• Ansible 428 -- March 2023

    From David Langford@21:1/5 to All on Wed Mar 1 17:12:45 2023
    XPost: uk.people.sf-fans

    ANSIBLE(R) 428
    MARCH 2023

    From DAVID LANGFORD, 94 London Road, Reading, Berks, RG1 5AU, UK. Website news.ansible.uk. ISSN 0265-9816 (print); 1740-942X (e). Available for SAE
    or the secret of the evil elephants with their black backs.

    [NET NOTE. See https://news.ansible.uk/a428.html for the nice HTML version; https://news.ansible.uk/pdf/a428.pdf for a printable PDF. Mailing list subscribe/unsubscribe information appears below -- please don't send such requests to my own e-mail address. DRL]


    ### THE STOLEN MARCH ###

    GREGORY BENFORD suffered a severe stroke on 22 December, as reported by his brother Jim in February. After several weeks in hospital he was transferred
    to rehabilitation; further progress reports are awaited and many fingers
    are crossed in hope of a full recovery. [F770]

    MR BLOBBY, that icon of 1990s tv, was critically transfigured in _The New Statesman_: 'A later Blobby, Paul Denson, pointed out to _Vice_ that "when you're in the suit you are essentially blind". The temptation then to read Blobby as a Nineties incarnation of Milton's sightless and raging Samson Agonistes is hard to resist.' (Stuart Maconie, _NS_, 2 February) [PE]

    NEIL CLARKE of _Clarkesworld_ magazine posted a bar chart showing the
    recent sharp increase in 'the number of people we've had to ban over
    plagiarism and machine-written spam submissions': lowish from 2020 to
    Autumn 2022, then around 50 in December, over 100 in January and nearly 350
    by mid-February. '38% of our February submissions are spammy.' (Neil-clarke.com, 15 February) Submissions were closed on 20 February when
    the month's count passed 500 with over 50 more per day. Extensive media coverage of this story may have brought some small compensation in the form
    of publicity.... (_Guardian_, 21 February) Other magazines reporting the
    same problem include _Asimov's_ and _F&SF_.

    ROALD DAHL was in the news after an agreement between his estate and Puffin
    to bowdlerize his children's books even more. No one can now be described
    as fat, and so on. Perhaps the weirdest edit had the book-loving heroine of _Matilda_ reading more 'acceptable' authors, with Joseph Conrad and Rudyard Kipling becoming Jane Austen and John Steinbeck, though in the same list
    Ernest Hemingway mysteriously survived. Literary figures took sides --
    'absurd censorship', said Salman Rushdie, while unworldly Philip Pullman suggested that these reliable cash cows should be quietly let go out of
    print -- and the mass media had a great deal of fun being outraged, or otherwise. (BBC, _Daily Mail_, _Guardian_, _Independent_, Radio 4,
    _Telegraph_, etc. etc.) The eventual lucrative compromise is that Puffin
    will publish both 'classic' and revised versions of the sacred texts.

    OGHENECHOVWE DONALD EKPEKI flew into Los Angeles for the NAACP Image Awards ceremony but was detained incommunicado for three days and then sent back
    to Nigeria in spite of his two-year US visa. Though the rules reportedly require a six-month gap between visits, Ekpeki angrily insists there's more
    to it than that: 'I'll just say it's way worse than anyone says or thinks'. (_File 770_, 25, 26, 27 February; Twitter)


    ### CONVICTISM ###

    10-12 Mar [] FRIGHTFEST (film), Glasgow. Weekend pass GBP75; for individual tickets see frightfest.co.uk/filmsandevents.html.

    10-12 Mar [] MINAMICON (anime), Novotel Hotel, Southampton. GBP65 reg.
    Further details at www.minamicon.org.uk.

    11 Mar [] PICOCON 40, Imperial College, London. GoH: various. Tickets GBP10 (students GBP9, ICSF members GBP6) from tinyurl.com/3x9hfzj7. For other
    details see www.union.ic.ac.uk/scc/icsf/picocon/.

