Lambda Sci-Fi DC Area Gaylaxians (202) 232-3141 – Issue # 371 – February 2021 E-MAIL: [email protected]

WEBSITE: www.lambdascifi.org

 The LSF Book  Discussion Group

If you’re interested in lively dis- cussions of F&SF books (with an em- phasis on elements of interest to the LGBT ConFABulous YouTube community), we invite you to join the LSF Videos Book Discussion Group. Each month, we info passed along by conduct fascinating round-table discussi- Don Kaiser and Carl ons of works by significant F&SF authors. Before the COVID-19 shut-down Back on Oct. 10, 2020, North orders, the LSF Book Discussion Group Country Gaylaxians hosted a one-day vir- usually met on the 4th Thursday of every Happy tual ConFABulous. Don Kaiser, the con month, starting at 7:00 PM, at Peter & chair, has shared a link to YouTube re- Rob’s home: 1425 “S” St., NW – for cordings of the event. There’s a really directions or more details, call 202-483- Year of the Ox cool short introductory music video and 6369. Now, book discussions are held recordings of six discussion panels. Use virtually (same “4th Thursday” schedule). the following link to check ‘em out: The next book discussion will be held on to everyone at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn February 25 (via Zoom). Qg0p8NZYbCELhAHcoYNBg

Here are the details for the next Lambda Sci-Fi several discussions: Feb. 25, 2021 – The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel (moderator: Zena). March 25, 2021 – Enter the Aardvark by Jessica Anthony (mod: Konrad). April 22, 2021 – They Both Die at the End, by Adam Silvera (mod: Ben/Rob?). 

<< February 2021 LSF Meeting TO BE HELD VIRTUALLY >> What’s Inside?

Due to Coronavirus concerns, we plan to hold the February 14th LSF meeting virtually. Page 2: Dancing Robots from Boston Dy- Anyone who would like to participate can contact Rob for virtual meeting information namics; Minutes of the Jan. LSF Meeting. at [email protected] . Hope to “see” you there! Page 3: 2020 Genre Mini Movie Re- views; Arecibo Telescope Collapse. Page 4: Information About LSF & Con      Calendar; Mass Market Best Sellers; Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn.

Dancing Robots from Minutes of the to see the character Gray in addition to Boston Dynamics January LSF Meeting Adira. David admires Admiral Vance info passed along by Carl taken by Scott actor Oded Fehr. Rob commented on the return of capitalism in the Discovery The meeting kicked off with a future, at least as presented by Osira. lively discussion about H.P. Lovecraft’s Wayne described the BBC’s The Watch, extreme racist positions that appear in based upon Terry Pratchett’s “Disc- many of his stories (for example: “The World” books; Pratchett’s daughter Horror at Red Hook”). He was exception- disavows the movie. Wayne likes the ally racist in comparison to the “regular- StarTrek Continues series. Peter did not old racism” of Edgar Rice Burroughs. Did care for the latest Dr. Who Christmas you know that Lovecraft maintained a cor- Special. (The next companion has been

respondence relationship with Robert E. identified.) Back in the October 2019 issue Howard, author of the “Conan” titles? of the newsletter, I first passed along There was a sidebar discussion Film News information about the incredible robots on the proper pronunciation of “Uranus”. Peter liked The Dead Don’t developed by Boston Dynamics. The ar- Die, with Tilda Swinson as an alien. He ticle included links to videos of “Atlas” also spoke unenthusiastically about demonstrating amazing gymnastic skills Midnight Sky, with George Cloo- based on a combination of multi-part ney. Peter and Rob enjoyed Wonder agility and complex programming. Now, Woman 84 and loved Pixar’s Soul. Bob the robots are back and displaying even liked that all of the souls in Soul were the more impressive moves! same. Jim W. liked NetFlix’s Jingle On December 29th, Boston Dy- Jangle (steampunk with magic). Bob namics posted a video of its robots – watched Wandering Earth but felt the Atlas (humanoid), Spot (dog-like), and continuity was weak; Jim said that the

