Southern Fandom Confederation Update Volume 1, Number 16

Warren Buff, Editor & SFC President 2412 Still Forest Pl, Apt F Raleigh, NC 27607 [email protected] (919) 633-4993

Editorial: I’m forgoing a lot of bells and whistles (but hey, check out that cover art by Jose Sanchez!) on this issue in favor of actually getting it out to folks again. We’ve got a con report from Joy V. Ward, a book review from Rich Dengrove, and another good article from Dr. Jeff in the anchor slot. I’ll try to get back on the monthly production cycle, and I promise an SFC Bulletin real soon now. At ReConStruction, I was able to get a look at some old issues of the Bulletin, and noticed that they were only two sheets, double-sided, and contained short listings about happenings in Southern Fandom. Switching back to such a format for the Bulletin would probably allow us to afford releasing it a whole lot more often (and being less work, I could probably get on that production cycle). I do frequently get emails about things going on, and I’d like to pass the information along to the club. Would that be an effective or efficient way to do so?

A Note From Westercon: While I was at Westercon, I brought up a new take on an old idea I’d had. I suggested to several fans involved with various Westercons and active in that region the possibility of running a fan fund to send fans back and forth between Westercon and DSC. There was quite a bit of positive reception for this idea, and Chris Garcia is willing to handle the Western region half of administering it while we start it up. I’d be willing to do the Southern half if there’s support for the idea. We’d probably do well to send a Southerner to Westercon 64 in San Jose, and a Westerner to DSC 50 in Huntsville. Thoughts?

Calendar of Events

September 3-5: Mephit Furmeet (Memphis, Tennessee – Whispering Woods Hotel and Conference Center. Razzek will be the guest of honor at this furry convention.) September 3-6: Dragon*Con (Atlanta, Georgia – Hyatt, Marriott Marquis, Hilton, Sheraton, and overflow in something like a dozen other hotels. It’s big enough that I’m not even going to try to list all of the big name draw guests, but for a sampling: Kevin J. Anderson, Mike Resnick, Jim Butcher, Laurell K. Hamilton, LeVar Burton, Summer Glau, James Marsters, Larry Elmore, and Stan Lee. It’s huge. Their official numbers are somewhere around 40,000, but the reality is likely higher. And if you’re convinced it’s just about film and TV stuff, you really ought to check out the literary programming, which has grown substantially in recent years.) TCEP 17 -- Laurel, Maryland September 4: Librari-Con (Fayetteville, North Carolina – Headquarters Library. One-day anime mini-con.)

September 10-12: Intervention – (Rockville, Maryland – Hilton Washington DC/Rockville. Webcomics, videos, gaming, music. Interesting mix of guests including some fairly recognizable webcomics folks, filkers, and Ben Bova.) OutsideCon 23 (Burns, Tennessee -- Montgomery Bell State Park. I probably mentioned it last year, but it bears repeating: this con is at a campground in a state park. There’s a hotel nearby on the park grounds. You’re at the mercy of the weather, but it’s a good relaxacon with great food.) LouisiANIME (Baton Rouge, Louisiana – Crowne Plaza Baton Rouge. Kent Williams, Leah Clark, Monica Rial, Troy Baker, Scott McNeil.) September 11-12: SPX (Bethesda, Maryland – Marriott Bethesda North. The Small Press Expo will focus on graphic novels and comics and feature an animation showcase. They will also present the Ignatz Awards.)

September 17-19: Con*Stellation (Huntsville, Alabama – Holiday Inn Express. Wen Spencer, Steve Jackson, Vincent DiFate, Warren Buff. I’ll be down in Huntsville for another Con*Stellation. Last time I went, I had a good time, so I was happy to be asked to come down this year. The programming looks light but interesting, and the con should provide a nice opportunity to hang out with the cool folks of Huntsville and environs.) Anime Weekend Atlanta (Atlanta, GA – Renaissance Waverly Hotel and Cobb Galleria Centre. Shinji Aramaki and a whole slate of voice actors and webcomics folks should make for a good time in Atlanta.) FenCon 7 (Addison, TX – Crowne Plaza North Dallas. Spider Robinson, Jeff & Maya Bohnhoff, Kevin Roche & Andy Trembley, John Picacio, Joe R. Lansdale, Dr. John N. Randall, Robert J. Sawyer, Jessica Wade. I had a blast at FenCon last year, and look forward to returning again next year when they host the 49 th DeepSouthCon. This con is young and vibrant, and very well run.) September 18-19: Mothman Festival (Downtown Point Pleasant, WV.)

September 23-25: Nostalgia Con (Hunt Valley, Maryland – Marriott Hotel. Lots of old time tv and film stars, but the big draw this year is Van Williams of Green Hornet fame, who hasn’t done a signing in fifteen years.) September 23-26: Hurricon (Orlando, Florida )

September 30-October 3: SIEGE (Atlanta, Georgia) October 1-3: Tsubasacon (Huntington, West Virginia) Archon 34 (St. Louis, Missouri ) GameCon (Memphis, Tennessee)

October 8-10: OddCon (Tampa, Florida) Ultimate Horror Weekend (Orlando, FL) EXPcon (St. Augustine, FL) October 9: JediCon VII (Wheeling, West Virginia)

October 15-17: FX International (Kissimmee, Florida)

October 22-23: Rising Star 19 (Bluefield, West Virginia) October 22-24: CharCon (Charleston, West Virginia) Capclave 10 (Washington, D.C.) Browncoat Ball (Charlotte, NC) Geek Media Expo (Nashville, Tennessee) Necronomicon (St. Petersburg, Florida) FAN:dom Florida (Pensacola, Florida)

