Argentus LoCs

Editorial insertions in blue italics. Other contributor comments in red italics.

February 9, 2008

Dear Argentus-ites,

You certainly are a quick learner-each ish looks better than the previous one. Interesting cover—nice clean simple lines and effective.

Ghood luck with the new job. It is always tough, making the compromises and crossing your fingers that the new job lives up to both the description and the hopes. I am sure that working from home is a nice perk—with pitfalls and bonuses.

So far the job situation has worked out very nicely, especially this winter (07-08) when we were clobbered by more than five feet of snow. Of course, it also works out well with the kids' schedules.

I really appreciate the Out-of-Print pieces. Some years ago, I wrote a recurring column (and for the life of me, I can't remember where—obviously my work was not too memorable) about the art on books- primarily paperbacks-it would have been great to be able to include the image of the cover to show what I was discussing. The information about each book is both informative and entertaining- thank you for getting and running them... and Neglected Works.

Ten Forgotten Tales makes me take time and look back over books I have on my shelf that simply aren't out there any more. When I've been asked what list I would give of sf books to read, I realize you have to remember that books I liked and saved, probably just aren't on the same shelves. My list might make a trip to local secondhand bookstores better places to look, but still no guarantee of finding what I would suggest. At the top of my list would be Groff Conklin's anthologies—really loved his stuff and ought to do some re-reading.

Dr. Who...hmmm. People have different tastes, but it never ceases to amaze me that, otherwise rational fen, cannot understand why I am not a Whovian (I think I have that right). About 10 years ago I watched some of the Baker episodes and never got hooked. I watch the show when it is around.. .and have even put the recent Dr. Whos on my Netflix list so I can see what has been happening in the recent incarnations. I do say that the few single episodes I have seen on regular TV (I don't have cable, so I have to hunt if I want to locate episodes) have not engaged me. I will still continue to look at episodes, but it does not (at least not yet) look as if I will ever be an actual "fan". We'll see what I think after I get a chance to see the newer Doctors at work.

Back in the 1980s, I had a friend who kept trying to get me interested in Doctor Who. I found at the time that I liked the concept behind the show much more than the show itself. It was during the Tom Baker era and he and the show were too campy for my tastes. With the advent of the new series, I gave it a try and discovered that they had kept the general concept (more or less) and removed the camp. I've gone back and re-watched many of the original shows and find I like Patrick Troughton and William Hartnell's portrayals much more than the lisping effete dandy of Jon Pertwee or the campiness of Tom Baker.

I need to hunt for that postcard with my Denvention PIN-I know I didn't throw it out, but heaven only knows where it is. I've contacted the Hugo administrator to see if they can get it to me again...so I can nominate. A supporting membership gives me three things- PRs, nominating, and voting. I'd hate to lose one of those three (potentially two if I just don't get the PIN) just because I can't find a postcard.

When I changed over to another phone carrier (at 50% the cost at Verizon) I had no idea several things had happened. Their service came with a package that included caller ID and call waiting. I kept hearing this annoying beep and thought something was wrong with the new service. About two weeks into this, I got a call from a friend who is also a client -asking if I knew that my business line says it had been disconnected. Long story short- to placate me, the company tossed in the caller ID free (and stopped the call waiting at my request) and got the business number functional again (I have identa-ring—or something like that—two numbers using the same line, but the ringing is distinctive, but I only pay for one line). I rarely answer the phone unless I know who it is, now. I also do not try to break my neck getting to a ringing phone—I figure that if it is important enough to really need to speak with me, then they" leave a message or call back. It makes life a lot easier and less stressful !

Congratulations to both the TAFF and DUFF winners. I am guessing that at least one of them may have some comments about the trip on a future loc. I know that Chris Garcia will have a wonder-full trip! I'll look forward to his "real" report.

As I said-I was relying on memory about Hostigos—so the memory is faulty. I do remember that the idea was to have the clubzine set in the science fictional location and beyond that I plead the Fifth. I was just guessing that, since Professor Klass was the club's advisor, that someone had selected his world. I bet that if I could resurrect a copy of it, I'd find some mention as to the history and choice of the name. Suffice it to say I am just as happy that the zine probably will never see any more light of day, this way I do not have to plead ignorance or apologize for my writings therein!

I have used Netflix and seen episodes of TV shows that did not appear on "regular" networks—Eureka and Lost Room to name two-hope I have the name of that second one correct--especially since I found the premise totally engaging and enjoyed the miniseries (hoping it would have turned into a series...sigh).

Thank you for sending me a copy of thish. I can see that it is "also" available online, which I suspect is the more common source for your readers. I repeat, thank you for sending me a copy and keeping me able to read your zine. Nice job.

Dear Steven:

You’re out early this year. I remember last year when we both released zines that hit the web on Christmas Eve. Ah, there was a jolly time.

I will say this: once a book is out of print, it should be free for all. Yeah, we should probably product stuff that’s still in-print, but out of print material should get out via all possible means, including downloading. It’s just my thing. I’ve never read Lord of Light. I should, and I’m putting it on my list of books to buy at BookBuyers this weekend when I buy my Book For Hiding Behind during Family Holiday Gathering book. I’m not a big Dan Simmons fan, though I did enjoy Carrion Comfort when I read it during college.