Handle (wheeled) – dancing to the classic visuals were stunning. NetFlix was de- Contours hit song “Do You Love Me”. Rob reminded everyone about the veloping a movie version of The Three The video description says: “Our whole LSF book discussion on Thursday (Jan. Body Problem; but news reports indicate crew got together to celebrate the start of 28); the discussion will center on by there has been a suspected murder at- what we hope will be a happier year: Madeline Miller. tempt on one of the executive direc- Happy New Year from all of us at Boston tors. The next “James Bond” film might Dynamics.” Very impressive moves, TV News get pushed back from April 2020. Black says I. New CW genre shows: Trickster Widow is slated for release in May. When not demonstrating their (from Canada); Batwoman with a new David likes the actor Kristoffer ability to perform complex dance moves, actor playing the superhero; Riverdale; Polaha, who was identified in the credits these robots can also climb rough terrain, Nancy Drew; Legacies; Charmed (re- of WW84 as “Handsome Man.” It was navigate through complex obstacle cour- turns); Black Lighting; and Lois noted that one scene inside the Metrorail ses, help doctors, and remind humans to (new show); no premiere date for Super- station showed a Metro map that in- maintain social distancing in public girl. On Disney Plus: WandaVision, Fal- cluded the Silver Line, which did not parks. In previous videos, Atlas demon- con and the Winter Soldier, Loki. (In the exist in 1984. movie #3 strated its ability to perform jumps, comics, Loki has been both genders.) On will occur in the current time period. twists, somersaults, and handstands. Starz: American Gods returns tonight – Jim reminisced about the 1970 Handle is best known for its ability to note that Bilquis is a character whose va- film Colossus: The Forbin Project. He load boxes (weighing up to 30 pounds) gina eats people; and Marilyn Manson, is not eager to watch Matrix IV. Peter onto pallets in warehouses. Spot has Blythe Danner, and Julia Sweeney will enthusiastically promoted the documen- shown that it can open doors, herd sheep, have guest appearances in Season 3. Ama- tary Chesley Bonestell: A Brush With the and carry heavy loads. zon’s Expanse Season 5 is much better Future.  The new video is certainly en- than Season 4. The latest season of The tertaining, but it also demonstrates their Mandalorian just ended. On SyFy: Alan incredible capabilities. (And, inciden- Tudyk stars in the new series Resident tally, the programming behind all those Alien, in which he plays a doctor in small- moves must be mind-boggling!) Here’s town Colorado – and is an actual alien. a link to the 3-minute YouTube video: The DC streaming service is gone; and the https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fn3 media content has moved over to HBO KWM1kuAw&feature=youtu.be Max. Star Trek: Discovery just com-

 pleted Season 3. Rumor has it that in the Saturn Viewed from Titan  next season other characters may be able by Chesley Bonestell

2020 Genre Mini Movie Arecibo Telescope Collapse Reviews info passed along by Carl by Peter Knapp On December 1, 2020, the Are- This was a strange year for mo- cibo Observatory suffered a catastrophic vies. I saw two in movie theaters (before structural collapse; and the receiver plat- the COVID-19 shut-downs) and the rest form crashed down into the reflector dish, on TV streaming services, either because collapsing the telescope. The observa- they were intended for streaming services tory’s radio telescope, LIDAR facility, or the pandemic forced the studios to re- and visitor’s center are all expected to lease them via streaming services. remain operational, following an assess- OKAY ment of the damage caused by the main Bill and Ted Face the Music – telescope’s collapse. Dude, what’s the point of a third chapter Arecibo Observatory – aka the of Bill and Ted stumbling through life? National Astronomy and Ionosphere Cen- Their wives plucked from the Middle ter (NAIC) is located in Arecibo, Puerto Ages were more interesting. Rico, and is owned by the US National Mulan – This live-action ver- Science Foundation (NSF). The structure

