the purple alien sounded like nothing so much as a politician trying
to score power points in a Cabinet meeting.
Apparently some things were universal constants. Tactfully, he said nothing but waited for
the aliens' official reaction.
The Contacter glowed several colors in quick
succession: questioning yellow,
thoughtful brown, a pleased pink, and finally diplomatic green. "We/the Sqarra under-stand the situation
now/at this moment. Excellent/not
bad. Mr./Ms. President/Comman-der-in-Chief,
after you/your staff have heard our proposals/dreams, we/the Sqarra will ask
you/yourself to convene a meeting of all major Earthling leaders to hear
our/the Orion-League's invitation/offer to join us/our alliance."
The President/Commander-in-Chief worked his/her
trumpetless mouth into a very broad
crescent. "You are indeed fortunate in choosing to land when you did! As it happens, I am hosting a small
gathering of the leaders of several other Earthly nations! We can all hear your proposals
simultaneously and without delay!"
His/her upper body part seemed to glow a Sqarran pink in satisfaction.
Hearing the good news, the aliens turned cherry blossom
pink in celebration. "Excellent/not
bad," declared the Captain. "We/the
Sqarra are familiar with your/Earth's nation/states. What other leaders/bosses are present?"
"Well, Napoleon Bonaparte and his wife the former Joan of
Arc are representing France, King Arthur is representing England, Dr. Manchu is
here from China, and Lord Greystoke dropped by from Africa. If you'll step this way, you can meet them
all at an informal picnic lunch we're having."
The President/Commander-in-Chief pointed to a table strewn lawn visible
thru the bushes where white uniformed aides were setting out food for the
Earthling/human dignitaries.
"Thank you, Mr./Ms. President/Commander-in-Chief."
"Oh, don't be so formal.
In public, you should call me `Mr. Lincoln' but in private, you may call
me `Abe'."
The Sqarra all glowed hot pink at their diplomatic
success.
The April 20th
Third Friday meeting began with Lee yelling to people to shut up. "It's 9:17" said Judy calling the meeting to
order. Sam Lubell said he had it on
reliable authority that there was no business done at the last meeting.
Judy asked if the treasury
wants to tell us anything. "$1,095.10" Erica said she owes $14 bucks for
books. Bob said, "We've received two
donations. One from Keith Lynch for $20
<Thanks Keith!> and our Third Friday host and hostess has decided not to
accept bribes from WSFA <Thanks Erica and Karl!>" The club applauded and thanked them. Erica explained, "Considering donations and
the soda costs low, it just made sense."
Eric asked about the carpet cleaning.
Erica said that she is sorry that the room was not vacuumed, Karl was
sleeping. Elspeth asked, "Think any of
the guys noticed?" A befuddled Sam
Lubell asked, "Carpets get vacuumed?"
<No one answered me, I'm still trying to figure out how one gets all
the air out of a carpet.>
Alexis, for the
entertainment committee said that Boeing is developing a remotely piloted
fighter plane. A 57 foot "Canadarm" is
being installed on the Space Station so it can scratch itself. An eel brain has been installed in a robot
chassis, creating the world's first cyborg <cue Six Million Dollar Man
music>. The latest craze in pop
music is composing "Klingletones", theme music for your personal cell
phone. Austria is going to ban
exploding cows. In the Alpine pastures,
about 20 cows a year die of natural causes.
It costs $950 to haul them out with a helicopter and $32 to have a
demolition expert blow them up.
<Some said, no wonder the cows are mad.> David Boaz, a libertarian at the Cato Institute was given a
warning citation for not wearing a seat belt and mouthed off to the cop, who
then gave him a $50 ticket and two points.
On appeal the judge upheld the cop.
Arguing with a cop is a dumb idea.
Even a libertarian should know that."
Putting everything together,
Elspeth asked, "If we're exploding libertarians, we would have to clean the
carpet." Covert pointed out that the
park service has people who explode bears.