    14 Mar [] DESIGNING DYSTOPIA (comics panel) with Brian Bolland and Dave Gibbons, Century Club, Soho, London. 6:30pm for 7pm. Tickets GBP12. For
    details see acuriousinvitation.com/designingdystopia.html.

    16-19 Mar [] CAMP SFW, Vauxhall Holiday Park, Great Yarmouth. 3-day pass GBP130; 2-day GBP99; more options at www.scifiweekender.com.

    18 Mar [] BEDFORD WHO CHARITY CON (_Doctor Who_), King's House, Ampthill
    Road, Bedford, MK42 9AZ. 10am-5:30pm.GBP49.50; concessions/under-18s GBP25; under-15s GBP15. See bedfordwhocharitycon.co.uk.

    25 Mar [] EAST OF ENGLAND COMIC CON AND GAMING FESTIVAL, East of England
    Arena, Peterborough. 10am-4:30pm. Tickets from GBP13.75 (inc fee). See www.facebook.com/events/732634787956163/.

    31 Mar - 2 Apr [] CORFLU 40, The Malone Hotel, Belfast. _Now GBP70 / Euro80
    / $60 reg_; same rates at the door; further details at corflu.org.

    7-10 Apr [] CONVERSATION (Eastercon), Hilton Metropole near the Birmingham
    NEC. _Now GBP90 reg_; GBP45 concessions; GBP40 supporting or online- only membership; under-18s GBP20; under-13s GBP5. More information at conversation2023.org.uk.

    7-10 Apr [] _STAR WARS_ CELEBRATION, ExCel, London. 4-day tickets sold out;
    day passes GBP65 plus fees. See www.starwarscelebration.com

    14-16 Apr [] CONPULSION (games), Teviot Row House, Edinburgh. Tickets
    GBP15; GBP8 for Saturday or Sunday only; see conpulsion.org.

    6-7 May [] PORTSMOUTH COMIC CON, Guildhall, Portsmouth. Weekend tickets GBP26.50, _rising on 1 April_. See portsmouthcomiccon.com.

    2-4 Jun [] CYMERA SF FESTIVAL 2023, Edinburgh and online. Early-bird
    weekend passes are now on sale at GBP70 or GBP40 digital-only, _rising on 2 April to GBP80 and GBP50_. See www.cymerafestival.co.uk.

    3-10 Jun [] SCI-FI LONDON (film festival), main venue Picturehouse,
    Stratford, London, E15 1BX. See sci-fi-london.com.

    6-8 Oct [] GRIMMFEST (film), Odeon Great Northern, Manchester. Full pass
    for all screenings and events GBP79.50 at grimmfest.com.

    7-8 Oct [] OCTOCON, Gibson Hotel, Dublin, and online. Euro60 reg;
    concessions Euro40; YA or supp Euro20. Registration open at octocon.com.

    11-12 Nov [] COMIC CON, Harrogate Convention Centre. Part of the November 'Thought Bubble' comics festival. GBP30 weekend; GBP21/day; under-12s,
    over-65s and carers free. See thoughtbubblefestival.com.

    19 Nov [] EDINBURGH COMIC ART FAIR, Out of the Blue Drill Hall, Edinburgh. Free. See www.cymerafestival.co.uk -- scroll down.

    RUMBLINGS. _Eastercon 2025:_ the Belfast bid (see _A422_) has launched,
    using the Hilton Lanyon Place and Belfast International Conference Centre
    (ICC) with the support of Visit Belfast. There will be a presentation at Eastercon this year. Queries to info@easterconbelfast.org.
    _Hugo Voting:_ following February emails to Chengdu Worldcon members, nominations are now open -- closing at the end of April, with the final
    ballot to be released by the end of May and voting to the end of August.
    The login page is at en.chengduworldcon.com/hugo-awards/#/index.


