Ansible 252 [long]
ANSIBLE 252
JULY 2008
From DAVE LANGFORD, 94 London Road, Reading, Berks, RG1 5AU. Web
news.ansible.co.uk. Fax 0705 080 1534. ISSN 0265-9816 (print) 1740-942X
(e). Available for SAE, egoboo, or the Bild-A-Man Set #3.
[NET NOTE. See http://news.ansible.co.uk/a252.html for the nice HTML
version. Mailing list subscribe/unsubscribe information appears below --
please don't send such requests to my own e-mail address. DRL]
### TIME IN ADVANCE ###
BRIAN ALDISS knows Liverpool is a City of Culture: 'On the first of July
I shall be in Liverpool, where the University will give me an honorary
degree. After which solemn ceremony a black tie dinner will be held.
Please note that no money will be involved, and very little drink.'
J.G. BALLARD is praised for avoiding the obvious pitfalls as 'one of the
most significant figures in the 60s New Wave. His bleak dystopias were
very powerful and influenced both readers and writers. It's true, though,
that he did not go in for the cliches of the genre at that time --
rayguns and tentacled aliens and so on.' In short, he's 'a science-
fiction novelist in the way that Orwell and Huxley are'. (Professor Dinah
Birch, quoted in _Guardian_ interview with JGB, 14 June) [BB]
RUSSELL T. DAVIES got an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours.
PHILIP K. DICK's _Four Novels of the 1960s_ has become the fastest-
selling volume in the Library of America classics, with 23,750 copies
shipped in its first year and only 5% returns. Corresponding figures for
the H.P. Lovecraft volume are 11,860 and 5%, placing him between Jack
Kerouac (<15,000, 10%) and Edmund Wilson (9,250, 12%). [cj]
TOM EASTON is stepping down after 30 years of book reviews in _Analog_,
and has delivered the final instalment of his column 'The Reference
Library' for the December 2008 issue. [PDF/GVG]
WILLIAM GIBSON received an honorary doctorate from Simon Fraser
University, Canada, on 5 June. The SFU website list of his credits
(cyberspace, etc) includes: 'The author of numerous anthologies'. [CC]
GARRY KILWORTH won the first ever Charles Whiting Award for Literature
for his historical novel _Rogue Officer_, part of a series published
under the impenetrable pseudonym Garry Douglas Kilworth.
SAM J. LUNDWALL wants a quiet life: 'I am not yet dead, but in somewhat
bad shape, so I am withdrawing from most things. No more travel, no more
conventions anywhere, no more contacts, no more writing. I have prepared
several issues of my little sf mag, _Jules Verne-Magasinet_, that will
appear whether I am doing stuff or not. The world has generally been very
kind to me, and I hope to continue having it being kind for some time,
but on a much more quiet level. More than 50 years of fanac and
professional writing has taken its toll, I guess. It has been great
knowing you and the gang. Thanks a lot!'
GEORGE TAKEI was among the first to invest $70 in a wedding licence when
California lifted its same-sex marriage ban on 17 June. He and long-time
partner Brad Altman plan to marry in September. [DKMK]
HOWARD WALDROP is recovering from a 17 June heart operation. [ED]
Caroline Spector writes: 'He had a quintuple bypass (thereby tying
Gardner[ Dozois]'s record, which will no doubt end in a thumb-wrestling
competition between the two of them for bragging rights at a later date).
By all accounts he did extremely well during surgery.'
JANE YOLEN almost avoids gloating: 'I had a piece in _Newsweek_ this past
week about my favorite books, and have heard so far from seven elementary
school friends, half a dozen high school buddies, college mates, far-
flung cousins, and one very strange man who insisted that reading _Moby
Dick_ had ruined his life forever so I should be careful not to recco it
to anyone again. / Also just sold my 305th book.' (2 June)
### CONJACENCY ###
11-13 Jul [] PHANTASMAGORIA (horror/sf film festival), Arts Centre, Old
Town, Swindon. Pounds30 all showings. Bookings 01793 614837.