<"Bother," said Pooh, as he exploded.>
Lee announced that the
trustees announce an election real soon now and the officers have all decided
to stay on, "so we don't have to do any work."
Covert asked, "Now that you've had practice, will you do the slate
sooner?" Lee thanked Covert for
volunteering for next year. Eric said,
"We'll draft people at random." WSFAns
sang "Tradition". The election will be
the first meeting in May.
"Capclave chair?" asked
Judy. "Which one?" She looked around and made her choice, "I
want you...first". Typical male jokes
were made. "Whatever makes him happy"
said Elspeth.
Bob said that there is a new
sales manager at the hotel. "They're
still looking forward to us coming.
Hunky Dory. For those of you
here, after the meeting we're doing origami.
We have to fold 3,700-odd flyers.
We have two folds, stamps, and labels."
Cathy said, "The postal service thanks you." Erica said, "No cheesecake until too late." Elspeth said, "We're limiting blocking to
three." Sam said, "In the flyer I said
for blocking to see you." Bob said, "I
don't think we'll have so many people interesting in blocking since we're so
close to the Worldcon."
Elsepth said, "I was at
mini-con, many people expressed interest.
Steven Brust said he couldn't do short stories. So I smiled and said, `That's why you should
come.' Minicon is down to 586
people. The programming was good with
three or four items at once. They've
turned it to a model Capclave should strive for."
Mike Nelson for Capclave
Future said, "If we're not happy with Gardner for 2001, we will explode
him." Alexis asked, "Isn't Gardner
already blown up?" Bob said, "See if he
can glow like an electric pickle." Eric
called this the "Capclave science fair committee."
No old business. No new business.
Announcements. Erica told a fish story. Moral:
Don't use antibacterial sponges to clean fish tanks. But the snails all lived. Lee Gilliland reconnected with her best
friend Tracey at Worldcon. Colleen
bought a house and named it Fred. It
hasn't been cleaned since 1997.
<Houses need cleaning???>
Elspeth at Minicon had someone ask her, "Why doesn't Mike Nelson have
women crawling all over him?" Sam
Pierce said, "The mind boggles." Lee
asked, "Are you going to tell him who said that?" Elspeth snapped back, "Of course not." Mike Walsh said, "Obviously they don't know about the dental
floss." Mike had only one book for sale
here which didn't have an ISBN. It is a
new Kalvan (as in Piper's Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen) novel by Carr. Alexis got a refund from Chicon. Judy said that Buck student contest
continues. Motion to adjourn
unanimously accepted at 9:47
Attendance: Pres. Judy Kindell, VP Sam Pierce, Sec.
Samuel Lubell, Treas and 2001 Chair Bob MacIntosh, Trust. Lee Gilliland, Trust.
Eric Jablow, Trust Nicki Lynch, 2002 Chair Mike Nelson, Sheri Bell, Colleen
Cahill, Alexis Gilliland, Elspeth Kovar, Keith Lynch, Richard Lynch, Keith
Marshall, Barry Newton, Lance Oszko, Evan Phillips, George Shaner, William
Squire, Mike Taylor, Madeleine Yeh, Adrienne Ertman, Tracy Kremer, Ivy Yap,
Andrew Williams, Cathy Green, Liza Kessler, Will Ludwigsen, Ron Kean, Rob
Thornton.
NEH
Lecture on Science Fiction
My name is Brett
Bobley. I am the CIO of the National
Endowment for the Humanities. I'd like
to invite the members of WSFA to attend a free lecture by Professor Eric Rabkin
entitled "Using Computers to Discover Cultural Truths: The Genre Evolution
Project Studies Science Fiction."
The lecture will take place on Tuesday, June 5 at Noon, in the Old Post
Office Building in Washington, DC.
Professor Rabkin has over
one-hundred-thirty publications, including twenty-nine books written,
co-written, edited, or co-edited, including Narrative Suspense (1973); The
Fantastic in Literature (1976) and Science Fiction: History, Science,
Vision (with Robert Scholes, 1977).
