Editorial insertions in blue italics.
Other contributor comments in red italics.
In the days immediately following the posting of the issue, a
discussion based on Kevin Standlee's article began on the SMOFS mailing list.
Dear Argentines,
I can't blame this late missive on my inability to type (unless
that is an excuse you would be willing to accept??) and I still have not learned
the workings of this now/old laptop, but I keep slugging away. What this has
done is make me wish I had the $$$ to purchase one of the new(er) Apple
laptops- this one is heavy and unwieldy (with an old, but still functional for a
short period of time, battery)-with a small memory and that severely limits the
system I can install and pretty much rules out much in the way of Internet
connecting. But, back to the subject at hand....
Have you seen "An Inconvenient Truth"? I only mention
it to push my suggestion that if you want to see Antarctica it might be a
good idea to plan for a trip sooner rather than later...just a suggestion.
Congratulations on cable internet- I still consider dial-up a
luxury that can be cut from the budget at any time- so cable (in any guise) is
not likely to happen soon. Aside from a new laptop (see above) another item on
the want list is either converters for the TVs to HD or winning enough money to
pay for buying new sets. No matter their ages, if the converter boxes are
"relatively" inexpensive, that will be my solution rather than scrap
^_< a perfectly good (in all respects except HD reception) television. At
that point, so the media says, I'll have cable quality on the public channels.
Since I already get about 20 channels, I'll eye some shows with greed- but
settle for hearing about them.
When I was at Penn State, Philip Klass was the
advisor to the SF club- so he came and chatted with us several times. The group
only put out one issue of a fanzine (uh...er.. actually a crudzine by most
standards, I'd guess)-called Hostigos- going back to the name of the area
in William Tenn's writings, if I remember correctly.
[Actually, Hostigos is the name of the
area in the writing of H. Beam Piper.]
The thing I found the most irritating about a con badge (way
back when I went to a con...) was wearing it so that it was consistently visible
for identification/entry purposes Thank you for running the images of some of
the badges. You are right in that the most complaints I remember about the
preprinted badges were about the size of the name-make it legible at more than
18 inches!
While I have not attended a con in mumble mumble years, I do
take out a supporting Worldcon membership. It is interesting to speculate on
what supporting members will (or will not) get for that membership fee. I am far
too lazy to check, but I think one (or maybe two) Worldcons have sent along a
badge with the program book, but it is by no means de rigeur-so I have no
memento of what the badges looked like in those years. I grant you that a
supporting member has no need for a badge-presuming you do not decide to convert
and attend...but it would be nice....
Hmm- dubious distinction-I have not seen any episodes of any of
the shows mentioned in the DVD-TV Revolution. My best bet at seeing them
would be through Netflix...if they did exist on dvd-but I guess I am out
of luck.
Add Lee Hoffman to the list of those we have lost.
Sheryl Birkhead
Greetings Steven~
I just flipped through the new issue of ARGENTUS three times and could find nothing listing your address, either email or physical, to
send a loc too --oops! I pulled out the copies of past correspondence, and started this by typing in the
shsilver@a**.net we had been using... then for some reason I wondered if you had anything
on line about it.
Glad I checked! While there wasn't any further info with the actual
issue #6 on line, rummaging around through the site came across your note of the change of email. ta-Dah, success! (Or I hope so.)
Oh, by the by, on your Argentus links page at http://www.sfsite.com/~silverag/argentus.html the cover image
doesn't come up, and it looks like the title you have for issue #6 just repeats the one for issue #5. FYI (--and another question, what
are the little asterisk link icons after some names for? They all just seem to drop to the bottom of the page, but no clear reason WHY
we are being led down there.)
[The page has been fixed. At the
bottom of the page there is an explanation that one asterisk is for a Hugo
nominee, two asterisks is for a Hugo winner.]
To the issue at hand:
Liked Kevin Standlee's overview of the troubles with convention badges. Someone made the comment one time that the biggest bit of
information on most badges is the one that none of us really need to know: the name of the event we are at. The bit of information we are
MOST interested in, the persons name, is usually the hardest to read without having to almost pluck it from their shirt and put it up in
front of your face. Whenever I have had the opportunity to design badges, leaving plenty of space for the name was always my number one
priority. Of course, leaving space and having the convention actually use it is another. Oh, and loved your own samples, especially the
BayCon one with the "S" name line! I trust that you were given a correct one to replace that? Or did you simply attend as the
mysterious "Mr. S" for the rest of the convention?
[The Baycon badge wasn't mine. I
have yet to make it to a West Coast con. I believe the furthest west I've
attended a con in Con-Troll in Houston in the mid-1990s. Of course I do know of
at least one registration person who's stated goal was to give him the chance to
stare at women's breasts when trying to read their name tags. He didn't
last long enough in the position to actually design a badge.]