    ### INFINITELY IMPROBABLE ###

    WE ARE EVERYWHERE. 'The partridge claw reaches up from its sauce blanket
    like the Statue of Liberty's arm at the end of Planet of the Apes.'
    (Restaurant review by Giles Coren, _Times_ magazine, 19 January) [PE]

    AWARDS. _Crawford_ (fantasy debut): _The Spear Cuts Through Water_ by Simon Jimenez.
    _Compton Crook_ (genre debut) shortlist: _Obsidian_ by Sarah J. Daley; _The Ballad of Perilous Graves_ by Alex Jennings; _The Bone Orchard_ by
    Sara Mueller; _Bluebird_ by Ciel Pierlot; _Daughter of the Moon Goddess_ by
    Sue Lynn Tan; _The Genesis of Misery_ by Neon Yang. [L]
    _Jack Gaughan_ (emerging artist): Martina Fackova.
    _Skylark:_ no award.

    COURT CIRCULAR. Middle-earth Enterprises has once again put forth its power against the forces of darkness -- this time, a two-man rubbish clearance
    outfit in Brighton that called itself 'The Lord of the Bins'. Both the name
    and the company slogan 'One ring to remove it all' are frowned on by
    m'learned friends as 'highly similar to the Lord of the Rings' and 'an infringement of our client's trademark rights'. (_Guardian_, 4 February)
    Which will not be challenged in court because the bin men can't afford it.

    SCIENTIFIC UNITS REDUX. 'A meteor around the size of a Pembroke Welsh Corgi
    and weighing around the total weight of four baby elephants struck the
    Earth near McAllen, Texas last Wednesday, NASA confirmed this week.' (Aaron Reich, , 21 February)