October 29-31: Hurricane Who (Orlando, Florida) HallowCon (Chattanooga, Tennessee)

Oasis 23 con report By Joy V. Smith

This year we (my sister and I) got a ride with a friend to Oasis; it was at a new hotel in downtown Orlando.The hotel was great--with everything on one floor except for the con suite, but getting on and off I4 coming and going was harrowing! We couldn’t even get off at our exit going in and had to take the next one and wandered around lost and bewildered before getting directions at Burger King. Fortunately we weren’t far from the hotel, which was a relief to us all. Friends and family who’d accompanied us had a good time exploring at the con; one friend wondered what was going on in the gaming room. Role-playing games, I told her, but I’m not sure she was much enlightened. Later I picked up some gaming sheets to give her.

We got there early Friday (May 28) before the con registration opened so my sister and I registered at the hotel and put our luggage and tote bags full of freebies (to donate to the charity auction and the freebie tables) in our room. Then we registered at the con, and after the rest of our party left to brave the trek to I4 (they turned too early and got lost again), we brought down some of the freebies (fanzines, SF magagines, etc.) since it was too early for the charity auction (Andre Norton scholarship) donations to be dealt with.

Then we checked out the dealers room--they were still unpacking--and the art show. Great art though the lighting left something to be desired. (They had brought in extra lights.) We took the auction items down later and stowed them away. I didn’t catch any of the afternoon panels; and we decided to have supper in a hotel restaurant--Spectators, a sports bar, where we had Philly steak sandwiches--expensive, but very good.

At 7 pm we went to the opening ceremonies. It started late, as so often happens as everyone slowly gathers. Also, the guest writers, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, were surrounded by fans. They’re among my favorite writers, and I caught them later and admired Steve Miller’s tote bag, which has a quote from their Liaden universe books--the family motto: I Dare--with the appropriate tree and dragon graphic.

The other guests of honor were Richard C. Livingston, Artist GoH; Rob Balder, Filk GoH; and Michael Hinman, Fan GoH. (Livingston couldn’t be there because of work.) The ceremonies included awarding Juan Sanmiguel a chair con tee shirt, for doing such a great job as the convention chairman. And Susan Cole was awarded a registration tee shirt. (Juan accepted it for her since she was, naturally, still at the registration table.) Patricia Wheeler, club president, also received an appreciation gift.

After the ceremonies was the chili contest, a regular feature; some were definitely hot! There was a table full of water pitchers and glasses nearby--and some delicious brownies! The first panel I caught was at 8 pm--The favorite characters and books of panel authors: Ben Bova, Jack McDevitt, and Lee and Miller. Bova’s favorite character is Jamie Waterman in his Mars novels; Jamie is half Navajo and half Mayflower. (I love that description!) Bova went to New Mexico to pick up the atmosphere of Mars. Sharon Lee’s favorite character is Daav yos ‘Phelium. (A favorite of mine too--among many.) Steve Miller’s favorite is Kinzel in stories I haven’t read. (I plan to get them.) McDevitt’s favorite is Chaka Malana [not sure of spelling], who’s a character in one chapter of his novel, Eternity Road, a post-apocalyptic novel.

They discussed other characters, their writing, and their favorite novels. Interesting background; and another favorite character(s) of Lee’s is the Clutch turtles. (Oh, yes! Fantastic aliens!) Bova’s favorite novel (of his) is The Immortality Factor; McDevitt’s is Time Travelers Never Die; Lee’s is Barnburner (mystery); and Miller’s is Fledgling (a recent Liaden novel).

After that panel, which I really enjoyed, it was on to Alien Artifacts, where a group of “experts” in various fields examine--and disagree about--alien finds, which can be anything--including a little promotional silver top from the freebie table--or every day objects--or parts of them. Craig Caldwell was the moderator, and the panelists were Rob Balder, Michael Conrad, Lee, Miller, and Jeff Mitchell. Balder’s persona’s name was unpronounceable, and he was a construct because the real person was too busy to be there. Conrad’s character was his recent favorite, a redneck--whom he does very well. (I still miss his psychic personna though.)

There are disagreements among the experts and political and adult humor. All the panelists are witty, including the newcomers, who quickly got into the spirit of the panel. The top was variously identified as an energy storage device, a gambling device, money, a high tech bullet, and a moon crater digger. And the redneck said about another artifact--Put this in a Petrie dish, and it’ll grow into a Wall Street trader. One item was a substitute pet. A couple other fun comments were: I don’t think I’ve seen one of these ever; that’s how long it’s been. And If it ain’t broke, there’s no point in lending it any money. Afterwards we went to the con suite for a soda, and then back to our room.

Saturday morning we went to the early show in the video room to see Monsters vs. Aliens, which I hadn’t seen. And then The Middle Man, a cancelled TV show (one season), which I’d never heard of. (Thanks to Arthur Dykeman for the background.) It was fun and different. Someone in the audience compared it to Firefly, another good show that was cancelled before more people had a chance to see it. We thought about going to the breakfast buffet in the restaurant afterwards, but it was too expensive, so we went to the dealers room, where I bought a book of SF cartoons, and went back to the art show and voted for my favorite artwork.