Professor Rabkin has lectured widely, to both general and academic
audiences, on fantasy, science fiction, fairy tales, humor, American
literature, literary theory, culture studies, pedagogy, composition,
administration, and information technology. He has had lecture tours in the
U.S., Europe, and Australia, and, from 1990 through 1996, offered a regular
Commentary on language and culture topics on WUOM-FM radio.
This
lecture is part of our eHumanities lecture series which studies technology and
the humanities. Details about the lectures and our (free) registration page can
be found on our website:
http://www.neh.gov/online/ehumanities.html
What
If Summer Schedule
From
Colleen Cahill
Thursday, April 12th,
2001, 12:10pm
By Brenda Clough, Author
of DOORS OF DEATH AND LIFE
"Time Travel, the
Exploration of Antarctica, and the Search for
ExtraTerrestrial
Intelligence."
Madison Building, Dining
Room A
Friday, May 18th, 2001,
12:10pm
Taylor Blanchard, artist
title tba
Madison Building, 3rd
floor, Pickford Theater
Wednesday, June 13, 2001,
12:30pm
Kirk Borne, scientist at
NASA
title tba
Madison Building, Dining
Room A
Wednesday, July 11, 2001,
12:10pm
Severna Park, author of
Hand of Prophecy
title tba
Place tba
October, 2001
Eric Choi, scholar
"Canadian SF:
Speculative Fiction from North of the 49th"
Place tba
November, 2001
Kathleen Ann Goonan,
author of Cresent City Rhapsody
title tba
Place tba
Book
Reviews
Dark
Sleeper by Jeffrey E. Barlough (New York : Ace Books, 2000)
Reviewed
by Colleen R. Cahill
There
is something wonderful about a nineteenth century British novel, whether it be
Charles Dickens' interestingly named characters, Jane Austin's stories of
society and love, or Arthur Conan Doyle's great detective Sherlock Holmes.
These have a warm familiarity for us, with fog-filled streets, proper manners,
and unique beings that populate these worlds with heroism, intelligence and quirkiness.
And such is the world of Jeffrey E. Barlough's Dark Sleeper. Set
in the town of Salthead, it is very reminiscent of mid-nineteenth century
England with the feel of Bath or Cambridge. Salthead has the prerequisite fog,
cosy inns, and singular characters, plus at the opening of the book, a new
addition: a dead sailor who dances for his estranged sweetheart and accosts
those out at night to "Do something with your life" while handing them his
head. This macabre touch fits well in the story and prepares the reader for
later introductions, including mastodons that pull carriages and man-eating
saber-cats that make travel very dangerous.
It
is quite a few pages into the book before Barlough explains that 150 years
before the setting of the story, there was a "sundering" caused by a comet
hitting the planet and resulting in
Europe being covered in ice. Salthead, which is "a continent and an
ocean" away from England or somewhere on the western edge of North America, has
ceased to see ships from anywhere but the few cities in that region. Most hold
this is the only place that humans are alive on Earth. This new ice age gives
the work a feel of alternate history and I suspect later books in this series
will give us more details on what actually happened.
There
are many plot lines woven through the book which at first seem unrelated. The
dancing sailor's return to Salthead puts Miss Nina Jacks, his former
sweetheart, in a nervous state. Her more lively sister Mona seeks the help of
metaphysics Professor Titus Vespasianus Tiggs and physician Dr. Daniel Dampe.
Their investigation eventually leads to two mysterious young men who recently
arrived in town. Meanwhile, dark events begin to happen: saber-cats are seen
closer to the town; a ship is lost at sea with all hands, but then sails into
the harbor and refuses to sink even with a large hole in its hull; the dead
return and walk among the living. Eventually all this points back to an
Etruscan demon who was summoned by one of young men, but it is now causing havoc
because the golden tablets that control the demon were stolen by the local
miser, Josiah Tusk.