    R.I.P. _Richard J. Anobile_ (1947-2023), US editor of the 1970s 'Film
    Classics Library' photo-script books (_Frankenstein_, _Jekyll & Hyde_,
    etc), 'Fotonovels' of the first two _Star Trek_ films and other genre photo-adaptations, died on 10 February aged 76. [SJ]
    _Burt Bacharach_ (1928-2023), US composer with soundtrack credits for _Lost Horizon_ (1973) and _Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me_ (1999),
    died on 8 February aged 94. [LP]
    _Ted Bell_ (1946-2023), US author best known for thrillers, whose
    'Nick McIver Time Adventure' diptych opening with _Nick of Time_ (2000) is
    YA sf, died on 20 January aged 76. [AIP]
    _Richard Belzer_ (1944-2023), US actor best known for police roles,
    with genre credits for _The Puppet Masters_ (1994), _Species II_ (1998) and various tv series, died on 19 February aged 78. [MR]
    _Igor Bereg_ (Igor Pidorenko, 1953-2023), Russian sf author active
    since 1980 using both the Pidorenko and Bereg bylines, died on 21 February. [AM]
    _Barbara Bosson_ (1939-2023), US actress in _Capricorn One_ (1977) and _The Last Starfighter_ (1984), died on 18 February aged 83. [LP]
    _Ricou Browning_ (1930-2023), US actor in the title role (underwater scenes) of _Creature from the Black Lagoon_ (1954) and sequels, died on 27 February aged 93. [O]
    _Melinda Dillon_ (1939-2023), US actress in _Close Encounters of the
    Third Kind_ (1977), _Harry and the Hendersons_ (1987) and _Spontaneous Combustion_ (1989), died on 9 January aged 83. [GD]
    _Cai Emmons_ (1951-2023), US author of the fantasy _Weather Woman_
    (2018) and its sequel _Sinking Islands_ (2021), died on 2 January aged 71.
    [L]
    _Gerald Fried_ (1928-2023), US composer whose soundtrack credits
    include _The Mouse that Roared_ (1966), _Soylent Green_ (1973),
    _Transformers: Dark of the Moon_ (2011) and _Star Trek Into Darkness_
    (2013), died on 17 February aged 95. [LP]
    _Francois Hadji-Lazaro_ (1956-2023), French actor in _Cemetery Man_ (1994), _The City of Lost Children_ (1995) and _Brotherhood of the Wolf_ (2001), died on 25 February aged 66. [SJ]
    _Hugh Hudson_ (1936-2023), UK producer/director of _Greystoke: The
    Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes_ (1984), died on 10 February aged 86.
    [AIP]
    _Juraj Jakubisko_ (1938-2023), Czechoslovakia-born screenwriter and director with credits for _Frankenstein's Aunt_ (1987), _Pehavy Max a strasidla_ (1987) and _Bathory: Countess of Blood_ (2008), died on 24
    February aged 84. [SJ]
    _Anna Jane_ (Anna Kapranova, 1988-2023), bestselling Russian author of teen romance novels including the vampire fantasy _Net, detka, eto
    fantastika_ (_No, Baby, It's Fantastic_, 2016) with Yekaterina Vasina, died
    on 1 February. [AM]
    _Charles Kimbrough_ (1936-2023), US actor in _The Hunchback of Notre
    Dame_ (1996 plus sequel) and genre tv series, died on 11 January aged 86.
    [LP]
    _Majliss Larson_ (Marjorie Nelson Perisho, 1939-2022), US author of
    the _Star Trek_ novel _Pawns and Symbols_ (1985), died on 29 December aged
    83. [SHS]
    _Eugene Lee_ (1939-2023), US set designer whose Tony awards include
    one for the stage version of _Wicked_ (2003), died on 6 February aged 83.
    [AIP]
    _Andrey Lyovkin_ (1954-2003), Latvian/Russian sf author and translator
    of sf by Asimov, Davidson, Dick and Simak, died on 13 February. [AM]
    _Leiji Matsumoto_ (Akira Matsumoto, 1938-2023), prolific and noted Japanese manga/anime creator whose work included the _Space Battleship
    Yamato_ and _Galaxy Express 999_ series (first broadcast in 1974 and 1977 respectively), died on 13 February aged 85. [JonC]
    _Burny Mattinson_ (1935-2023), long-time US Disney animator (usually uncredited) and writer with director credits for _The Great Mouse
    Detective_ (1996) and _Mickey's Magical Christmas_ (2001) and story team credits for several major films, died on 27 February aged 87. [SJ]
    _Lee Moder_, US comics artist who worked on DC and Marvel titles and
    with writer Geoff Johns created the 1999 version of Stargirl (televised 2020-2022), died in mid-January aged 53. [AIP]
    _Kevin O'Neal_ (1945-2023), US actor in _Village of the Giants_ (1965)
    and genre tv series, died on 28 January aged 77. [AIP]
    _Jansen Panettiere_ (1994-2023), US actor in _The Fog_ (2005),
    _Robots_ (2005) and _The Last Day of Summer_ (2007), died on 19 February
    aged 28.
    _Leonard Pietraszak_ (1936-2023), Polish actor who starred in the cult comic-fantasy film _Kingsajz_ (1987), died on 1 February. [AM]
    _Gordon Pinsent_ (1930-2023), US actor in _Colossus: The Forbin
    Project_ (1970), _Blacula_ (1972) and genre tv series, died on 25 February
    aged 92. [SJ]
    _Paco Rabanne_ (1934-2023), Spanish fashion designer who created Jane Fonda's costumes for _Barbarella_ (1968), died on 3 February aged 88. [AIP]
    _Aleksandr Remizov_, Russian comic artist who from 2003 contributed to
    the sf/f magazine _Mir fantastiki_, died on 18 February aged 54. [AM]
    _Mitsuo Senda_ (1940-2023), Japanese voice actor in _Sherlock Hound_ (1984), _Naruto_ (2006), _07-Ghost_ (2007) and other anime, died on 25
    February aged 82.
    _Yevgeny Shchepetnov_ (1961-2023), Russian author of 80+ sf/fantasy
    novels since 2012, died on 14 February. [AM]
    _Stella Stevens_ (1938-2023), US actress in _The Nutty Professor_
    (1963), _The Manitou_ (1978), _The Terror Within II_ (1991), _Little
    Devils: The Birth_ (1993) and others, died on 17 February aged 84. [SJ]
    _David Sutherland OBE_ (1933-2023), UK comic artist best known for 60 years of _The Beano'_s__ 'The Bash Street Kids', whose sf/fantasy strips included 'The Great Flood of London' and 'Fred's Bed', died on 19 January
    aged 89. [SH]
    _'Trugoy the Dove'_ (David Jolicoeur, 1968-2023), US hip-hop artist
    with soundtrack credits for _Joe's Apartment_ (1996), _Osmosis Jones_
    (2001) and genre tv series, died on 12 February aged 54. [LP]
    _Jeff Vlaming_, US screenwriter and producer whose credits include
    _The X-Files_ (1995-1996), _Reaper_ (2007-2009), _Outcast_ (2016-2017) and other genre tv series, died on 30 January. [AIP]
    _Raquel Welch_ (1940-2023), US actress in _Fantastic Voyage_ (1966),
    _One Million Years BC_ (1966), _Bedazzled_ (1967) and genre tv series, died
    on 15 February aged 82. [LP]
    _Tom Whitlock_ (1954-2023), US composer whose soundtrack credits
    include _Death Note_ (2017) and _Despicable Me 3_ (2017), died on 18
    February aged 68. [LP]
    _George P. Wilbur_ (1941-2023), US stuntman whose many genre credits include _Poltergeist_ (1982), _The Wrath of Khan_ (1982), _Nightmare on Elm Street 5_ (1989), _Total Recall_ (1990), _Mars Attacks!_ (1996) and
    _Bedazzled_ (2000), died on 1 February aged 81. [SJ]