sion was not a musical and had no Mu- was completed in 1963 and was (for about My absolute favorite movie of shu. ☹ Unlike the original animated half a century) the world’s largest single- the year was Pixar’s Soul, the story that version, where Mulan struggled to be- aperture telescope. follows a middle school music teacher come a warrior, the live-action Mulan was The observatory’s main instru- who accidently dies just before his big a closeted superhero who was guided by a ment was its large radio telescope, a break as a jazz musician. He refuses to go witch throughout the movie on how to 1,000-foot circular concave reflector dish to the afterlife and ends up in the “before- defeat the villain. Yawn. built into a natural karst sinkhole, with a life,” an amazing place of discovery run New Mutants – It was better cable-mounted steerable receiver and sev- by soul counselors—all named Jerry— than I thought it was going to be. The les- eral radar transmitters for emitting signals who prepare unborn souls for life on bian love story was nice, but the movie mounted almost 500 feet above the dish. Earth. The movie ponders the meaning of paled against the source comic book Two cable breaks – one in Aug- life, what spark drives people, and what is series I read as a kid. ust 2020 and the second in November a person’s purpose. It’s probably the most The Midnight Sky – Why re- 2020 – threatened the structural integrity adult Pixar movie I’ve ever seen. The lease such a pessimistic movie on Christ- of the support structure for the suspended animation in the “before-life” is just stun- mas Eve? I had trouble empathizing with receiver platform and damaged the dish. ning and reminds me of a mashup of the characters, and the story was very For safety reasons, the NSF determined Alexander Calder wire sculptures and predictable. that it would be safer to decommission the Picasso paintings. Jazz also plays a huge telescope rather than try to repair it. Be- role in the movie. The combination of FORGETTABLE fore a controlled demolition could be great story telling, beautiful visuals, and a Artemis Foul – Rob had to re- carried out, the remaining support cables great soundtrack make this movie a must mind me that I watched this movie earlier from one tower failed on December 1st see! this year. It left that little of an impression and caused the receiver platform to fall Here are the movies I saw and my on me. into the dish. reactions. Bloodshot – With Marvel churn- If you’re a James Bond fan, you ing out great superhero movies in the have seen the simulated destruction of the GREAT MCU, Vin Diesel didn’t stand a chance in Arecibo Observatory in the film Gol- Soul – A+ (See above.) this corny comic book adaptation. denEye (1995, starring Pierce Brosnan as Tenet – Christopher Nolan is James Bond). There are a number of In- FUN one of my favorite directors, but he failed ternet sites where you can watch the Birds of Prey – DC did a great me in this muddled mess of a movie that actual collapse (based on footage cap- job making a fun, oh-so-politically-in- spent too much time being “clever.” tured by observatory security cameras). correct superhero movie. When a scientist explaining “time inver- Here are a couple of them: sion” tells the protagonist not to think Onward – Pixar again yanked on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssHk about the way “time inversion” works, I my heart strings as two teen-age elf bro- MWcGat4 thers try to spend one more day with their knew the movie wasn’t going to make dead dad. (The dead dad is funny, not sense. https://www.cnn.com/videos/travel/2020/ gross.) Underwater – A predictable un- 12/03/arecibo-puerto-rico-telescope- – DC did derwater-base-under-siege-from-a-mon- collapse-orig-dp.cnn/video/playlists/top- a great job making a fun, oh-so-80’s su- ster movie.  news-videos/ perhero movie. 