At ll am, I went to the trivia contest, which is a lot like Jeopardy. My partner and I didn‘t do real well, but I still won some dealers bucks, which I spent later on more books. The winning team was impressive! After the contest, which is always a lot of fun, my sister and I went to the con suite for soda and snacks before going to the Lee and Miller panel at 1 pm. We caught the end of the Sexuality in Science Fiction panel Interesting ideas for relationships and romance. It’s not just naked babes and sales. Michael Conrad postulated a relationship between a merman and a pterodactyl woman, whose meetings were brief....

The Lee and Miller panel started late as the previous panel ran late, as they tend to. I enjoyed learning how they met and started writing together and their personal background. (Steve’s grandmother gave books as gifts; and his stepfather was a jock…) Afterwards we caught another The Middleman episode. (I've since ordered the DVD of the series from amazon.)

Then it was on to the charity auction where I had a chance to get my name into one of McDevitt’s books. Tempting, but expensive. There were also books and groups of books, magazines, a game, jewelry, prints, and two Ben Bova mss. Checked out the video room and watched parts of a couple old TV series (The Scarlet Pimpernel and Captain Midnight). And went to our room, checked out the freebie tables for new stuff, etc. before going to the masquerade. I visited with a vampire slayer before that. There was also a dessert buffet beforehand--a table full of marvelously delicious brownies and cookies! People wandered back and forth with blissful looks upon their faces.

The contestants and judges slowly gathered for the masquerade. The judges were Patricia Wheeler, Rob Balder, and Rob O’Brien, a Walt Disney costumer. The contestants included Terri Wells as a beginning mad scientist; Don Myers as Don of the Dead (earlier he had a chain saw through his back, but it got too heavy); the Grim Reaper (very impressive; he sure reminded me of DEATH in the Terry Pratchett books): Melissa, the vampire hunter; and more.

While waiting for the judges to return with their decisions, the chili contest winners were announced. The Fan’s Choice was Chili con Hombre and the Cthulhu (hottest) winner I didn’t catch. Now it was time for the winners of the masqerade contest:

#1 was Lonnie Johnson (I think); #2 was Melissa Sleeman, Vampire Hunter; and #3 was Don of the Dead, the zombie.

Then I caught the end of the zombie panel, which included werewolves at the end, while waiting for filking at 9 pm. Unfortunately there was a problem with the sound system. Apparently the filker was using recorded music instead of an instrument, and I was disappointed with the microphone quality also, and we left.

We got up early Sunday morning before anything opened or started, so we checked out the video room (Thanks, Arthur) and watched some of Green Lantern: First Flight. Later we went to the con suite for soda and a sandwich and then back to the video room to watch part of Up, which I‘ve been wanting to see again, but we had to register for next year‘s Oasis and check out of the hotel. (We left our bags at the desk.) We got back to the video room in time for the closing credits of Up. Drat. I bought a book from an author, who signed it; and then caught the end of the Romance in SF and Fantasy panel while waiting for the How to Sell Your Work panel. The panelists were Glenda and Tony Finkelstein, Chris Berman, Gary Roen, and C.L. (Cheryl) Wilson. They shared their stories as to how they first got published. Networking, joining a genre organization, going to cons and meeting people there all help. The Finkelsteins go to 12-15 cons a year to sell and network, and they‘re now working in films also. Some of the panelists first connected with the others at cons. Lots of interesting background.

After that panel we visited the con suite and the video room, where we saw parts of Rocket Robin Hood, a really old TV cartoon, which had been edited by Tom Reed with funny captions. I missed Fantastic Four to get to the next panel at 1 pm. Before that I caught the end of the Oil to Acrylic to Digital art panel, where they were excitedly discussing the use of computer programs… It’s just a tool!

I enjoyed the stories shared at the How to Make Sure Your Manuscript Gets Rejected panel. Panelists were Jaclyn Dolamore, Jack McDevitt (moderator), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, Gary Roen, and C.L. Wilson. Advice included: Don’t look unprofessional, Know your market and the requirements. Do they want a cover letter? A query? A partial? A synopsis? Help the editor!

That was the last panel for us. I wanted to see the new Dr. Who episodes (fresh from England), but our ride called just as the first episode (it was a two-parter) started. Pfui! But it was time to make our way to I4. Do we turn here? Here?! We finally made it to I4 and home though, and you know that I’m looking forward to next year!