    OUR NEW FUNGAL OVERLORDS. 'Other researchers have set slime mould loose on
    tiny scale-models of Tokyo with food placed at the major hubs (in a single
    day they reproduced the form of the subway system) and on maps of Ikea
    (they found the exit, more efficiently than the scientists who set the
    task).' (_London Review of Books_, May 2021)

    RANDOM FANDOM. _FAAn Awards:_ a final reminder that voting for
    fanzine-related work published in 2022 closes on 10 March. Read all about
    it at efanzines.com/TIR/Incompleat2022.pdf.
    _Crossword Corner:_ 'Nice if conceits can be turned into a literary
    genre (7, 7).' (_i_)

    PUBLISHERS AND SINNERS. Twenty Terry Pratchett sf and fantasy stories
    written under pseudonyms (mainly 'Patrick Kearns') for the _Western Daily Press_ in the 1970s and 1980s have come to light and will be collected in a book to appear later this year. (_Guardian_, 27 February)

    OUTRAGED LETTERS. _Jerry Kaufman:_ 'Suzle and I laughed at your remarks
    about _The Spanish Inquisition_ and "The Fannish Inquisition". [See
    _A427_.] I don't think _Spaninq_ would be dropped from listings or
    websites, but I can see being asked to retroactively change the name. In
    case that happens, I've picked _Otherwise Astounding_.' (2 February)