23 Jul [] BSFA OPEN MEETING, Antelope, 22 Eaton Tce, London, SW1W 8EZ.
6pm on; fans present from 5pm. With Christopher Priest.
6-10 Aug [] DENVENTION 3 (66th Worldcon), Denver, USA. $200 reg, $50
child/supp. _Advance booking closes 10 July._ At the door: $225, child
$50, 'kid-in-tow' free. Day: Wed $55, Thu $75, Fri $85, Sat $85, Sun $35.
Contact Denvention, PO Box 1349, Denver, CO 80201, USA.
8-10 Aug [] WOLF GALACTICA (_BSG_), Thistle Hotel, Heathrow. Tickets
Pounds85, children Pounds35. Bookings (not 24-hour) 01327 878550.
9-10 Aug [] CAPTION (small-press comics), East Oxford Community Centre,
Princes St, Oxford. Pounds10 at the door or Pounds5/day. [SG]
21-25 Aug [] FRIGHTFEST (film), Odeon West End, London. Tickets are now
available: www.frightfest.co.uk or 0871 224 4007.
22-25 Aug [] DISCWORLD CONVENTION 2008, Hilton Metropole, Birmingham
(NEC). 'Membership applications are now closed.' Contact PO Box 4101,
Shepton Mallet, Somerset, BA4 5XD, or www.dwcon.org.
29-31 Aug [] WADFEST (Discworld), Trentfield Farm Camp Site, Church
Laneham, Retford, Notts, DN22 0NJ. Adult campers Pounds15 (2 nights),
accompanied children 1p each. See www.wadfest.co.uk/2008/.
5 Sep [] BRITISH FANTASY SOCIETY OPEN NIGHT, Ye Olde Cock Tavern, 22
Fleet St, London, EC4 1AA. From 6pm. All welcome.
19-21 Sep [] FANTASYCON 2008, Britannia Hotel, 1 St James St, Nottingham.
_Now Pounds70 reg_ (BFS members/students Pounds60). Contact 5 Greenbank,
Barnt Green, Birmingham, B45 8DH.
25-28 Sep [] OXONMOOT (Tolkien Society), Christchurch, Oxford. Pounds42
reg (members Pounds35), _rising to Pounds49.50 (Pounds42.50) on 1 Aug_.
Contact 29 Tockley Rd, Burham, Bucks, SL1 7DQ; bookings at tolkiensociety
org.
18-19 Oct [] OCTOCON, Royal Dublin Hotel, O'Connell St, Dublin. GoH
announced: Ken MacLeod. Euro30 reg, until 12 October; students Euro12;
under 18s and supp Euro10. Payment to Octocon 2008 c/o Electric Dragon,
19a Main St, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland.
11 Nov 08 - 4 Jan 09 [] SCIENCE FACT & SCIENCE FICTION exhibition,
National Space Centre, Exploration Drive, Leicester, LE4 5NS. Contact
info at spacecentre co uk; phone 0116 261 0261.
5-7 Dec 08 [] BATTLESTAR STARFURY (_BSG_), Thistle Hotel, Heathrow.
Pounds78.50 reg; Pounds33.50 under-15s; under-8s free. Booking 07930 319
119.
6-8 Feb 09 [] AXXIDENTAL (filk), Ramada Grantham Hotel, Grantham.
Pounds32 (Euro39) reg, Pounds16 under-18s/supp/unwaged, Pounds1 kids
under 6. Contact 15 St Catherine's Cross, Bletchingley, Surrey, RH1 4PX.
Jun 09 [] SF FOUNDATION MASTERCLASS, Liverpool. Dates TBA. Applications
needed by 31 Jan 09: farah dot sf at gmail dot com.
19-21 Jun 09 [] AETHERICA (fantasy), Crowne Plaza Hotel, Chester. GoH
Peter Beagle, Joe Abercrombie. Pounds45 reg to 31 Oct; registration not
yet open. Contact membership at aetherica dot org.
