Volume 1, Issue 21 May 2011 2 Editorial: Well, this time, the lateness hasn’t been a result of being lazy, but of having too much to do at work. See, in addition to the tornadoes that hit NC (which weren’t quite as bad as the ones that hit Alabama), we’ve also had a rash of bad wind and hail storms. Working for an insurance company, that’s meant a lot needed to be done (hail creates more work for us than tornadoes, as it tends to create a high volume of smaller losses rather than a smaller number of total losses), and I found myself spending a couple of weeks in the mountains working on claims. Speaking of the weather, I’m happy to report that to the best of my knowledge, Southern fans are decent tornado dodgers, though I think I’ve heard of at least one roof getting hit. Stay safe out there, y’all. The calendar of events is nice and thick, which is fitting for the upcoming summer months. We’re still getting a regular stream of Rebel Yells, too, and there’s a tidbit in there about the historical Rebel Yell that I hope you’ll find interesting. After that, I’ve gotten back on the current-SF reading wagon, and I’ve got a short review of a Hugo nominee for you (and I hope to read them all, this year). Then, we’ve got a couple more sercon entries – I’ve persuaded Mitra Salehi to share a talk she gave on steampunk at a recent academic conference, and Dr. Jeff Thompson has a piece on the music from The Bride of Frankenstein . Add to that a more robust slate of art, and I’m pretty happy with this issue, even if it is a week late. Contents: Calendar of Events (Warren Buff) – page 3 Rebel Yells (y’all) – page 11 Review: The Dervish House (Warren Buff) – page 14 Steam Shenanigans (Mitra Salehi) – page 16 Franz Waxman’s Music for The Bride of Frankenstein (Dr. Jeff) – page 21 Art Credits: Greg Rieves: Cover, page 10 Brad W. Foster: Page 12 Jose Sanchez: Page 23 Colophon: Editor & SFC President: Warren Buff [email protected] (919) 633-4993 8712 Wellsley Way Raleigh, NC 27613 USA All contents copyright their creators. This zine is free, either by direct email or www.efanzines.com . A letter of comment or other contribution will get you on my mailing list, as long as I remember to put you there. If I forget, bother me a second time, or however long it takes to add you. I haven’t been printing this one, which leaves me free to use as many pages as I wish, and do things like color. It also lets me use all the contributions I can muster, so fire away! 3 Calendar of Events: May 13-15: Gaylaxicon (Atlanta, Georgia – Holiday Inn Perimeter. Outlantacon is hosting this year’s edition of Gaylaxicon, the premier SF con for the queer audience. Expect to find their take on Family Feud, Project Cosplay, a chocolate symposium, Gaylactic Jeopardy!, and the Gaylactic Spectrum Awards. Guest of Honor: Amber Bensen, Melissa Carter, Steve Scott, Don Schermerhorn & Wayne Hergenroder. Memberships are $60 at the door. www.outlantacon.org ) Full Moon Tattoo and Horror Fest (Chattanooga, Tennessee – Chattanooga Downtown Marriott Hotel. Around 30 tattoo booths, plus horror celebrities like Michael Berryman, Richard Brooker, Andrew Bryniarski, Brad Loree, Tiffany Shepis, and Stacey Dixon. $35 for the weekend, ten bucks less for each day you don’t care to go. www.fullmooninc.net/fr_nashvillefest.cfm ) Tiger Con (Memphis, Tennessee – University of Memphis campus. Student-run anime convention. Featuring Johnny Yong Bosch, ?Confusion?, and Per(sonic)fied. Free, but they request that you RSVP.) Starfleet Region 1 Summit (Pigeon Forge, TN – Mainstay Suites. Annual meeting of the Starfleet organization for Region 1. They’ll be having a duck race in the lazy river for charity. Adult registrations are $30. Banquet tickets are still available. http://sites.beyondweb.com/r1-summit/ ) Pulp Ark (Batesville, AR – Main Street. This is one of those events where the town is basically taken over for the weekend by pulp fans. Hard to explain much more than that. www.proseproductions.com/Press/pulpark.html ) May 14-15: NOLA Comic-Con (New Orleans, Louisiana –- Westin New Orleans Canal Place. Comic book convention. www.nolacomic.com ) WonderFest (Louisville, Kentucky – Crowne Plaza Hotel. Toy and model collecting convention with a focus on SF and a good selection of artists. Tickets are $30. www.wonderfest.com ) May 19-22: Nebula Awards Weekend (Washington, D.C. – Washington Hilton. Annual presentation of SFWA’s top awards, with workshops, panels, and great networking opportunities for SF professionals. The weekend alone is $50, the banquet dinner alone is $125, or the whole shebang for $150. www.sfwa.org/nebula-weekend ) May 20-22: Dice Head Siege (Chattanooga, Tennessee -- Chattanooga Choo Choo. Gaming with lots of tournaments and prizes. $25 membership, some tournaments extra. The extra, in such cases, is usually to cover the costs