Meeting of January 2, 1987 at the Gillilands', President Michael Walsh presiding, Secretary Erica Van Dommelen taking minutes. The meeting was called to order at 9:00. The treasurer was not present, so no treasurer's report was given. The secretary announced that the membership list was ready. Minutes were waved about.
COMMITTEES
Entertainment: a Star Trek IV movie party was proposed but voted down as the vast majority of the members had already seen the movie.
Disclave 1987: Buy your memberships now!
Disclave 1988: No news.
Discon 3: Not present. Joe Mayhew has information on advertising in the 1987 Worldcon program book.
Poker Table: The table will probably attend the next meeting.
Old Business: Fifth Friday will be at Jack Chalker and Eva Whitley's stately new abode. Bring your own towel for the jacuzzi!
New Business: None.
Announcements: Lance Oszko reported that Baycon, being held the same weekend as Disclave, is also having an Enchantment Under the Sea dance. Small world.
Attending: Joe Mayhew, Bill Mayhew, Erica Van Dommelen, Jane Walker, Mike Walsh, Lance Oszko, Alexis Gilliland, Tom Schaad, Dave Hastie, Candy Gresham, Steven Fetheroff, Ray Ridenour, Bob MacIntosh, Alan Huff, Victoria Smith, Doll Gilliland, Lee Strong, Elaine Stiles, Evan Phillips, Joe Hall, Lee Smoire, Jul Owings, Rich Kolker, Rebecca Prather, Mark Owings, George Koelsch, Brian Lewis, Kathi Overton, Bill Squire, Walter Miles, Dave Weingart, Ellen Weingart, Eva Whitley, Jack Chalker, Steve Stiles
Meeting of January 16, 1987 at Mary Morman and Kent Bloom's, President Michael Walsh presiding, Secretary Erica Van Dommelen taking minutes. The meeting was called to order at 9:10. Treasurer Steve Smith reported $14,428.01 in the treasury.
COMMITTEES
Entertainment: Nothing entertaining.
Disclave 1987: Yet again, buy your memberships! You are not eligible to renew your voting membership or vote at WSFA meetings until you have bought your Disclave 1987 membership from Bill Mayhew and then paid your additional $5 voting membership dues to the treasurer. There will be a meeting to tour the Sheraton New Carrollton facilities sometime between Boskone and Balticon; all interested parties are welcome. A short meeting with the hotel staff will be held around May 1; this is for the convention committee only.
Disclave 1988: The con will very likely be held in a hotel. Stay tuned for further developments.
Discon 3: The next meeting will be next Saturday at Jack Heneghan and Elaine Normandy's. The formal organization may or may not take place.
Poker Table: The issue may be stale, but it will be dealt with.
Old Business: None.
New Business: Michael Walsh yielded the gavel to Vice President Alan Huff to note that this was Lee Smoire's last WSFA meeting before her departure for Australia. He moved that a vote of thanks be given Lee for all her work on Disclaves and Discons past. The motion passed unanimously and loudly. There were no abstentions. Lee will send her new address in March.
Announcements: First Friday in April can't be at the Gilliland's. Keep that in mind.
Attending: Mike Walsh, Alan Huff, Erica Van Dommelen, Joe Mayhew, John Novak, Kent Bloom, Mark Owings, Regina Cohen, Tom Schaad, Bob MacIntosh, George Shaner, Charles Gilliland, Alexis Gilliland, Walter Miles, Naomi Ronis, Mary Morman, Steven Fetheroff, Lee Smoire, Barry Newton, Jul Owings, Phil Cox, Judy Newton, George Koelsch, Kay Koelsch, Chris Callahan, Dick Roepke, Joe Hammerman, Pat Jones, Bill Mayhew, Laura Jones, Steven Smith, Maggie Machisak, Cat Slusser, Bob Oliver, Rosa Oliver, Susan Applegate, Lee Strong, Linda Melnick, Dan Hoey, Steven Vaughn-Nichols, Joe Hall, John Pomeranz
Polly Freas, wife of SF artist Kelly Freas, died in late January.