25-26 Jul 09 [] SATELLITE 2, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Glasgow. Pounds40 reg
_to 26 Jul 08_. Contact 33b Hardridge Rd, Corkerhill, Glasgow, G52 1RH.
6-10 Aug 09 [] ANTICIPATION (67th Worldcon), Palais des congres de
Montreal, Montreal, Canada. $Can190/$US190/Pounds95/Euro130 reg _to 31
July_; $Can55/$US55/Pounds30/Euro35 supp; usual discounts for site
voters etc. Contact PO Box 105, Station NDG, Montreal, QC, H4A 3P4,
Canada.
### INFINITELY IMPROBABLE ###
AS OTHERS SEE BUCKMINSTER FULLER. 'Fuller's themes often had the
hallucinatory quality associated with science fiction (or mental
hospitals).' (Elizabeth Kolbert, _New Yorker_, 9 June) [MMW]
R.I.P. _Chingiz Aitmatov_ (1928-2008), noted Kyrgyzstan (FSU) novelist
whose sf story _The Day Lasts More than a Hundred Years_ (1980, trans
1983) describes a Soviet/US space mission, died on 10 June aged 79. [PDF]
_Algis Budrys_ (1931-2008), German-born (from a Lithuanian family)
US author, critic and editor, died on 9 June; he was 77. In fiction he
is best remembered for _Who?_ (1958), _Rogue Moon_ (1960, aka _The Death
Machine_) and many fine short stories; as critic, for the _Galaxy_ review
columns collected in _Benchmarks_ (1984); as editor, for _Tomorrow SF_
magazine and the Writers of the Future competitions and anthologies.
Other notable novels are _The Amsirs and the Iron Thorn_ (1967),
_Michaelmas_ (1977) and the underrated _Hard Landing_ (1993). Budrys
received the 2007 Pilgrim award for criticism. I very much admired his
writing and reviewing.
_Ljuben Dilov_ (1927-2008), prolific Bulgarian author sometimes
called the father of Bulgarian sf, died on 10 June. [SFS]
_Robert H. Justman_ (1926-2008), US tv producer involved with the
original _Star Trek_ and _ST:TNG_, died on 28 May; he was 81. [O]
_Edward S. Kessell_, US pulp magazine fan who co-organized the first
Pulpcon (1972) died on 4 June. [AIP]
_Harry Lange_ (1930-2008), German-born illustrator who after working
for NASA was art director for _2001_ (1968), died on 22 May aged 77. He
also worked on the first three _Star Wars_ films, _Moonraker_, _The Dark
Crystal_, etc. [AIP]
_David Mitton_ (1939-2008), UK tv director who directed 182 episodes
of _Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends_ (1984-2003) -- some of which he
also scripted -- died on 16 May aged 69. As a special effects man he
worked on Gerry Anderson's _Thunderbirds_, _Captain Scarlet_, _The Secret
Service_ and _U.F.O._
_Jonathan Routh_ (1927-2008), UK author, artist and broadcaster best
known for the UK _Candid Camera_, who ventured into comic alternate
history with _The Secret Life of Queen Victoria_ and _Leonardo's Kitchen
Note Books_ (with Shelagh Routh, arguing that all da Vinci's sketched
fortresses and engines are food-related), died on 4 June aged 80.
