Vol. 20 No. 1 February 2021 ALEXIAD (!7+=3!G) $2.00 Yesterday morning I picked up the pants I had put aside to wear earlier that morning Lloyd Daub, Richard A. Dengrove, Nic Farey, Tom Feller, John Hertz, Robert S. Kennedy, and found myself staring at them, wondering how they would fit. I was not worried about Timothy Lane, Lloyd Penney, George W. Price, John Purcell, Darrell Schweitzer squeezing into them. That was most definitely not an issue. No, what worried me was Comments are by JTM or LTM whether or not they would stay up. I slid into them and decided that they would stay up. I reflected that ten years ago someone had told me there would come a day when I would Trivia: . 14 be wondering if my pants were too big I would have collapsed into helpless laughter and rolled about on the floor laughing. Art: Sheryl Birkhead . 6, 7 The other day I was outside at work when this big bird came flying towards me. For Alexis A. Gilliland. 3, 10, 13 a few seconds I wondered if I were about to become an extra in a remake of Hitchcock’s Trinlay Khadro . 2 The Birds. Then the bird tucked its wings and went into the overhang. I let out the breath Marc Schirmeister . 4, 5, 8, 9 I had been holding, for this bird’s size I judged to be midway between crow and Canada goose. Its cry sounded something like “chee wit” (close as I can come.) I am pretty sure Printed on March 10, 2021 it was a bird of prey. I’ve looked on the net some and not found a precise match to my Deadline is April 1, 2021 impressions of the bird. It is quite possible I did find a match but not recognize the bird because I only had a few seconds to actually study the bird. Reviewer’s Notes This issue is dedicated to the memory of: Grant gave me a book titled All My Friends Are Dead. It seemed to appeal to something Michael J. Smith in his life. The title is not completely true, but so many of the people he knew, people we Dick Scobee knew, have died. Ronald E. McNair There is a decided lack of Howard Family Members, elves, and other long-lived sorts in Ellison Onizuka fandom, so this sort of thing is sadly inevitable. What is more bothersome is not that old fans Christa McAuliffe are dying, but that there are no new ones. At least not the new ones we know. Gregory Jarvis There is a certain attitude that is becoming prevalent among con-goers. The conrunners Judith Resnik of ConGlomeration held a meeting. They were getting to be old fans and tired. Could there — Lisa be any new people who would step in? It turned out that the answer was no. People enjoyed the convention but seemed to think Table of Contents they lacked the skills to run it. Editorial. 1 And a different attitude is becoming evident, if not prevalent. A few years ago I read a Reviewer’s Notes . 1 plaint by a con-goer who was unhappy that WorldCon did not have his favorite activities. A Eclipse News. 2 brief search on the WorldCon webpage will uncover a feaure called “volunteering”. I wonder Groundhog Day. 2 why he never encountered that? Harem Fantasies . 2 This assumes that cons will survive the current lockdown. How to Get Censored by Rotten Tomatoes . 5 On the Remake of The Wizard of Oz. 6 A fan complained that Baen’s Bar was promoting a toxic environment with advocacy of Ruined City . 4 violence. In response, Toni Weiskopf shut the board down. Then, DisCon III disinvited her Worldcon News. 6 as Editor GoH. Book Reviews The older fans, whether liberal or conservative, have deplored this action; Guy Lillian and JTM Carr, The Paratime Wars. 3 Darrell Schweitzer, for example. The younger praise it. JTM Haughton, Ancient Treasures. 4 DisCon may be in trouble. Toni is trapped by cancel culture, which has become even more JTM Hollander, Political Pilgrims. 3 virulent and destructive. How much will it drag down with it? JTM Thomas, 1910: War in the Pacific . 2 JTM Thomas, 1912: War for the White House . 2 As for getting on the list of “all my friends are dead”, my health problems continue. JTM Welky, A Wretched and Precarious Situation . 4 Nevertheless, they continue — health problems tend to terminate once you die. Random Jottings . 2 — Joe Letters . 