The word came round Tuesday night that Polly Freas had died of cancer. We've known the Freases for a long time and encountered each other regularly at conventions. Here are a few remarks for possible inclusion in The WSFA Journal.
When did we first meet? I don't remember, but it was surely before 1974, when we invited Kelly to be guest of honor at Disclave. Thinking about her, the first quality that comes to mind was her gaiety of spirit. She had a bright smile with an infectious laugh and if you spent time with her, some of her happiness would rub off on you.
She was also a class act. Polly was: a lady, supporting her husband in his career by handling the business details which everyone just naturally detests but especially artists, a loving wife, a devoted mother, a woman of courage, all of these things. The last time we saw her was at the Atlanta Worldcon, socializing at assorted parties as she lavished the energy she had conserved during the afternoon. You could tell she was enjoying herself, and if her stamina was a little short, why that was just a problem to be worked around.
To meet her was a pleasure anywhere. She enhanced the conventions she attended, and she will be truly missed by those who knew her.
Alexis
Alexis A. Gilliland
No where else can you experience EPCOT's Future World, see a killer whale born in the care of man, watch a space shuttle launch, or tour the world via EPCOT's World Showcase. So come early, and stay late, at MagiCon in 1992. The the perfect opportunity to experience Orlando with your sf friends.
FACILITIES: With 61,000 hotel rooms (second only to New York), we have several fine facility packages available in Orlando. We already have options on 430,000 square feet of function space and 4,400 sleeping rooms, and we're negotiating for more! Our philosophy: To choose the best available alternative by keeping our options open for as long as possible.
For example: The Orange County Civic Center has enough space to hold a gigantic WorldCon, not only under one rool, but all on a single floor! Within a one mile radius are nearly 6,000 hotel rooms, including the newly-opened Peabody and the awesome Wyndham, which together account for 1,400 sleeping rooms, Another option is Orlando's premier convention hotel, the Marriott World Center, with 92,000 sq. ft. of function space and 1,500 sleeping rooms, Downtown is the Expo Center, and connecting Omni International Hotel. And of course, there's always Walt Disney World Village, the fabulous array of hotels and restaurants just outside EPCOT's main gate, with an abundance of function space and rooms, not to mention (We wouldn't dream of it!) the enormous convention hotel rumored to be in the planning.
THE COMMITTEE: Florida is blessed with talented and competent fans, and the majority of the MagiCon Executive will consist of fans from the Orlando area. Nevertheless, we will need to draw upon the expertise of experienced fans everywhere, and our committee will include familiar names from all over the country.
Co-Chairs: Becky Thomson, Co-Founder of Seattle in '81 and NorwesCon
Tom Veal, ChiCon IV Hotel Liaison, Chairman of 2 WindyCons
WE CAN'T THINK OF A BETTER CITY TO HOST A WORLDCON. JOIN US...SHARE THE MAGIC!
MagiCon / Orlando in 1992
Post Office Box 5904
Orlando, Florida 32855
Presupporting Memberships: $5.00
THE FOLLOWING HAVE JOINED THE CORPORATION:(in attendance) Joe Mayhew, Kent Bloom, Mark Owings, Jul Owings, Alan Huff, Jack Heneghan, Ray Ridenour, Lance Oszko, Victoria Smith, Barry Newton, Judy Newton, Naomi Ronis, Dick Roepke, Chris Callahan, Michael Walsh, Peggy Rae Pavlat, Eric Pavlat, John Sapienza (in absentia) Mary Morman, Kate Terrell, Heather Nachman and Lee Smoire.