I was pleased to see you had the wonderful "Doctor Doctor" series on your DVD wish list. I remember loving every episode of that, laughing
like mad, and enjoying the deepening of characters as it continued, only to have it vanish much too soon from the air. This article also
got me to do a net search for my own dimly recalled series of the
past: "W.O.G.: World of
Giants". I just remember this as an odd short lived series in my youth of a guy shrunken to six inches, and working
as a spy-- lived in a little house behind a wall picture! Found it on Internet Movie Database
and was amazed to find out how far back it was, 1959, when I was only four years old. Certainly did make an impact though. I've never found
anyone else who even remembers this, or they tend to think I am talking about the "Land of the Giants" series. I wonder if anything
survived of this one. Would definitely make a nice odd little DVD set.
And, as usual, you have stuff in the Mock Section that I really wish was true! All those people spending their lives
writing huge fan-fiction tales around the Star Trek and Star Wars characters, when
they could be taking a clue from such great ideas as are presented here... it's just a shame.
stay happy~
Brad
2/8/07
Dear Mr. Silver:
By the way, can I call you “Steven”? I realize we’re not personally acquainted, and therefore a certain aura of formal courtesy hangs over the interaction. On the other hand, you’ve sent me numerous issues of your fanzine, so I’m willing to notch it down to a more informal level if you
are.
[My feeling is that in fandom,
informality should reign. Feel free to call me Steven. Now, if you
were a telemarketer, trying to call me by my first name, that would be a
different matter completely.]
“Membership Badge Issues”: Somewhere I have a big old beach towel with badges dating back to the 1980’s pinned on it. Under various names, as the “badge name” question has seemed to me, what the person wants -- at the 2000 Worldcon, the last I went to, I simply announced myself by “Frohvet”, an assumed pen name, and Registration gave me my badge without hesitation. On my past concom experience, I would have thought the purpose of badges were “ticket” first, “identity” second (which raises the question of putting the con’s name in big letters, and the person’s name in teeny small print), and anything else of small concern. As for the group that seeks to impose sense, my experience was that once you change Chairbeings, even at the same con, all previous rules go out the window, and the Chair does anything however she/he
fancies.
If memory is accurate, I met Philip Klass once at a con in Pennsylvania.
Of your listing of TV shows that ought to be released on DVD, I can recall watching only one of them. Certainly many fine TV shows have been cancelled before their time, but I don’t think any of these fall into that
category.
[Never said they were cancelled before
their time (although I do feel that way about "Doctor, Doctor," merely
that I would like to have them available on DVD.]
To Alexander von Thorn, I say: Thank you. “Just because a story includes spaceships doesn’t make it science fiction.” Exactly, a point I have made repeatedly concerning, e.g.,
The Sparrow. Similarly, “Someone in the story has to act like a scientist or engineer” allows me in include in the SF umbrella Bujold’s
A Civil Campaign, whose SF credentials are otherwise shaky.
I share with Frank Wu a respect for accountants, who perform a vital function in any society more advanced than “I’ll trade you this flint knife for that haunch of mastodon.” I just do not want the accountants to set policy, because everything then becomes a question of bottom-line profit statements. Which is no basis on which to run a society.
Clearly, part of the problem with Pluto is that the solar system is a much more complex place than the technology of 1930 could reveal. I am inclined to agree with SP3; I just wonder if that’s a reasoned decision, or mere habit of
thought.
A momentary diversion here, but: Aside from Laurie Mann’s few paragraphs, all of the articles, and all but two of the LOC’s, are from male writers. Had you observed that, and have you anything to say about that? I bring it up only because back in the Stone Age of my late fanzine, I prided myself on including many female
fans.
[I hadn’t noticed it, but will note that Mock Section contributor Alethea Kontis is also female. When I was working on the Chicago in 2008 bid, I pushed a proposal to have the first all-female GoH slate for a Worldcon.]
James Nicoll has a good idea here, and unfortunately has not developed it adequately. This piece would be more informative at greater length and with more
specificity.
If Steve Sneyd ever visits the U.S., I will gladly show him E.A. Poe’s grave in a churchyard in Baltimore. Maryland is very big on Mr. Poe (note the name of the professional football team) though his principal connection to the area is having died here.
The fifth and last of Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt’s “Enchanter” stories was set in Ireland. I know it originally had a separate title, but offhand I can’t place it, as I have it in the Dell paperback of Wall of Serpents, where it is presented merely as a continuation of that
title.