The End

REVIEW OF VOYAGE TO ARCTURUS (1970) by Richard Dengrove

This DVD from Customfix is supposed to be an adaptation of the 1920 novel by David Lindsay, Voyage to Arcturus. Which is an artsy science fiction novel. Bill Holloway, who has made numerous documentaries since then, scripted and produced this movie on the most shoestring of budgets in 1970. How I came by it was from a friend. While I didn’t think he cared too much for it, he cared enough to send it to me for my opinion. I think Bill did well enough. He seems to have been able to use common sense and artsy techniques to cover up the fact that his actors couldn’t act and his sets were made for 25 cents. The acting and cinematography are serviceable. Therefore, I think we should go on to the meat of the matter: how good an adaptation it is. To do that, we first need to analyze Lindsay’s original 1920 novel. Of it, people complain it is a Chinese puzzle in a conundrum. I don’t find it so. That is because I always try to remember what was going on at the time. When I did, it was obvious Lindsay was answering the Bohemians of his era. There is a meditation on vegetarianism and nonviolence. There is a meditation on the Will to Power. While that was the idea that most obsessed the Nazis – who, in their way, were bohemians – it raised its head in America. There is a meditation on puritanism, which Bohemians have always violently opposed. In that meditation, Lindsay seems to include something on Crowleyism. Furthermore, there is a meditation on modern music. Lindsay identifies its dissonance with pain. There is a meditation on the sexes and romantic love. Always of interest to Bohemians. There is a meditation on asceticism. This, I am sure, comes from the Eastern religion which Bohemians are always interested in. What it all comes down to is a conclusion reviewers have associated with Gnosticism: flesh is evil but it makes possible the spirit, which is the only good possible. Here is what makes this science fiction. First of all, the action takes place on the planet of Arcturus, Tormance. That alone would make it science fiction even if all people did was sell insurance. However, it is more science fictiony than that. Not only does the plot bring home his ideas but the setting does too. Sometimes Lindsay tailors the very laws of nature to bring home his ideas. It goes beyond the size and shape of the organs on the forehead and stomach of everyone on Tormance. In a certain locale, male stones fall up to spite female stones that are more conventionally falling down. So how did Holloway adapt this novel to the screen. In all honesty, he edited the plot with a sledgehammer. While only the last scene radically actually differs from the book, his plot verges on being unrecognizable as Lindsay’s. As for Lindsay’s setting, it vanished from Holloway’s movie. There are no appendages on the stomach and forehead, and no locale that violates natural law anymore than any other. The effect of all these changes is to obliterate all of Lindsay’s ideas and the devices he uses to explain them. Holloway acts like the literary counterpart of an Aztec priest, because he has taken heart out of Lindsay’s novel. Not even the era Lindsay’s novel is set in remains the same. Except for the castle and seance at the beginning; there is no proof the movie isn’t set among the hippies of 1970 America. This is as opposed to Lindsay, whose characters reek of 1920 England. Thus, the movie is universes apart from the novel it pretends to adapt. Nonetheless, I still insist Holloway’s film remains an underground classic of its sort. To many people, it too seems like a MacBeth’s lament: all sound and fury symbolizing nothing. However, once again, I did a take on the society and culture of the time. A society and culture I remember well personally. It is, in its strange sort of way, an adaption of Lindsay’s novel to 1970. That it obliterates Lindsay’s ideas is in keeping with this. The ‘60s were not typified by ideas but feelings and experience, even when opposing the Vietnam War. This allows Holloway to show us the dark side of the Hippy world. In at least one respect, he delves far deeper than R. Crumb who branded the Hippy world as grifters and misfits. Holloway’s film also contends that the paragons of Hippyism were rotten to the core. The reason for this is not the unstated Hippy ideal of a world of couples. Nor is it, behind the grubbiness of ‘natural’ attire and ungroomed faces, the unstated ideal of beautiful people that makes this rottenness. Nor living “naturally,” without the modern technology or commercialization the Hippies railed against. That is not the source of the rottenness either. While Holloway portrays all these ideals, to insure he is dealing with paragons, none of them is the source of the rottenness. What is the source of the rottenness is the Hippy ideal of ‘doing your own thing.’ In short, acting on impulse. Far from bringing the much ballyhooed utopia of peace and love, ‘doing your own thing’ did in Holloway’s film what it often did in real life, i.e., hurt people. That seems the crux of the film. In regard to ‘doing your thing,’ it is a nice touch when Holloway puts a quirk of Lindsay’s to other purposes. When Lindsay finishes with an idea popular among the Bohemians, he kills the characters exemplifying it. In the bloodless, bloody fashion of the superintellectual, he is through with the idea; why not kill its messanger? Unlike Lindsay, Holloway is interested in real people; and the deaths in the film represent real deaths. People get hurt from others ‘doing their own thing.’ Holloway isn’t into excoriating Hippies totally. The end shows that. Ultimately, in the film as well as the novel, the character Nightspore looks out the windows of a mystical house on different floors. Instead of the spiritual world that the Nightspore of the novel finds – which, albeit, feeds off our pain – the Nightspore of the film finds that life is purposeless. This wasn’t as grim a conclusion as it would have been for an earlier generation. The Hippies could accept such things much better than they. Among the previous generation and the generation before that, people feared committing suicide if they found their world was purposeless However, Knightspore, in line with the Hippie-dom I remember, is only slightly sad. Thus, in two blockbuster aspects, the real consequences of ‘doing your thing’ and the purposelessness of life, Holloway’s view of the Hippies rings true. It was 50 years from Lindsay’s novel to Holloway’s movie. Since then, it has been 50 years. I am wondering whether the Voyage to Arcturus couldn’t be adapted to the present generation. Maybe the highbrow and the low- might come together as has been happening in the media and academia. However, I would hate to think of Voyage as a mindless action adventure where the two heroes Nightspore and Maskull accomplish impossible heroics. Slaying the dragons of Tormance rather than riding them. Maybe there could be more ideas. Maybe there could be more ideas than in Holloway’s work with a complement of emotion and feeling. The unformed homunculi of the Hippies’ ideas have since solidified. Among them are Green, Wiccan and American Buddhist. Of course, this is not a task for an old geezer like me. Only someone much younger would know how to adapt the Voyage to Arcturus to the generation of the auts and the ‘10s. .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Holloway, Bill, Voyage to Arcturus . DVD-R, Customfix, 2006.

King, Loren,“Bill Holloway,” Boston Globe , Nov. 24, 2002, N17.

Lindsay, David, A Voyage to Arcturus . Introduction by Loren Eisekey. New York: Ballantine Books, [1920] 1974.

Smith, Paul Jordan, The Road I Came.; some recollections and reflections concerning changes in American life and manners since 1890 . Caldwell, Idaho, Caxton Printers, 1960.

