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Askance #40 – Tenth Anniversary Issue

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Askance #40 – Tenth Anniversary Issue ASKANCE #40 – TENTH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE APRIL 2017 VOLUME X, number 1 Edited and published by John Purcell, 3744 Marielene Circle, College Station, TX 77845-3926 USA This time, proofreading services are probably not being rendered by Katrina Templeton. Contents © 2017 by John A. Purcell. Contact information: [email protected] Even so, all rights revert to original artists and authors upon publication. Disclaimers are a dirty business, but are always included. You understand. I know you do. What you have here in your hands (or on screen) is another Mythical Publication. Copies of this fine, back on a quarterly schedule fanzine can be had for The Usual, which means expressed interest, submission and eventual inclusion of articles and artwork, letters of comment, expressed interest, and cold hard cash in the amount of $3.00 USD. Bribes are also accepted. Of course, if you send in locs, articles, and artwork, you just earned a life-time free subscription. Consider yourself lucky, indeed. contents Editorial Natterings……………………………………………………………..3 Self-Reflection on a Decade of Issues……………………………………6 10 Select Articles - Club Egg, by James Bacon………………………………………………….…8 The Rocky Road to Fandom, by Lee Lavell…………………………..15 What a Piece of Work is a Fan, by Claire Brialey…………………19 An Odyssey Galactic, by Gregory Benford…………………………..28 Claire de Loon, by Taral Wayne…………………………………………..40 Two Gentlemen from Arkansas, by Arnie Katz…………………...45 Wikiphilia: the Fried Encyclopedia, by Bill Fischer………….……50 Long Ago and Far Rockaway, by George Kenneth Berger.….60 Fun-eral Music, by Walt Wentz…………………………………………..62 1962 All Over Again, by Earl Kemp……………………………………..64 From the Hinterlands – letters from readers…………………..….72 What’s Next ……………………………………………………………………..…80 10 Select Covers – a Portfolio Brad Foster (#1) Marc Schirmeister & Taral Wayne (#11) Kyle Hinton (#6) Ross Chamberlain (#16) Taral Wayne (#9 & #17) Alan White (#22 & #38) Steve Stiles (#10) Greg Rieves (#26) Figby by Bill Fischer - pages 57-59; Chat, the 4th Fannish Ghod & The Stars Talk Hugos by Teddy Harvia – 61, 71. Art Credits for this issue From cover by Brad Foster Sheryl Birkhead – 2; A. B. Kynock – 5, 7; Al Sirois – 19, 25 ; Robert W. Sirignano - 22; Steve Stiles – 28; Taral Wayne 62, 63; Atom (Arthur Thomson) – 64; Bill Rotsler – 68. Member: FWA (since 2007!) 2 ASKANCE #40 – TENTH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE Editorial Natterings Through Fannish Generations Or so multi-Hugo Award winning Fan Artist Brad Foster labeled the front cover of this issue of Askance. When I start thinking about the phrase “fannish generations” I am reminded of all the people who have passed through the doors of science fiction fandom. As an entity, fandom has existed for approximate 87 years now, if one considers the publication of Comet in 1930 as the first truly science fiction-related fanzine. Then keeping that figure in mind, my time as an active fan is half of that: 44 years. That is nothing compared to some folks that I have known over those years: Ted White, for example, I have met a few times at various conventions, and he has been involved with this madhouse since something like 1951, three years before I was born. The late David Kyle goes back to the beginning of organized fandom in the mid-1930s, so his fannish career spanned a whopping 80 years! Closer to my age group and origins, the people who began Minn- stf (the Minnesota Science Fiction Society, Inc.) in the late 1960s have fifty years of fan activity under their belts (Frank Stodolka, Fred Levy-Haskell, Don Blyly, etc.), and some of them are still active, even if they have slowed down a titch. And friends like Matthew B. Tepper, Guy H. Lillian III, and many others started out at the tail end of the Sixties, too, so my mere four decade run looks puny by comparison. But then I realize that we stand upon the shoulders of the jiants that created science fiction fandom. There is no question in my mind that my life has been blessed by knowing and interacting with so many wonderful, intelligent, and talented people for so long. This SF Fandom thing is worth the effort because of them, and this issue is a direct result of their continued friendships and inspiration. To all of the fans – be they fanzine, club, convention, apa, or whatever interest – who have come before, I dedicate this tenth anniversary issue of Askance in their honor. Through the Years That rambling preamble brings me to the contents of this issue. When one stops and thinks about it, sticking with producing a