Date: Mon, 01 Apr 2002 14:54:57 -0500
From: "Michael Walsh" <MJW at mail.press.jhu.edu>
To: <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Interesting Inventions
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>

> tedwhite at compusnet.com 04/01/02 02:55PM >>>>
>
>Michael Walsh wrote:
>
>> > tedwhite at compusnet.com 03/31/02 11:51PM
>> >
>> >Steve Smith wrote:
>> >
>> >> [...]
>> >>
>> >> To bring a SF note to the discussion, at Iguanacon II in 1978 in
>> >> Phoenix, Harlan Ellison was the GoH.  When he found out that Arizona
>> >> hadn't ratified the Equal Rights Amendment, he talked about doing =
all
>> >> sorts of nasty things to let people in AZ know what assholes they =
were
>> >> (he used stronger language, of course).  One of them was to have =
as
>many
>> >> people as possible avoid staying in the hotel and camp in the =
desert.
>> >> Now, desert camping is no more dangerous than any other form of
>camping
>> >> -- if you know what you're doing.  Fortunately, the locals talked =
him
>> >> out of it -- not only does it get cold at night, Labor Day is right
>> >> about at the beginning of thunderstorm season ...
>> >
>> >Harlan supposedly boycotted the hotel by living in a RV out front.  =
But in
>> >actual fact he slept in a hotel room most nights.  It may get cold at =
night
>> >in the desert -- particularly at higher altitudes -- but in Phoenix it =
went
>> >*down* to 95 at night...after daytime highs in the 110-115 area.
>> >
>> >--Ted White
>>
>> There was an RV parked out front of one of the hotels, the Hyatt I
>> believe.  But, yeah, as far as I know it was Harlan-less.  I believe =
that
>> Patrick Nielsen Hayden denies having to go out and feed the meter.
>>
>> As for the temps, well, yeah it was great.  Hot & dry.  As long as I
>> stayed out of direct sunlight the non-freckled skin wouldn't burst into
>> flame.
>
>The freckles were less fortunate?

Oh, they just got darker . . .

But I do like the "dry heat" - as opposed to Florida's "moist heat."

>
>> The plaza between the Hyatt and convention center complex was quickly
>> named The Anvil of God.
>
>Crossing it was bad enough, but I was amazed to see long lines of people
>standing out there for *hours* before the Hugo awards ceremony.   (I went =
in a
>side door I'd discovered days earlier.  Bob Silverberg immediately =
grabbed me
>and whisked me to a seat in the rows reserved for nominees.)  I think it =
was at
>Midamericon that we started seeing Long Lines (and *tickets*) for major =
events
>like that.

ConFranciso had lines.  Boy howdy, did they have lines.  Not the best way =
for a Worldcon to initially present itself to the membership: lines.  =
Caused many people to start refering to the con as ConFiasco.  Aren't fans =
clever?

mjw

>--Ted White
>