_Jack Speer_ (1920-2008), long-time US fan who produced the first
history of fandom, _Up To Now_ (1939), and the original _Fancyclopedia_
(1944), died on 28 June aged 87. He was a Fan GoH at the 2004 Worldcon,
and the last surviving founder member of FAPA. [RL]
_Tartan Films_ (1982-2008), influential UK movie distributors who
imported much notable Asian horror including the Japanese _Ring_, went
bankrupt on 26 June after several months of difficulties. [GW]
_Stan Winston_ (1946-2008), US special effects and make-up artist
who won Oscars for his work on _Aliens_, _Terminator 2_ and _Jurassic
Park_, died on 15 June; he was 62. [GW]
_Michael Turner_ (1971-2008), US comics artist (_Witchblade_,
_Fathom_, _Soulfire_, _Superman/Batman_ and other titles) died from
cancer on 27 June; he was only 37. [DKMK]
_Erick Wujcik_ (1951-2008), US role-playing game designer, co-
founder of the games publisher Palladium Books and creator of the Roger
Zelazny-based _Amber Diceless_ RPG, died on 7 June aged 57. [MR]
THOG'S SCIENCE MASTERCLASS. 'He could see right through the bodies of his
companions. Every detail was clear to him.' _The phenomenon explained:_
'... the space ship was passing through a belt of X-rays, just as it had
passed upwards through other kinds of rays ...' (Professor A.M. Low,
_Adrift in the Stratosphere_, 1937; see also the August _F&SF_)
AWARDS. _Locus Awards_, announced 21 June: SF NOVEL Michael Chabon, _The
Yiddish Policemen's Union_. FANTASY NOVEL Terry Pratchett, _Making
Money_. YA China Mieville, Un Lun Dun. FIRST NOVEL Joe Hill, _Heart-
Shaped Box_. NOVELLA Cory Doctorow, 'After the Siege' (_Infinite Matrix_
1/07). NOVELETTE Neil Gaiman, 'The Witch's Headstone' (_Wizards_). SHORT
Michael Swanwick, 'A Small Room in Koboldtown', (_Asimov's_ 4/07).
COLLECTION Connie Willis, _The Winds of Marble Arch and Other Stories_.
ANTHOLOGY _The New Space Opera_ ed Gardner Dozois & Jonathan Strahan.
NON-FICTION Barry N. Malzberg, _Breakfast in the Ruins_. ART BOOK Shaun
Tan, _The Arrival_. EDITOR Ellen Datlow. MAGAZINE _F&SF_. PUBLISHER Tor.
ARTIST Charles Vess.
_MTV Awards_ include, as Best Movie, that arthouse masterpiece
_Transformers_; and as Best Summer Movie So Far, _Iron Man_. Johnny Depp
also won a couple. [JG]
AS FANTASY AUTHORS SEE SOME OF US. 'There was even a role-playing game
that utilized strangely shaped polyhedral dice, minute but over priced
models, and rulebooks the size of bibles. This was aimed at pale young
men who mumbled self-consciously, washed infrequently, and never got
picked for the stone-skimming team -- and it was, frankly, a
disappointment.' (David Bilsborough, _A Fire in the North_, 2008) [RF]
OUTRAGED LETTERS. _Joe McNally_ reveals a blasphemous, charnel horror:
'the fabled Lovecraft sex shop off Leicester Square has bitten the dust
after _decades_ of fannish sniggering at its sign. Couldn't say exactly
when it went but it was still there 3/4 weeks ago ...' (20 June)
_Gary Wilkinson_ savoured _Newsnight Review_ (BBC, 6 June): 'During
the discussion of _The Gone-Away World_ by Nick Harkaway, after a general
evisceration of the novel by the panel, things took an interesting turn
when it was pointed out that there were scientific inaccuracies and chair
Kirsty Wark suddenly declared "it doesn't need to make sense for sci-fi
fans." After some further talk about sci-fi fans liking it, Safraz
Manzoor added that the book's "lack of soul" wouldn't trouble sci-fi fans
but wished the author had not been influenced by "Star Wars and Hitch-
Hiker" but by the "originals" instead. I was particularly impressed with
every enunciation of "sci-fi" as it were a minor swear-word.'
PRE-PUBLICITY. 'Back in 1990, _Maps in a Mirror_ was the landmark volume
of the short fiction from Card's early years as a young writer. Now, more
than two decades later ...' (Tor/Forge press release) [BJ]
COMPETITION SCAM. A purported SFWA writing contest advertised in June on
Craigslist and Flixer asked a $10 entry fee with the lure of $27,000 in
prizes, winners to appear in an anthology called _Asimovs of the Future_.