Webb, James, The Occult Establishment . La Salle, Il: Open Court,1976, Iv, 535p.

Websites as of 10/27/2009] http://tinyurl.com/ykwx9fn http://voyagetoarcturus.com/index.html

Rebel Yells News and Notes from All Over

I must apologize here, as this month, I haven’t had the time to write commentary. I’d rather give you a loc column without my responses, though, as several of you comment on each other.

Jeffrey Thompson: Hello, Warren! Thank you for another outstanding issue of the Update. I found the convention listings informative, and I really enjoyed your review of Darkship Thieves. Richard Dengrove's treatise on G. Pope's and E.R. Burroughs's Mars novels is excellent and should become a paper that he reads aloud at a popular-culture conference such as PCAS (Popular Culture Association in the South). My two cents about people's ages is that I consider people in their teens, twenties, and thirties young; people in their 40s, 50s, and 60s middle-aged; and people in their 70s, 80s, and 90s old. At 51, I still have plenty of middle-aged years left--but then, I am a fan-boy, so I am forever young! F.I.A.W.O.L. (Fandom Is A Way Of Life)!

Joy V. Smith: Warren,

What a cute Brad Foster cover! And don't apologize for being late. I'd have never noticed and am just grateful for the things that are behind me so I can focus on your zine. (Yes, a number of things are now on hold.) Thanks for the collection of con listings. I do hope to make it to Oasis this year, maybe. Btw, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller are the writer guests of honor there.

I enjoyed your review of Darkship Thieves. While I'm not so much a Heinlein fan, I learned a lot from your comparisons. And thanks to Richard Dengrove for his Gustavus Pope and Burroughs similarities and differences. Good look at the Victorian background.

I haven't read most of the Hugo fiction nominees, and, of course, I've got my favorites among the fan nominees, but there are so many deserving writers and artists! I appreciate everyone's thoughts on the possibilities. I remember the enthusiastic review of The Book of Swords. Re: movies: A friend loathed District 9 so I'm avoiding it, and I was disappointed in Star Trek (for screwing up the past story lines; otherwise I liked the cast and the movie).

I was glad to see Fledgling mentioned 'cause I'm a Liaden (Lee and Miller) fan, also Man-Kzin Wars XII (from the Baen listing). (I've reviewed them enthusiastically, and I have an article coming up on the Man-Kzin Wars anthologies in the summer issue of Tales of the Talisman.) There are at least two good stories in that anthology. And I've ordered Witch Way to the Mall. I should check out The City and The City on amazon.

And I loved Jennifer Liang's con article. I sure admire her enthusiasm and hard work. Way to go, girl!

Appreciatively, Joy V. Smith

Lloyd Penney: Dear Warren:

It's another quick loc on the newest SFC Update, Vol. 1, no. 15.With luck, something intelligent will arrive within this e-mailed loc...and if not, well, you can still partially fill a page. Take my best shot here...

I was going to say I haven't been to a con yet this year, but that's not quite true. Toronto now has a furrycon called Furnal Equinox; it was held just over a week ago, and I dropped off convention flyers. The usual fursuits, and tails attached to belt loops, but the stereotype of furrycons being nothing but overweight fanboys went right out the door. All kinds of people were there having a good time. However, my first con of the year will be up in about a month...Ad Astra 2010, the 29th in the series, and once again, we are on committee to help make the good times roll. We've been on the committee for 30 years now.

Now I know what Pyratecon is...I have friend living in Vancouver right now who plan to go to New Orleans for this event. They run the British Columbia Renaissance Faire, and are looking to build more contacts. Besides, they need a vacation.

Both Yvonne and I have voted in the Hugos...I am hoping to see some new names on the ballot, and in the winners' list, too. We've gotta spread the egoboo around somehow. I am afraid that another website will get its subscribers to vote the site onto the ballot for Best Fanzine, but we just need to mobilize the fanzine community to participate and nominate so this doesn't happen every year. And, bless your heart Warren...I came within a single nomination of getting on the ballot in Montreal, so I am hoping that one of the new names on the ballot will be mine. We should find out soon, once all the ballots are tabulated.

The locol...I see steampunk discussions everywhere online, including Facebook, LiveJournal, myriad lists and conventions, too. Hello, Joy...still at my job, still enjoying it, but it is a seasonal job. Takes about six months to get the job done, and it needs to be done once a year. If they don't keep me, I will ask to come back in the fall, and do this all over again. I think they like me enough to say yes. So I may be on the job hunt again in mid-April to beginning of May, but the current work schedule, as crazy as it has been, has been lucrative.

My loc...getting into steampunk has been fun, and the media coverage I've seen has been largely positive, even if it's only "Look at the strange people..." The costumes are fun, and based on my own 30 years of con running, there may be a new steampunk convention in the Toronto area, possibly Hamilton, sometime this year. They'll have to move fast to get organized. Haven't seen Avatar, but we did see Alice in wonderland in 3D this weekend. A visual treat.

I always liked time travel stories in my initial SF reading years, and still do, but there as the assumption that some time travel was ahead in time on our immutable time line, in spite of scientific teaching that time is simply a subjective impression of duration. SF stories treat it like a highway we're travelling, or in the case of multiple timelines, perhaps an infinite number of lanes of a highway, with a infinite potential of offramps every second.

