XPost: uk.people.sf-fans
ANSIBLE(R) 439
FEBRUARY 2024
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, bazils, erbs, deodands, gids, grues, hoons or leucomorphs.
[NET NOTE. See
https://news.ansible.uk/a439.html for the nice HTML version;
https://news.ansible.uk/pdf/a439.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 BAGFUL OF DREAMS ###
STEVEN BRUST responded to the tweeted news that he is not dead: 'I don't
like to brag, but I have specialized in not being dead for years, and I
really feel like I've gotten good at it. I would say that I am one of the
most not-dead writers working today.' (Xitter, 25 January)
R.F. KUANG was widely expected to be a 2023 Hugo finalist with her Nebula-winning novel _Babel_, and according to now-released voting
statistics it was the third most popular nominee. But the Chengdu Worldcon
Hugo administrators declared it ineligible 'After reviewing the [WSFS] Constitution _and_ the rules we must follow' (my worried italics). There is
of course speculation about interference from the state or state-fearing
local committee members to prevent an expat winner from saying anything inconvenient in Chinese at the Hugo ceremony. Also ruled ineligible were
the _Sandman_ tv series as dramatic presentation in both categories (Long
Form because one episode got more votes than the series as a whole; Short
Form for that episode with no reason given); former Hugo finalist Paul
Weimer as fan writer; and Xiran Jay Zhao for the Astounding award -- second year of eligibility; there was no question about the first. (www.thehugoawards.org, 20 January) Kuang, Zhao and Neil Gaiman of
_Sandman_ have all criticized or protested oppressive PRC/CCP actions.
R.L. STINE, author of the 'Goosebumps' children's horror series, has been
named as a 2024 Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America.
CHUCK TINGLE, who famously wears a pink bag over his head for all public appearances as a way of dealing with his neurodivergence issues, was
invited to speak at the Texas Library Association conference in April. And
then uninvited: 'the reason given was that people could possibly be uncomfortable with my mask'. TJ Klune, another invited speaker who was to
be on the same panel, dropped out in protest. (_File 770_, 9 January)
_Later:_ TLA issued a somewhat unsatisfactory apology -- no mention of the cancellation or why it happened -- and a renewed invitation, but Tingle now felt uncomfortable and declined. (TLA; Tumblr, 11 January)
JANE YOLEN enjoyed a little gloat about five of her books being reviewed on
one page of _Publishers Weekly_. (Facebook, 15 January)
### CONGEE ###
2-4 Feb [] CONTABILE 34 (UK filk), Palace Hotel, Buxton. Rates at the door
are GBP42 adult reg; GBP32 unwaged; under-18s GBP1 per year of age when joining; under-5s free. See www.contabile.org.uk/tripletime.
2-4 Feb [] INTERNATIONAL BLACK SPECULATIVE WRITING FESTIVAL, Goldsmiths University, London, and online. GBP50 reg, GBP25 concessions (plus fees); online, day and other options at tinyurl.com/2wv9vw2a.
2-5 Feb [] SCOTIACON (furry), Crowne Plaza Hotel, Glasgow. 'Prehistoric
Panic' theme. GBP100 reg; GBP45/day. See www.scotiacon.org.uk.
16-18 Feb [] BOB FOWKE sf art exhibition at Bishop's Castle Arts Festival, Shropshire. 10am-4pm. Free. See bishopscastleartsfestival.com.
16-18 Feb [] UK GHOST STORY FESTIVAL, Museum of Making, Derby. GBP105 plus booking fee. Also online 12-15 February, GBP40 plus fee. See www.ukghoststoryfestival.co.uk.
24 Feb [] IAIN M. BANKS CELEBRATION at Faversham Literary Festival, The Alexander Centre. 3pm. Tickets GBP6. See tinyurl.com/2uyfcbk8.
24-25 Feb [] SURREY STEAMPUNK CONVIVIAL, Stoneleigh, Epsom. See bumpandthumper.wixsite.com/steampunkconvivials.
16 Mar [] GOLLANCZFEST 2024, Leonardo Royal London, St Paul's, London. 9:30am-6pm. GBP63; concessions GBP42. See www.gollancz.co.uk/news/2023/10/06/gollanczfest-2024/.
23 Mar [] DARKNESS IN THE FIELDS (folk horror film festival), QUAD, Derby. GBP30 reg. See www.derbyquad.co.uk/events/darknessinthefields/.
