The Art of Garthness #7

November 2015

Colophon Welcome to The Art of Garthness #7, dated November 2015, a personalzine from Garth Spencer at 4240 Perry Street, Vancouver, BC CANADA V5N 3X5. You can also contact me at [email protected]. This is available for contributions in the form of articles, letters, illustrations, or other in trade.

Table of Contents Call for Heathen Contacts in Vancouver ...... 1 Phan Nooz ...... 1 Canadian : ...... 1 Vancouver fandoms ...... 2 Regional Conventions ...... 3 Progress Report ...... 6 My War with the 21st Century ...... 7 Losing Our Points of Common Reference ...... 7 Stories about Work and Jobs ...... 8 What’s the Buzz ...... 9 Local Versions of ...... 15 Have a Code that You Can Live By ...... 20 Fanzines ...... 21

Art Marc Schirmeister ...... Cover Do Ming-Lum (photo) ...... 1 Convention photo of Graeme (who took this?) ...... 2 Generic art...... 6 William Rotsler ...... 7 Taral Wayne, “Pick Up” ...... 9 Jesus vs. Ghostbusters (Internet art) ...... 15 Brad Foster ...... 19

ii And now for some completely different things.

Call for Heathen Contacts in Vancouver

And our first topic is for YOU, Sue Bentley and John Mainer and Cheryl Price of Great Vancouver, because … nobody asked for it! Our topic next month is, when are the Asatru events coming up this season in the Lower Mainland, and who can I beg rides from?

Phan Nooz

Canadian fandoms: 2015 Aurora Award winners

The 2015 Aurora Award winners (or people accepting for winners) who were present at SFContario/Canvention. In the back row of standing people (left to right): Karl Schroeder, Kari Maaren, Derek Newman-Stille, Peter Watts (awards host), Clifford Samuels, Hayden Trenholm. Front row of seated/crouching people: Eric Choi, Caitlin Sweet, Julie Czerneda, Catherine Crockett, Tony Pi. (Do-Ming Lum photo © 2015) Best English Novel: A Play of Shadow by Julie Czerneda (DAW Books) Best English YA Novel (Tie): Lockstep by Karl Schroeder (Tor Books) and Out of This World by Charles de Lint (Razorbill Canada) Best English Short Fiction: “Crimson Sky” by Eric Choi, Analog Science Fiction and Fact, July/August 2014 Best English Poem/Song: “A Hex, With Bees” by Tony Pi, Wrestling With Gods: Tesseracts Eighteen (EDGE) Best English Graphic Novel: It Never Rains by Kari Maaren, Webcomic Best English Related Work: On Spec, Published by the Copper Pig Writers’ Society Best Artist: Dan O’Driscoll, Covers for Bundoran Press and On Spec magazine Best Publication: Speculating Canada, Edited by Derek Newman-Stille Best Fan Music: Kari Maaren, YouTube channel Best Fan Organizational: Sandra Kasturi, Chair, Chiaroscuro Reading Series Toronto Best Fan Related Work: Derek Newman-Stille, “Speculating Canada” on Trent Radio 92.7 FM

Eric Choi commented on Facebook: “While I am delighted that my story has been honored, I am also disappointed that there were not three more Auroras in the Short Fiction category for my friends Suzanne Church, Tony Pi and Derwin Mak (“Mecha- Jesus” deserved an award just for the title!). Thank you so much to the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association, the Aurora voters, and Trevor Quachri for recruiting me into the Analog MAFIA.” (November 23, 2015) The 2016 Canvention, hosting next year’s Aurora Awards, will be Hal-Con, the “sci-fi, fantasy and ” to be held Nov. 4-6, 2016 in the World Trade & Convention Centre and The Scotia Bank Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia. For more information, see www.hal-con.com. (R. Graeme Cameron, Eric Choi, Do-Ming Lum, and www.prixauroraawards.ca and www.hal-con.com)

Vancouver fandoms Among other activities, the West Coast SF Association (Vancouver) detailed some members-at-large to look into more publicity possibilities. I took this as a call to reconstruct a calendar of regional conventions coming up in the next year (which is attached). You are welcome, and invited, to comment, contribute, or criticize. Graeme at the mike In other news, VCON 41 will be held Sept. 30 to October 2, 2016, chaired by R. Graeme Cameron. This year’s theme is “Muppets, Puppets and Marionettes”. The committee is now in negotiation with hotels. The GoHs will be: ROBERT J SAWYER, Author GoH (Hugo, Nebula and Aurora Winning Author, Quintaglio Ascension Trilogy, Hominoids, Triggers,, Red Planet Blues, Quantum Nights & many other novels); JAMIE ANDERSON, Supermarionation GoH (Stingray, Fireball XL5, Thunderbirds, etc.); ERIC CHU, Film Design GoH (Battlestar Galactica); KARL JOHANSON, Editor GoH (Neo-Opsis Magazine); STAN HYDE, Godzilla Fan GoH (Monster Attack Team Canada); SPIDER ROBINSON, Master of Ceremonies (Callahan's / Lady Sally Series, Stardance Trilogy). Artist GoH: TBA. The Artshow is now open for submissions. “Early Bird” weekend memberships in VCON 41 until January 1, 2016 are now: Adult, $40.00; Student, $30.00; Senior (65+), $30; Teen (13-18), $20; youth (7-12), $20; child (0-6). Memberships are available through Eventbrite for a surcharge, or through the convention website, www..ca.