SFWA, which never runs this kind of contest, issued a cease-and-desist:
'this person has apologized.' An apology? Is that all?
AS OTHERS SEE US. Ridley Scott on his influences: 'I was never really
able to get into sci-fi, I found it intellectually artificial, though
truly imaginative.' (_Guardian_, 31 May) [SS]
'The success of the BBC's revived Doctor Who, along with its spin-
offs, Torchwood and the Sarah Jane Adventures, have given sci-fi a new
popular credibility.' (BBC) [PB]
MARCH OF THE ROBOTS. Wendy Bradley (still not dead) is alarmed to
discover that subscription renewals to her defunct magazine _Farthing_
are still being collected by a rogue PayPal bot unconstrained by the
First Law. She's frantically issuing refunds: offers of PayPal-wrangling
assistance should go to wendy dot bradley37 at ntlworld dot com.
RANDOM FANDOM. _Terry Jeeves_ wrote on 11 June: 'Val has to go into
hospital for a operation to remove the cancer. If it succeeds she may be
out in three weeks. Since I cannot walk and look after myself I will have
to go into some form of care [...] or go to live with my son's family in
Sheffield, in both cases I shall be out of e-mail contact for several
weeks. Please pass this on.' Fingers crossed for good news. _Urgent_
messages c/o Keith Jeeves, 102 Woodview Rd, Sheffield, S6 5AB.
MYTHOPOEIC AWARDS shortlists: ADULT FANTASY Theodora Goss, _In the Forest
of Forgetting_; Nalo Hopkinson, _The New Moon's Arms_; Guy Gavriel Kay,
_Ysabel_; Catherynne M. Valente, _Orphan's Tales_ (_In the Night Garden_
and _In the Cities of Coin and Spice_); John C. Wright, _Chronicles of
Chaos_ series.
CHILDREN'S Holly Black, _Tithe_, _Valiant_ and _Ironside_; Derek
Landy, _Skulduggery Pleasant_; J.K. Rowling, the entire _Harry Potter_
series; Nancy Springer, _Dusssie_; Kate Thompson, _The New Policeman_.
SCHOLARSHIP: INKLINGS Marjorie Burns, _Perilous Realms: Celtic and
Norse in Tolkien's Middle-earth_; Verlyn Flieger, _Interrupted Music: The
Making of Tolkien's Mythology_; Peter Gilliver, Jeremy Marshall and
Edmund Weiner, _The Ring of Words: Tolkien and the Oxford English
Dictionary_; Diana Pavlac Glyer, _The Company They Keep: C.S. Lewis and
J.R.R. Tolkien as Writers in Community_; John D. Rateliff, _The History
of the Hobbit_ (2 vols).
SCHOLARSHIP: OTHER Charles Butler, _Four British Fantasists: Place
and Culture in the Children's Fantasies of Penelope Lively, Alan Garner,
Diana Wynne Jones, and Susan Cooper_; Heather O'Donoghue, _From Asgard
to Valhalla: The Remarkable History of the Norse Myths_; T.A. Shippey,
ed., _The Shadow-Walkers: Jacob Grimm's Mythology of the Monstrous_;
Richard Carl Tuerk, _Oz in Perspective: The Magic and Myth of the L.
Frank Baum Books_; Milly Williamson, _The Lure of the Vampire: Gender,
Fiction and Fandom from Bram Stoker to Buffy_.
FANFUNDERY. _TAFF:_ Suzanne Tompkins published a final newsletter in
June, reporting 'over $10,000 in the TAFF coffers during my time as
administrator' -- mostly passed to new US administrator Chris Garcia. Who
simultaneously issued his first newsletter, _President Taff's Bathtub_.
_A251_ ADDENDA. _Paul Barnett_'s heart bypass operation on 2 June went
well, and he was home again on the 9th. [PS] Recovery continues.
The traditional omission from the final credits was Gary Wilkinson.
[GW] Special _Ansible_ reportage for this item: Gary Wilkinson.