23 Mar [] PICOCON 41, Blackett Lecture Theatre, Imperial College, London. 'Watch this space' for details at picocon41.carrd.co.
24 Mar [] PAPERBACK & PULP BOOK FAIR, Holiday Inn Bloomsbury, Coram St,
London WC1N 1HT. 9:30am-3pm. GBP3 admission. Combined with the Bloomsbury Ephemera Fair: see etcfairs.com/ephemera-fairs/.
29 Mar - 1 Apr [] LEVITATION (Eastercon), Telford International Centre._
Now GBP140 reg; GBP60 concessions; GBP35 supporting/virtual only; day GBP35 Friday or Monday, GBP50 Saturday or Sunday._ See eastercon2024.co.uk.
31 Aug [] EDGE-LIT 10, QUAD Centre, Market Place, Derby. GBP35 reg. See www.derbyquad.co.uk/events/edgelit10/.
25-27 Oct [] FESTIVAL OF FANTASTIC FILMS, Pendulum Hotel, Manchester. GBP95
reg _until 21 February; then GBP110_. See fantastic-films.uk.
RUMBLINGS _Sci-Fi Ball_, February: no 2024 event according to Facebook (December).
_Glasgow 2024_ Worldcon hotel bookings opened in January; likewise
Hugo nominations on the 27th, the latter temporarily closed online owing to software problems found by nominators.
_Seattle Worldcon 2025:_ the expected January price rise has been
delayed for technical reasons. See seattlein2025.org.
_Eurocon 2026 Bid:_ the Berlin MetropolCon is bidding for a 2-5 July event. See www.metropolcon.eu.
### INFINITELY IMPROBABLE ###
AS WE SEE OTHERS SEEING US. '"... you've heard of a friend of mine named
Joe Henderson? Writes science fiction?" / "That escapist dianetics-spawning rubbish?" the analyst exclaimed, as if each word were spelled with four letters.' (Anthony Boucher, 'The Star Dummy', 1952)
AWARDS. _Emmys:_ _The Last of Us_ won in eight categories. [F770]
_Golden Globes:_ musical or comedy, _Poor Things_; cinema and box
office achievement, _Barbie_; animated, _The Boy and the Heron_.
_Oscar_ nominations: _Barbie_ 8, _Poor Things_ 11.
_Philip K. Dick_ shortlist: _Danged Black Thing_ by Eugen Bacon; _The Museum of Human History_ by Rebekah Bergman; _Infinity Gate_ by M.R. Carey; _Wild Spaces_ by S.L. Coney; _Where Rivers Go to Die_ by Dilman Dila;
_These Burning Stars_ by Bethany Jacobs.
ASTRONOMICAL UNITS. On that newly discovered cosmic structure: 'A GIANT
ring -- 15 times the size of the moon _[...]_ with a circumference of 4
billion light years'. (_Metro_, 12 January) [BA]
R.I.P. _Peter Berkos_ (1922-2024), US sound effects editor for _Battlestar Galactica_ (1978), _Buck Rogers in the 25th Century_ (1979), _Voyagers!_ (1982-1983) and many more, died on 2 January aged 101. [SJ]
_Terry Bisson_ (1942-2024), noted US author whose first novels were _Wyrldmaker_ (1981) and _Talking Man_ (1986), and who won Hugo, Nebula and Sturgeon awards for his 1990 story 'Bears Discover Fire', died on 10
January aged 81. [CP]
_Adan Canto_ (1981-2024), Mexican actor in _X-Men: Days of Future
Past_ (2014), _Designated Survivor_ (2016-2019) and _The Devil Below_
(2021), died on 8 January aged 42. [LP]
_Fred Chappell_ (1936-2024), US author whose first novel was the
Cthulhoid _Dagon_ (1968) and who won two World Fantasy Awards for short fiction, died on 5 January aged 87. [GVG]
_Darrah Chavey_, US academic, fan and sf scholar long involved with
WisCon and a contributor to ISFDb, died on 6 January. [PDF]
_Mickey Cottrell_ (1944-2024), US actor in _Hellraiser: Bloodline_
(1996), _Volcano_ (1997) and genre tv including later _Star Trek_ series,
died on 1 January aged 79. [O]
_Peter Crombie_, US actor in _The Blob_ (1988) and _House of
Frankenstein_ (1997, as the Creature), died on 10 January aged 71. [SJ]
_David Emge_ (1946-2024), US actor in _Dawn of the Dead_ (1978) and _Hellmaster_ (1992), died on 20 January aged 77. [SJ]
_Tisa Farrow_ (1951-2024), US actress in _The Initiation of Sarah_
(1978), _Zombie Flesh Eaters_ (1979) and others, died on 10 January aged