November 2015 The Art of Garthness #7 page 2 Regional Conventions (A work in progress, drawn from many varied, mysterious and forgotten sources) December 2015 Dec. 12: Allthings Practices held by the Barony of Lions Gate (Lower Mainland SCA branch) at the Grene Wode Manor Farm (251330 0 Ave., Langley, BC). All SCA skills practiced – combat, archery, rapier, horseriding, medieval arts and sciences, heraldry, and dance. For more information, tel. (604) 720-5402, or email [email protected]. December 4-6, 2015: SMOFcon 33 at the Sheraton Ft. Worth Hotel and Spa in Ft. Worth, Texas. Perhaps the first and longest-running convention for convention organizers. Memberships $70 until November 1st, $80 after November 1st and at the door. Write SMOFcon 33, P. O. Box 701448, Dallas, TX 75370-1448, or email Tim Miller at [email protected]. January 2016 January 8-10, 2016: OrcaCon, a gaming convention in the Holiday Inn Downtown in Everett, Washington; For more information see www.orcacon.org. January 15-17, 2016: Newcon PDX, an anime/comics/gaming convention at the DoubleTree Hotel in Portland, Oregon. For more information see www.newconpdx.com. Jan. 15-17: Rustycon 33 at Hilton Seattle Airport & Conference Center. Author GoH: Steven Barnes. FanGoh: Gene Armstrong. Costuming GoH: Julie Zetterberg. Hotel rates: Once again, we are at the Hilton Seattle Airport. You can reserve your rooms at our special rate of $114.00 per night for the full weekend at RustyCon. At this time, reservations for the event can be made directly with Hilton reservations at 1-800-774- 1500. Use event code RUS15. Memberships: Until January 4th 2016 - $45; After January 4th 2016 - $55, at the door registration only. Pre Registration for RustyCon 33 closes January 4th 2016. Mail: Rustycon, PO Box 69387, Seatac, WA 98188, USA. January 29-31, 2016: Confilkt 9, a filk convention Seatac Washington. For more information see conflikt.org. (Yes, L before I.) February 2016 Feb. 12-14, 2016: Radcon 7 at the Red Lion Inn, Pasco, Washington. Writer GoH: Jennifer Brozek. Media GoH: Toby Froud (artist). Hotel Reservations: at the Red Lion, (509) 547-0701; at the Best Western, (509) 543-7722. Registration: until Nov. 30/15, adults and teens [13-17 years] US $35; Dec. 1/15 to Jan. 30/16, adult and teens $40; at the door, adults and teens $45. Children under 12 free with adult membership. Mail to: The Radcon Guild, Ste. 370, 1761 N. George Washington Way, Richland, WA 99354, USA; tel 509-308-1727, online .org. February 5-7, 2016: Foolscap, a science fiction and “flat stuff convention in Seatac Washington February 12-14, 2016: Tsukino-Con, Victoria BC; anime February 19-21, 2016: Wizard World Portland, Portland OR; pop culture February 25-28, 2016: Bricks Cascade 2016, Portland OR; pop culture

November 2015 The Art of Garthness #7 page 3 March 2016 March 3-6, 2016: Vancoufur 2016 , Vancouver BC; furry March 17-20, 2016: Gamestorm, Portland WA; gaming March 24-27, 2016: 39 at Hilton Hotel Seattle Airport, Seattle, Washington. Theme: “Remembering the Future”. “Our Author Guest of Honor will be Tanya Huff, our Artist Guest of Honor will be Janny Wurts, our Science Guest of Honor will beWilliam Hartmann, and our Spotlight Publisher will be DAW, represented by Sheila Gilbert and Betsy Wollheim. … Rooms: Group rate of $128.00 is offered for standard guestrooms with either one king bed or two queen beds. If you wish to confirm a guestroom in the tower, there is an additional fee of $20.00 per room per night. Contact Hilton Hotel Seattle Airport, 18740 International Boulevard, Seattle, Washington 98188, USA, Tel: +1-206-246-8600, Fax: +1-206-901-5923 Registration: pre-registration is already open! Our current rate is just $50 for a full four-day membership.” Norwescon, 100 Andover Park W Suite 150-165, Tukwila, WA 98188-2828, USA; Voicemail: (425) 243-4692; Email: [email protected] March 25-27, 2016: Sakuracon, Seattle Washington; anime April 2016 April l7-10, 2016: Emerald City Comicon, Seattle Washington; pop culture April 21-24, 2016: BrickCan, Vancouver BC; LEGO May 2016 May 6-8: Creative Ink Festival at the Delta Burnaby Hotel and Conference Centre in Burnaby, BC, featuring Carrie Vaughn (NY Times bestseller), Galen Dara (Hugo Winning Artist), and keynote speaker Robert J. Sawyer (Hugo and Nebula winner). Membership Purchased Online before January 7th, $60; Membership Purchased Online before April 21st $70; Membership Purchased at the door, $80; Banquet *includes Keynote TBA; Supporting Membership, $15. Creativeinkfestival.com. May 13-15, 2016: Everfree Northwest 2016, Seatac Washington; brony May 14, 2016: Lilac City Comic Con, Spokane Washington; pop culture May 27-29, 2016: Crypticon Seattle, Seattle Washington; horror May 27-29, 2016: MIscon, Missoula MT; science fiction & fantasy May 27-29, 2016: Furlandia 2016, Portland OR; furry/steampunk June 2016 June 3-5, 2016: Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show, Tacoma Washington; pinball/arcade games June ?? 2016 (date to be fixed by an online poll): 10th annual BC Renaissance Festival at “Stellers Grove” in Maple Ridge – medieval/pirate plays, games, rides, music, pub, vendors; supports Friends in Need food bank. Mail BC Renaissance Festival at PO Box 43004, Cascades RPO, Burnaby, BC V5G 4S8, email [email protected], or tel. 778- 926-FEST; online www.bcrenfest.com, www.jadedragonpirates.com, www.stellersgrove.com

November 2015 The Art of Garthness #7 page 4 June ?? 2016: ConComCon 23, a Northwest conrunning convention (Portland OR?); – news yet to come on http://concomcon.com July 2016 July 1-4, 2016: Westercon 69, the perambulating western North America convention, to be held this year at the Portland Doubletree Hotel in Portland, OR. (Westercon traditionally features general SF & fantasy programming on the July 4th weekend. For information link to westercon69.org. July 15-17, 2016: OzCon, Portland OR; Wizard of Oz August 2016 August 5-7, 2016: Anglicon 2016, Seattle WA; British media August 5-7, 2016: Fandemonium, Boise ID multi-genre (SF/anime/gaming) August 12-14, 2016: Dragonflight 37, Bellevue WA; gaming August 17-21, 2016: MidAmeriCOn 2/Worldcon ## Kansas City MO, science fiction & fantasy August 26-28, 2016: Northwest LARP Fest, Olympia WA; LARP Aug ?? KuroNekoCon [at Spokane Convention Center, 334 West Spokane Falls Boulevard], Spokane, Washington.— http://kuronekon.com 7–9 August 2015: Animethon 22 [at MacEwan University, Downtown Campus, 10045 156 Street Northwest], Edmonton, Alberta.—Ansible 8–9 August 2015: InCon Family Gaming Convention [at Florence Filberg Centre, 411 Anderton Avenue], Courtenay.—Garth Spencer 9 August 2015: Vancouver Comic Show, 11 AM–5 PM at Croatian Cultural Centre, 3250 Commercial Drive, Vancouver. 14–16 August 2015: Anime Revolution/Anirevo at Vancouver Convention Centre, 999 Canada Place, Vancouver. 14–16 August 2015: Anime Revolution & Vanpla Build Contest, 10 AM Friday–3 PM Sunday at Vancouver Convention Centre East, Vancouver. [No address given.] 14–16 August 2015: When Words Collide [at Delta Calgary South Hotel, 135 Southland Drive Southeast], Calgary, Alberta.—Ansible via Garth Spencer September 2016 September 2-6, 2016: PAX Prime, Seattle WA; gaming 4–7 September 2015: Kumoricon [at the Hilton Vancouver Washington, 301 West 6th Street, and the Red Lion Hotel Vancouver at the Quay, 100 Columbia Street], Vancouver, Washington.—Ansible via Garth Spencer 5 September 2015: Zombie Walk 2015, [3 PM at Vancouver Art Gallery, 750 Hornby Street, Vancouver]. 13 September 2015: Vancouver Comicon, 11 AM–5 PM at Heritage Hall, 3102 Main Street, Vancouver. “Special guests: Simon Roy (Prophet, Tiger Lung, Jan’s Atomic Heart), Jason Copland (Kill All Monsters, POP), Mel Levrault (Phobiasoft), Michelle Zhu. […] Admission: $4; kids under 14: free. […] 604-322-6412.”