WHO CAN REPLACE A MAN? Following Arthur C. Clarke's death, Stephen Baxter
took over as BSFA president and the SF Foundation appointed two new
Patrons: Neil Gaiman and Prof. David Southwood.
THE DEAD PAST. '_Dave Wolverton_ wasn't quite outraged to be outed as the
writer behind David "Runelords" Farland -- "This is one of those loosely
kept secrets" -- but hopes the leak won't affect sales. For a small fee,
_Ansible_ will announce that its story was hopelessly wrong and that
Farland is really Lionel Fanthorpe.' (_Ansible_ 132, July 1998)
C.O.A. _Death Ray_ magazine, Blackfish Publishing, 20 Monmouth Place,
Bath, BA1 2AY. _Kip Williams, Cathy Doyle & Sarah Williams_, 6 Round
Trail Dr, Pittsford, NY 14534, USA.
THOG'S MASTERCLASS. _Inscrutable Technology Dept._ 'Just how they could
get a device as small as this to orbit an entire sun system at such a
distance is beyond me.' (Philip E. High, 'Bottomless Pit', _New Worlds_
128, March 1963) [JB]
_Dept of Anatomy._ 'Holmes and Lowell were overcome, hearts
contorted in their throats.' (Matthew Pearl, _The Dante Club_, 2003) [EO]
_Heredity Dept._ 'Walmsbury, not yet nineteen, had inherited the
effulgent brouhaha of his strain.' (Noel Langley, 'Scene for Satan',
_Saturday Evening Post_, 1947) [AR]
_Dept of Cybersalesmanship._ 'This is the Model 899D57 ... the
newest and the best. The cyb circuit can analyze a sequence in half a
minute, give or take a few seconds ... There are flashing lights, too --
all over the board.' (Frank Belknap Long, _The Strange Tomorrow_, 1966)
[AR]
_'As You Don't Know, Bob ...'_ '"Have you ever heard of Frederick
Carswell's hypothesis of superimposed suns in overlapping or doubled back
space?" Crowley shook his head. "Well ... very few people have."'
_(Ibid)_
_Use of Weapons Dept._ 'Nothing short of a machine gun could have
stopped Gog in his first outburst! He was finally subdued with tear gas.'
(John Taine, _G.O.G. 666_, 1954) [AR]
### GEEKS' CORNER ###
SUBSCRIPTIONS. To receive _Ansible_ monthly via e-mail, send a message
to ...
ansible-request{at}dcs.gla.ac.uk
... with a Subject line reading:
subscribe
(Message body text irrelevant.) Please send a corresponding
'unsubscribe' to resign from this list. You can also manage your
subscription details at the following URL:
https://mr1.dcs.gla.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/ansible
RSS -- http://news.ansible.co.uk/rss.html
LiveJournal syndication --
http://www.livejournal.com/users/ansiblezine/
Back issues -- http://news.ansible.co.uk/
_Ansible_ Links -- http://links.ansible.co.uk/
CONVENTIONS/EVENTS LONGLIST
Details at http://links.ansible.co.uk#cons
London meetings/events -- http://news.ansible.co.uk/london.html
Overseas -- http://news.ansible.co.uk/conlisti.html
[] 2008
Until 25 Oct 2008, Dan Dare and the Birth of Hi-Tech Britain, Science
Museum, London
11-13 July 2008, PhantasmaGoria (film festival), Swindon
6-10 Aug 2008, Denvention 3 (Worldcon), Denver, USA
8-10 August 2008, Wolf Galactica 4 (_BSG_), Heathrow
21-25 Aug 2008, Frightfest film festival, London
22-25 Aug 2008, Discworld Convention 2008, Birmingham
29-31 Aug 2008, Mecon, Belfast
5-7 Sep 2008, ZombieCon, Bentley, Walsall
12-14 Sep 2008, Reunion5 (media), Coventry
19-21 Sep 2008, Fantasycon 2008, Nottingham
25-28 Sep 2008, Oxonmoot (Tolkien), Oxford
4-5 Oct 2008, Birmingham International Comics Show, Birmingham
11-12 Oct 2008, NewCon 4, Northampton
17-19 Oct 2008, Festival of Fantastic Films, Manchester
18-19 Oct 2008, Octocon, Ireland
7-9 Nov 2008, ArmadaCon XX, Plymouth
11 Nov 2008 - 4 Jan 2009, Science Fact & Science Fiction exhibition,
National Space Centre, Leicester
14-16 Nov 2008, Novacon 38, Bentley, Walsall
5-7 Dec 2008, Battlestar Starfury (_BSG_), Heathrow
[] 2009
20-24 Jan 2009, Wyrd Sisters: The Directors' Cut (play), Abingdon
6-8 Feb 2009 [] AXXIdental (filk), Grantham
20-22 Feb 2009, Redemption 09 (multimedia sf), Coventry
26-29 Mar 2009, Eurocon 2009, Fiuggi, Italy
27-29 Mar 2009, P-Con VI, Dublin.