I’m rather shocked that Stand on Zanzibar is out of print. I’ve read it two or three times and I’m not entirely sure that it’s not my favourite Brunner novel. I’m not a Simak fan and while I do get that whole sensawonda thing people always talk about, it does take more and more to get me to feel that way. I will admit that I loved a couple of his books when I was a younger kid stealing books from his Dad’s stash.

The Poems of Ossian are fun, I admit, but I’m much more interested in the potential hoax portion of things there than the actual works (which are available on Scribd or at least were a while back when I went looking for them). The Last American, however, is so much fun that it must be read by all humans wishing to call themselves humans. I loved it when I read it in 1997 after reading about it in The SF Book of Lists. It’s just about the most fun novel I’ve ever read in SF.

Leiber’s two best books are both out of print. That’s a shame. I love his shorter works and The Sinful Ones was probably my fave. Another Brunner on the list and it’s the one I haven’t read, or at least not consciously. You see, I sometimes pick up novels when I’ve got nothing going on and half-mindedly read them for a while. I know I own every Brunner novel so it’s likely that I’ve read at least part of it, but I’m not sure I remember anything about it.

Not at all a fan of Galouye. The Thirteenth Floor is what brought him to my attention and from there, I started digging and never found much that I liked. Just not my style, unlike Joanna Russ who has become one of those authors I did not expect to enjoy nearly as much as I have over the last year or so. I’ve never read any Christopher Priest, but I should at some point.

Little Known actors is a fun one. While I will always love Mr. Charlie Rocket, and Mr. Toblosky made his living being ‘Oh, it’s that guy!’, there are a couple of folks who have had long careers never being the big star. Bree Turner is a young one, best known for her work in such wonderful pieces as "Deuce Bigelowe" and Judy Greer who was in everything from "The Wedding Planner" to "Arrested Development" to "The Village." Let me also add the late, great Rockets Redglare who was wonderful in such films as "Trees Lounge," "Basquiat" (where he played himself), "Talk Radio," "Big" and various Jim Jarmusch movies. Speaking of Jarmusch, one would also have to add Richard Edson who was in "Stranger Than Paradise" and films like "Ferris Bueller’s Day Off," "Platoon," "Do The Right Thing," and most recently "The Astronaut Farmer." He’s a good one.

"Dr. Who" is the most American of all British TV shows. That sounds weird, but stick with me. They took a concept and rode into every possible marketing niche they could. What’s more American than that? It was on the air for almost three decades and then came back at the time when the teens who loved the last Doctor had grown up and wanted something to come back and get better. It was the return of other great stuff from the 1980s that brought The Doctor back, though he never really went all the way gone. The need for continuity is one of the greatest symptoms of being a fan. It strikes us all. I love the newest Doctor. David Tennant is a great talent and before Who you probably could have had him in the ‘Oh Yeah, it’s that guy!’ category…at least here in the States.

For some reason, I don’t really care about the politics of a writer when I’m reading their books. I love Michael Moore’s stuff though I think he’s a manipulator of material and a good but far from great filmmaker. I think his stuff is funny, "TV Nation" being one of the greatest TV Doc programmes ever, and I completely disagree with his political ideals. I had no idea about Hogan’s beliefs. I’ve never read any of his stuff but had a lovely chat with him at BayCon this year.

Have I got stories about Anton LaVey. I’ve heard hundreds of them from folks who knew him at just about every stage of him life. He was a big figure in the BArea. So is Carol Doda. She was one of the first celebrities I ever met who really felt like she had star power when she was just walking around. I met LaVey at least once and probably more like three or four times. He was always selling off various things and it became a popular trend for kids in High School around the Bay to buy them, usually for stupidly low prices. I bought a few pulp=y things from him and at least one candly-thing. A friend of mine has hundreds of artefacts from the man in his place, including two full altars. I find it strange that my Dad, who didn’t know LaVey at all but was friendly with a number of people who were friendly with Anton, was at the WorldCon Masq at the same time that LaVey was. It’s weird.

I have to say that the panel on paper concept is a good one. I’m also surprised to see "Bladerunner" mentioned as an influence on "12 Monkeys." The two were written by the same guy! Good to see Matt talking about "Jennifer Government." I thought it was a wonderful book and the way they marketed it using the net and the game was brilliant.

By the way, I love the cover. It’s one of those wonderful covers that just stands out for me. It’s got a retro-meets-jetz thing going on.

Fine, fine piece of work. I dropped by to have a quick look, and ended up spending nearly an hour. Especially enjoyed the TOP TEN OUT-OF-PRINT BOOKS lists from Howard, Rich Horton, and Georges Dodds, as well as the look at Doctor Who continuity (we're watching Pertwee episodes of Dr. Who at lunch at work, and this will help!), and the great letters column.

Plus, there's a lot more I haven't gotten to yet that looks fascinating - like Mike Resnick's "Me and the High Priest" piece, on the founder of the Church of Satan. Man, Black Gate is positively tame compared to this. [Note to Howard - we need more features with sex and debauchery. Hire Rich to do the research, as usual.]

The layout is splendid, and I really liked the obvious effort you made to sprinkle covers through the book articles. The end result is really eye-catching.

I'm at a hotel tonight, and looking forward to reading the whole thing. Very impressive.

ARGENTUS LoCs

Issue Seven