72. [SJ]
_April Ferry_ (1932-2024), Emmy-winning US costume designer with many genre credits from _Poltergeist II_ (1986) via _Flubber_ (1997), _Donnie
Darko_ (2001) and _Terminator 3_ (2001) to _Game of Thrones_ (2016), died
on 11 January aged 91. [SJ]
_Gary Graham_ (1950-2024), US actor in _Alien Nation_ (1989-1990 plus spinoffs), _Robot Jox_ (1989) and _Star Trek: Enterprise_ (2001-2005), died
on 22 January aged 73. [LP]
_Georgina Hale_ (1943-2024), UK actress in _The Watcher in the Woods_ (1980), _Murder on the Moon_ (1989), several _T. Bag_ children's tv series
and films (title role, 1990-1992), _Beyond Bedlam_ (1994) and _Cockneys vs. Zombies_ (2012), died on 4 January aged 80. [SJ]
_Lee Harris_ (1936-2023), South Africa-born UK publisher, writer,
musician and activist whose underground _Brainstorm Comix_ first published Bryan Talbot and John Higgins, died on 14 December. [BT]
_Jack Hogan_ (1929-2023), US actor in _Now Is Tomorrow_ (1958) and
genre tv series, died on 6 December aged 94. [SG]
_Jennell Jaquays_ (1956-2024), US games designer and RPG/videogame
artist whose credits include _D&D_ modules and _Quake II/III_, died on 10 January aged 67. [SHS]
_Norman Jewison_ (1926-2024), Canadian-born US director of _Jesus
Christ Superstar_ (1973) and _Rollerball_ (1975), died on 20 January aged
97. [GVG]
_Glynis Johns_ (1923-2024), UK actress in _Miranda_ (1948), _No
Highway in the Sky_ (1951), _Mary Poppins_ (1964), _Scooby Doo and the
Ghoul School_ (1988) and others, died on 4 January aged 100. [LP]
_Harry Johnson_ (1942-2024), US actor with genre credits from
_Battlestar Galactica_ (1978 tv & film), _Captain America_ (1979) and _Time Warp_ (1981) to _Vampires Anonymous_ (2003), died on 2 January aged 81.
[AIP]
_Laurie Johnson_ (1927-2024), who scored _Dr Strangelove_ (1964),
_First Men in the Moon_ (1964) and _Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter_ (1974), died on 16 January aged 96. He wrote the theme tunes for _The Avengers_ (1965-1969) and _The New Avengers_ (1976-1977). [SJ]
_Tom Jones_, UK fan active since the 1960s, who edited the fanzines _Proteus_ with Brian Stableford, _Waif_ and _BSFA Newsletter/Matrix_ both before and after its 1976 title change, died on 23 December. He was BSFA vice-chair (_de facto_ chair) 1977-1979. [KF]
_Mark Kharitonov_ (1937-2024), Russian novelist and winner of the
Russian Booker Prize whose novels include the children's fantasies _Uchitel vraniya_ (_Teacher of Lying_, 2003) and _Prazdnik neozhidannostey_ (_Feast
of Surprises_, 2017), died on 8 January aged 86. [AM]
_Anthony Lawrence_ (1928-2024), US tv screenwriter who co-created and wrote for _The Sixth Sense_ (1972) and _The Phoenix_ (1981-1982), died on
18 January aged 95. [SJ]
_Emanuel Lottem_ (1944-2024), Israeli editor, translator of much
canonical sf/f including _Lord of the Rings_ and _Dune_, founder of the
Israeli Society for SF and Fantasy, and editor with Sheldon Teitelbaum of
the anthologies _Zion's Fiction_ (2018) and _More Zion's Fiction_ (2021),
died on 7 January aged 80. [ST]
_Brian Lumley_ (1937-2024), prolific UK horror author whose many
series include the Lovecraftian 'Titus Crow' (from 1974) and the vampiric 'Necroscope' (from 1982), died on 2 January aged 86. His life achievement honours include Stoker (2009) and World Fantasy (2010) awards. (brianlumley.com)
_Martin McCallum_, UK producer of 500+ Broadway and West End shows including _Cats_ (1981) and _Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark_ (2011), died on
14 January aged 73. [AIP]
_Brian McConnachie_ (1942-2024), US actor in _Strange Brew_ (1983) and screenwriter for _Earthday Birthday_ (1990), _Shining Time Station_