I applaud anyone who wants to take on the task of chairing a convention, and new chairmen should be supported, and applauded further. I'd never heard of a specialty convention for the works of the late Robert Jordan, but specialty conventions seem to be everywhere. Starting with a business plan is very wise because running a convention is the most available fannish version of starting a small business. There's a lot to learn in doing that, and the skills you pick up are very useful in your business life, too. Communication is key, but hiding your discussions on FaceBook or Google Docs may exclude some of your committee. Committee e-mail lists are general enough that everyone can access them. Just my own experience here, in the age where you need more than a dozen passwords to get around in your everyday websurfing of your everyday sites.

Oops, ran out of zine. The deadline for Hugo voting just passed, as did the deadline for CUFF (Canadian Unity Fan Fund) voting. Aurora Award voting is now on, and I am an Aurora nominee, so I am hoping for some good news in May. Take care, see you with the next issue.

Yours, Lloyd Penney.

Steve & Sue Francis: The winner of the 2010 election for the DUFF representative is John Hertz of Los Angeles, . He will be attending Aussiecon 4 in September of 2010. We wish him well in his new duties as the DUFF administrator for the next two years.

We have attached a Word file containing the vote count breakdown. It required all 4 rounds of vote redistribution to determine the winner. Please feel free to publish these results. Steve and Sue Francis 2008-2010 DUFF administrators

Brad Strickland, with a fitting tribute to a fallen friend:

Sharon Webb died of cardiac disease on April 29, 2010--the sixth anniversary of her husband Bryan's passing. Born in 1933, Sharon was a nurse, a writer, and a good friend. Back in the 1980s she became the mentor of the late Tom Deitz, who was always proud to call himself her protege. Sharon read and critiqued several drafts of Tom's first book, Windmaster's Bane, which became the first of a long and successful series. Sharon was also more than kind to me: we were both publishing in the SF magazines at that time, often in the same issues, and her short stories, written with grace and deep feeling, were an inspiration to me. She introduced me to fandom and shepherded me through my first few conventions.

As a writer, Sharon did not have a huge output: many wonderful stories in the magazines and the anthologies (a number of them still uncollected), including the comic-SF tales that make up The Adventures of Terra Tarkington, which Sharon sometimes called "Nurses...in SP-A-A-AACE!" She also wrote the trilogy Earthsong, Earth Child, and Ram Song, a YA "triad" that was written delicately and yet with a driving sense of narrative--another inspiration. She also wrote near-future medical thrillers, including Pestis 18 and The Half Life. Sharon always called herself a "serial obsessive." She would become immersed in a pursuit, make of it as much as she thought she could, and then drop it for some new interest: kite making and flying, computer-generated music, fractal art...and, alas, writing. I wish she had perservered because her craft grew visibly and intriguingly from project to project.

A story that Sharon loved to tell on me: When she was working on the novel that became Pestis 18, my wife Barbara and I visited her in the beautiful mountain home she shared with her husband Bryan. A bunch of us crowded into her office, one wall of which was dominated by an enormous, hand-drawn map of an island. Colored push-pins studded the map: black ones for terrorists, white ones for the protagonists, yellow ones for captives, red ones for victims, and so on; each pin had an attached label with a chracter name. Sharon explained that the plot sprawled so much, with so many complex moments, that she used this map to keep track of all her characters. As she started to tell us about the plot, I sat down on the floor--and jumped up with a howl.

As Sharon always said, I had made the mistake of sitting on a terrorist.

Sharon's daughter, Wendy Webb, is a good friend of mine and a fellow writer (and editor). She was with Sharon at the time of her death in Blairsville, Georgia, and reports that Sharon's passing was peaceful. Afterwards her body was cremated, the ashes mingled with those of her husband Bryan, and they were scattered on the face of a lovely mountain river that she had always loved. I'll remember Sharon for many kind deeds and words and for her sense of humor. The two of us once wrote a simple computer program that would string random words and phrases together to produce titles for prospective SF novels. I'll always regret that we never did carry out our threat of writing some of these: "Lust Maidens of the Slime Planet," "The Case of the Robotic Plumber," or "I Have No Ass and I Must Wallpaper the Apartment." There was a winner in there, somewhere. Farewell, Sharon. We will miss you.

--Brad Strickland

Mike Kennedy with more bad news:

www.jamesphogan.com has posted a brief statement (see below) announcing the death of author James P. Hogan.

James P. Hogan died suddenly on July 12, 2010. He was alone at his home in Ireland at the time. The exact cause of death has not yet been determined. Jim is survived by his wife, Sheryl, and his six children.

(s) Mike Kennedy

A note from the Hazardous Players:

Hello SFC,

Below is information and a link to our story Knighttime, a humor-fantasy- adventure. We have also included a link to our interview at Finding Wonderland, a site about YA literature, it gives a bit more information about the project. If you have the opportunity to take a look at our project we would be very interested to hear what your group thinks of our site and story.

Thank you, The Hazardous Players

The Hazardous Players Presents KNIGHTTIME The ongoing tale of Sir Cottington and Sir Bratwurst, our less than brave heros.

Over the past six months we have introduced the world to good Sirs Cottington and Bratwurst along with the many other eccentric citizens of Udenland. The site has expanded with multiple episodes of the current Knighttime tale, The Secret of Donotalado. Each episode is accompanied with artwork to help illustrate the bumbling antics of our anxious knights. Plus we have compiled many more entries to those all important books for survival in Udenland, The Henchwoods Guides to Magical Plants and Creatures. Each entry details crucial information about the flora and fauna of Udenland and the dangers it may present.

