Shipyard Blues 2000

Shipyard Blues 2000 WH®©m® 4© SMjpyaifftil applies with Shipyard Blues 2000: IBUmsffi §©©© this is not a ‘personal zine’, written by me, but a wider ‘genzine’ seeking So, this is the new Millennium. and accepting contributions from a January 1st of the year 2000. At the range of people, both in the form of moment, it’s not much to look at, just articles and letters of comment, but another rather grey winter’s day in also artwork I’ve still got a stash of Milton Keynes, but what better time artwork from former contributors to than now to put together a new use for this and the next issue, but I fanzine. Well, sort of new, since do need more. Shipyard products Shipyard Blues 2000 is the bastard have always been heavily illust offspring of earlier Shipyard ‘zines, rated, so I’m looking for artists to like The Crystal Ship, Rastus and carry on the tradition. Shipyard Blues, all of which As former readers will remember, occupied my time between the late just about anything goes within the seventies and the mid nineties. pages of Shipyard Blues, so articles Of course, some of you will be aware can cover a wide range. I kind of that I tentatively stepped back into figure SF fans are bright, funny and the fannish arena during 1999, with eclectic folk who can find something the Shipyard Blues website which of interest in just about anything. continues, but the thing I find most Whatever the subject matter, if an unsatisfactory about publishing on article passes the editorial “Yeah!” the Web is the lack of feedback. In test, it goes in (subject to the normal the end, that is the element I decided laws of libel, copyright, etc, I most missed, so I’m stepping back naturally). Got something brilliantly to ‘old technology*, and starting a odd to say - try it on me, you never new run of the fanzines, of which know, it might get the thumb’s up. this is the first. So, what are you waiting for? Get The two things, zine and website are reading, get writing, get drawing. supposed to compliment each other. Get on with the new Millennium. If you can access the website, you There may seem a lot of it to go, but can see almost daily updates on the time does fly by. Do it now! things that catch my eye and Shipyard Blues 2000 is a Shipyard interest me, plus other things like an Production from John D. Owen, at 4 archive of past fanzines, book Highfield Close, Newport Pagnell, reviews etc. The fanzine, meanwhile, MK16 9AZ, United Kingdom. will try to recapture the buzz that Email address:[email protected]. the original zines had, both for me The Shipyard Blues website address and my correspondents. That’s the is http://www.rastus.force9.co.uk plan, now on to the execution! ZSBHome.html (all just one line). The most important thing about all the Shipyard products in the past is All material copyright © January that they were very much 2000, rights reverting to originator collaborative projects. The same on publication S EdajsfflajsiF® ©if 41h® casualties of a costly street-fighting Hmm ©3® na 4s assault. I don't know about you, but hearing It seems somehow appropriate that about the Russians' onslaught on the final year of the second Chechnya has generally made me millennium should reflect so wonder whether BorisYeltsin and his absolutely the first year of the first successor Vladimir Putin really know millennium of the Christian Era. what they are doing. Ostensibly, the Then, King Herod ordered the war (police action, internal pacific massacre of the innocents, the ation, call it what you will) is about murder of all newly borne male suppressing "international terrorism" babies under the age of one year, perpetrated by Chechen gangs, because one amongst them was following on from some high profile prophesied as being a new “King of bomb attacks in Russian cities. the Jews”, and Herod didn’t want Granted that the Chechen republic any rival claimants to his own had become a pretty lawless place crown. since the breakaway attempt a few Skip forward from 1AD to 1999AD years ago left it in a kind of and another massacre of the stalemate. But this kind of ruthless innocents is taking place, in attempt to bomb and blow Chechens Chechnya, this time of the into submission isn't really going to inhabitants of a city, on the pretence bring an end to terrorism. On the that Chechen capital Grozny houses contrary, it will drive more Chechens many ‘terrorists’ and ‘rebels’ against into the arms of extremists, the Russian state. Tm sure there is encourage more of them to start some grain of truth in the claim, but taking covert action against the I’m equally sure that the vast Russians. majority of Chechens have absol The wholesale destruction of utely no terrorist or rebel inclina Chechnya that is going on is a tions. The forces arrayed against the temporary palliative, and presum few thousand ‘real’ rebel fighters ably serves to deflect attention from encompasses a large percentage of Russia's many other problems. It also the massive Russian Army, who are gives Valdimir (Ras) Putin a strong methodically pounding Grozny into hand, making him favourite to rubble, rather than risk the high retain the presidency next March. But down the line, once the Of course, the Glitter man was Chechens get themselves together pretty lucky, since he beat the more again, you can be sure that their serious charge of sexual abuse of a hatred of Russia will be even more fourteen year-old girl, because the deeply entrenched, and it doesn't woman (the alleged abuse took place take many pissed off people to form twenty years ago) essentially was an underground terrorist offered extra money by a national organisation. Putin’s ham-fisted newspaper if Glitter was convicted. attempts to use the Chechen war as The judge, quite rightly, told the jury a means of elevating his own to view the woman's testimony "with popularity could, in the end, backfire utmost care", since the opportunity disasterously. to profit could be regarded as reason enough to exaggerate or fie in the (tlhaitt (Snfli’io'rffiaoo witness box. Had there not been that The curious thing about the Gary element to the case, then Glitter Glitter case (resolved with the Glitter could very well have had a much man being shunted off for a four longer sentence. As usual, various month spell in prison for possessing media folk and politicos are frothing child pornography) wasn't the fact at the mouth about the effect such a that it made such a big splash in the case has on people's view of the newspapers, since any celebrity press. Relax, guys, no one ever misadventure gets maximum cover thought of the News of the World's age in this tabloid age, even in the output as anything but gutter so-called "quality" newspapers journalism in the first place, so no (especially when they can hypo change there. critically tut-tut editorially about the IEIbw® yarn misdeeds of their lesser brethren and their "cheque book journalism"). What made me chuckle was how Came across a new word thoroughly stupid Glitter was. He today:"cyberslacking". Seems there is carts around a portable computer some kind of epidemic of it sweeping with him loaded with hundreds of the world. Before you jump to the pictures of child pornography, stuff conclusion this must be some new he'd downloaded from the Web. form of computer virus, let me tell When the PC goes wrong, he sticks it you it's not. It's the perfidious act of straight into a local repair shop logging onto the internet for where he happens to be, complete personal reasons, or sending and with incriminating evidence. Is this receiving personal email, in company dumb, or what? I guess all those time, and on company machines. really stupid lyrics Glitter has per "Billions of dollars worth of lost petrated over the years really did productivity" say American employ come from the heart, after all. Do I ers. Wow, could this be the end of wanna be in your gang? No thanks, civilisation as we know it? Gary, I'll pass on that one. It's all crap, of course, generated by industry people who want to sell our 4 managers complicated systems which does surprising things with colour monitor employees use of their and shape (Picasso, for example). Of 'personal' computers. They should course, it's not just finding patterns resist such actions, since the few where none exist that makes the minutes lost to productivity by the creative person so extraordinary: it's 'cyberslacking' employee are pro knowing what to do with them once bably more than repaid by the you've found the pattern, and that is increase in morale of said employee. where creativity transcends itself Crack down on such use, and into art. employees get resentful of the Of course, just pattern finding isn't restrictions, morale goes down and always creative. As ever, there is productivity goes down too. Like often a thin fine between creative personal phone calls on company thought and madness. The 'patterns lines, the private use of internet and where none exist' part can become a email facilities is part of the grease trap in itself. It's arguable that the that keeps the wheels of commerce difference between being a genius turning smoothly.

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