of material and/or prizes. www.diceheadseige.com ) Mobicon XIV (Mobile, Alabama – Ashbury Hotel & Suites. Science fiction convention with all the trimmings. Guests of Honor include Robert Picardo and Weatherly B. Hardy. Registration is $40. www.mobicon.org ) 4 Texicon (Fort Worth, Texas – Sheraton Hotel. Gaming convention that seems to have somehow snagged a name that’s so obvious it astounds me no one was using it yet. Registration is $40, with discounts available to gamemasters. http://texicon.net ) May 26-29: Comicpalooza (Houston, Texas – Hilton Americas Houston. Great big guest list of film actors, artists, game designers, voice actors, etc. Looks like a pretty good assortment, too. Tickets are $35. www.comicpalooza.com ) May 27-30: Balticon 45 (Baltimore, Maryland – Marriott Hunt Valley. One of the South’s oldest conventions (I count Baltimore). Guests of Honor: Dr. Benjamin Bova, Vincent Di Fate, Bill & Brenda Sutton, Philippa Ballantine, Steve Geppi, Paolo Bacigalupi. Memberships are $62 at the door. www.balticon.org ) May 27-29: Animazement 14 (Raleigh, North Carolina – Raleigh Convention Center. Long-running anime convention in downtown Raleigh. Guests of Honor: Hiroaki Hirata, Todd Haberkorn, Cherami Leigh. Pre-reg $50 through May 8 th , $55 at the door. www.animazement.org ) Rocket City FurMeet 9 (Huntsville, Alabama – Embassy Suites Huntsville. Three days of furry fun in beautiful Huntsville. Guests of Honor: Kyoht, Scape the Goat, and a mystery GOH drawn from the paying members at opening ceremonies. $35 pre-registration, $40 at the door. www.rcfm.net ) Oasis 24 (Orlando, Florida – Sheraton Downtown Orlando. Guests of Honor: David Drake, Tommy Castillo, and Carla Ulbrich. Membership $35 until 5/26, $40 at the door. http://oasfis.org/oasis/index.php ) TimeGate (Atlanta, Georgia – Holiday Inn Select Atlanta Perimeter. Stargate and Doctor Who convention. Featuring Mike Dopud and Sophie Aldred. Membership $40 through May 6 th , then $50 at the door. www.timegatecon.org ) NashCon (Franklin, Tennessee – Cool Springs Marriott. Historical miniatures wargamming. Their website bears a design I find strikingly familiar, though I think they haven’t made any modifications to the layout. Membership in the convention is $25. http://hmgs-midsouth.org/nashcon/ ) Florida Anime Experience (Kissimmee, Florida – Ramada Orlando Celebration. New anime convention in Florida. Also, it appears that Orlando is following the SF Bay Area’s three-cons-this-weekend trend. Guest of Honor: Steve Blum, who voiced Spike in Cowboy Bebop . Tickets are $31 until May 20th . www.floridaanime.com ) June 3-5: ConCarolinas (Charlotte, North Carolina – Charlotte Hilton University Place. One of the fastest growing cons in the region, and hosts of last year’s DSC. Guests of Honor include: Harry Turtledove, John Billingsley, Bonita Frierdericy, Keela & Katkith, Jamie Chambers, Carla Ulbrich, and Justin Chung. Pre- registration is $35 through May 16 th , then $40 at the door. www.concarolinas.org ) 5 HeroesCon (Charlotte, North Carolina – Charlotte Convention Center. Fan- friendly comics convention. I went once, early in my con-going days, though I haven’t been back since they’ve moved onto ConCarolinas’s traditional weekend. It also tells me I’ve been out of reading comics for a long time that I hardly recognize the names on their guest list anymore. The biggest names I recognize are Mike Mignola and Bernie Wrightson, but the art for the others they’re highlighting looks fantastic, too. Yes, I need to hand in some geek street cred for that remark. $30 for the weekend, $15 for one day. www.heroesonline.com/heroescon/ ) Seishun-Con (Atlanta, Georgia – Doubletree Hotel Atlanta NW/Marietta. This appears to be a fan-based anime convention. I don’t see any guests listed, though I do see a call for panelists. Pre-registration is $25, while registration will be $30 at the door, or $20 for a day pass. http://seishun-con.com ) HamaCon 2 (Huntsville, Alabama – Holiday Inn Downtown. These guys list a handful of guests, such as Brina Palencia and Chris Cason. They’re another anime convention, and look to have been founded about the same time as Seishun-Con. Hopefully, they’ll find a way to stagger their weekends, since they’re only two hours away from each other. Pre-registration is $25, with extra food events available. www.hama-con.com ) OMGcon (Paducah, Kentucky – Julian Carroll Convention Center and Expo Center. Anime convention with guests including Robert & Emily DeJesus, Greg Ayres, Christopher Ayres, Tavisha, and Eric Stuart. Pre-registration $35 through May 20 th , less for groups. www.omgcon.com ) Bob Con (Winter Springs, Florida – Not much to tell yet, but this gaming event (Legends of the Shining Jewel) will hark back to the old days of Southern conventions, when they largely took place in someone’s home.