* * INFORMATION ABOUT LAMBDA SCI-FI: DC AREA GAYLAXIANS * *

Lambda Sci-Fi: DC Area Gaylaxians (LSF) is an organization for gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, and trans-gendered (GLBT) people, and their friends who are interested in science fiction, fantasy, horror and related genres in all forms (SF/F/H). LSF’s primary goals are to have fun, to provide a community, and to: • promote SF/F/H, with particular attention to materials of interest to GLBT people and their friends; • provide forums for GLBT people and their friends to share their interest in SF/F/H; • promote the presence of GLBT elements within SF/F/H and within fandom; and • promote SF/F/H within the GLBT community. Annual membership fees are $10, for which you will receive an e-mailed copy of this monthly newsletter and a membership directory. Newsletter submissions are always welcome. Meetings are usually held on the second Sunday of each month at a private residence. Due to Coronavirus concerns, the Lambda Sci-Fi meeting for Sunday, February 14th, will be held virtually. We’ll keep you informed of the status of future meetings. Lambda Sci-Fi: DC Area Gaylaxians is an affiliate of the Gaylactic Network, an international organization for gay people and their friends who are interested in science-fiction and fantasy.

* * Con Calendar * * by Carl

April 16-18, 2021 RAVENCON 15. Virginia Crossings Tapestry Collection by Hilton (Glen Allen, VA – just north of Richmond). Guests of Honor: Terry Brooks (Author), Rhiannon’s Lark (Music). Membership: $40 before 3/27/2021; $50 at the door. Website: https://www.ravencon.com/

July 9-11, 2021 SHORE LEAVE 42 (rescheduled from July 2020). Delta Hotels Marriott Baltimore Hunt Valley (Hunt Valley MD). Actor GoH: Denis Lawson (Star Wars “Wedge Antilles”); Brandon Routh (Superman & The Atom); Robert Duncan McNeill (Lt. Tom Paris); Brent Spiner (Data); Alex Kingston (River Song). Membership: $105 for the weekend ($120 at the door); daily rates available. Printable registration forms & on-line registration available through the Registration Page. Website: https://www.shore-leave.com/info/update-2020-04-25.htm

Mass Market Best Sellers Great Conjunction of based on a series of Jupiter-Saturn con- junctions in 7 BC. In that year Jupiter and info passed along by Wayne #1 Jupiter and Saturn info passed along by Carl Saturn “met” three times: in May, Sep- The American Booksellers As- tember, and December. The May 29 con- sociation reports that the Top Ten Mass Back on Dec. 21, 2020, Jupiter junction could have started the Magi on Market Best Sellers for the week ending and Saturn engaged in their “great con- their way from the Far East. The September 12-13-2020 were: junction” – they were separated by just 6 30 conjunction could have confirmed their 1. Dune by Frank Herbert (1965) arc minutes in the Southwest sky after decision to keep on going. And the third 2. 1984 by George Orwell (1949) sunset. This conjunction is closer than conjunction (December 5) could have oc- 3. The Way of Kings by Brandon San- usual – usually when they line up, Jupiter curred when they arrived in Judea to meet derson (2010) and Saturn are separated by about 1 with King Herod, who sent them on to Beth- 4. The Name of the Wind by Patrick degree of arc (10 times further apart). lehem.  Rothfuss (2007) Jupiter takes nearly 12 years to 5. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & complete a full trip around the sun, and Terry Pratchett (1990) Saturn takes 29.5 years to do it – so the 6. Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert “great conjunction” only takes place once (1969) in a great while. The last time they ap- 7. The Autobiography of Malcolm X by peared so close together in the sky was on Alex Haley & Malcolm X (1964) July 16, 1623 – when they were separated 8. Animal Farm by George Orwell by 5 arc minutes, but not visible in tem- (1945) perate latitudes because of their close 9. Still Life by Louise Penny (2005) proximity to the glare of the Sun and low 10. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy altitude above the horizon. The last time by Douglas Adams (1979) most the world’s population had a It’s interesting to note that eight of favorable view of Jupiter and Saturn the ten titles are works of F&SF; and all coming so close to each other was on of them were first published a decade or March 5, 1226 (just 2 arc minutes apart). Picture of the “Christmas star” more ago. Some have suggested that the  taken in South Africa on Dec. 21, 2020 “Christmas star” (Star of Bethlehem) was