Since we first introduce Knighttime our audience has grown in size and appreciation. A few had some kind words to say on our behalf, here are some highlights: http://www.candlelightstories.com/2010/02/05/hazardous-players-tell-tales-of- hilarious-chivalry/ http://www.specusphere.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=vie w&id=949&Itemid=31

Plus we were fortunate to be interviewed by the young adult literature website Finding Wonderland for their summer blog blast: http://writingya.blogspot.com/2010/05/summer-blog-blast-tour-presents.html

We thank everyone for their kind words and support, and we hope that you will join us and spread the word. Please visit us at:

www.hazardousplayers.com

Thank you, The Hazardous Players

One from the Speculative Literature Foundation:

SPECULATIVE LITERATURE FOUNDATION ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR THE GULLIVER TRAVEL GRANT

For Immediate Release: July 22, 2010

The Speculative Literature Foundation (SLF) is accepting proposals for the Gulliver Travel Research Grant from July 1st 2010 until September 30th 2010.

SLF travel grants are awarded to assist writers of speculative fiction (poetry, drama, creative nonfiction) in their research. They are not currently available for academic research. We are currently offering one $800 travel grant annually, to be used to cover airfare, lodging, and/or other travel expenses.

PLEASE NOTE: This grant, as with all SLF grants, is intended to help writers working with speculative literature. If you're not sure what areas that term encompasses, we recommend referencing our FAQ (question #2) on the web site.

Travel Grant Application Procedures

Send the following three items to [email protected] as attached .doc or .rtf files in one e-mail:

1. A writing sample in the proposed genre (up to 10 pages of poetry, 10 pages of drama, or 5000 words of fiction or creative nonfiction)

2. A bibliography of previously-published work by the author (no more than one page, typed); applicants need not have previous publications to apply

3. A one-page written description of the project in question (maximum 500 words). Please include: Where you intend to visit (be as specific as you can), when you intend to travel (including the completion date), and what you will gain from field rather than desk research via a library or the internet

If awarded the grant, the recipient agrees to write a brief report of their research experience (500-1000 words) for our files, and for possible public dissemination on our website.

Travel may take place from any country to any country, or internally within a country; the grants are unrestricted. Funds will be disbursed in U.S. currency (but can be sent through PayPal if that is more convenient for international recipients).

The grant recipient will be announced by October 15th. All applicants will be notified of the status of their application by that date.

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The Speculative Literature Foundation is a volunteer-run, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the interests of readers, writers, editors and publishers in the speculative literature community.

"Speculative literature" is a catch-all term meant to inclusively span the breadth of fantastic literature, encompassing literature ranging from hard and soft science fiction to epic fantasy to ghost stories to folk and fairy tales to slipstream to magical realism to modern mythmaking–any literature containing a fabulist or speculative element.

More information about the Speculative Literature Foundation is available from its web site: http://www.speclit.org/

To be removed from the Speculative Literature Foundation press release mailing list please write to [email protected]

SPECULATIVE LITERATURE FOUNDATION PO Box 1693 Dubuque, IA 52004-1693 http://www.speclit.org

WAHF: Mariann Steele, Tera Fulbright, Arnie Katz, Hope Evey, Regina Kirby, Tom Feller, Ron McClung (whose note on the then-upcoming DSC was unfortunately not run in time), Jerry Ward, and Robert Hilliard.