November 2015 The Art of Garthness #7 page 5 19 September 2015: Pirates at GETI Fest, 10 AM–3 PM at Haney Place Mall, 22470 Dewdney Trunk Road 100, Maple Ridge. “We will be bringing the much sought after Jade Dragon Pirates to GETI Fest. This pirate crew may have begun in the 1500s for the BC Renaissance Festival Cast and Crew but they live in their 1700s version for your entertainment. Only for one afternoon, we will be jam packing sword-fighting, table top games, a little singing, and some trivia into our space at the event. Also being as it is International Talk Like a Pirate Day it is the perfect time to come out and spend an afternoon with us. Once the day is done, who knows? After the tent is down and we’re all packed up, we may go find a pub to invade. Feel free to check in with us at the end of the event to see if we have chosen our sailing destination. GETI (Golden Ears Transition Initiative).”—Christina Carr 24–27 September 2015: RainFurrest 2015 at the Hilton Seattle Airport & Conference Center, 17620 International Boulevard, Seattle, Washington. Theme: Sword & Sorcery. (news.ansible.uk) 26 September 2015: Magic: The Gathering: Battle for Zendikar Pre-Release, 11– 5:30 PM at Richmond Rod & Gun Club, 7891 Cambie Road, Richmond. “This pre- release will be hosted at the Richmond Rod & Gun Club to make room for up to 100 players! […] Contact: Stephanie.”—Imperial Hobbies Sept. 30 – Oct. 2, 2016: VCON 41 in Greater Vancouver, BC. This year’s theme: Muppets, Puppets, and Marionettes - A hands-on, play-oriented event. (Chair: R. Graeme Cameron.) See www.vcon.ca (Keith Lim, Greg Cairns and Julian Castle, and Garth Spencer, for BCSFAzine)

Progress Report

For those of us still wandering around and keep bumping into things, trying to find the rules to this Game of Life we got thrown into, it seems pretty clear that the long list of how-to subjects in last issue is largely outside the target area. The subjects should still be included, but they aren’t central. Unwritten social codes appear to be central; but they are highly changeable, and variable from one place or social subculture to another. So I will have to admit that I am focusing on the kind of social information I took a long time to figure out – that is, what a white male western Canadian presumably needs to know, in the early 21st century. For that matter some people will be offended – perhaps justifiably – at how basic, even childish, some of the how-to subjects must appear. So separate levels of information have to be recognized – elementary, intermediate, and advanced.

November 2015 The Art of Garthness #7 page 6 My War with the 21st Century

Losing Our Points of Common Reference Sometimes the marketing of our statutory holidays is just embarrassing. If Britain and the United States were on the same continent, Canada might exist as a small buffer state, sharing some features of both countries while technically belonging to neither. Curiously, while Canada is slightly more of a frontier country than the U.S. – you have to travel a lot less far out of Canadian cities than American ones, I gather, to find yourself in the bush – I think English-Canadians maintain a lot deeper historical memory than their American counterparts. This really comes home to me in the fall, when Thanksgiving is a month earlier in my country; when Hallowe’en comes around; when Guy Fawkes’ Day has to be explained to Americans (over and over again), and when November 11th is Remembrance Day here and a Veterans’ Day down south. Being a fan – by which I mean, a member of a geographically-dispersed community, or two or three, all of which meet up just occasionally at conventions – I get to meet some well-informed people, as well as neofans who are just starting to get the ancient lore of our people. (Or not.) Many of us, but not all, bear in mind that Hallowe’en started out as All Souls’ Day, a remembrance of the dead. Seeing how it transmogrified into a marketing event, with only the most tenuous and mutated connection to the Day of the Dead, and with the trappings of fairy tales not even universally understood and remembered anymore, is as cringe-worthy as seeing what Christmas and Easter have become … except we’re long past the cringing stage. I don’t know how I would explain this to new Canadians, if I were a volunteer for WelcomeBC. Now that V for Vendetta has played in theatres and on cable, probably some more Americans have some more idea, if a fragmentary idea, of the Guy Fawkes story. (You do know the story, I hope?) I don’t entirely know what to make of the transmogrification of Guy Fawkes masks into a trademark for Anonymous, a sort of guerrilla public-spy network. You can see where I’m going with this: drawing attention to the Egyptian-telephone effect, the way a cultural observance of any sort gets mangled and transmogrified as it is communicated from one generation to another … and especially under the influence of marketing. Remembrance Day hasn’t transmogrified so far from its original intent … yet. Marketing hasn’t happened to it … yet. But already there are people who misunderstand Remembrance Day as if it were a glorification of war, rather than a grim “Lest We Forget” remembrance of sacrifice. (I remember being a child naïve enough to have to ask, “What is it that we

November 2015 The Art of Garthness #7 page 7 aren’t supposed to forget?”) This transmogrification effect is just life, I suppose, just part of the deal. It will happen, even if no one actively tries to distort the original history, myths, or fairy tales. (Which I gather is a standard political tactic, but that is a whole other story.)

Stories about Work and Jobs Humans make bad managers. Three or four times, just in the third week of November, friends and correspondents reported the kind of treatment that we could well call psychological abuse … except that for years, it has been the standard sort of management behaviour that people have always complained about. A friend in Toronto was fired from work for no perceptible cause … interestingly, without any cause on his ROE. A friend in Calgary regularly finds that, as she learns her job (on her own, not with proper training), and goes to her manager with questions, she gets grilled for half an hour … then she is told not only what she needed, but that she ought to have known about it already. (This was such an ineffective teaching method, to put it mildly, that I commented “that was the way I was raised” … and said that I hoped she had an exit strategy.) You can see where I’m going with this, but I’ll cut to the point, with a direct experience. Someone I work for part-time consistently fails to give complete, or concise, or specific instructions, generally leaves out critical details, or expects me to have some context on case files – for a fairly technical, detail-heavy information service – which invariably she hasn’t supplied. I can usually expect to be interrupted in my work, if we’re both in the office at the same time, without any query as to whether I’m in the middle of something; but I am expected to know when she is in the middle of something and trying to concentrate. None of this is in any way her problem. Everyone sounds to me on some days like they’re saying "Don't crush that dwarf, hand me the pliers" or "Why is a mouse when it spins?" or "Thank you for pointing out to me how obscene eggs are." (Now you know why I think it's funny to say things like that – my way of sending up the frequently incoherent utterances we make.) I keep thinking “Screw it, I should use this crap for story material.” I know, I know, all the foregoing sounds like the self-justification of an undertrained subcompetent: as if I don’t ask enough questions, don’t remember instructions accurately, or keep forgetting office procedures; as if I just work too slowly, or just can’t multitask anymore. (I will even say that’s all true, just to keep you happy, so long as we can move on.) My real point is, all of the inept situations above are normal behaviour. For humans. As usual, I am inclined to over-extend this analysis; in this case, from inept foremen and middle-managers to inept policy-makers, not only CEOs and department heads, but even heads of state. As I observed to Dave Haren, when I first replied to his Remembrance Day letter (later this issue), “Even in an age of rapid communication, it seems impossible to do things right – at a great distance, through a large organization, with many intermediaries – or with various economic and commercial interests,