The Meeting was called to Order by Provisional Chairman Kent Bloom, who distributed copies of a proposed agenda for the meeting as well as the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws. All who paid their first quarter dues of $10.00 plus the assessment of $25.00 were accepted as members of the Corporation. The Articles and Bylaws were adopted unanimously after a discussion of Joe Mayhew's proposal that a Vice-President be elected in the place of one of the four Board Members (instead of having an appointed Deputy President) resulted in a rejection of that proposition. Thereupon, the Corporation's officers were elected. Kent Bloom was elected unopposed as President, Joe Mayhew was elected unopposed as Secretary. Naomi Ronis was elected over Bob MacIntosh as Treasurer. Directors Alan Huff, Peggy Rae Pavlat, Dick Roepke and Mike Walsh were elected over Jack Heneghan, Barry Newton, Ray Ridenour, Bob MacIntosh and Mark Owings. Secretary Joe Mayhew's proposal of Jul Owings as Deputy Secretary was accepted, as was Naomi Ronis's proposal of Bob MacIntosh as Deputy Treasurer. President Bloom established the following committees: FINANCE: Treasurer Ronis as Chair, Board of Directors as members. PUBLICITY: Sec. Mayhew as Chair, Ray Ridenour, Chris Callahan as members; HOTEL AND FACILITIES: Jack Heneghan as Chair, Alan Huff and Peggy Rae Pavlat as members; CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP: Jack Heneghan and Alan Huff.
Dues were set at $10.00 per quarter, running concurrent with the calendar year. Those wishing to join will be required to make up any assessments which the previous members have paid, but not back dues. It was also affirmed that membership in the bidding corporation does not automatically confer any perks in the convention if we win. The Finance committee will propose a budget for foreseeable bid operating expenses as often as necessary so that ordinary operating expenses will not have to be voted upon piecemeal. Those violating budgetary limitations may have to pay out of their own pockets.
Jack Heneghan's resolution that the bid pursue corporate sponsorship from communications, computer and other product producers was approved. Kent Bloom was authorized to spend whatever was reasonable and necessary for legal advice, etc. in order to complete the incorporation. Ray Ridenour's Bid T-shirt will be printed in purple on lilac and will be sold at $7.00 to persons interested in working on the bid. So Far, 103 bid support buttons have been sold. Joe will produce a flyer, a bid "calling card" and will arrange for a new postal box in a station with unrestricted access hours. It was decided to take an ½ page ad in the 1987 World Con Progress Report N°4, and a 1/3rd page in the Souvenir booklet. An ad may also be taken in the Cactus con booklet and elsewhere as needed. Our first bid sponsored parties will be at Conspiracy and at the Nasfic.
A Corporate Meeting was scheduled for the 1st regular meeting of WSFA on February 6th, where new members would be accepted. The official 2nd quarterly was scheduled for June 7th at the home of Peggy Rae Pavlat at 3:00 PM.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:32.
The Washington Post reported that John MacDonald was dead at seventy the other day. Three score and ten may be the biblical span of a man's years, but it was not long enough for MacDonald. The good don't always die young, but their deaths are always causes for mourning no matter what the age, and so it is with John. He began his career in the penny a word pulps of the forties. Then, he wrote science fiction, mysteries, whatever would bring home a dollar. The quality of his yeoman work earned him entrance to the slicks, Colliers and The Saturday Evening Post. Like any author eager to make the long jump from beans to hamburgers, he jumped at his new markets and never looked back. From there, he made the difficult transition from short fiction to novels. Although he was extremely successful and prolific, most of his work in the fifties and early sixties, including his two science fiction novels, Ballroom of the Skies and Wine of the Dreamers and his one fantasy novel, The Girl, the Gold Watch and Everything have been, for the most part, forgotten. They were good enough to be successful, not good enough to stand out from the many other science fiction and fantasy tales of thirty years ago.
Then, in 1964, he wrote a novel called The Deep Blue Good-by in which he introduced a man named Travis McGee who lived on a houseboat, the Busted Flush, at Bahia Mar, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Travis was in the salvage business, for half of whatever it was worth to you, he'd go out and reclaim what you had lost. McGee found this business proposal lucrative enough, half a loaf being better than none, that MacDonald was able to find enough material for 21 novels of his adventures. Books which took John from hamburgers to steaks and a measure of fame.