CONFESSIONS OF A SCREAM QUEEN A Book Review by Jeff Thompson

What fan of science-fiction, fantasy, and horror cinema would not want to have a conversation with Karen Black, Coleen Gray, Ingrid Pitt, or Dee Wallace Stone? Writer/broadcaster Matt Beckoff, host of the Internet radio program The Beckoff Show, gives fans that very chance through his new Bear Manor book Confessions of a Scream Queen. The 260-page book features 15 recent, in-depth interviews with genre actresses. Beckoff proves to be a capable interviewer as he asks pertinent questions that garner fascinating answers from the interviewees. Each actress’s personality and style shine through her interview, and Beckoff’s conversation with each scream queen is almost like having a private audience with her—or certainly like attending a top-notch question-and- answer session at a film-fan convention. Confessions of a Scream Queen begins with delightful interviews with two 100- year-old women who made their most distinctive marks in 1931. Carla Laemmle ( The Phantom of the Opera, Dracula ) recites her famous line that begins Tod Browning’s Dracula, and she recalls growing up on the Universal Studios backlot and dancing in Rupert Julian’s Phantom film starring Sr. Laemmle, who recently revisited Universal Studios and the preserved Phantom soundstage 28, remarks, “It’s all very different except stage 28; that’s almost like a sacred place. They won’t change that. It will be there forever unless an earthquake comes and breaks it down.” Lupita Tovar (The Cat Creeps, Dracula ) discusses her starring role as Eva in George Melford’s Spanish-language Dracula, her acquaintance with , and the later cinematic accomplishments of her family members—everything from Imitation of Life and The White Buffalo to the American Pie movies and the Twilight film saga. Child actress Janet Ann Gallow ( The Ghost of Frankenstein, Canyon Passage ) explains that she got the role of Cloestine in The Ghost of Frankenstein because she was the girl “who would not be afraid of Lon Chaney [Jr.] with his Frankenstein-monster make-up on. I went there and was able to get the part. I couldn’t read at the time because I was only five. My mother and I would go over the script together.” Elena Verdugo (House of Frankenstein; Marcus Welby, M.D. ) shares her memories of the Universal horror stars and proudly declares that because of her Emmy Award-nominated role of Nurse Consuelo Lopez on Marcus Welby, “Many people have told me that I inspired them to become nurses. It’s wonderful.” Coleen Gray ( Nightmare Alley, Days of Our Lives ) discusses her work in Westerns ( Red River ), horror ( The Vampire ), and film noir (The Killing ) but points out that “the term film noir had not been invented at that time.” The then-current term for movies such as Kiss of Death was “semi-documentary.” Kathleen Hughes ( It Came from Outer Space, Cult of the Cobra ) reveals that she was “Miss 3-D of 1953.” She explains, “I was so three-dimensional that Universal wanted to test the 3-D cameras on me!” Judith O’Dea ( Night of the Living Dead, The Pirate ) admits that getting the role of the dazed victim Barbra in the 1968 zombie classic “changed my life.” She explains that she had input into how she would play her role. Karen Black ( Trilogy of Terror, Burnt Offerings ) discusses her accomplishments in music, theatre, film, and television and her candid assessments of Robert Altman, Dan Curtis, Bette Davis, Elliot Gould, Eileen Heckart, Alfred Hitchcock, Dennis Hopper, Burgess Meredith, Oliver Reed, and Rob Zombie. Ingrid Pitt ( The House That Dripped Blood, The Wicker Man ) fondly recalls her vampire roles, such as Countess Dracula, but admits that her favorite of her films is “ War and Peace (the Russian Bondarchuk Edition).” Pitt wisely observes, “What I can never understand is why producers want to remake highly successful iconic films [like The Wicker Man ]. Why don’t they pick out some of the great scripts that have been turned into duff films and remake them better ?” Jessica Harper ( Suspiria, Shock Treatment ) reveals which 1970s music superstar she “beat out” for the role of Phoenix in Phantom of the Paradise. She also remembers that her Suspiria co-star Joan Bennett “was a real ‘movie star’ in the best sense. She was professional, uncomplaining, punctual, etc. I loved working with her.” Betsy Palmer (Friday the 13 th , Knots Landing ) explains how she originally agreed to star in Friday the 13 th because she needed the money to buy a new car! However, once she took on the outlandish role of Mrs. Voorhees, she “started to think about who she was as a person and what her background must have been to make her do these terrible things. I made up this story.” Palmer’s recitation of her character’s detailed back-story prompts interviewer Beckoff to marvel, “They should make that into a prequel to Friday the 13 th . That’s a great story.” Dee Wallace ( The Howling, Cujo ) speaks very highly of her 10 director Blake Edwards and her Howling director Joe Dante. She also details the rough conditions under which she and her castmates made The Hills Have Eyes and Cujo. Pamela Jayne “P.J.” Soles ( Carrie, Halloween ) recalls the year that she spent on the CBS daytime serial Love Is a Many Splendored Thing (“that was valuable for my training; [it] helped me learn about cameras and blocking”) and the time that a dangerous stunt on one of her movies resulted in the puncturing of her eardrum. She also names the person to whom she gave her original, annotated Halloween script as a very special birthday present. Adrienne Barbeau (Creepshow, General Hospital ) speaks very fondly of Beatrice Arthur and their years together as daughter and mother on the CBS situation comedy Maude. Barbeau also discusses her personal and professional relationship with John Carpenter and her fans’ devotion to her and Carpenter’s horror classic The Fog. “It has had such a long life,” she says, “and I still have people come up to me all the time saying, ‘I watch that movie once a month.’” The lengthiest of the 15 interviews—and one of Matt Beckoff’s three personal favorites in the book—is with Marilyn Burns of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Helter Skelter. Burns explains how she was supposed to play a part in a Sidney Lumet movie being filmed in Texas but was bumped to stand-in in favor of a young actress named Susan Sarandon. Nevertheless, her work as a stand-in on the set was noticed by Kim Henkel and Tobe Hooper, who were preparing The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Burns admits that watching Hooper’s film still scares her even though she is in it and knows what is coming! She also reveals how her real-life sprained ankle caused the ending of the film to change. Marilyn Burns confesses, “I always considered myself a Shakespearean actress. I knew all the classics. I studied the treasures of the theatre. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be known for horror. But I am proud of it. It just wasn’t the plan.” With revelations like these, readers will come away from Confessions of a Scream Queen with the feeling that they have gotten to know these 15 actresses personally. Adding to the book’s appeal is the collection of more than 60 fascinating photographs, including striking then-and-now pictures of these timelessly beautiful women. Other notable photographs include ones of Lupita Tovar in the Mexican film Santa , Karen Black (in her big hat) with Alfred Hitchcock on the set of Family Plot, Kathleen Hughes with Frank Sinatra, Jessica Harper versus a bat in Suspiria, and Dee Wallace with her 10 co-star Dudley Moore. Matt Beckoff has successfully illuminated the lives and careers of 15 genre greats through the interviews in this book. He even interviewed Jason’s lethal mother Mrs. Voorhees (Betsy Palmer) on Mother’s Day 2009!

Dr. Jeff Thompson is the author of The Television Horrors of Dan Curtis: Dark Shadows, The Night Stalker, and Other Productions, 1966-2006 (McFarland, 2009) and House of Dan Curtis: The Television Mysteries of the Dark Shadows Auteur (Westview, 2010). He teaches English at Tennessee State University and Watkins College of Art, Design, & Film in Nashville. Dr. Thompson, along with Dark Shadows scream queen Marie Wallace, was a guest on The Beckoff Show on Sunday 11 April 2010.