November 2015 The Art of Garthness #7 page 8 political action groups and campaign contributors, tugging on decision-makers’ sleeves.” I guess what happens that erecting any hierarchy, any authority structure, any national or corporate bureaucracy, is inevitably to isolate policy-makers from the realities to which their policies are applied. Sounds obvious, but it bears verbalizing. Sooner or later the policy-makers are completely out of touch with the “ground reality”, of course, which explains how the first World War and the recent Middle East unpleasantness were conducted. We actually have no excuse for this syndrome in an age of high information density – except the excuse that policy-makers will pick and choose what information they wish to take seriously. (Guess you can tell I read Robert Anton Wilson at a formative stage.) In conclusion, I put it to you that humans are just not cut out to manage humans. I actually look forward to meeting aliens – maybe they will be temperamentally competent to manage us. So I for one welcome alien overlords – if anyone out there is fit for the job. Until that day, I advocate anarcho-surrealism and the end of civilization as we know it. We really don’t know how to keep it up. What’s the Buzz

Dave Haren, Remembrance Day, Nov. 11, 2015 As usual I seem to be soapboxing instead of making others happier by agreeing. ((Good show. Somebody’s gotta do it.)) Having been raised with the abos helps me a lot with planning for the fall of the system. The idea that a sackful of what's necessary will tide you over in the wilds around Vancouver is ridiculous.

Here we have nuts who keep the camper on their “Pick Up” (Taral Wayne) pickup loaded so they can roar off to the mountains and survive the end of civilization. If you examine history a bit you'll find that the Indians (a word we love because it means the white man is so dumb he can't tell one continent from another), who lived on the Pacific coast depended on the ocean. ((I am well aware that the First Nations in the Pacific Northwest here depended on shoreline and marine resources, and in fact this was one of the most productive bioregions to be found. From the foregoing, shall I take it that you’re in Australia? Here in Canada, the people that Europeans met are now supposed to be called “First Nations”; yet the legislation concerning them is still called the Indian Act.

November 2015 The Art of Garthness #7 page 9 ((I am also sufficiently aware of survival skills to expect a really hard time, if I had to live off the land – not only because I’m a city boy, but because land and sea alike are probably depleted and somewhat polluted. ((If that wasn’t the case, I would have the fond hope to be like the “Big Beavers” in Alexei Panshin’s novels – “The Big Beaver ideal was to start naked the wilderness and recreate civilization.” Which very few of us are prepared to do, as the show Naked and Afraid keeps demonstrating. I know well that it takes a lot of different skilled jobs to sustain our way of life. I also know, and acknowledge, that mere documentation doesn't impart very much.)) Modern agriculture brought most of the edibles west of the Rockies, along with the bees to pollinate those crops. The pre-existing food was seasonal and you had to know when and where to get it; in some cases you had to do preparation that took months to make it edible. Pickings were slim. If you want to get prepared, go to one of the local tribes and hope they will talk to you about how to survive. The key to survival is to have friends and acquaintances who will get together and cooperate to survive. If you won't do that maybe your bones on the mountain will be useful in some future era. Currently moving to higher ground inland may ameliorate your conditions for survival. With some projecting sea level rises of 27 feet a lot of current population centres are going to look like Venice. ((There is some question now as to whether we face simple global warming, or rise in sea levels. Even as the Arctic ice cap is melting and the southwestern States have experienced record drought, the Antarctic ice cap appears to have been growing. True, there are counterclaims that it is thinner than it was. Between all the claims and counterclaims, conflicting evidence and cherry-picking arguments, I can only draw the limited conclusion that we have a much more complicated system of events than anyone is prepared to credit.)) I'm quite interested by the idea of a Moslem EU; the idea that Austria – the home of so much ill feeling to the rest of the world – is being swamped by the Paynim hordes spilling out of Greece and Turkey has to bring a smile. They were the same bunch who drove out their Protestants, who were then welcomed by the Germans and helped to get started there. Apparently German Protestants are the only division of Christianity who actually pay much attention to Jesus’ ideas. ((I gather there has been a growing Moslem presence in Europe for a few generations, and the Syrian refugee crisis is not the major reason to expect a Moslem majority in the foreseeable future. I’m not involved with events in Europe. But if Canadian Moslems – and Sikhs, and Hindus – are harassed or oppressed by some other citizens here, my duty will be to support and defend them. I can’t see it any other way. ((I had an idea that “paynim” was a word that Saracens applied to European invaders, once upon a time?)) I see Kosovo has decided to become a separate state. If you looked at a topo map you noticed that the farmland plain of Serbia was in Kosovo. The Albanian Moslems kept moving in and when the Serbs decided enough was enough, misguided idiots (US/NATO) bombed the Hel out of people who weren't involved, and gave the invaders the whole province because they had better propaganda in cyberspace. ((Is that what was happening? I thought the reasons would be simpler and sadder …))