John Flynn argues that “classic” films, some of which could be defined as SF, should not be remade; he would prefer great existing novels be made into films. Won’t work, for two reasons. (1) The audiences are totally different. Films, in general, are for people who
don’t read for pleasure. (2) Film directors may be classed as those who don’t have any originality, and know it, and therefore rehash the work of their betters; and those who don’t have any originality and don’t know it, and are determined to make their own works. The first group explains
Mars Attacks, and the second group explains Starship Troopers.
Confusion to the enemy,
“E.B. Frohvet”
12/26/06
Dear Steven:
Excellent! I’m glad to see I’m not the only one putting up zines on
Christmas!
Great cover. I love Frank’s stuff and that’s one of my faves. It’s just a
spectacular piece from a spectacular artist!
Ah, Kevin Standlee! Or, as we call him around here, Tall Kevin. It’s good to
see him in more and more fanzines…now if I could just get him to write an
article for The Drink Tank! I love badges and I keep most of mine. One of the
saddest losses in my fannish life was that of my CorFlucisco badge with a
picture that Frank Wu drew on the back. It’s interesting that I know they’re
of incredible usefulness if properly laid-out, but really, I’ve almost never
recognized anyone by their badge. I’ve never used a Fan Name, though my Dad
never used the same name twice on badges. One of his fannish frauds was Sir
Reginald Coxswain. I’m still not sure why anyone would believe that a pudgy
six foot Mexican in a Maui 80 shirt would be named Reginald Coxswain. As always,
Kevin makes good points. My opinion: do it right, and by right, I mean the way I
like it.
I saw Phil Klass read at Loscon a few weeks ago. I’ve read a little of his
stuff and I genuinely enjoyed it. I’m always glad to see people saying thank
you to big names in zines. Ted White carries that moment with Klass very
closely, much like my encounter with filmmaker Jean Marc Barr at Cinequest in
2002. It’s one of those moments that you hold onto for as long as you can.
Laurie’s talk of Phil was just as strong. That story about saving Flowers for
Algernon, one of the three greatest science fiction stories ever, just makes me
love the man that much more.
TV on DVD: a subject I could talk about for days. "Doctor, Doctor" was a fine show
and Matt Frewer is one of those comedic actors who doesn’t get the attention
he deserves. I watched every episode first run and it’s been years since
I’ve seen it but I can clearly remember the opening segment. "Doctor, Doctor" is
a great choice for DVD. "AfterMASH" was crap. I know there are people who love it,
especially the characters, but it wasn’t "MASH" and it wasn’t ever
entertaining TV. If I remember correctly, there was a notice on one of the DVD
release sites for "AfterMASH" in the middle of next year. "Voyagers" and
"Best in the West" I was a little young for,
though I have a slight memory of "Voyagers." I want to see "Salvage One." Sounds
like a damn fine series. There’s a group called Brilliant but Cancelled and it
certainly sounds like they’d want to release it. I can remember a Timecon
showing every episode of "When Things Were Rotten."
[There is a group of devoted
"Salvage One" fans who have managed to compile a complete collection
of the show on DVD. Sometimes it shows up on e-Bay.
The time I met Mel Brooks, I complimented him on "When Things Were
Rotten," although I got the name slightly wrong. He graciously
corrected me.]
The idea of a lot of Science Fiction as Westerns makes sense. I can remember a
serious debate with two of my film school friends about whether "Blade Runner" was
Noir or Science Fiction. I still maintain that it’s SF, but they could not be
swayed. The argument also went into the realm where no SF fan wants it to: that
science fiction isn’t a genre but a setting. That’s a tough road, and there
are a few films and books that I can think of that you could call nothing but
science fiction. Flatland, for instance.
More Frank Wu. There’s a lot of us BAreans in this issue! I too love Peter
Cushing as Dr. Frankenstein, but for different reasons. He always managed to
make his doctor seem so reasonable. Brannagh’s Frankenstein was a braggart
idiot whose every suggestion is an obvious failure in waiting. Cushing’s Doc
was a genius who just made little mistakes that no one could ever have seen
coming. I should also mention that I hate Heart of Darkness. I just hate it.
King Leopold’s Ghost, on the other hand, is magnificent. I have to agree that
the accountant is always the one who has to bring both the good and bad news,
and more often than not, at least in mob stories, is the one who takes the fall.
I love Obiwan. I really do. Mark’s article will now make me forever question
if my love was baked in a crust of lies! I once wrote an article about Luke as
the bastard who turned his back on the agriculture of his home planet to go out
for glory and who, in fact, brought down greater pain on all those around him
for it.
You’re a lucky man to have gotten a chance to correspond and meet Dr. Tombaugh.