(1989-1993 plus spinoffs) and _Noddy_ (1998-2000 plus spinoff film), died
on 5 January aged 81. [LP]
_Janusz Majewski_ (1931-2024), Polish director whose credits include
the horror films _Awatar_ (1964) and _Lokis_ (1970), died on 10 January
aged 92. [AM]
_Stan Mattson_ (1937-2024), US academic who founded the C.S. Lewis Foundation in 1986, died on 9 January. [F770]
_Cindy Morgan_ (1954-2023), US actress in _Tron_ (1982) and _Amanda &
the Alien_ (1995) died on 30 December aged 69. [AIP]
_Jack O'Connell_ (1959-2024), US noir thriller author who contributed
to _F&SF_ and whose sf novel is _The Resurrectionist_ (2008), died on 1
January aged 64. [GVG]
_Christian Oliver_, German-born actor in _Hercules Reborn_ (2014), _Sense8_ (2015) and _The Outer Wild_ (2018), died on 4 January aged 51.
[LP]
_Conrad E. Palmisano_ (1948-2024), US stuntman, stunt coordinator and second unit director whose many genre films include _Oh, God!_ (1977), _The Black Hole_ (1979), _RoboCop 2_ (1990), _Batman Forever_ (1995) and _Peter
Pan_ (2003), died on 10 January aged 75. [SJ]
_Roger Perkins_, UK fan active since the 1960s, who worked on
conventions including the 1987 and 1989 Eastercons and received the 1990
Doc Weir Award, died on the night of 15/16 January. [JB]
_Tom Purdom_ (1936-2024), US author active since 1957, whose debut
novel was _I Want the Stars_ (1964) and who was still publishing new
fiction in 2023, died on 14 January aged 87. [SHS]
_Herman Raucher_ (1928-2023), US screenwriter whose genre film was _Watermelon Man_ (1970), died on 28 December aged 95. [AIP]
_Nikolay Romanetskiy_ (1953-2024), Russian author and editor of the sf magazine _Polden_, whose 28 novels include 5 _X-Files_ novelizations, died
on 10 January. [AM]
_Gaston Santos_ (1931-2024), Mexican actor in _El pantano de las
animas_ (_Swamp of the Lost Souls_, 1957) and _El grito de la muerte_ (_The Living Coffin_, 1959), died on 17 January aged 92. [SJ]
_Peter Schickele_ (1935-2024), US composer who created P.D.Q. Bach and scored _Silent Running_ (1972), died on 16 January aged 88. [LP]
_David J. Skal_ (1952-2024) , US author whose first novel was
_Scavengers_ (1980) and who published nonfiction about horror, Bram Stoker
and vampire films, died on 1 January aged 71. [LP]
_Yuri Solomin_ (1935-2024), Russian actor in the genre films _Obyknovennoye chudo_ (_An Ordinary Miracle_, 1978) and _Lunnaya raduga_
(_Moon Rainbow_, 1983), died on 11 January aged 88. [AM]
_David Soul_ (1943-2024), US _Starsky & Hutch_ actor in the tv
miniseries _Salem's Lot_ (1979) and _World War III_ (1982) and the
mockumentary _Mermaids: The Body Found_ (2011), died on 4 January aged 80.
[LP]
_Sergey Sukhinov_ (1950-2024), Russian author and translator whose 35 novels include 15 authorized sequels to Edmond Hamilton's 'Starwolf'
trilogy, died on 10 January. [AM]
_Tracy Torme_ (1959-2024), US screenwriter/producer whose credits
include _Star Trek: TNG_ (12 episodes 1987-1989), _Fire in the Sky_ (1993), _Sliders_ (co-creator; 87 episodes 1995-2000) and _I Am Legend_ (2007),
died on 4 January aged 64. [F770]
[]_ Mike Voiles_, US comics collector and historian whose 'Mike's Amazing
World of Comics' website is regarded as a major resource, died on 27
November. [GD]
_Howard Waldrop_ (1946-2024), much-loved US author active since 1972,
best known for shorter works of complexly mythologized alternate history
(in the 1987 comedy 'Night of the Cooters', some of H.G. Wells's Martians
land in the Wild West), died on 14 January aged 77. He won a Nebula and
World Fantasy Award for 'The Ugly Chickens' (1980) and received the World Fantasy life achievement honour in 2021. Howard was a popular and
entertaining convention guest: I and many other UK fans remember him fondly from Mexicon IV in 1991.