fanzine – or any kind of an amateur publication – is proof that one is either in love with what he or she is doing, or simply has lost their mind. It is probably a mixture of the two. Of that, I am convinced. Years ago a Canadian faan named Mike Glicksohn stated a dictum that accurately described what I believe is the essential nature of why a fan remains in fandom. Known by the catchy abbreviation of IF³, Glicksohn’s dictum is “If Fandom Isn’t Fun, It’s Futile.” Mike was spot on with this truism. It even seems a bit on the cliché side, but most distillations of the human experience into a single catch-phrase are like that: “Today is the first day of the rest of your life” (well, no shit, Sherlock. What was your first clue?); “I am vitally interested in the future because that’s where I will spend the rest of my life” (uh, again – duh!); 3 ASKANCE #40 – TENTH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE “Love means never having to say you’re sorry” (such a stupid sentiment. Seriously?); “Don’t dream it, be it” (Okay, this is from Rocky Horror Picture Show, so maybe this one doesn’t belong here, but you get the idea). What it all boils down to is a brown sludge on the bottom of the pan is that Mike, a good friend whom I miss terribly, was absolutely right. Fandom is supposed to be fun, and once you start taking it too seriously, then you might as well close up shop, cover your mimeograph, then slink away into the night and don’t look back. The only person to blame for placing too much emphasis on science fiction fandom in your life is yourself. Thirty-some odd – and boy, I really mean “odd,” but that’s definitely another fan article subject – years ago I recognized that for me that FIAWOL (Fandom Is A Way Of Life) wasn’t really how I felt about it. For me, someone with a family and career, plus numerous other outside interests, the acronym that fits me is FIJAGH (Fandom Is Just A Goddamned Hobby). In truth, I soften that “G” word these days to “Goldurned” because I don’t feel that vehemently about it, but the meaning is true because I am definitely having fun with what I do in fandom. I produce fanzines because I enjoy writing and the creative aspect of putting together a fanzine; it’s a pleasant challenge, like assembling jig-saw puzzles. Sometimes when I attend conventions I volunteer to work on them (as a gopher, panelist, help out at my wife’s craft/art table, or whatever) because I want to be a part of the convention-running process. You also meet a lot of delightful people this way, too. Yeah, Mike is still right. Fandom to me is still a lot of fun, so I’m not done yet. You guys are going to have to put up with me for quite a while. Be afraid. Be Very Afraid. That little paragraph provides the much needed segue into the next sub-section of “Editorial Natterings”: The TAFF 2017 race is finally over! And thank great Ghu and Roscoe it is. As practically everybody now knows, I eked out a victory – by one stinking, rotten vote, people – over Alissa McKersie and Sarah Gulde in this year’s race to see who gets to attend WorldCon 75 in Helsinki, Finland on August 9th – 13th, 2017. By the time this issue sees publication on efanzines.com, we will have purchased our airplane tickets and a basic trip itinerary planned. Stay tuned for further developments as Valerie and I finalize exactly where we will be and when. In the meantime, thanks go to everyone who supported me this year. On April 18th, this is what I wrote on my Facebook page: Man, what a trip these last 18 hours have been! I am finally starting to come down from the rush of geting the wonderful news last night that I barely won this year's Trans- Atlantic Fan Fund race to attend the 2017 World Science Fiction Convention in Helsinki, Finland. It really is hard to believe. From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank everybody for their support of TAFF. To my nominators - Lloyd and Yvonne Penney, Jacqueline Monahan, and David Thayer (North America); Jim Mowatt and Ro Nagey (Europe) - my deepest gratitude for your 4 ASKANCE #40 – TENTH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE willingness to back this effort. I owe each of you at least a drink and a dinner. (White Castle does ship internationally, you know.) To Alissa McKersie and Sarah Gulde, my co-candidates this year, I thank you two for running a fun campaign and wish you both all the best of luck in the world in whatever you strive to achieve. I look forward to meeting each of you at some point in the future… Thank you, folks. There. That should do it for now. In the next issue (early July?) or the next Askew (end of May, early June) said trip itinerary should be listed – subject to change, of course.
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