I’ve gotten to know some of the true pioneers of computers (mostly the folks
responsible for video games like SpaceWar and Pong) but a personality as
impressive as Dr. Tombaugh I’ve never had the chance. I understand that Lick
Observatory played some part in the discovery as well, though I don’t’
remember what. The Little One, Evelyn, and her class did a project around the
Pluto demotion. They had the kids locate several objects around the room and
classify them, first while everyone was standing at one end of the room, then
they got a little closer and reclassified everything and then again when they
could get even closer. The results were very interesting. Evelyn firmly believes
that there are only three planets now because of the exercise.
I’ve not read nearly enough Poe, which is funny because I went as Poe two
Halloweens running and once at a Dead Man’s Party where everyone had to dress
as a Dead Person. I had the hair for the part.
Hey, I’ve read some F.M. Allen! It’s entirely too rare that someone talks
about old science fiction works that I’ve actually managed to read! The Voyage
of The Ark is certainly the better of the two and much reminded me of works from
thirty years later when the whole thing we call SF had gelled more thoroughly.
Mr. Romm’s journey sounds incredible. I’ve never seen a penguin in the
wild, but I’ve studied them to the point that I could actually construct a
penguin species that was adaptable to any climate using examples from real
penguins. It was one of the best months in Biology when I had to do that
project. There’s a theory that penguin calls are more pronounced the further
south you go. You can easily tell the difference between an Antarctic penguin
and any other bird, though one that lives closer to the equator will sound more
like other birds that occur in common space. An interesting theory.
I kinda like the Wells Time Machine. There was an interesting heart to the
movie. I’ve no love for Spielberg’s War of the Worlds, or most of his
movies. The Planet of the Apes remake had two problems: Tim Burton didn’t get
to be Tim Burton (which was what made Charlie & The Chocolate Factory from
2005 such a pleasure for me) and they insisted on using that stupid ending. Lost
in Space was a waste of everything. The 76 King Kong was only good for how hot
Jessica Lange was.
[I'm still trying to figure out why
they named Jessica's character Dwan.]
I thought that "Mars Attacks!" was brilliant. OK, brilliant is the wrong word, but
it let Burton be Burton and still show that he loved the material he was working
with. I wished he had done the dinosaur rampage movie instead, but he did a
reasonable job with good acting and some neat effects. It was just a really fun
movie. Plus, I love me some Slim Whitman.
Here’s my take on remakes: they need to be done every twenty or thirty years
with some films. There’s no way an audience can relate after that long. Now,
no one has tried to remake "Wizard of Oz "(other than "The
Wiz") because it still
works, but try showing a kid of today "Forbidden Planet" or even
"WestWorld." It
just doesn’t work. Yes, there are films that should never be remade
("Song of
the South," "Gone With the Wind" and "Triumph of the Will" all come to mind) but
there are others that are begging for it. We need another "Day The Earth Stood
Still" so that today’s audiences can finally get it. I know that’s not a popular take (unless you’re a studio
exec), but it’s true. I’ve noticed it when I’ve tried to introduce films
to Evelyn over the years. She did take to the "Godfather" films, though. Plus,
ever since Georges Melies started remaking his own films when he had a new trick that he could
incorporate it's been a tradition.
There are also films that equal or improve on their sources. The graphic novel
of V for Vendetta was brilliant, but the slightly updated 2006 version was a
near-masterpiece of 21st century film. The play "Everybody Comes" to Rick's was
crap compared to "Casablanca." John Carpenter's "The Thing" beat out Hawks' 1950s
snoozer. "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" got better when they remade it, as did
"The Incredible Shrinking Man" (as the "Incredible Shrinking Woman" with Lily
Tomlin).
Once again, a great mock section. Hell, I even thought that my piece was
readable! I love the idea of Pratchett and Stephenson writing together. It just
makes sense. Matt Appleton is a mad man with his article. I’d give anything
to
see that book. Dammit!
Yours,
Christopher Garcia
12/27/06
Excellent article Kevin. I must say that
I agree with you.
Will be passing the article on to the registration people I work
with so they can gain some insight.
I wasn't too crazy about the ConJose badge holder, since I
already have a badge holder of my own with my other buttons and badges. It
created even more clutter (like that is possible with my stuff). But it was a
Nice Idea and Moose still uses his as a badge holder. And I even have mine for
times when the Mucky Crazy badge holder is not appropriate. But warning they can
and do shed ribbons.
As the Chairman of Westercon 40,who had to put up with the 24 pt
rule before the neat and nifty inkjet/laser printers we have now. Let me tell
you, it was a challenge. Plus doing all the other items you noted in your
article. And it was more annoying when after meeting the challenge I saw future
Westercons ignore it.
Badge name vs Real Name. Let me introduce you to Fuzzy Pink
Niven, who because of her husband is in America's Who's Who social register, ie
well known in Fandom and the mundane world. She is completely annoyed with Real
Name Nazis who insist she use the mundane name in fandom. And I know she's not
the only one. And I know the stalking problem you mentioned. That is real folks.
