CVER ART by: Mats Öhrmann EDITRIAL “Fifty years ago [now 100], most of the words It is April the 5th and the TAFF- and GUFF-winners heard by an American were personally spoken to have been announced. Great news! him as an individual, or to somebody standing Johan Anglemark for TAFF and Marcin Klak, the nearby. Only occasionally did words reach him as Fandom Rover for GUFF! Both were pitched the undifferentiated member of a crowd – in the against UK-candidates and both managed to win classroom or church, at a rally or a circus. Words anyway. I take it, that should settle the debate were mostly like handwritten, sealed letters, and whether or not TAFF is a US/UK-only thing. Both not like the junk that now pollutes our mail. Today, have shown, that all it takes is some ganas (as words that are directed to one person's attention the Spanish would say). Most surprisingly (to me), have become rare. Engineered staples of images, was that Marcin managed to win against Steve ideas, feelings and opinions, packaged and and Alice Lawson, who I have considered BNF's delivered through the media, assault our for 20 years. It is fortunate for Marcin (and all his sensibilities with round-the-clock regularity.” friends, including myself) that fandom is such a “The Right to Useful Unemployment and its forgetful community of people. professional enemies” – by Ivan Illich, 1978 Secondly, beginning with this issue, I will attempt - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - to account for the many sci fi short films which are made publicly available on youtube. There are TABLE F CONTENT literally hundreds of films I never heard of before. EDITORIAL......................................page 02 Which is funny, because I am known as a major film-buff. I will also continue to report on worthy Why Fantasy is more popular than SF documentaries to view and spare you the waste of by Wolf von Witting.....................page 03 time sifting through drivel.. The rating in CounterClock reviews will in future WorldCon 75 Helsinki report...........page 05 be given with zero to ten clocks. So far, in all of A Fannish Fantasmagoria my life, I can only think of two short films which I'd by [Anders] Bellis give ten clocks. Is Icelandic Fandom a Thing? That would be “The Town Where No One Got Off” with Jeff Goldblum and Ed McNamara, the season by Einar Leif Nielsen......................page 12 one, fourth episode of The Ray Bradbury Theatre, SCI FI SHORT PIECES.............page 14 from 1985 (directed by Don McBrearty) and and Star Trek Continues Mummy Daddy. Likewise the fourth episode of the first season and also made 1985, but from Steven LoCol..........................................page 23 Spielberg's Amazing Stories. In fond memory remains also The Murderer with Event Calender Update..............page 27 Albert Brock (1990, directed by Roger Tompkins) THE FINAL WRD....................page 28 from the Ray Bradbury Theatre and the 1955 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - episode featuring Tom Ewell in The Case of Mr "What good did ever come from all that Pelham from Alfred Hitchcock Presents (of which I talking around all those tables?" yet have to view seasons 2-7), both clearly deserving 9 clocks. [Brent in Beneath the Planet of the Apes, 1970] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - As for the lead article in this issue, I am going to “To see the present clearly, let us imagine the quote a man you probably never heard of before, children who will play in the ruins of high-schools, and I am likely to quote him a lot in this issue. Hiltons and hospitals. In these professional Ivan Illich was a Croatian-Austrian philosopher castles turned cathedrals, built to protect us and a Roman Catholic priest, born 1926 in Vienna against ignorance discomfort, pain and death, the and died in December 2002 in Bremen, Germany. children of tomorrow will re-enact in their play the He studied theology and philosophy at the delusions of our Age of Professions, as from Gregorian University in Rome and obtained his ancient castles and cathedrals we reconstruct the doctorate in history at the University of Salzburg. crusades of knights against sin and the Turk in He went to the United States in 1951, where he the Age of Faith. served as assistant pastor in an Irish-Puerto Children in their games will mingle the uniquack Rican parish in New York City. From 1956 to 1960 which now pollutes our language with archaisms he was vice-rector of the Catholic University of inherited from robber barons and cowboys. I see Puerto Rico. them addressing each other as chairman and His book “The Right to Useful Unemployment and secretary rather than as chief and lord. Hopefully its professional enemies”, written in 1978 contains adults will blush when they slip into managerial many passages serving as an eye-opener to the pidgin with terms such as policy-making, social adverse effects technology has on us. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - planning, and problem solving.” Ivan Illich, 1978 My editorial rant continues on page 28 WHY FANTASY IS work and our travels would bring us all across the Universe. But that was a very naïve vision of the future. We were not ready to believe Orwell, Boye MORE POPULAR THAN SF and Huxley. Though certainly, the trends were already there, which Ivan Illich's book The Right by Wolf von Witting to useful Unemployment made abundantly clear. There is no question about the popularity of the fantasy genre overshadowing science fiction. But why? Is it, that science, reality and knowledge has caught up with the genre? Are there no more frontiers? Most people don't think much about why they like something, they just do and go with it. I believe the preference for the fantasy genre to be a subconsciously made choice. Fantasy represents freedom, while science fiction increasingly is understood as the technology used to enslave us. We now have a society obsessed with control, security and surveillance. And the so called security is not there to protect us. It is there to protect those who control wealth. The individual citizen is only protected as far as we remain cogs in the machinery of society. Refuse to comply, and the state is authorised to use force against you. Step out of line, and you will either end up in the gutter, in jail, or pharmaceutically lobotomised. This dystopia is no more a dark vision limited to literature, but a fact of our current reality. - You could have told us, it would come to no good! Surveillance does not prevent crime. What it - We did! does, it helps corporations to bombard us with Artwork by Wolf von Witting (1983) targeted advertisement. Lawyers do not resolve All which has come, has been predicted. Those injustice. Airport security scans confiscate little who saw the future coming were no seers like which you can't buy in the Duty Free Shop after Nostradamus, merely educated men and women. you have passed the scan. We have a mandatory Scholars who had studied the fabric of the state, and questionable system of education (with the and philosophers who understood the nature of exception of Finland) which favours and produces the human being, economists who understood the a uniform breed of citizen. From the cradle to the ultimate consequence of Nixon taking the dollar grave, we are in the hands of professional off the gold standard. We have been doomed to experts, whose ideals we are forcefully subjected repeat the mistakes of the past, because even to, whether we agree with them, or not. though those who lived it never forgot, we see - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - now the 3rd and 4th generation after those who “The West won the world not by the superiority lived it. And they are more or less gone. And by of its ideas or values or religion but rather by its now most angles of history have been twisted and superiority in applying organized violence.” tweaked. [Samuel P. Huntington, Patriotism! There's a word of our time. But while The Clash of Civilizations, 1997] the individual is capable of feeling loyalty or - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - How can science fiction be attractive, when all our patriotism, a state is not capable of reciprocating technology and all our inventions have the side such sentiment. Your sacrifice is appreciated. But effect of removing more of our freedom? if it suits the state better to expel you, it will do so without hesitation. It wasn't always like that. When I began reading Fantasy on the other hand, represents a world in SF, we hoped our technological progress would which the individual and the capability of the make life easier and more comfortable for us. It is individual can give full autonomy. It is also a world how we ultimately envisioned it. Remote controls, in which the words honour and loyalty still have a to zap the blinds open and shut, automatic doors, meaning. Sure, there is also deceit, but who has light switch and flying cars. Robots doing our dirty courage, honour and loyalty is the one admired. 3 None of these traits value anything in the world Somehow we all became exposed to a terribly we have evolved into. The words exist as memory flawed and experimental economic theory of a time with valiant knights, protectors of the weak, the good and the destitute. In the early 60's, Acatzingo, like most Mexican The soldiers of today fight and die for the rich and villages of its size, had four groups of musicians for commerce. Who wins the war, gets to rebuild who played for a drink and served the population the by war devastated country.