10-13 Apr 2009, LXcon (Eastercon), Bradford
19-21 Jun 2009, Aetherica (fantasy), Chester
CANCELLED: 26-29 Jun 2009, Sectus 2009 (Harry Potter), North Wales
25-26 Jul 2009, Satellite 2, Glasgow
6-10 Aug 2009, Anticipation (67th Worldcon), Montreal, Canada
[] 2010
2-5 Apr 2010, Odyssey 2010 (Eastercon), Heathrow
### ENDNOTES ###
APPARITIONS.
[] 1 Jul 2008: Hannah Berry, Paul Gravett & Bryan Talbot, Ipswich
Literary Festival.
[] 5 Jul 2008: Steven Erikson & Diana Wynne Jones signing, Forbidden
Planet, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8JR. 1-2pm.
[] 10 Jul 2008: Juliet E McKenna & Chaz Brenchley at Aylesbury
Library, 8-9:30pm
[] 11 Jul 2008: Brum Group, Briar Rose, Bennett Hill, Birmingham city
centre. 7.45pm. Pounds4; members Pounds3. Contact 07845 897760 or
4bhamsfgroup at yahoo co uk. Further meetings: 8 Aug 'Summer Social'
meal at Black Eagle pub.
[] 7 Aug 2008: Richard Morgan signing, Forbidden Planet, 179
Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8JR. 6-7pm.
[] 22 Aug 2008: Alan Grant & Bryan Talbot, Edinburgh
Literary Festival. 8:30pm.
RANDOM LINKS. See the latest additions here:
http://links.ansible.co.uk/
PAYPAL DONATION. Support _Ansible_ and keep the editor happy! Or just
buy his books ...
http://ansible.co.uk/paypal.html
http://ansible.co.uk/biblio.html
http://ansible.co.uk/books/buy.php
MEDIA ODDMENTS. The Pixar people are working on a script for Edgar
Rice Burroughs's John Carter of Mars. [PB] _Interviewer:_ Is it going
to be CGI or live action or a mix? _Andrew Stanton:_ We don't know. We
honestly don't know, because it's clearly got to be a hybrid of some
sort and we're going to basically spend the first -- this year for
sure -- just worrying about the story. Full interview at
Firstshowing.net:
http://tinyurl.com/6pzslq
A small outfit about which I know nothing has a website raising
funds to complete an interesting-looking production of Gene Wolfe's
'The Death of Doctor Island' (info from Tony Ellis):
http://www.doctorisland.com/
EDITORIAL NOTE. I have perpetrated another issue of _Cloud Chamber_:
http://ansible.co.uk/cc/cc158.html
RANDOM FANDOM II. _David V. Barrett_ sees the light: 'For the first
time in a considerable number of decades I am now somewhat bemusedly
wandering around without glasses, having had cataract surgery on both
eyes this month, with new (and experimental) lenses implanted. Quite a
surreal, almost SFnal experience, listening to the surgeon giving a
running commentary to his junior while you're staring into incredibly
bright light with things moving around in it, while keeping your head
_v-e-r-y_ still...'