*sigh*
MythCon luckily doesn't have the Fan Name problem. We accept
Real Names, the Usual nicknames, and Pen Names, and know most members, so
whatever they want on the badge is fine by us. CC26 has a spot for Badge Name in
our Registration Program. Real names will not be printed on the badge. So choose
your badge name carefully.
I am currently working on making a Return Address sticker with
all my important NickNames to be stuck near my Real Name on my Badge. It solves
the problem of which name someone knows me by. There are too many. And it also
solves the problem of We Want Real Name Nazis. And if it covers up the artwork,
*sigh* the problems of fame.
:P
And we have shoe boxes filled with badges and badges all over
the house. I like to keep them if they are in any way nice. And that's the
truth.
lisa_marli aka Auntie M aka Lisa Deutsch Harrigan
Dear Steven,
Brad Foster’s letter in Argentus
6 recalled the great Nabokov remark that the difference between things
cosmic aspect and their comic aspect is a single sibilant.
BARTCon as reported by Chris
Garcia seems to’ve had the usual quarrels with site personnel, brought on
partly by wild fans’ being too extreme for mundanes they collided with, and
partly by not having checked out what the site authorities required.
At first I though a NESFA
version would go better, but then I began to hear a voice, “Is that you,
Charlie?”
Thank Roscoe, the touchstone
of science fiction is not the presence of an explainer.
[But
see Ghughle, whose role in the Fannish pantheon is as explainer.]
John Hertz
12/28/06
Dear Steven:
Feeling Badgered?: Kevin Standlee forgets the most common form of badge name
confusion: badges that have only a first name. I had formed a theory that this
was a way for gamers to identify each other, from observing how that worked at
ConGlomeration, our new local con, run by the gaming crew from RiverCon, our
former local con. Then when I signed up for the latest one, they gave me a badge
that just said "JOSEPH", and no one spoke gamer to me.
There’s also the habit of wearing the badge on the belt. (Somehow, saying
"at waist level" doesn’t go with some fans.) So you have to intrude
into personal space to read the badge name. And then you find you’ve met
Stanley From Beneath The Earth (a badge name that came up in connection with the
MidAmeriCon badge matter).
And the "Why would you want to know other members’ names?"
attitude Kevin mentions, which is a symptom of the transition to professional
cons. Where, as he points out, the point is getting into the dealers’ room and
then getting into the autograph session for the Guest of Honor, the actor who
played Nonspeaking Role Klingon #6 . . .
Some of those "persona" name badge problems have other solutions. I
recall a RiverCon that was overrun by ElfQuest fans. The Pinis’ ElfQuest
seems to have been that year’s thing; it was Doctor Whos one year and so on
and next year they were all gone. They had two name badges; the one for RiverCon
with their "real" name on it and an ElfQuest name badge with their elf
name on it.
Whither the DVD-TV Revolution?: Patricia Barnstable and her husband host the
Barnstable-Brown Derby Eve Gala every year in Louisville. (I didn’t mention it
because attending costs $$$$, even if it goes for diabetes research, which I
don’t object to one bit.) So that’s what she’s been doing since Quark.
Which had some pretty funny moments — the show, not the gala.
[You mentioned the Barnstable-Brown Derby Eve Gala
in the article you sent me back in Argentus 4 (2004): "Things to Do in
Louisville When You're Dead (er, Here for the Derby)," still available on
the Argentus website.]
Starship Westerns Versus Science Fiction: Does anyone remember the
"You’ll Never See This In Galaxy!" piece with Marshal Bat
Durston?
Best Birthday Present Ever: Technically, Graham Land is part of the Antarctic
Peninsula, "the area of the continent that looks like a tail". The
British discoverers called the peninsula the "Graham Peninsula" after
the sponsor of their expedition; the American discoverers called it the
"Palmer Peninsula" after the captain of the discovering ship. They
eventually compromised.
As everyone who has read Grumbles From the Grave will recall, Robert
& Virginia Heinlein took a Lindblad cruise down to the continent. From the
brief description in that book, it seems to have been happier overall than the
one they took as described in Tramp Royale.
Letters of Comment: Ned Brooks: Scheissen und Schiessen —
Does a bear shoot in the woods?
Chris Garcia: Ah, another Marxist! Have you seen the movie with Harpo’s
only speaking role? (Explanation later)
[Somewhere on one of my computers, I have a short
clip of Harpo Marx speaking. When I track it down, I'll post it here.]
Shakespeare and Lovecraft: What a beautifully squamous and rugose play! I’m
waiting for "The Two Shoggoths of Verona", "The Merry Wives of
Leng", "The Taming of the Cthonian", "Nyarlathotep, Prince
of Khem", and other blasphemous masterpieces!