Longevity is no sign of quality in the book business, series with names like Mutant Vietnam Veterans From Hell keep the 2nd line publishing houses in business after all. The Travis McGee books have nothing in common with these though. McGee is as tough a hero as ever was found in the adventure/thriller racks, but although his origins may have been in the base dirt of many another serial hero, he rose above his field to join the exalted company of Nero Wolfe and Sherlock Holmes. Travis is that rare fictional tough man with a realistic human side. How many other fictional sleuths do we see working off the pounds of idleness? McGee's like to be the he man of adventure fiction, but he's all too mortal. He's sentimental and moody, a sucker for homeless kittens and lost causes. As he often laments, he continues to put on his rusty armour, pick up his battered lance and go jousting with dragons, even when it is clear that the dragon population keeps growing from year to year. We become cynics as we grow older all too often, and the stainless heroes which entertained us in our younger days lose their attraction, but there is still something in us which thrills to the image of someone trying to defend the right. In MacDonald's hands, McGee was a hero living in a world, all too recognizable our own, striving to uplift the down trodden and protect the helpless. McGee doesn't always succeed, and all too often it feels as if he's lost more than he gains, but the effort is made and reader comes away caring far more than for any mere cardboard character. After all, these days its hard to find nobility anywhere, and if its found between the pages of a paperback novel then perhaps it's only slightly less valuable than in the real world. As for me, I'll take my heroes where I find them, even in the humid, worn byways of an overdeveloped Florida. Where evil doesn't wear the designer faces of Miami Vice and McGee stands with friends against the petty, but deadly schemes of real estate sharks and small town hoodlums. If you'd like to meet Travis, I'd recommend The Empty Copper Sea, Darker Than Amber, or The Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper. You've already met his world.
I'd like to have met John, but I'll not have the chance now. One hopes though that somewhere beyond this earth of ours, there's a boat slip in a Ft. Lauderdale, free of students on spring break and venal condominium builders, where a party's being held for a creator and his creation, hosted by the greater author of all.
Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
Blood River Down, by Lionel Fenn, Tor, 1986
Cover blurb by Diane Duane notwithstanding, This book is unrewarding and not at all funny. It has all the ingredients: the naif American hero, whose weapon is a baseball bat, a bridge between worlds, a disappearing heroine, a trusty steed (in this case a large red goat), an off/on sorcerer/mentor, a bloodthirsty apprentice hero, a lusty female traveling companion, and a magical villain henpecked by three wives. The whole thing is too long and most of the jokes lack a punch line. Everything from individual incidents to the whole book is unfocused; none of the action arises from character, only circumstance--not an insurmountable obstacle, but then none of the incidents demonstrate any character. Fenn appeared to be using "what I tell you three times is true" as an organizing device. Unfortunately, telling is not demonstrating and repetition is just that, and unconvincing. Fenn has little idea what to do with a novel and even less sense of what constitutes real humor or farce.
--Jean Simpson
DISCLAVE 1986 FINAL REPORT ACCOUNT CATEGORY REVENUE EXPENSE PAYBACK MEMBERSHIP 15490.00 INTEREST 320.10 DEALERS ROOM 4140.00 ART SHOW REVENUE 5445.75 OTHER REVENUE 95.00 DISCLAVE 1985 1659.90 TOTAL REVENUE 27150.75 PUBLICATIONS 1814.40 REGISTRATION 107.93 ART SHOW 4907.63 CON SUITE 1944.12 PROGRAMMING 1381.26 HOTEL 2362.50 DEALERS 625.75 MISCELLANEOUS 1351.08 BABYSITTING 521.10 OTHER EXPENSES 780.19 TOTAL EXPENSES 15795.96 AMOUNT TO WSFA 11354.79
Yes, you too can be a published writer! Amaze your friends! Astonish your relatives! Baffle your coworkers! Attain literary immortality! All this can be yours if you submit your book or movie reviews, convention reports, or any unoffensive but not innocuous nonfiction to the WSFA Journal! I'll print just about anything you give me (deadline Tuesday of First Friday Week), especially if it's camera ready. This means typed in columns as wide as you see here, or something reasonably close that I can photoreduce on the xerox at work. Be aware that many dot-matrix printers do not produce copy that reduces/reproduces well (sorry about that, Gerry Uba). So let's keep that stuff rolling in. I especially need art.
Erica Van Dommelen
2413 N. 11th St.
Arlington, VA 22201
703 522-2540