_Steve Cooper_ has early news of another UK con-running convention:
'ConRunner 2, to be held the 3rd or 4th weekend of January 2010 up
north, probably in the centre of either Manchester or Sheffield.'
_Chip Hitchcock_ on the ubiquitous J.K. Rowling (_A251_): 'So --
how many people have pointed out that the _Harvard Crimson_ columnist
was trying to be sarcastic/ironic about previous chattering against the
"lowbrow" choice?' None. Well, one now.
_Martin Hoare_ on his pyrotechnics calendar: 'Pangbourne Fireworks
[as part of the village fete] are now on 19th July. The championships
in Plymouth are on 12th and 13th of August. Skyburst [whose team
includes Martin] are up 2nd on Tuesday.'
http://www.britishfireworks.co.uk/2008/plymouth.htm
_Marcia Illingworth_ sends grim news: 'Chris Cooper (the tall one)
is gravely ill in ICU in a major London hospital. He has been comatose
and on a ventilator for two weeks. The doctors are not certain what
brought this on. He just collapsed one evening and has been in this
state ever since. He has been battling a major illness for over a year
now, but there doesn't seem to be a direct link between this and his
existing illness. Obviously we are all seriously concerned. Prayers
and positive energy in whatever form you choose would no doubt be
welcome. I have contact details for the family if anyone needs them.
Contact me at marcia at bellhouse dot org dot uk.'
_Ben Jeapes_ is strangely uncertain: 'John Gribbin's _In Search of
Schrodinger's Cat_ played a key role as a Clue in tonight's episode of
_The Bill_ [12 June], complete with actual quote from the back cover:
"so shocking that Einstein could not bring himself to accept it."
Specifically, a battered copy served as a prop to inform our heroes
that a guest character was cleverer than they thought, from the simple
fact that he owned said copy. Further, upon opening the book they
noticed that the name inscribed on the inside cover was different to
the name the character had earlier given. Presumably, until they opened
the book he was simultaneously the old and the new name. Sadly that was
as deep as it got, but as DC Masters pronounced the longest word on the
cover "Shrodinjer" my hopes had never been high.'
_Fred Lerner_ reminds us that a selection of the late Jack Speer's
best fanwriting was published as _Fancestral Voices_ in 2004.
_Caroline Mullan_ enjoyed the thrill of being spelt 'Mullen' in a
_Grauniad_ interview which at least let her mention John Brunner and her
status as a trustee of the SF Foundation. [PC]
_Yvonne Rousseau_ is mortified to have been made a cityless person
by her Post Office Manager: 'Even though RUNDLE MALL is a CBD street
location it is classified as a Suburb for delivery to our Post Office
Boxes and therefore ADELAIDE should not appear as part of your postal
address, as this will cause delays to the delivery of your mail.' Thus
her address has shrunk to just PO Box 3086, Rundle Mall, SA 5000,
Australia.
Ansible 252 Copyright (c) Dave Langford, 2008. Thanks to Paul Barnett,
John Boston, Bill Burns, Caryn Cameron, Pat Charnock, Ellen Datlow,
Paul Di Filippo, Rose Fox, Joe Gordon, Steve Green, Ben Jeapes, carl
juarez, David K.M. Klaus, Robert Lichtman, Emmet O'Brien, Omega,
Andrew I. Porter, Adam Roberts, Marcus Rowland, Pamela Scoville, SF
Site, Steve Sneyd, Gordon Van Gelder, Gary Wilkinson, Martin Morse
Wooster and Hero Distributors: Vernon Brown (BSFG), Janice Murray
(NA), SCIS/Prophecy, and Alan Stewart (Oz).
30 Jun 08
--
David Langford | http://ansible.co.uk/ | http://news.ansible.co.uk/
See http://ansible.co.uk/bibcent.html for bibliographical horrors.
date: Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:44:39 +0100
author: David Langford
|