Namarie
Joseph T. Major
The movie is "Too Many Kisses" (1925) — a silent
movie!
12/30/06
Steven,
It's a good thing I added your name to my
"friends" list on my livejournal account. The link on your name guided
me to your homepage so I could find your active e-mail address.
Herewith, therefore, and all that rot with introductory
clauses for opening paragraphs, here's the loc I attempted to send to your
"dead" address.
John
Steven,
It is a good thing that the latest File 770 was
posted to efanzines today, otherwise I wouldn't have had such easy access for
finding your e-mail address. Shame on you for not including it in your zine! But
I forgive you, mainly because this is such a fine issue.
[Actually, my e-mail address is
listed in the introductory editorial. I need to send Mike Glyer an e-mail
correcting my e-mail address in his record so he doesn't propagate my
"dead" address.]
Love the cover art! Frank Wu does wonderful work, and
seeing stuff like this in fanzines more regularly sounds like a great idea to
me. His winning the Fan Artist Hugo is justified, In My Humble Opinion. Some day
I hope to meet that BArean.
So you were on the Chicago in '08 WorldCon bid. Sorry you
folks lost out, but Denver is closer to me in terms of driving distance. Were
you likewise at Windycons in the late 70s and the 80s? I used to attend Windycon
on a fairly regular basis up until 1985, so if you were there, then we might
have run into each other at one of them. I am just curious, that's all.
[I started attending Windycons in
1986, so chances are we didn't run into each other.]
Speaking of conventions, it just seems natural that the
first article is about convention badges. The badges you pictured in Kevin
Standlee's article show the typical range that con badges run. Sometimes they
can be very artistic and eye-catching, like the Windycon 30 and Baycon 2006
badges pictured, or simply utilitarian like that Wiscon 28 one (which is a
one-day only badge, explaining why it's rather simple and thus useful for
handwriting someone's name onto it). Using silly badge names can be a lot of
fun, especially for those who know your nickname - such as "Filthy
Pierre" or "David Escargot" - and even more mind-bending for
those who don't know who you really are. One time - it was Minicon 24 - I didn't
use my real name on the name badge, instead opting for "Bangweulu
Editor" (the name of the zine I was pubbing at the time). Those who knew me
had no trouble with that; but there were some mighty funny faces made by those
who stopped me and asked "What the fuck is a 'Bangweulu'?" or
something like that. I had fun with it.
But badges can give a con a certain feel and attitude,
contribute to the ambiance of the event. Kathy Marschall, Reed Waller, Ken
Fletcher, and Kara Dalkey used to produce some of the best Minicon badge art.
Such talented artists. How I miss them!
Ted White's appreciation of Phil Klass was both enjoyable
and informative. Whenever a fan writer - or any writer, for that matter - can
blend history with personality and humor, it just makes for an article that I
like to return to as a reference. Awesome photo of Mr. Klass, too, I have to
say. Ted's expression of thanks is highly appreciated by me. Also, thank you for
the short listing of works at the end. I remember reading Of Men and Monsters
years ago. A good book. I will have to check out that collection of essays, Dancing
Naked. Sounds interesting.
Those DVD series collections certainly bring back memories.
I kind of liked AfterMASH when it was first aired, and it lacked the spark of
the original series. I am very surprised that it lasted as long as it did. I
thought that When Things Were Rotten was simply a lot of fun, and ahead of its
time (obviously). Then again, I have always been a big fan of Mel Brooks. Quark
deserved its quick death; it had no spark to it, sad to say. Fun premise,
though.
"Starship Westerns Versus Science Fiction" is an
interesting article that asks and attempts to answer that old question we
sometimes ask ourselves: "what is (or isn't) science fiction?" To me,
it could be anything. For example, Firefly qualifies as science fiction because
it deals with themes familiar to SF, like human reaction/adaptation to changes
in society, and/or technology. Science Fiction doesn't need to be set in outer
space with rockets blasting alien ships out of the ether or saving the Known
Universe in order to be called Science Fiction. After all, like Alexander von
Thorn recalls that the original Star Trek series was described as something like
"Wagon Train to the Stars." My favorite type of SF is when people have
to deal with changes of some sort, especially when they had to adapt and accept
the repercussions of their actions. These are very effective and memorable
stories. This is why "City on the Edge of Forever" consistently ranks
as one of Star Trek's greatest all-time episodes. Even the Next Generation's
Borg War episodes were powerful. However, there are times when I love a good,
old-fashioned shoot-'em-up at the Cygnus 4-B Corral. Sometimes you just want to
read about saving the damned galaxy.