THE WEAKEST LINK. 'Which British naval commander lost his right arm in
battle in 1797?' _Contestant:_ 'Captain Hook.' (BBC1, _Celebrity
Mastermind_) [PE]
'On which continent is the 1994 Disney animation _The Lion King_ set?' _Contestant:_ 'Antarctica.' (ITV, _The Chase_) [PE]
RANDOM FANDOM. _FAAn Awards_ for 2023 fanzine activity: voting opened in January and closes on 24 February. Anyone can vote. Details and voting form
in _The Incompleat Register 2023_ at efanzines.com/TIR/.
_Hugo Voting Statistics_ for the 2023 Chengdu Worldcon were at long
last released on 20 January. Besides troubling eligibility decisions
discussed above, the reported figures contain many anomalies and impossibilities, as noted by Alpennia.com (20 January), Cora Buhlert (21 January), Camestros Felapton (21 January on) and others. US Hugo
administrator Dave McCarty insisted that the magic words 'the rules we must follow' fully explain why nominees were disqualified and that the frequent question '_which_ rule?' had thus already been answered, stupid! He
belatedly apologized for the increasingly abusive tone of his Facebook responses, except when replying deferentially but still unhelpfully to Neil Gaiman.
_Worldcon Intellectual Property_ announced board resignations (Dave McCarty, Kevin Standlee), censurings (McCarty for public comments, plus
Chengdu co-chairs Ben Yalow and Chen Shi) and a reprimand (Standlee for
public comments), all in connection with the Hugo debacle. (30 January)
THE DEAD PAST. _30 Years Ago,_ 'John Clute enjoyed many enthusiastic communications from The Women's Press about their reissue of Joanna Russ's
_The Female Man_ without, they confided, that _awful downmarket sci-fi
cover_ -- by, as it happens, Judith Clute....' (_Ansible_ 79, February
1994)
_80 Years Ago_, a neologism adopted by the Los Angeles SF Society was deplored: 'One particularly irksome habit of the new regime on Bixel St. is
the plural for the word fan, i.e. fen.' (_The Knanve_ 2, February 1944)
CREEPY DEPT. US horror author J.D. Barker had the bright idea of asking attractive young female bloggers to promote his new book by posting nude
selfie videos 'using only the book to cover up your naughty bits'. His
claim that the offending emails were somehow sent by accident did not
convince; his agent has dumped him. (_Publishers Weekly_, 26 January)
FANFUNDERY. _TransAtlantic Fan Fund._ The 2024 TAFF race from North America
to the Glasgow Worldcon is now on, with two candidates: Vanessa Applegate
and Sarah Gulde. See taff.org.uk for the announcement in _Taffluorescence!_
2, plus ballot, platforms and online voting form. Voting continues until 2 April.
_European Fan Fund:_ voting is open for the 2024 EFF race to Eurocon (Erasmuscon in Rotterdam, 16-19 August) with candidates Jane Mondrup
(Denmark) and Joro Penchev (Bulgaria); votes must be cast by 1 April.
Further details and candidates' platforms at fandomrover.com/2024/01/28/eff-2024-race-begins/.
MAGAZINE SCENE. The online Tor.com rebranded on 23 January as Reactor (www.reactormag.com), 'a magazine that will be more of a pop culture hub
for people who love genre of all types'. (Tor.com, 9 January)
THOG'S MASTERCLASS. _The Wind from Nowhere._ 'The Professor thinks the
planet is lopsided. Too many mountains all on one side. They give it an eccentric spin. When the _massif_ has passed top dead centre it begins to
fall, gathering impetus, so that the whole place gets a faster spin. It revolves faster than the atmosphere can follow it and so you get a wind.'