There
are more than two dozen named characters that populate this story, but the
large cast does not crowd the book as each are well developed and individualistic. The wonderful names Barlough uses aids in
keeping the characters straight and adds to the feeling of nineteenth century
literature. One of the more interesting is Mr. Richard Scribbler, a law clerk
who refuses to speak due to a great tragedy in his life. With his wild hair,
pantomime gestures and sad eyes, he is both clownish and noble.
Barlough
has taken many characters and plots to created a colorful and fascinating book.
This work is the start of the Western Lights series and the second title, The
House in the High Wood, is scheduled to be out this August. Both these
books are set in the same world but will have a different set of characters.
Dr. Barlough is a former English major who changed his studies to biology and
became veterinarian with a Ph.D. in Virology.
He is also an armchair historian and has edited small press publications
on English writing, as well as having an interest in archeology, paleontology
and the ancient civilizations. All these have added elements to his writing,
making an exotic blend.
While
it is difficult to capture the whole of Dark Sleeperin a
review, it is not difficult for me to highly recommend this work. Any fans of good writing, whether nineteenth
century British works or more modern works, will enjoy this first of hopefully
many novels.
Written
by Kurt R.A. Giambastiani (New York, NY:
Roc, 2001)
Reviewed
by Lee Strong
S.P. Somtow, call your office! The American Indians have dinosaurs!
Willing suspension of disbelief
takes a big hit in this novel of "a frontier that never was." The author has apparently tossed together a
number of weird elements that tickle his fancy without examining the underlying
logic. As a result, we get a mass of
contradictions that really hurt what could have been a fairly interesting
story.
O.K. Story first: In an
alternate 1886, the son of President George Custer crashes his dirigible
airship (the cloud in the title) in the territory of the unconquered Cheyenne
Alliance. After absorbing their
culture, falling in love with a female psychic, and being offended at his
father's attempt to rescue him, he leads an Indian incursion on dinosaur-back
to Washington, D.C. to negotiate peace.
Now for the logic: There isn't any.
The
alternate North America is almost bisected by a huge extension of the Gulf of
Mexico... pardon me, the Gulf of Columbia.
However, except for mentioning the Missouri seacoast, this alternate
geography plays no part in the story.
Two of the three most important Indians are psychopaths by American
standards while the third merely considers the hero to be insane. The author gives the Indians stealth war
dinosaurs but never explains why 19th Century soldiers armed with rifles,
cannons and Victorian self-righteousness should be terrified of them. And, having the dinos race across the entire
United Territories... pardon me, the United States without any dogs or night
watchmen spotting them is simply absurd.
Kurt Giambastiani appears to be a
good writer, but once suspension of disbelief is destroyed by unnecessary
blunders, reading pleasure is destroyed as well. I rate When The Cloud Fell
as a "D" on the high school A-F system.
- LS.
1632
Written
by Eric Flint (Riverdale, NY: Baen,
2000)
Reviewed
by Lee Strong
This
book may cause me to rethink my view of either reincarnation or channeling or
both. Eric Flint has captured much of
the flavor of H. Beam Piper's classic Lord
Kalvan of Otherwhen in this alternate history of West Virginian coal miners
versus the Holy Roman Empire.
One day, an alien artifact known as
the Ring of Fire transposes the little town of Grantville, WV into the province
of Thuringia in the eponymous year 1632.
Once arrived, the Americans begin shooting rapists, expanding their zone
of control and generally trying to create the United States... right in the
middle of the Thirty Years War.
Naturally, the contending forces of France, Sweden, Judaism and what
passes for Germany raise a collective eyebrow when they discover a bunch of magicians trying to create a republic in the midst of their
religious-dynastic family quarrels.
1632
is a good read for the military-oriented fan with good history, plenty of blood
and thunder, and a few thoughtful words about nation building. The West Virginians are no hillbilly
stereotypes and the Germans and Swedes no politically correct whiners. Instead, they are real people with different
concepts of nationhood that must be resolved in the oldest way known to
humanity... bloody war. Which they do,
but not without some moving examinations of the human cost of battle. I particularly enjoyed the American debate
on how to treat their technological inferiors, and the very human answers that
Mr. Flint provides. On the negative
side, the American military superiority over the Germans makes each battle
rather one-sided despite Mr. Flint's efforts to create tension, and the ending
seemed rather obvious rather than a satisfying escape from death. Still, a good book overall.