I'm gonna pass on a couple of articles to get to that Pluto
article mainly because I have seen a t-shirt for sale that says, "In my
day, Pluto was a planet." Must get one. Really good article, Steven, and
that picture of you and Clyde Tombaugh is something else. Oh, my, you were such
a young pup! Do you think that Pluto-Charon will be designated a double planet
due to their barycenter being a mathematical point between them?
[I don't think anything will
happen with Pluto's designation until the IAU meets in 2012. That will be their
meeting after New Horizons visits the planet.]
Hey, James Nicoll, I'll tell you what's really depressing:
what passes as "science fiction" on that so-called "Sci-Fi
Channel." (Pronounce it "skiffy," if you would, please.) There
are times when I want to read something depressing - like the local newspaper.
But that's not depressing because of the news, which can be very depressing, but
because of the terrible editing and proof-reading.
Chris Garcia is writing about holding a con on a car on the
BART system, complete with an Art Show and panels. I can't believe that I'm
actually serious about sharing a room with this guy at Corflu. What in the name
of the Wild World of Sports am I getting myself into? Nice illo!
Earlier this year, I had asked DavE Romm for an article
based on the photos he took of his Antarctic birthday trip. He may yet write it
up for a future issue of my zine. It won't be a trip report, of that I can
assure you. Hopefully we can get this worked out Real Soon Now.
I always like the original book and/or movie better than
the film version or the remake. My wife and I have this running commentary that
the reason why Hollywood keeps remaking old movies and television series is
because they've run out of original ideas. But the articles you've included,
complete with lists, are well done and bound to garner lots of replies from the
cineholics in your reading audience. Get ready for lots of unsolicited lists.
Over-all, a fine, fine issue, Steven. I am glad I finally
got a chance to read thish and get somewhat of a loc off to you. If you're at
Corflu, let's get together and chat. I am looking forward to this con more than
any other con I've ever attended in my life. Wonder why?
In any event, thanks for the issue, and I'm looking forward
to the next one.
All the best,
John Purcell
12/26/06
Hey Steven
Kevin Standlee has fallen into the usual trap when discussing convention
badge names. Your name is not your identity, names cannot be used as identities,
and identities cannot be used as names -- especially in the UK and many other
jurisdictions where your name is whatever you say it is and you can change it at
any time with no paperwork. Also in the UK, very few people carry around
official identity documents of any kind, and so it is in any case
pretty
futile to attempt to ensure that badge names match legal names. If you want to
use a badge in order to identify people, then you need to actually put a link to
their identity on the badge -- generally speaking, a con membership number will
handle this nicely without being found offensive or intrusive. The
"name" element of the badge should thus always contain the name that a
person actually wants to be addressed by at the convention, regardless of
whether or not the member has any paperwork to back up the name, and since we've
established that the name can't and shouldn't be used to identify the member
then there should be no objection to this. If you don't have membership numbers,
it is reasonable although probably unpopular to require that all badge names be
unique so that they can be used as links to the member's actual identity -- but
this applies to two "John Smith"s, both of whom have legal papers in
that name, as much as it does to two "Nylarthotep The Unlikely"s.
At a large con, you will naturally want to check that the identity of the person
collecting the badge matches the identity of the person who has paid for the
membership, but once again, the name is pretty useless for this purpose.
Mike Scott
Dear Steven,
Dear Steven,
Thanks for #6 with my article.
Found this issue thoroughly
interesting tho paradoxically find hard to loc—rather like good wine needs no
bush, good content needs no comment!
Particularly enjoyed the
mocks—clearly am in send childhood. Cthulhu Shakespeare
much more widely applicable to ------ —Caliban surely a stooge of Cthulhu, and
Marina’s melodramatic story arc in Pericles must’ve taken her to R’lyeh
somewhere along the lnie, while much of Lear’s behavior surely down to reading
the Necronomicon during dull moments in his serially
daughter-mistreated/abused retirement. (Thought this illo appropriate to talk of
the mocks—C’mell being fobbed off by a mover and shaker in Norstrilia sequel
to Bonfire of the Vanities.)
As a marginal addition to the
very interested Northern Ireland-linked SF Article, as I recall (11 years since
read) Anthony Burgess’s The Haunted Seed has Celts as one of the rival
factions.
Ha, so German “gallows S”
has a posh name—read somewhere they abolished it, but is making a nostalgic
comeback.
Soupy Sales mustn’t’ve
made to Brit kids’ tv—I’m sure’d’ve remembered that daft name. Sam
Snead got me that nickname all thru school—could’ve been a lot worse! Still,
put me off trying golf forever.
[No,
Soupy wouldn't have made it over to Britain. He was suspended from his
role on kids' tv after telling his audience to go into his parents' room, taking
the pieces of paper with pictures of presidents on them, and send them to
him. Many kids did.]