November 2015 The Art of Garthness #7 page 10 There's nothing new about population increases and other factors causing groups to move in on the neighbors. NAFTA wrecked the Mexican economy, so those who could, moved into USA – along with those whose countries were wrecked by USA’s nasty habit of propping up the scum of the earth who are leaders in South America. ((“Bear any burden, make any friend, fight any foe …” Sadly, we now see the results of carrying out JFK’s policy, word for word.)) Try nibbling on a bit of silver before you advocate it as a form of wealth in a crisis. I prefer a lot of beans, they can be planted to grow more beans and if you have a lot you won't have to re-create the Disney scene of dividing a single bean three ways. There's a lot of virtue in dried stuff, they have taken some dried corn from the cliff dwellings of the Southwest planted it and it grew. That had been there since before 1400. So much for the expiration dates you see on seed packages. ((Admittedly, I would rather deal with material difficulties, try to find a place where I can grow beans and squash and corn, and hide effectively from bandits, than try to deal with social challenges, whether haggling for goods or swapping for dental and optical services, or contending with avaricious people. If it comes to that.)) In your area you can eat the bear, if you have a knife big enough to make sure it doesn't eat you. That is referred to as the balance of nature that determines who is eating and who is eaten. ((In my area we generally have better sense than to go up against bears. I see a lot of holes in your mad scheme to create the definitive Westerner’s guide to the culture. ((So do I, but you have to start somewhere. My starting point is, what would a new Canadian need to know, to live in Vancouver in 2015? A new Canadian from, let us say, a very traditional, agrarian country with little in the way of roads, piped water or sewer systems, electricity, power machinery, modern transportation or communications, much less electronic point-of-sale terminals?)) Heinlein had a large list of things you should be able to do: Plow a field, sew a crop, harvest a crop, store a harvested crop; Recognize the plants in your area that are edible; Navigate by the heavens; Operate a lot of the common machines that tie the whole civilizational mess together (boats, ships, aircraft, trucks, trains, bulldozers). You should have a rudimentary knowledge of medical practices: sewing up a wound, cauterizing a wound, bandaging one. A lot of it requires studying and hanging out with the invisible dregs who make civilization work - construction types, garbage men, and sailors. Management has very little to teach you about reality or leadership, seek elsewhere. ((I actually knew that already. See “Have a Code to Live By” elsewhere in this issue.)) I've been reading Murray Bookchin. Adam Curtis does documentaries for the BBC. He had one that in passing mentioned that the PKK has been greatly influenced by Bookchin: they are one of the Kurd groups who have been beating up ISIS (Daesh) while they are being bombed by the Turks and being aided by US Special Forces. So I got interested and located a bunch of materials to dig into. ((Interesting! I only ran across one of Bookchin’s works, on the development of Spanish anarchist groups prior to the war. Absorbing, that.))

November 2015 The Art of Garthness #7 page 11 One of his ideas that seemed fascinating: The Spanish Civil War prior to WW2 has been framed as Commies vs Fascists. Bookchin says that both sides were more interested in doing away with the Spanish anarchists, to the point they were being shot in the back by the leftists while fighting the Republicans. The left was more interested in stamping out the heretics than in winning the civil war. The other side saw them as anathema to their variety of Socialism as well. Gives the whole mess a different viewpoint. The Condor Legion was sent to get rid of Spanish Anarchy, and the Communists were there to eliminate Spanish Anarchy from the realm of international politics. So instead of a clear-cut set of motives for and against Spanish government, you get a conspiracy of oppression against an idea that had taken hold of a country and was winning. ((Sometime I really must read up on the Spanish Civil War again, and establish how well Barcelona was administered … I understood that for a while it was held and administered by the anarchist forces.)) For me the essence of fandom is staying interested in things that no mundane has the slightest idea exist. That was always the currency of the fans, the ideas that Spengler, Toynbee, Wilson, Reich, Korzybski, Skinner, and Fuller had to offer were never discussed in mundane circles of ordinary folk, but they were hashed over by fans. Whether that produced anything of note is left as an exercise for the student. ((Whether fandom is still fannish, in the sense of playing with ideas, I must leave the reader to decide.)) Keep on Keepin' On.

Lyn McConchie, November 12, 2015 Good grief, [I] read the [topic] list of your life [skills] book and blinked. Talk about comprehensive - although if I know people, a number will think of some item (like batteries) not included. ((Too right. I’m going to have to break this down into Elementary, Intermediate and Advanced Life Skills levels. What this list implies is A) people know a lot of information and skills they don’t realize they know – rather the way anyone’s vocabulary runs to several thousand words, without their knowing it; and B) a rather complete inventory of our cultural information – memes, customs, assumptions, delusions, what-have-you – looks uncomfortably like a whole encyclopedia.)) Oh, and you asked what 'common sense' is. For a start, it isn't common. To continue it's that part of you that says, "If I save five seconds by shortcutting through the bull's paddock but get killed halfway, that isn't an effective saving," and then I don't do it! Common sense is practicality, it's thinking ahead and seeing the disaster that could unfold, and then not being that silly. My version of that is a long time adage of my own. The easiest way to get out of trouble is not to get into it in the first place. ((Here’s my model of “common sense”. I had a gutful of being told I lacked common sense, while I grew up: mainly from a relative who would not say what their “common sense” connections were, if their life depended on it. But I finally realized, after too many years, that what I wanted spelled out were things too subconscious for them to articulate. It also took me years to sort out which customs and folk knowledge are drivel, and which are sound … ))

November 2015 The Art of Garthness #7 page 12 Unfortunately common sense is something that politicians overlook (how can spending money your country doesn't have be a good thing?) It's something that criminals mostly don't have. (I'll ignore the CCTV and steal this ... ) And it's something most kids don't have. (“Throwing myself off the roof wearing my Superman cape will be cool!”) In the case of kids, most grow out of that lack. (Or get buried.) In the case of criminals and politicians, most don't learn - although some also get buried. And by the way, I'm talking about common sense, not logic which is a different thing. As someone or another said, logic is a way of going wrong with confidence. ((On the one hand, as you say, children – and criminals, according to Bob Shaw among other writers – do not weight consequences, or just do not foresee them. As you also say, experience teaches consequences, if nothing else does. The subject is, the normal connections normal people normally make. To pick just one example of these connections: what subjects do you have to avoid with people, that only their family history, or knowledge of their traumas, could warn you about? How often does someone complain that not making an inflammatory comment should have been “common sense”? ((Onward. There’s a reason why we find politicians and bureaucrats and military officers and middle managers so easy to complain about … and so easy to joke about. But I’ve talked about this elsewhere in this issue.)) Oh, and it's as well we DO build for earthquakes. The week after I wrote on them in that last ish, I was enlivened by two, a 5.4 and a 5.7. No damage but the cat is blaming me again. ((I await a demonstration that neither Canadian nor American authorities are prepared for the next major Cascadian earthquake – not prepared even to believe how serious it will be.)) On Greece, the home of democracy. Yeah Right. What they really mean is the home of Paternalistic dictatorship. They had slaves, and slaves and women (slaves too in all but name) couldn't vote. Democracy? Really? ((I think this point was already elucidated. Well, maybe not. Classical Athens, for example, had perhaps a quarter-million people, out of whom only about 3,000 were voting citizens; a late Iron Age city-state like Athens required a majority of slaves as a productive base. We require essential industrial machinery and the energy to feed it, as a productive base. Maintaining a high-energy industrial society requires a generally literate population, which is perhaps the reason some people thought modern democracy was feasible. ((If I recall correctly, Plato got into deep shit in the classical period because he was advocating, really, a strong-man rule – much as Machiavelli did – and I think both men simply saw nothing better, and conceived nothing better, in their place and time. Neither man seemed to realize what dictatorships could become. Strange.)) Meanwhile I finished the first draft of my latest book three hours ago and plan on a week of doing nothing. Well, nothing apart from emails, shearing the sheep, attending a local event, writing a consumer article for our newspaper, another for the National SPCA quarterly, sixteen letters/cards and ... well, guess it'll be another busy week. Years back a prominent American editor asked me if living out in the boondocks as I do, I didn't get lonely or bored? Nope. Large library - heading towards 8,000 this year - and lots of phone calls/emails/visitors. As for bored - maybe if I tried really really hard I could find ten minutes somewhere on the schedule around 2030. As I said in

November 2015 The Art of Garthness #7 page 13 AoG 5, happiness is loving what you do AND doing what you love. I find mostly, that also precludes boredom. ((How long does a novel usually take you to produce? What constitutes a short story – in substance, rather than in length – as opposed to a novel?))