I
rate 1632 as a "B" on the high school
A-F scale. - LS
Atlantis and
Atlantis: Bermuda Triangle
Written by Greg Donegan (New York, NY: Berkley, 1999 and 2000)
Reviewed by Lee Strong
Well, I'm a fool for anything having
to do with Atlantis, and buying books One and Two of this series certainly
proves that self-description. At least,
I learned from my mistakes and didn't buy the third book now on the shelves (Atlantis:
Devil's Sea).
Our high tech concept here is that
aliens (the Shadow) are invading Earth from another dimension thru the gateways
known as the Vile Vortices (the Bermuda Triangle and some others that the
author invented for the occasion).
Lonely heroes thrash around in the dark while the Shadow plays strange
tricks with time, space and nuclear weapons.
Atlantis is mentioned in the second book but makes no appearance.
I
see that this series as lacking in everything that good novels should
have, including comprehensible plot, interesting characters, local color,
credible dialog, science or pseudo-science, consistency, you name it. Imagine the worst episode of The X-Files ever seen, and you've pretty
much got Donegan's world. Everything's
spooky and pretentious (including the heroes), but it remains flat and lifeless
throughout.
It
takes a rare talent to make the mysteries of Atlantis and the Vile Vortices
boring but Donegan has it. I rate both
of these books as "E's" on the A-F scale.
- LS
Written
by Winn Schwartau, (Thunder Mountain Press, 2000)
$24.95,
ISBN 1-56025-246-4
Surfing the Internet:
A Nethead's Adventures On-Line
Written
by J.C. Herz, (Little, Brown and
Company, 1995) $19.95 ISBN 0-316-35958-0
Reviewed by Lee Gilliland
CYBERSHOCK:
Surviving Hackers, Phreakers, Identity
Thieves, Internet Terrorists and Weapons of Mass Destruction by
Winn Schwartau This book is the last book about cyberspace that a neo wants to
read, trust me. I turned into a lurker for a week, just running round the sites
this guy suggests. And boy, does he suggest them. After each chapter, profiling
the dangers of this or that hacker type, he gives you a list of where to find
these people. (Kinda like writing up all the serial killers in the US, and then
giving their home addresses.) However, he also lists the sites that help you
avoid and/or fight the actions of these people, which is a great help, as
that's what I was looking for.
In
seven sections, Mr. Schwartau goes into a lot of the games (mind and other)
going on the net, and how to deal effectively with them. Besides being extremely informative, he also
has a no-nonsense sense of humor that actually lets you engage with some of the
more creepazoid types without losing the fact these guys are ( or were
originally) human. His style is calm, succinct, and rather engaging. Even
though I am no where near sophisticated enough to really understand some of
this book, it was engaging, interesting, and well worth my while, and will be
worth yours.
Surfing
on the Internet: A Nethead's Adventures On-Line,
by J.C. Herz, was more my speed. A lively account of where the strange,
semi-strange, and wanna-be strange on the net conglomerate, it is funny,
ironic, realistic, and told with a breezy style that helps span the divide
between the 60's generation and the
gen-X'ers on the net, and folds them into an assemblage of tastes,
expectations, and experiences that come out the other end a seamless whole. She
does this with a follow-me cheeriness that reminded me of my cheerleader days,
only much less obnoxiously. She brings you onto sites on the web, and
introduces you to individuals and tribes out there in an easy, you-get-this
-don't-you style that helps you relate to the stranger sorts you encounter She also includes a glossary, note
on net style, and guide to dealing with IRC ( Internet Relay Chat), all
extremely useful on the web
Although
a bit lighter in tone than Cybershock, this book is also well worth the
time and energy to find and read or buy.