(W.E. Johns, _The Edge of Beyond_, 1958)
_I Have No Mouth But ..._ 'A bubbling scream of agony died in the
dwarf's throat before it could emerge.' (Henry Kuttner, 'Thunder in the
Dawn', 1938) [BA]
_Not Pale Brown?_ 'Ken Kourian's eyes, pale green like thirsty grass,
bent to the coffee-stained page in front of him.' (Gareth Rubin, _The Turnglass_,2023) [DA]
_See Nipples and Die._ 'As she met Mary's coldness her nipples
deburgeoned slightly, as if scared into submission, frightened away.'
(Philip K. Dick,_ Clans of the Alphane Moon_,1964) [JV]
_Bootstrap Dept._ 'The boy's eyebrows shot up with excitement, pulling
him briefly off the pavement.' (Chris & Jen Sugden, _High Vaultage_, 2024) [DVB]
### GEEKS' CORNER ###
SUBSCRIPTIONS. To receive _Ansible_ monthly via email, send a message to: ansible-news+subscribe [at] googlegroups.com
You will be asked to confirm by email that you want to join the group. To resign from the Google Groups list, send email to:
ansible-news+unsubscribe [at] googlegroups.com
More details, and an ALTERNATIVE LIST subscription form for those averse to Google, on this page (which is also where to unsubscribe from the
alternative list, hosted at ansible.uk):
https://news.ansible.uk/asubs.html
Home page --
https://news.ansible.uk/
RSS feed --
https://news.ansible.uk/rss.html
LiveJournal syndication --
http://www.livejournal.com/users/ansiblezine/
Back issues --
https://news.ansible.uk/aseries2.html
Printable PDFs --
https://news.ansible.uk/pdf/
Email the editor --
https://news.ansible.uk/contact.php
Books Received --
https://ansible.uk/books.php
CONVENTION AND EVENT LINKS
British Isles --
https://news.ansible.uk
London --
https://news.ansible.uk/london.html
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://ansible.uk/books/index.html
GROUP THEORY.
15 February 2024, 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
EDITORIAL. Besides the various stresses of serious dental work and new
hearing aids, I'm feeling exhausted by the ongoing Chengdu Hugos discussion which has of course Plunged All Fandom Into War; also by this issue's
excess of obituaries, including _Ansible_ readers Brian Lumley and Howard Waldrop (it was always a delight to get a handwritten note from Howard).
Bear with me.
THE DEAD PAST II. _20 Years Ago:_ 'Ambrose Bierce is still controversial.
After reissuing his _The Devil's Dictionary_ [...] Bloomsbury were
inundated with requests for Bierce interviews, while one UK bookshop chain complained bitterly about the lack of signed copies....' (_Ansible_ 199, February 2004)
MORE TAFF BOOKS. Thanks to John Coxon for two TAFF trip reports newly added
to the free downloads page: his own for 2011, _Best. Trip. Ever._, and Anna Raftery's for 2016, _Cuttlefish and Cake_. See taff.org.uk/ebooks.php?all.
The TAFF ebook compilations _A Vince Clarke Treasury_ (2015) and Terry
Carr's _Fandom Harvest II_ (2019) both now have paperback editions at ae.ansible.uk/?id=taff, with all proceeds from sales of course going to the fund.
RANDOM FANDOM II. _More Hugo Aftermath._ Word from fandom in China, where WeChat is the popular messaging app: 'Now worldcon has become a bad word in wechat groups, and anything related to it willbe complained about as soon
as it's posted.' (Hugo Book Club on Xitter, 29 January)
R.I.P. II -- LATE AND LAST-MINUTE REPORTS. _Hinton Battle_ (1956-2024), multiple Tony-winning German-born actor in _The Wiz_ (Broadway 1975) and
genre tv series including the US _Red Dwarf_ pilot (1992) and the famous musical episode of _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ (2001), died on 29 January
aged 67. [AIP]
_Roger Earnshaw_, UK fan, collector, convention-goer and generous supporter of the fan funds, died on 26 April 2022. [MPl]
_Bill Hayes_ (1925-2024), US actor in _Once Upon a Mattress_ (1964)
and the tv soap -- with occasional genre storylines -- _Days of Our Lives_ (1970-2023), died on 12 January aged 98. [LP]
_Klaus Johansen_, Danish fanzine fan active mainly in the 1970s and
1980s, died on 14 January 2023. [JA]
_Matthew Pavletich_ (1965-2024), New Zealand fan who was a joint FFANZ winner in 2004, died on 26 January aged 58. [MPi]
SOME LINKS from the _Ansible_ home page.
