Date: Wed, 20 Apr 2005 22:05:21 -0500
From: thaughey <thaughey at acnet.net>
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: SF fandom- this has been interesting
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>

You're welcome.  Seriously though, there's a real problem with wearing
star trek uniforms in public.  The producers never had the money to sew
pockets on the darn things.  Unless you follow the lead of John Luke and
are forever pulling your shirt back into place, what on earth do you do
with your hands?  They also make them so skin tight that when you put on
a few pounds you look like Scotty or like Kirk in the middle of the
season when too many hamburgers have taken their toll.  And where do you
put your professional writer's obligatory fountain pen?  Nor are women
allowed an official issue pocket book.  How did anyone manage without
being able to carry anything around except a tricorder, communicator,
and weapon?  Not even the Ferengi had pockets, although they spent their
whole lives trying to acquire latinum.  Where did they put it?  And was
everyone's rear end magnatized?  How else could they fly a space ship
without seat belts on the seats?  --Tom

Drew Bittner wrote:

>Thanks, Tom!
>She's really getting a kick out of this...
>Drew
>
>--- thaughey <thaughey at acnet.net> wrote:
>
>>Everyone will have to wear their star trek uniforms
>>and pipe her
>>aboard.  --Tom Haughey
>>
>>Drew Bittner wrote:
>>
>>>Thanks to everyone for their thoughts on this
>>>
>>topic.
>>
>>>My headstrong opinion has brought forth food for
>>>thought.
>>>I think sf fandom has had an image problem largely
>>>because of media fandom, as Nikki points out. The
>>>
>>two
>>
>>>are conflated in the public mind. Maybe it breaks
>>>
>>down
>>
>>>into the worlds of sf readership and sf fandom
>>>
>>having
>>
>>>some overlap but not absolute congruence (one being
>>>
>>a
>>
>>>subset of the other?).
>>>My fiancee (Katherine, 23, graduating college next
>>>month) has gotten very interested in sf because
>>>
>>it's a
>>
>>>genre of ideas. She has no experience with fandom
>>>
>>but
>>
>>>her preconceptions (before she met me) were
>>>
>>negative,
>>
>>>based on media stories about Trek fans in costume,
>>>etc.
>>>She's come around and is very interested in meeting
>>>everyone at WSFA, but she is rather shy-- don't be
>>>surprised if she's very quiet at first.
>>>Are we a welcoming community? I think sf fans can
>>>
>>be
>>
>>>very welcoming or very cliquish, like any group of
>>>people. Many of us (me included) have very strong
>>>opinions and express them forcefully; it can get
>>>
>>out
>>
>>>of hand.
>>>But like any group, there are those to whom you
>>>gravitate and those to whom you don't.
>>>Everyone is a fan in their own way. With luck,
>>>
>>through
>>
>>>meeting others and chatting, we expand each others'
>>>horizons. I'm glad I've become part of WSFA and
>>>
>>look
>>
>>>forward to introducing Katherine to the group in
>>>
>>June.
>>
>>>Drew
>>>
>>>__________________________________________________
>>>
>>
>
>__________________________________________________
>