Web Reviews by Lee Gilliland
As many of you probably know by now, the Cambridge coffee
pot went off-line last Monday. For those of you not in the know about this
strange piece of web lore, back in the
seventies, it was the policy of the computer lab at Cambridge, England not to allow consumables in the lab proper, so
the scientists working there were only allowed one place to drink coffee. Tired of going up- or down-stairs only to
find the pot empty, they trained a camera on the silly thing and put it on-line,
so that when the lab went on line, so did the pot. Last week the lab moved to new quarters, and, as there are
several break rooms, the pit's no longer needed.
- Zone.MSN.com - games for free.
Lots of players. A new game about every six weeks.
- Boxerjam.com - more games, a bit
more in the adult range.
- Uproar.com - UK gaming
site. World-famous as The Colleen
Cahill time-waster site.
- pogo.com - watch out for this
one folks - it's a game AND chat site at the same time! You have an option of playing without
the chat room on the side. Censored and uncensored chat. Nick Pollatta has been known to run
around the poppit sf chat room.
- Zapspot.com - downloadable
games, mostly what you find on other sites, a few original, but this way
it doesn't tie up your phone lines.
Finances for WSFA in April:
By Bob
MacIntosh
Expenses:
First Friday $25.00 (and
that's all)
Revenue:
Dues (Geoff Drumheller) $10.00
Third Friday March refund $20.00
Donation (Keith Lynch) $20.00
Total $50.00
Thanks to Erica Ginter for her kind gift of hosting
Third Fridays for free. Thank you! Thank you!
And Capclave stuff:
Thanks to all who toiled long into the night to get
the mailing out at the April 3rd Friday. I do have some special thanks to
issue. First, thanks to our sister club up the road for providing the data to
create the labels. Second, thanks to Mike Nelson, Mike Walsh, Elspeth Kovar and
Sam Pierce for making editorial comments or contributions to the flyer. It
couldn't be done with contributions. Third, thanks to Covert for coming to the
rescue and creating the labels. Lastly, everyone should take the time to give
Sam Lubell a high-five. That effort took a lot of his time and he did an
excellent job. Mind you, there were
typos, but this is fandom...it is a long standing tradition to find all the
typos in any large publication.
Again, thanks. One person can not make a convention
happen. It takes a team.
The
Millennium Philcon is pleased to announce the nominees for the 2001 Hugo
Awards.
There
were 495 total nominating ballots. 178 of those ballots were submitted
electronically. There were an additional 29 paper ballots, and 15 electronic
ballots that were received, that were marked ineligible for various reasons.
Nominations for
Novel:
(381 nominating ballots, 205
nominees):
·
A Storm of Swords
by George R.R. Martin (Voyager; Bantam Spectra)
·
Calculating God
by Robert J. Sawyer (Tor)
·
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by
J.K. Rowling (Bloomsbury; Scholastic/Levine)
·
Midnight Robber by
Nalo Hopkinson (Warner Aspect)
·
The Sky Road by
Ken MacLeod (Orbit 1999; Tor 2000)
Nominations for
Novella:
(229 nominating
ballots, 50 nominees; 6 nominees due to a tie):
·
"A Roll of the Dice" by Catherine
Asaro (Analog Jul/Aug 2000)
·
"Oracle" by Greg Egan (Asimov's
Jul 2000)
·
"Radiant Green Star" by Lucius
Shepard (Asimov's Aug 2000)
·
"Seventy-Two Letters" by Ted
Chiang (Vanishing Acts: A Science Fiction Anthology, Tor Jul 2000)