Bad Things Come in Threes: Rich Horton on Terry Bisson (1942-2024),
Tom Purdom (1936-2024) and Howard Waldrop (1946-2024)
https://www.blackgate.com/2024/01/17/bad-things-come-in-threes-terry-bisson-february-12-1942-january-10-2024-howard-waldrop-september-15-1946-january-14-2024-tom-purdom-april-19-1936-january-14-2024-a-tripartite-obi/
_The Guardian_ on D.G. Compton at last
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/jan/24/david-compton-obituary
2024 Hugo nominations open
https://glasgow2024.org/hugo-awards/hugo-awards-nomination/
2023 Hugo voting statistics published; PDF link; commentary at _File
770_; Cora Buhlert; Alpennia.com; Camestros Felapton with multiple posts;
Hugo administrator remains tight-lipped (_File 770_); _The Guardian_ takes notice; a Chinese perspective (_F770_) ; Hugo Admin apology-of-sorts
(_F770_); Worldcon Intellectual Property announces Hugo-related censuring, reprimand, resignations
https://www.thehugoawards.org/2024/01/2023-nominating-and-final-ballot-statistics-published/
https://www.thehugoawards.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2023-Hugo-Award-Stats-Final.pdf
https://file770.com/2023-hugo-nomination-report-has-unexplained-ineligibility-rulings-also-reveals-who-declined/
http://corabuhlert.com/2024/01/21/the-2023-hugo-nomination-statistics-have-finally-been-release-and-we-have-questions/
https://alpennia.com/blog/comparison-hugo-nomination-distribution-statistics https://camestrosfelapton.wordpress.com/2024/01/21/hugo-award-2023-nomination-stats/
https://camestrosfelapton.wordpress.com/2024/01/21/my-priority-questions-about-the-hugo-stats/
https://camestrosfelapton.wordpress.com/2024/01/21/hugo-2023-noms-mind-the-gap/ https://camestrosfelapton.wordpress.com/2024/01/22/hugo-stats-where-are-we-today/
https://camestrosfelapton.wordpress.com/2024/01/23/hugos-facebook/ https://file770.com/chengdu-hugo-administrator-dave-mccarty-fields-questions-on-facebook/
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/jan/24/science-fiction-awards-held-in-china-under-fire-for-excluding-authors
https://file770.com/zimozi-natsuco-guest-post-the-hugo-awards-evil-fall-is-a-watered-down-affair-and-certain-issues-to-watch-out-for/
https://file770.com/dave-mccarty-makes-statement-about-his-facebook-responses/ https://www.wsfs.org/2024/01/31/announcements-from-worldcon-intellectual-property/
SF2 Concatenation Spring 2024 Newscast
http://www.concatenation.org/news/news1~24.html
THOG'S GOLDEN OLDIES from _Ansible_ 199, February 2004. _Newtonian Dept._
'It is impossible to shrug one's shoulders in free fall; the motion sends
you flying across the cabin, and Brian was too well-trained to make waste motions of that sort.' (Marion Zimmer Bradley, 'The Climbing Wave', _F&SF_ February 1954)
_Spare Parts Dept._ 'Botha slipped out of his chair. It rocked briefly
in his absence, then steadied to await the next set of perambulating
buttocks.' (Alan Dean Foster, _Diuturnity's Dawn_, 2002)
_Ansible_(R) 439 (C) David Langford, 2024. Thanks to Dev Agarwal, Brian Ameringen, Johan Anglemark, David V. Barrett, John Bray, Gordon Davie, Paul
Di Filippo, _File 770_, Keith Freeman, Steve Green, Steve Jones, Andrey Meshavkin, Omega, Lawrence Person, Curt Phillips, Marion Pitman, Mark
Plummer, Andrew I. Porter, _Private Eye_, Steven H Silver, Bryan Talbot, Sheldon Teitelbaum, Gordon Van Gelder, Jan Vanek jr, and our Hero
Distributors: Durdles Books (Birmingham SF Group), SCIS/Prophecy and Alan Stewart (Australia).
1 February 2024
--
David Langford |
http://ansible.uk/ |
http://news.ansible.uk/
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)