Date: Sun, 21 Apr 2002 13:34:51 -0400
From: Ted White <tedwhite at compusnet.com>
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>
Subject: [WSFA] Who Is John L. Flynn
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>

The question of who John Flynn, not-well-known Fan Writer Hugo Nominee,
really is came up on some other lists I'm on.  On one list his resume was
dug up, along with this charming movie review:

"BATTLEFIELD EARTH" DVD REVIEW
                            By Dr. John L. Flynn

Every once in a while a motion picture does something so extraordinary, it
makes you desperate for more. You sit on the edge of your seat the entire
film biting your nails while you are lost in the plot, the special effects,

and the action-adventure. "Battlefield Earth" is one of those movies. When
the motion picture first debuted in theatres last May, I laughed and
cheered
and cried and clapped, and enjoyed every moment and every aspect of the
production from beginning to end. But I was among a select few science
fiction fans who got to enjoy the film in theatres. For reasons totally
unrelated to the production, critics trashed this saga of alien conquest
and
human rebellion during its theatrical run, and chased many fans away with
their hateful and denigrating remarks.  They completely ignored or missed
the
film's true artistry and fun.  Now that the film is available as a special
edition DVD fans can finally enjoy that artistry and fun! They can also see

for themselves what a largely misunderstood work of true genius
"Battlefield
Earth" really is. I know that when I watched the special edition DVD on my
home video system I experienced all of the emotions of laughing, cheering,
crying, and clapping again, and enjoyed the film from beginning to end.
Experience the movie for yourself, and you'll see what I mean.

To which Richard Newsome added:

>   Welcome to the homepage of John L. Flynn--Author, Educator,
>   Administrator, and Psychologist.
>
>   John received his BA in 1975 and his MA in 1977 from the
>   University of South Florida, and completed his Ph.D. in 1997 at
>   Southern California University.

I suppose it is unkind of me to point this out, but "Southern California
University for Professional Studies", where Flynn got his Ph.D., is a
correspondence school ("A leader in World-Class Distance Learning since
1978")
notorious as a diploma mill. They were featured in a Feb. 1995 SPY Magazine

article on diploma mills, in which they offered to sell SPY Magazine's
undercover agent a degree for $10,000. They aren't totally bogus: they
have both a building and a faculty, although most of the faculty in John
Flynn's department got their Ph.D.'s at "United States International
University". As of 1999 (Flynn got his degree in 1997) they were
unaccredited
by any body recognized as an accrediting body by the US Dept. of Education.

You are required to submit a dissertation for the Ph.D. in Psychology at
SCUPS. John L. Flynn's dissertation topic was sex addiction, and his
abstract
describes it as an "empirical study". My Funk & Wagnall's defines
"empirical"
as follows:
  "1. Relating to or based upon direct experience or observation alone.
   2. Relying on practical experience without benefit of scientific
knowledge
      or theory."

Richard Newsome
newsome at panix.com

--Ted White