PO Box 656, Washington, DC 20044 - (202) 232-3141 - Issue #149 - August 2002 E-MAIL: [email protected] WEBSITE: http://www.lambdasf.org/ August 11th LSF Meeting ΛΨΦΛΨΦ The next Lambda Sci-Fi meeting will be held at James Crutchfield’s apart- The LSF Book ment (1414 17th St., NW, #413) on Sun- Discussion Group day, August 11th. The business meeting will begin at 1:30 PM; and the social meet- ing will begin at 2:00 PM. Please bring Dinotopia at the some munchies or soft drinks, if you can. See you there! If you’re interested in lively Smithsonian discussions of F&SF books (with an reported by Carl emphasis on elements of interest to the No, no, no... this isn’t about LBGT community), we invite you to join that awful two-part, Hallmark, made-for- the LSF Book Discussion Group. Each TV special that aired several months month, we conduct fascinating round- ago! Nor is it related to the (Heaven table discussions of works by significant forfend!) projected TV series of the same F&SF authors. name! Nope, this special Smithsonian The LSF Book Discussion exhibit is based on the incredible Group generally meets on the 4th Thurs- illustrations and paintings that artist to another, and Brett-Surman offered his day of every month, starting at 7:00 PM. James Gurney created for his two services for “strengthening the ‘science’ The next meeting will be August 22 (at wonderful Dinotopia books! In fact, the in Gurney’s science fiction.” The Peter & Rob’s house, 1425 “S” St., NW - exhibit coincides with the tenth anniver- collaboration has lasted for over a - for directions or more details, call 202- sary of the publication of Gurney’s first decade. 483-6369). volume in the series: Dinotopia: A Land And now Brett-Surman has co- Here’s the schedule for the next Apart from Time. organized an exhibition of Gurney’s few months: So how’d it end up at the Dinotopia art at the Smithsonian’s --- August 22nd - Heritage of Hastur, by Smithsonian? Well, it all started back in Museum of Natural History. The show Marion Zimmer Bradley; moderator: Rob. 1989, when both Gurney and Michael features 30 of the oil paintings Gurney --- September 26th - Neuromancer, by Brett-Surman (a staff scientist at the prepared for the Dinotopia books, as William Gibson; moderator: Carl. National Museum of Natural History) well as numerous unpublished paint- --- October 24th - Point of Hopes, by were attending the World Science ings, watercolors, and preliminary stud- Melissa Scott & Lisa Barnett; moderator: Fiction Convention in Boston. As with ies. If you’re a “dino-phile” (like me!) TBA. so many things science-fictional, it all and/or a fan of Gurney’s F&SF art (like ΛΨΦ started in a hotel bar, when Brett-Surman me!), then you won’t want to miss this overheard Gurney pitching the idea for special exhibition! It runs until Septem- Dinotopia to a publisher. One thing led ber 2nd. ΛΨΦ WHAT'S INSIDE? Minutes for the July 14 LSF Meeting (pg. 2);The Outpost (book review - pg. 2); Spectrum Award Finalists for 2002 Announced (pg. 3);Gays in Comics Panel(s) Announced for San Diego Comic Con! (pg. 4);The [further] Adventures of ConBoy, Naive Conventioneer (a cartoon by Chris Browning, pg. 5); About Lambda Sci-Fi: DC Area Gaylaxians andCon Calendar (pg. 6) 1 Minutes for the Resnick novel that I haven’t liked: a very July 14 LSF Meeting The Outpost early work of his entitled Redbeard taken by Scott by Mike Resnick (1969). To this day, I haunt the “R” a review by Carl Cipra section of the F&SF shelves of any The business portion of the bookstore or dealer’s table I visit, hoping meeting commenced at 1:40 PM. for the appearance of a new Resnick It was announced that Peter work – preferably in hardback. Knapp has been elected as the new And then there are the so- Speaker of the Gaylactic Network Board. called “bar stories” – also known as In addition, since membership in the “club stories” or “pub stories” – one of Gaylactic Network is now by individual my favorite F&SF sub-genres. They’re a rather than by club, individual LSF mem- type of frame story in which a number of bers are invited to join the Network by patrons or “regulars” (mostly humans, sending an e-mail to Wayne Wilkening. but not always) are gathered at their Peter encouraged LSFers to provide input favorite watering hole and someone on what they feel Network membership ends up telling a story of some sort: a should include. Jack Frost has volun- whimsical exploration of some sort of teered to serve as the editor for a Network F&SF conundrum or a semi-serious newsletter. Rob also reported that the It’s really kind’a neat when a exploration of some facet of the human Spectrum Awards might be re-formatted couple of your “favorite things” come experience – it could even be just a tall as a nonprofit organization. He also pro- together – you know, sort’a like tale, a “shaggy dog story,” or the set-up vided a list of the Spectrum Awards final- chocolate and peanut butter in those for an extended (and ghod-awful!) pun. ists in the four award categories. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup commercials. Bar/club/pub stories have been around The social portion of the meet- Well, in a more literary fashion, it hap- for a very long time; and they’ve ing commenced at 2:00 PM, kicked off by pened for me reccently when one of my appeared in F&SF magazines for well the traditional name circle. Four first-time favorite authors wrote a novel dealing over half a century. Classic examples of attendees introduced themselves. Good with one of my favorite F&SF themes. the sub-genre are Arthur C. Clarke’s to see new faces! The author is Mike Resnick – Tales from the White Hart (US collection, Peter commented on the memo- far and away one of my favorite authors. 1957), L. Sprague de Camp’s & Fletcher rial service for LSF member Randy Hagan I must have dozens and dozens of his Pratt’s Tales from Gavagan’s Bar who recently passed away. novels and collections of his shorter (collected 1953), and Spider Robinson’s Rob passed around recent mail works. Santiago, Ivory, Paradise, Pur- “Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon” books received at the LSF post office box. Some gatory, Inferno, the “Kirinyaga” stories, and stories (starting with Callahan’s items include: Sigma (the newsletter of a the “Tales of the Velvet Comet” novels, Crosstime Saloon, collected 1977). As Pittsburgh SF/F&H group) and fliers for and on and on and on – I’ve loved ‘em you might imagine, I’ve got quite a Capclave, the annual con put on by the all! In fact, there’s only one Mike collection of ‘em in my personal library. Washington Science Fiction Society, to And, now, here comes Mike be held October 18-20, 2002 in Silver Spring, There was some discussion Resnick with his contribution to the “bar MD. about the upcoming WorldCon conven- story” sub-genre – The Outpost. That Neil Gaiman’s American Gods tion to be held Labor Day weekend in San this novel is, in fact, an intentional will be this month’s selection for the LSF Jose, CA. Many LSF members will be addition to the “bar story” sub-genre is book discussion group. The discussion attending. Preliminary info will be posted obvious from the book’s dedication will be held on Thursday, July 25, at Peter in early August. And the Gaylactic Net- page. In addition to his wife, Carol, and Rob’s house. work is organizing a GLBT fandom suite Resnick dedicated this book to “the There appeared to be universal for the weekend; events in the suite will Outpost’s progenitors: Rick’s Café agreement that the new movie Fear.Com include a Gaylaxicon promotion party. Américain, The Monkey Bar, Gavagan’s sounds horrible. Everyone chuckled over Carl announced that he will once Bar, Joe the Angel’s City Hall Bar, the recent Washington Post Travel sec- again help coordinate a GLBT fandom Wallace’s, The White Hart, Tchoka’s, tion article on Tunisia, which mentioned party at this November’s Darkover con- [and] The Draco Tavern.” Being the tours of the sites where Star Wars was vention, where Deborah Christian will be writer he is, however, Resnick can’t let filmed. the guest author. well enough alone; and The Outpost This Friday, July 19, 2002, LSF Rob made available some non- turns out to be quite a unique contribu- will have an organized movie outing to see genre books that he received for free in the tion indeed. the Attack of the Giant Moussaka at the mail. It was noted that metacritic.com is The story starts out “normally” Jewish Community Center. Rob will post a recommended source for reviews. enough – for an SF bar story, that is. The details via the LSF listserv. ΛΨΦ (continued on page 5) 2 Spectrum Award Finalists for 2002 Announced Contact: Rob Gates The Spectrum Awards, science “Kindred”, by Alexis Glynn Latner - from The 2002 Spectrum Awards will fiction fandom’s premiere award recog- the anthology Bending the be presented at the World Science nizing works of special positive interest Landscape: Horror Fiction Convention (San Jose, CA, to gays, lesbians, bisexuals and “Love On a Stick”, by Carrie Richerson - August 29 – September 2). transgendered people, are pleased to from the anthology Bending For more information about the announce the finalists 2002.