Lloyd Penney, November 20, 2015 I’ve got Art of Garthness #6 here, and I’ve got the time to write a letter. Let’s put the two together, and see what I can come up with. I have been doing much of what you have done with your life. I have had a few achievements, but for the most part, I have been struggling to get what I’ve wanted to do done, and having more than my share of failure. I am trying to find out how to be a successful steampunk jewelry vendor, and finding the right shows to display and sell at has been difficult. Lots of people are sympathetic, but few actually help with leads. A manual is always helpful for just about anything you want to do or learn, but things change regularly. A manual for life would need to be updated almost daily. Pages and pages of topics to cover, too. Some are fixed, but some are quite fluid. ((Well put. I realize now that we all get imprinted with different fundamental attitudes, and I never got the message that all I had to do was to “be white, pay taxes and die.” I wonder what I might have been, if I grew up feeling like I lived in a free country.)) However, I am happy, mostly because I have the love of a good woman. I don’t know what I did to get this, but I am continually praying that I don’t somehow screw it up. I am back on the job hunt, too. I was dismissed without cause just before Thanksgiving, so I was able to get my EI, and my former employer has some things to explain to the EI commission and the Ministry of Labour. This should be good, not even my ROE has anything on it to describe why I was let go. In the meantime, I have perked up my LinkedIn account, and have gotten back in touch with the Humber College Community Employment Services. There may be a community college local to where you are that can help in your search. Our biggest problem at this time is that we are both in our 50s, so our resumes have to have any reference to time or age removed. ((This has to be the third or even fourth time, just in the last week or so, that friends and correspondents have reported being jerked around by employers, or by employment services. Is it really something to take for granted anymore??)) Hurray for our new government. Cranio-rectal inversion was on my mind any time I saw the Conservative party in action during this past election. Justin Trudeau and crew could screw up immensely over the next few months, and they’d still be doing a better job than our previous government. The newest proof is that while the Conservatives were bragging about a $2.3-billion surplus, they actually had in store for the new Liberal government a further $3-billion deficit. They’ve tried their best to salt the field, as they knew they would lose the election. ((Tells you what their priorities were – rather like the priorities of the Republicans who left a mess for the Obama administration, then blamed the Obama administration for it – instead of considering their legacy for the country as the first priority. Honestly, I begin to think it’s only a matter of time before any given administration screws up unpardonably, or before the discovery of their participation in morally compromising

November 2015 The Art of Garthness #7 page 14 deals. Or maybe that’s just my impression drawn from my own province’s political history.)) (Common sense? Why do we always talk about this? It seems so uncommon these days. Assumptions, perhaps, but I thought the mysterious common sense came about from trial and error, and hard experience. It seems most right-wing politicians wouldn’t have a clue about common sense, seeing what they say is so nonsensical.) Right now, my keyboard is set on US spelling. I will use Canadian spellings, but the US setting will mark colour and favour as wrong. I have Canadian French and Canadian Multilingual settings, but often, I will get a é instead of a ?. ((Maintaining our distinct culture is a constant battle, isn’t it? …  )) My loc … our own Conservative nutjobs started off their new opposition roles by blaming the new Liberal government for the deficit the Conservatives left behind for them (see above). To Justin’s credit, he is ignoring this, and letting his new ministers handle everything while he appears in front of screaming crowds in Manila and other places. Senility? Well, I thought I was heading that way myself. More and more, though, it is more of a case of utterly failing to give a flying fuck. As time progresses, I get more tired more easily, and rather than attack the keyboard, I’d rather put my feet up and have a nap. Well, I gave enough of a flying fuck to actually write this letter, so there must be hope for me after all. I’m not holding my breath, and neither should you. Thank you for this issue, and see you when the next arrives.

Local Versions of Fandom (again, a work in progress) Anime & Manga Teen Manga and Anime Group (formerly Teen Manga Advisory Group), second Saturday 3:30– 5:30 PM at Harvey Southam Room, Lower Level, Vancouver Public Library Central Branch, 350 West Georgia Street, Vancouver. Free.—Julian Castle Amateur Astronomy Vancouver Astronomy Monthly Meetup, second Thursday 7:30–8:30 PM. [No location given.]—Keith Lim Comics Cloudscape Comics Weekly Meeting, Wednesdays 7:30–11:30 PM at top floor of Memorial South, located inside the park at 5955 Ross Street (at 41st Avenue), Vancouver.—Keith Lim/Julian Castle

November 2015 The Art of Garthness #7 page 15 Vancouver Comic Jam, third Saturday 8 PM–late (sometimes ends when Wallflower closes at 1 AM) at the Wallflower Modern Diner, 2420 Main Street, Vancouver.—Keith Lim Conrunning CanadianConRunners was founded on May 6, 2007 “as a result of the Canadian Conrunners conference organized by Andrew Gurudata. Being able to communicate amongst ourselves was seen as a critical need. ... It has been ticking along ever since, sometimes very active, sometimes very quiet, kind of like the solar sunspot cycles. … The calendar of events and some of the files and links to resources have been useful to all, but the mailing list is really the heart of the group.” Cathy Palmer-Lister reports there are exactly 100 members as of October 2015.