·
"The Retrieval Artist" by Kristine
Kathryn Rusch (Analog Jun 2000)
·
"The Ultimate Earth" by Jack
Williamson (Analog Dec 2000)
Nominations for
Novellette:
(237 nominating ballots, 131
nominees):
·
"Agape Among the Robots" by Allen
Steele (Analog May 2000; Imagination Fully Dilated, Vol. 2, IFD
Publishing May 2000)
·
"Generation Gap" by Stanley
Schmidt (Artemis Spring 2000)
·
"Millennium Babies" by Kristine
Kathryn Rusch (Asimov's Jan 2000)
·
"On the Orion Line" by Stephen
Baxter (Asimov's Oct/Nov 2000)
·
"Redchapel" by Mike Resnick
(Asimov's Dec 2000)
Nominations for
Short Story:
(295 nominating ballots, 248
nominees):
·
"Different Kinds of Darkness" by
David Langford (F&SF Jan 2000)
·
"Kaddish for the Last Survivor" by
Michael A. Burstein (Analog Nov 2000)
·
"Moon Dogs" by Michael Swanwick
(Moon Dogs, NESFA Press Feb 2000; Asimov's Mar 2000)
·
"The Elephants on Neptune" by Mike
Resnick (Asimov's May 2000)
·
"The Gravity Mine" by Stephen
Baxter (Asimov's Apr 2000)
Nominations for
Related Book:
(213 nominating ballots, 86
nominees):
·
Concordance to Cordwainer Smith,
Third Edition by Anthony R. Lewis (NESFA Press)
·
Greetings from Earth: The Art of Bob
Eggleton by Bob Eggleton, Nigel Suckling (Paper
Tiger)
·
Putting It Together: Turning Sow's
Ear Drafts Into Silk Purse Stories by Mike Resnick
(Wildside Press)
·
Robert A. Heinlein: A Reader's
Companion by James Gifford (Nitrosyncretic Press)
·
Terry Pratchett: Guilty of Literature
ed. by Andrew M. Butler, Edward James and Farah
Mendlesohn (The Science Fiction Foundation)
Nominations for
Dramatic Presentation:
(279 nominating ballots, 151
nominees):
·
Chicken Run
·
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
·
Frank Herbert's Dune
·
Frequency
·
X-Men
Nominations
for Professional Editor:
(288 nominating ballots, 77
nominees):
·
Ellen Datlow
·
Gardner Dozois
·
David G. Hartwell
·
Stanley Schmidt
·
Gordon Van Gelder
Nominations for
Professional Artist:
(246 nominating ballots, 145
nominees):
·
Jim Burns
·
Bob Eggleton
·
Frank Kelly Freas
·
Donato Giancola
·
Michael Whelan
Nominations for
Semiprozine:
(241 nominating ballots, 56
nominees):
·
Interzone edited by David Pringle
·
Locus edited by Charles N. Brown
·
New York Review of Science Fiction edited by
Kathryn Cramer, David G. Hartwell, and Kevin Maroney
·
Science Fiction Chronicle edited by Andrew
I. Porter
·
Speculations edited by Denise Lee and Susan
Fry; published by Kent Brewster
Nominations for
Fanzine:
(194 nominating ballots, 90
nominees):
·
Challenger edited by Guy Lillian III
·
File 770 edited by Mike Glyer
·
Mimosa edited by Nicki and Richard Lynch
·
Plokta edited by Alison Scott, Steve Davies
and Mike Scott
·
Stet edited by Dick Smith and Leah Zeldes
Smith
Nominations for
Fan Writer:
(201 nominating ballots, 134
nominees):
·
Bob Devney
·
Mike Glyer
·
Dave Langford
·
Evelyn C. Leeper
·
Steven H Silver
Nominations for Fan
Artist:
(127 nominating ballots, 81
nominees):
·
Sheryl Birkhead
·
Brad Foster
·
Teddy Harvia
·
Sue Mason
·
Taral Wayne
Nominations for
the John W. Campbell Award:
(201 nominating ballots, 100
nominees):
·
James L. Cambias (1st year of eligibility)
·
Thomas Harlan (2nd year of eligibility)
·
Douglas Smith (2nd year of eligibility)
·
Kristine Smith (2nd year of eligibility)
·
Jo Walton (1st year of eligibility)
Novel: Darwin's
Radio, Greg Bear
Script:
Galaxy Quest
Novella:
Goddesses, Linda Nagata
Novelette: Daddy's
World, Walter Jon Williams
Short Story: macs,
Terry Bisson