7 Page 2 February 2021 Alexiad James Edwin Gunn was born on July 12, 1923 eclipse was part of Saros 142, which began As you know, Bob, incels are fat pale neck- RANDOM JOTTINGS in Kansas City, Missouri. After writing plays, April 17, 1624 and will end June 5, 2904. bearded unemployed man-boys living in their by Joe newspaper articles, and radio scripts, he began mothers’ basements, who are perpetually writing SF in 1949, selling to Thrilling Wonder There will be two solar eclipses in 2021. aggrieved that hot models are not granted to Stories. His novel The Listeners (1972) was The first will be an annular eclipse, on June them on a regular basis. first runner-up for the John W. Campbell 10, 2021, visible in Ontario, Quebec, the It’s an example of the second-tier expan- Memorial Award (and is now obsolete, since Canadian Northern territories, Kalaallit Nunaat sion of publishing. These don’t go to the the Arecibo radio telescope is being demol- (Greenland), and the Far Eastern Province of major publishers, since they don’t feature ished). He also wrote about the field, having Russia. The path will also pass over the North Angrygirl Unlikelyname (hint: this is the published several scholarly works, one of Pole. Maximum annularity will be in Green- character, not the author) in a world without which, Isaac Asimov: The Foundations of land, and will last 3 minutes 51 seconds. The gender roles smashing another glass ceiling, or Science Fiction (1982) received the Best Non- eclipse is part of Saros 147, which began whatever. But they can be distributed on Fiction Book Hugo Award. In 2007 he was October 12, 1624 and will end February 24, demand, as it were. named a Grand Master by SFFWA. 3049. In a field where gay dinosaur romances can The second will be a total eclipse, on proliferate, it’s not surprising. December 4, 2021, visible in East Antarctica, MONARCHICAL NEWS from the Ronne Ice Shelf to Marie Byrd Land. GROUNDHOG DAY Buy my books. (All available on The path will be passing above the Pole and by Lisa Amazon.com for quite reasonable prices, The Romanian government tried to arrest thus will run from East to West, instead of except the Hugo-nominated Heinlein’s Paul Lambrino to serve a sentence for influ- from West to East as most eclipses do. The February 2 was Groundhog Day. Children, which can be bought directly from ence buying, money-laundering, and complic- maximum totality will be 1 minute 54 seconds, Punxsutawney Phil was dragged out of his lair George Price for a reasonable sum.) ity to abuse of office, but when the police visible at 76E 46' S 46E 12' W, on the Ronne early this morning. His handler’s name was showed up, his wife Lia said her husband was Ice Shelf. The eclipse is part of Saros 152, announced along with the claim he was Phil’s https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B01BMIC4MU out of the country. Paul Lambrino is also which began on July 26, 1805 and will end on friend. Yeah, right, I thought and then I no- ?ref_=pe_1724030_132998070 known, particularly by himself, as Prince Paul August 20, 3049. ticed he was handling Phil without any protec- — Advt. of Romania. Unlike other pretenders (e.g. tive gloves. It is possible Phil is declawed and Michel Roger Lafosse, “Prince Michael of NASA Eclipse website: toothless but he makes no attempt to bite. He Robert M. Bryce, author of Cook & Peary: Albany” the spurious Stuart heir) Paul is https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse.html seems alert, not drugged. I saw no bindings on The Polar Controversy, Resolved (1997) was indeed descended from the family he claims his mouth. Without further evidence I have to doing additional research, and found a photo- heirdom from, the Romanian royal family. Other useful eclipse websites: conclude Phil is quite tame. copy of Cook’s lost journal for that period (or More precisely, from then Crown Prince Carol I spend a few minutes researching Ground- at least what Cook was saying was his jour- (later King Carol II) and his illegal morganatic http://www.hermit.org/Eclipse hog Day and learn the custom was imported nal). Bryce found hints that explained an wife Maria Johana “Zizi” Lambrino. Carol from Europe with one change. Badgers were unusual source for Cook’s attitudes: Voyages and Zizi had a son, Mircea Carol, who had http://www.eclipse.org.uk/ the meteorologists in Europe but they were not et aventures du capitaine Hatteras [The Ad- Paul, who has a son Carol Ferdinand. here so groundhogs became the meteorologists ventures of Captain Hatteras] (1864, 1866), a WISHFUL THINKING of early America. Voyage Extraordinaire by Jules Verne. Bryce Grand Duke Georgi of Russia chose to by Joe I find internet evidence that Phil is a tame started out by noticing how much Cook was celebrate his betrothal at the Ipatievskii Mon- zoo groundhog. That makes sense to me. He like Professor Liedenbrock of Voyage au astery at Kostroma, Russia, on January 24, A problem with Amazon’s suggestion only gets upset when there is sudden crowd centre de la Terre [Journey to the Center of 2021.