 To Post a Message : [email protected]  To Subscribe : [email protected]  To Unsubscribe : [email protected]  To email the List Owner : [email protected] (Cathy Palmer-Lister, Oct. 7, 2015) CanSMOF Inc. - the host for SMOFcon 31 (2013) in Toronto Canada “is a federally incorporated non-profit. It was the corporate body behind Anticipation in 2009, the 2013 Smofcon in Toronto, and Costume-Con 32 in Toronto in 2014. Other projects are currently being considered. CanSMOF may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].” (Rene Walling, Oct. 12, 2015) In October 2015, CanSMOF announced they were offering 3 scholarships to SMOFcon 33. Please email the link above for all the details about eligibility and how to apply. SWOC, founded as the "Seattle Westercon Organizing Committee", includes as part of its stated purpose The purpose of [SWOC] shall be to make all arrangements necessary for the selection of a venue within the Pacific Northwest as the site for Events including ... the West Coast Science Fantasy Conference [Westercon)]..., as well as [arranging for] that Event as a forum for discussion and appreciation of science fiction and fantasy, the arts, literature, science, and related topics through the congregation of fans, lectures, films, exhibitions, workshops, and similar activities." SWOC has organized four Westercons: Westercon 46 in 1993, Westercon 50 in 1997, Westercon 56 in 2003, and Westercon 65 ("ConClusion") in 2012; all of these have been held in Seattle or Seatac. More information about Westercons is available at the Westercon main website. The next Westercon is Westercon 69, Portland Oregon, to be held July 1-4, 2016. For more information write SWOC, PO Box 88154, Seattle, WA 98138, or email [email protected] Costuming HMS Callisto BC-722 (Royal Manticoran Navy) – Jenni Merrifield, Cary Anne Conder – see www.hmscallisto.org Fanhistory Fans of fanhistory in Canada include R. Graeme Cameron, ESFCAS members, Green, Lloyd Penney, Garth Spencer, Marc Gerin-LaJoie aka “StarWolf”, and Taral Wayne. http://Fanac.org – an online archive of things fannish.

November 2015 The Art of Garthness #7 page 16 www.fanhistory.com/wiki/ - a fanhistory website sensibly organized into Wiki pages. Timebinders: an email list for fanhistory fans. Send timebinders mailing list submissions to [email protected]. To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://listsmgt.sflovers.org/mailman/listinfo/timebinders or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to timebinders- [email protected]. You can reach the person managing the list at timebinders- [email protected] Fanzine fandom (This fandom, I will admit, is now on the fringes of contemporary fan activities: rather the way ham radio is now on the fringes of hobbies in general. And yet the full range of current fanzines is such a long list, I present here only the ones I know are publishing in Canada. In English, that is. I no longer have much idea about French-language fanzines.) Art of Garthness, The / Garth Spencer, 4240 Perry Street, Vancouver, BC V5N 3X5. You can also contact me at [email protected]. Auroran Lights / R. Graeme Cameron of Surrey, BC at [email protected]. BCSFAzine / “Please send comments, suggestions, and/or submissions to Felicity Walker (the editor), at [email protected] or Apartment 601, Manhattan Tower, 6611 Cooney Road, Richmond, BC, CANADA V6Y 4C5.” This clubzine is produced both online, and in print as a 5 ½ x 8 ½” chapbook. Broken Toys / Taral Wayne, 245 Dunn Ave., Apt., 2111, Toronto, Ontario, M6K 1S6, Canada. “I can be reached at [email protected].” Impulse – MonsFFA’s newsletter – see www monsffa.ca Obir Magazine / R. Graeme Cameron of Surrey, BC at [email protected]. In which Graeme provides avowedly personal and biased reviews of Canadian fiction. We need at least one review to spotlight potential candidate for upcoming award recognition. North Wind – actually, the newsletter of the Barony of Lions Gate – see Lionsgate.tirrigh.org Opuntia / Dale Speirs of Calgary, Alberta at [email protected]. Shortly after retiring from municipal service, Dale decided to move from hardcopy to online fanzine publishing. His personalzines are sometimes travelogues of Calgary and the surrounding parts of Alberta; sometimes devoted to extended essays on topics in SF or other genres, and sometimes have been mostly devoted to letters. Ottawa SF Statement – newsletter of the Ottawa SF Society – see Ottawasfs.ca Rodney’s / Rodney Leighton, #11 Branch Road, R.R. #3, TATAMAGOUCHE, Nova Scotia, B0K 1V0, Email [email protected]. Swill / Neil Jamieson-Williams; published three times per year, allegedly available at http://uldunemedia.ca. Write him at [email protected]. The Old Fashioned Time Waster and Space Cadet Gazette / R. Graeme Cameron of Surrey, BC at [email protected]. The Pleasure of Ruins / R. Graeme Cameron of Surrey, BC at [email protected].

November 2015 The Art of Garthness #7 page 17 The VCON Vanguard #1 (Nov. 2015) / R. Graeme Cameron of Surrey, BC at [email protected]. First progress report on VCON 41, to be held Sept-Oct. 2016. Warp – MonSFFA’s “official fanzine” – see www monsffa.ca Fanzine repositories and archives Efanzines.com Fanac.org Library & Archives Canada Toronto Public Library - Merril Collection Uldunemedia.ca University of Calgary – Cuthbert Collection Filking See convention listing above for Confilkt, to be held in SeaTac in January 2016. Gaming Board Gamers: Tuesday Night Board Gaming, Tuesdays 5–10 PM at Board Game Warriors, 708 Clarkson Street, New Westminster.—Keith Lim Board Gamers: Saturday Afternoon Gaming, 12–7 PM at Board Game Warriors, 708 Clarkson Street, New Westminster.—Keith Lim Kitsilano Board Games: Wednesday Is the New Monday!, alternate Wednesdays 7– 8 PM at Cuppa Joy, 2083 Alma Street, Vancouver.—Keith Lim Kitsilano Board Games: Lazy Sundays, 2–3 PM at Cuppa Joy, #295–2083 Alma Street, Vancouver.—Keith Lim Board Gamers: Painting Miniatures, 5–9 PM at Board Game Warriors, 708 Clarkson Street, New Westminster.—Keith Lim Magic: The Gathering Friday Night Games, 5:30–9 PM at Imperial Hobbies, 5451 Number Three Road, Richmond (after 19 September 2015 at new address, Unit 115–6080 Russ Baker Way, Richmond). BoardGamers: Friday Night Magic, 6:30–9:30 PM at Board Game Warriors, 708 Clarkson Street, New Westminster.—Keith Lim 7, 14, 21, and 28 August and 4, 11, 18, and 25 September 2015 (Fridays): FridayBoard Game Night—Drexoll Games, 7–11 PM at Drexoll Games, 2880 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver.—Keith Lim Board Game Swap Meetup, third Sunday 11 AM–1 PM at Board Game Warriors, 708 Clarkson Street, New Westminster.—Keith Lim IPMS Vancouver Monthly Meeting, third Friday 7–9:30 PM at Bonsor Recreation Complex, Second Floor “Arts Room,” 6550 Bonsor Avenue, Burnaby.—Keith Lim Board Gamers: 12 Hours of Gaming, last Saturday 12 PM–12 AM at Board Game Warriors, 708 Clarkson Street, New Westminster.—Keith Lim Imperial Hobbies, (recently moved?) 5451 Number Three Road, Richmond. “Regular store hours. Telephone: (604) 273-4427. [email protected].”