    THE DEAD PAST. _30 Years Ago_, a peep into _Selected Letters of Philip K. Dick_, volume 4: 'Tim Powers's introduction tells how PKD found he had the power to forgive sins: "How many people have you absolved?" "Well, none, Powers. Today I've decided I was mistaken, and yesterday you weren't home,
    and when I called Jeter he got huffy and said he didn't want his sins forgiven.... So I just forgave my cats' sins."' (_Ansible_ 68, March 1993)
    _20 Years Ago_, a perhaps unfortunate turn of phrase: 'Supernatural thriller writer Doug Clegg has been known as an innovator. In order to
    bring attention to himself and try to bore a solid core of genre fans, he became one of the first ever to give an e-book away for free on the
    Internet. (_PWDaily_)' (_Ansible_ 188, March 2003)
    _10 Years Ago:_ 'Christopher Tolkien, not a man for talking to the
    press, granted his first ever interview to _Le Monde_ last year; a
    translation later appeared online. "They eviscerated [_The Lord of the
    Rings_] by making it an action movie for young people aged 15 to 25," he complained. "Tolkien has become a monster, devoured by his own popularity
    and absorbed into the absurdity of our time. The chasm between the beauty
    and seriousness of the work, and what it has become, has overwhelmed me.
    The commercialization has reduced the aesthetic and philosophical impact of
    the creation to nothing. There is only one solution for me: to turn my head away." _Le Monde_ added: "Invited to meet Peter Jackson, the Tolkien family preferred not to."' (_Ansible_ 308, March 2013)

    FANFUNDERY. _European Fan Fund_ voting continues until 10 April; see fandomrover.com/2023/02/02/eff-race-begins/.
    _TAFF_ voting continues to 11 April at taff.org.uk/vote.php. Further
    free ebooks are _Colonial Excursion_ by Ron Bennett (1958 TAFF trip report)
    and _The Harp in England_ by Walt Willis (reports on 1950s UK cons, plus
    one in 1976). See all the ebooks at taff.org.uk/ebooks.php?all. Future TAFF projects include paperback collections of all Ted White's 1969-1979
    editorials for _Amazing_ and _Fantastic_, with new introductions by Mike
    Ashley and Ted respectively.

    ANOTHER SITE GONE. Ralan.com, the sf magazine market information resource founded on 5 December 1996, went dark this year: 'This website is now
    closed. / To all who have sent in tips over the last 26 years & 57 days, my gracious thanks. Good luck to you all.' [BK]

    REPO MAN REDUX. Ford has filed a patent 'for embedded vehicle systems that facilitate an automobile's repossession, including autonomously moving it
    to a repossession agency.' (_The Register_, 28 February)

    'UNVERIFIED.' UK author Sylvia Waugh -- born 1935, best known for her children's fantasies opening with _The Mennyms_ (1993) -- was reported in Wikipedia to have died on 6 March 2022; this claim was removed in February
    2023 by an editor who could find no verification. [PW] Her son Peter Waugh
    has since taken responsibility for the death report, but a close relative
    is not regarded by Wikipedia as a reliable source.

    THOG'S MASTERCLASS. _Eyeball-Fu Dept._ 'His eyes finally hit mine. Yusuf's eyebrows crowded together.' (Nathan Tavares, _A Fractured Infinity_, 2022)
    [AR]
    _Malice of the Inanimate._ 'The air conditioning smacked me in the
    face when I stepped inside.' (_Ibid_) [AR]
    _Method Acting Dept._ 'Dr Kelter's forehead sprouted italics ...'
    (Emil Petaja, _The Nets of Space_, 1969)
    _Mysteries of Meteorology._ 'The brassy September blue overhead had
    been obscured by invisible storm clouds.' (_Ibid_)
    _Intangibles Inc._ 'Sygolin 37, the material we use to line genholes,
    the artificial wormholes we use for interstellar travel, is synthesized
    from purely theoretical models of substances found near the event horizons
    of black holes.' (Jack Chalker, _Priam's Lens_, 1999) [BA]
    _Dept of Penetrating Gaze._ 'Her eyes fixed to Shana like a pair of thumbtacks.' (Chuck Wendig, _Wayward_, 2022). [AR]


    ### GEEKS' CORNER ###

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    Overseas -- https://news.ansible.uk/conlisti.html [no longer updated]