Best Wishes,
Steve Sneyd
Dear Steven,
Even before reading Kevin Standlee’s
article in Argentus #6, I had thought about convention name badges at
various times. I knew they should be attractive and have the names in a large
enough type so they could be read by a person with more-or-less normal vision at
a distance of at least a couple feet. The use of monikers wasn’t an issue at
the times I was thinking about the subject. We were perfectly aware that some
people operated under names which were not their legally given names. I
understand that some conventions have a problem with people using monikers when
they intend to make trouble at the convention. That isn’t really a problem at
all conventions.
Your chosen name does more than just
appear on your badge. It also may be published in long, totally useless lists of
names in convention publications. While I was doing the progress reports for
L.A.con IV, I encountered a problem with some names. They are too bleeping long.
If you are going to hyphenate your last name when you get married, don’t use a
moniker too. I’ve sometimes wondered what people with hyphenated last names
are going to do when they want to continue the practice into a second
generation. Of course, that’s their problem and not mine.
Alex von Thorn to the contrary, I doubt
that you will ever be able to eliminate stories that sort of resemble westerns
from science fiction. Westerns are commonly a rather basic sort of story. There
have been examples of samurai stories which have been converted into westerns
and westerns which have been converted into samurai stories. There have never
been more than a minority of SF stories which primarily deal with scientific
speculation. Scientific speculation can be fascinating stuff. Other things can
be interesting too. As long as a story entertains me, I’m not going to
complain a whole lot as to how it entertains me.
James Nicoll considers whether modern
American SF is depressing or not. I think his final conclusion is correct that
it is no more depressing than it ever was. I recall back in the fifties there
were lots of stories about nuclear doom and bleak conformist futures. They
weren’t terribly chucklesome, but I read them along with everything else. With
the volume of SF being published these days, it’s hard to make any sort of a
statement that modern American SF is anything. The only change from 1953 and
1975 that I think has occurred is there are more alternate history stories being
published now than was true in those earlier years. Or at least, it seems so.
Yours truly,
Milt Stevens
Dear Steven,
E. B. Frohvet can put me among those who liked Palmer's Emergence. It
cried out for a sequel, to my mind. According to Wikipedia, he has only
published two books.
I appreciated the articles about William Tenn (Phil Klass). He was last
year's Loscon guest of honour, and he was an exceedingly entertaining guest. I
have purchased the three volumes of his works published by NESFA, and I look
forward to reading them.
I don't really agree with your article about the short-lived series that have
yet to appear on DVD. For one thing, I didn't see most of them. Even for the
ones I did see, I'm not sure I liked them well enough to buy them on DVD. On the
other hand, time can do strange things. My husband, for instance, has recently
purchased seasons of "Perry Mason," "Voyage to the Bottom of the
Sea," and "The Wild, Wild West." While I don't think I would have
purchased them myself, I do watch them with him and have enjoyed them, sometimes
a lot more than I expected and sometimes more than I expect I enjoyed them
originally. I was young when I saw them the first time around and probably
missed a lot of nuances. I have a new appreciation for the early "Perry
Mason" episodes. Having watched them, I appreciate "Boston Legal"
even more than I was, for example.
I wouldn't have done very well on your photo quiz.
Alexander von Thorn's article, "Starship Westerns versus Science
Fiction", was interesting, though I can't say I agree with him on all his
points.
Mark Leeper brings up some good points in "Lies My Jedi Told Me".
There is a fine line between truth and lies. I am by nature very honest and have
a tendency to blurt out the raw, unvarnished truth. This has gotten me into
trouble more than once. At my first professional job as a librarian, I had to
learn to tell white lies. I was responsible for interlibrary loans. We had three
kinds of users: scientists, engineers, and business types. I could tell the
whole truth to scientists. Engineers wanted an exact answer even if it wasn't
exactly true. When they asked how long it would take to get a book, they didn't
want to hear "it could be a few days or more than a year". So I told
them it took an average of two weeks; that seemed to satisfy them. The business
types didn't really care; whenever it came would be later than they wanted. I
once had a heated discussions with a friend about whether what I told the
engineers was a lie.
Christopher Garcia's recounting of the BARTcon was very entertaining.
I enjoyed Baron Dave Romm's story about his trip to Antarctica, mostly
because I hope to make a similar trip one day. Antarctica is on the top of my
list of places I'd like to visit.
While I agree with most of the movies on Bob Blackwood's list of cinematic
disappointments (I haven't seen a couple of movies on his list), I have some
disagreement with John Flynn's list. Specifically I disagree totally with his
assessment of "Mars Attacks" and "Independence Day."
"Mars Attacks" is entertaining. In fact at my last job, it was chosen
as the first movie for our lunchtime movie sessions.
Thanks for sending your zine. I hope you'll keep me on your mailing list.
R-Laurraine Tutihasi