November 2015 The Art of Garthness #7 page 18 OneMoreStoryGames – www.onemorestorygames.com General Interest SF Clubs BCSFA MonSFFA NWSFS OSFS PorSFiS Hacking Vancouver Hack Space Craft Night, Mondays 7:30–10:30 PM at 270 East 1st Avenue, Vancouver.—Julian Castle Vancouver Hack Space Open House, Tuesdays 7:30–10:30 PM at 270 East 1st Avenue, Vancouver.—Julian Castle Historical Recreation SCA / Tir Righ / Barony of Lions Gate Times Past Entertainment, P.O. Box 43004 Cascades R.P.O., Burnaby, BC V4G 4S2. Offers characters for historical, steampunk and fantasy themed functions such as birthdays, photography, advertising, corporate and promotional events. Tel. 778-926- 3378; email [email protected]; Online, timespastent.com Model Building Thursday Hobby Build Nights, Thursdays 6–9 PM at Ages Three and Up Gundam, 226–9855 Austin Road, Burnaby.—A3U Gundam Meeting of Automotive ModelBuilders Vancouver, second Tuesday 7 PM at Burnaby Lions Club, 7420 Mulberry Place, Burnaby. Fraser Valley Model Club Monthly Meeting, second Thursday 7:30–9:30 PM at Kariton House Gallery, 2387 Ware Street, Abbotsford.—Keith Lim Vanpla Meeting, 1–5 PM at Metropolis Comics and Toys, 4735 Kingsway, Burnaby OR at 木: Ki Tea House Cafe, #105–6888 Royal Oak Avenue, Burnaby. “Every month, Vanpla members get together for a build and socialize workshop meetup. Usual activities include: kits building (bring your own kits and tools), show your proud completed work, technique coaching (feel free to ask), demos and workshops, airbrushing (depending on venue, spray booth may be available, bring your own airbrush/paint/thinner/etc.), access to gunpla graveyard (salvage parts for your project free), group build/event discussion, watching anime, meet new people, chill, and enjoy. We invite everyone to join. See you guys there!” Steampunk Monthly Steampunk CoffeeKlatch (sic), second Tuesday 7:30–9 PM at Waves Coffee House—Large Private Room, #100–900 Howe Street (@ Smithe), Vancouver.—Keith Lim

November 2015 The Art of Garthness #7 page 19

Have a Code that You Can Live By One of the things that bemuses me these days is the rise of “men’s rights” advocacy, or New Age “men’s groups”. For a variety of reasons I am well aware how patriarchal my society and culture is, and always was. At the same time I understand how vague the idea of manhood is now, and I remember how oppressive some women have been, when they got the upper hand in a home or institution. None of which – not men’s groups, not unfortunate women – has much bearing on how to be a man. For that matter, as eventually I worked out, the important things about being a man are no different from the important things about being a woman. For some reason, some people feel fundamentally free and unencumbered, and others don’t. I somehow got the message that there were a whole raft of social obligations and cultural standards I had to live up to – but there was some magical reason people concealed their Unwritten Code in nonverbal connotations, hints, allusions and implications. Do you wonder that I became obsessed with getting things said straight out? (It actually took years to realize their Unwritten Code was merely subconscious, inarticulate, not deliberately hidden.) Different cultures define a man’s proper life in different ways, of course. I have been told that in traditional Thai culture a man’s obligations were to find a wife, get a son, and build a pagoda. I guess I wanted an explicit straightforward agenda like that, even if it was simplistic and I ended up picking holes in it. In my father’s generation a man’s identity seemed deceptively simple: a man was someone who took hold of his life and made something of it, was (physically) capable and productive and self-supporting, would serve his country willingly, could hold his own in competition whether physical, commercial or legal, would certainly hold his own in a moral struggle, and incidentally could support a home, a wife and children. Of course, when you think about it, a lot of men didn’t – and don’t – actually live up to this standard. Lots of men never had opportunities, or wasted them on drink or aimless wandering, or accomplished nothing beyond working to death or dying on a battlefield. Lots of men deserted their wives and families, not necessarily because they couldn’t hang onto a paying job. Lots of men have always buckled to temptation or pressure in a moral struggle. And, let’s face it, lots of men have been self-supporting, morally courageous, served their countries up to sacrificing their lives, creative, and accomplished, without creating families or even desiring to do so.

November 2015 The Art of Garthness #7 page 20 You can tell that I have been weighing my life against my father’s. My father was a capable working man, always ready to turn his hand to any manual work, and any honest work was good enough for him to do. I absorbed my father's attitude that you are worth what you produce by the end of the day – and that “real” work is material, and produces something tangible. This of course is simplistic, but it was my moral starting point. Maybe I’m still conflicted because my work is only part-time, and almost entirely documentary in nature. Some people are emotionally self-sufficient, and self-directed, and are entirely content to be alone. I’m just used to being alone, I don’t particularly enjoy it … but it’s a lot more comfortable than hanging out with a group trying to connect, and failing most of the time: and sometimes, just embarrassing myself and others by repeated faux pas. As for feminine companionship … I had ambiguous experiences in several different short-term relationships: sometimes delightful, but sometimes horrific experiences. I finally decided loneliness was better than repeated humiliation and degradation, and gave up on intimacy. Maybe I was stupidly overgeneralizing from a few bad apples. But I have plenty of evidence that I just can’t do the nonverbal language thing. I wish, very much, that I could. Onward. If there were commandments in our culture, they seem to amount to: “Take hold of life and made something of it; be (physically) capable, as much as you can, and productive and self-supporting; serve your community, somehow; hold your own in competition, whether physical, commercial or legal – and, certainly, find and stand your ground in a moral struggle. Support the family, if you have one.” Perhaps it’s a growing crisis that many people do not get these messages, or in no form they will absorb. Or perhaps I underestimate how much families, and fraternities and sororities, really do impart to each generation. With some difficulty and delay I worked out what seems important to me … to find what needs saying, and say it; to find things that are missing and vitally necessary, and to supply what is missing where it is needed; to finish what is incomplete, so that – I hope – I will complete myself. Now, I have to find out what these principles mean, in substance. Screw it. Maybe I should just go into standup comedy?

Fanzines

BCSFAzine 509, October 2015 / “Please send comments, suggestions, and/or submissions to Felicity Walker (the editor), at [email protected] or Apartment 601, Manhattan Tower, 6611 Cooney Road, Richmond, BC, CANADA V6Y 4C5.” This clubzine is produced both online, and in print as a 5 ½ x 8 ½” chapbook. North Wind 369, the newsletter of the Barony of Lions Gate – see Lionsgate.tirrigh.org The VCON Vanguard #1 (Nov. 2015) / R. Graeme Cameron of Surrey, BC at [email protected]. First progress report on VCON 41, to be held Sept-Oct. 2016.

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