    ### ENDNOTES ###

    PAYPAL TIP JAR THINGY. Donate to support _Ansible_, cover website costs and keep the editor happy! Or just buy his books.
    https://ansible.uk/paypal.html
    https://ae.ansible.uk/
    https://ae.ansible.uk/ebooks.php
    https://ansible.uk/books/index.html

    VIRTUAL MEETINGS.
    16 March 2023, evening: London Zoom meeting, third Thursday of each
    month. 'Please share this with people who you know typically come to the Bishop's Finger, but aren't on Facebook.' https://bohemiancoast.medium.com/first-thursday-london-sf-fan-virtual-drinks-5232021e961f

    R.I.P. LATE REPORT. _Shirley Rousseau Murphy_ (1928-2022), US author known
    for such YA fantasies as the 'Children of Ynell' sequence opening with _The Ring of Fire_ (1977), died on 23 September aged 94. [PW]

    RUMBLINGS II. _Satellite 8_ has decided not to raise its membership rates
    on 1 March as was threatened on the website, but to hold the current prices until 17 April. See ...
    https://eight.satellitex.org.uk/join

    EDITORIAL. Since the Belfast Corflu is celebrating the glory days of Irish Fandom, two more Walt Willis ebooks are in the pipeline with hopes of
    release before Corflu starts on 31 March: _The Harp Stateside_ (his 1952 US trip report) and _The Harp That Once or Twice_ (collecting the famous
    fanzine columns published under that title). All thanks to our regular proofreaders Claire Brialey, Bill Burns, Pat Charnock and Rob Jackson, and
    to fanhistory guru Rob Hansen for advice and support. Meanwhile at the _SF Encyclopedia_, the Picture Gallery count of cover scans has crept past
    32,000. Meanwhile, your editor continues not to get enough sleep....

    SOME LINKS from the _Ansible_ home page.
    Forrest J Ackerman archive catalogue https://library.syracuse.edu/digital/guides/a/ackerman_fj.htm
    _Daily Beast_ on Thomas F. Monteleone https://www.thedailybeast.com/horror-writer-thomas-f-monteleone-booted-over-racist-transphobic-rants
    European Fan Fund race begins https://fandomrover.com/2023/02/02/eff-race-begins/
    Bram Stoker Awards finalists https://locusmag.com/2023/02/2022-stoker-awards-final-ballot-2/
    _Strange Horizons_: Maureen Kincaid Speller tribute issue http://strangehorizons.com/issue/30-january-2023/

    THOG'S GOLDEN OLDIES from _Ansible_ 188, March 2003. _Dept of Too Much Information._ 'The patron licked his fingers with saliva.' (Peter Senese
    and Robert Geis, _Cloning Christ_, 2002)
    _Eyeballs in the Sky._ 'His itinerant brown eyes darted onto the dim
    city street outside.' (_Ibid_)
    _Dept of Single Yet Amazingly Devastating Shots._ 'The Scorpion
    smirked before sending a bullet into Francesco's forehead. Looking around
    the blood and gut-spattered dining room, the killer ...' (_Ibid_)
    _Religious Burdens Dept._ '"The Crusader vision of our equestrian
    order is at the service of our faith" were words from Muhlor's investiture
    into a centuries old order of Church knighthood that he carried with him everywhere.' (_Ibid_)


    _Ansible_(R) 428 (C) David Langford, 2023. Thanks to Brian Ameringen,
    Jonathan Clements, Gordon Davie, _File 770_, Steve Holland, Steve Jones, B. Krasnoff, _Locus_, Andrey Meshavkin, Omega, Lawrence Person, Andrew I.
    Porter, _Private Eye_, Adam Roberts, Marcus Rowland, Steven H Silver, Paul Wendt, and as always our Hero Distributors: Durdles Books (Birmingham SF Group), SCIS/Prophecy, and Alan Stewart (Australia).

    1 March 2023
    --
    David Langford | http://ansible.uk/ | http://news.ansible.uk/

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)