Lloyd Penney, Etobicoke Ontario Canada
It has taken me a while, but finally, there's time to get caught up with some things, and one of those things is to go to www.challzine.net, and make some comments on Challenger 21.
"The Einstein Code" made me smile. I know that The DaVinci Code is fiction, but I am amused to find how many people think it a book of revelation into an ages-long mystery. I haven't read it myself; I'm too entertained by the public reaction to it.
I am hoping that Chris Garcia will actually do an article on his father, and the things he did for SCA and Worldcons. I have had some contact with SCA, through a few of its members who are also involved with fandom, and with its website and its duchy system. I remember talking to one local person who had quit SCA because he wanted to do some creative recreations in a time period SCA did not cover, and he was actively discouraged from proceeding with it. Anachronism, yes; creative, but only to the extent we say you can. He formed his own recreation group, had some fun, and faded from my view about ten years ago. I think a recreation group that would recreate the fine clothing and manners of a bygone era, such as Chris describes, would be a fine idea.
Sometimes, I think I've never been an adult. I feel like I've been a kid for a long time, and now, I feel like a premature old man. The eyes are going bad, the knees are good only with the consumption of glucosamine-chondroitin capsules, the bald spot continues to enlarge, as does the pot belly. I wish for those good old days of goshwow, and while I still have them from time to time, they are becoming rarer, and I treasure any day that has it. I always wondered if these eccentric professors were so nerdy or weird, how on earth did they find a girl to marry so they could have daughters to worry over in those great stories?
I am as guilty as the next fanwriter; I rarely comment on artwork in my locs, and I should. Many fan artists never see the inside of a fanzine, and that's a shame. I can think of some local artists who are regularly seen in local art shows ... Larry Stewart, Lar deSouza, Chris Knight, and several others fatigue won't let me remember. Jeez, what is Tim Kirk doing these days? Disney! Every so often, a modern fanzine shows off a gem by Kirk, or George Barr, or even a Bjo. Tim, were you able to land on that fateful day, or did your plan land somewhere in the Yukon? Many planes coming in from Japan landed in Canadian territory.
Interesting trip with Jack Vance. I've read about a dozen of his books, which many not be enough to grasp how good a writer he is. I had read about how he was slowing down, and then about his failing eyesight, and I understood better why he seemed invisible these days. He's nearly 90 and mostly blind, and I can only imagine what kind of frustration that must be in such a visual medium as science fiction.
Oh, I wanted to be at the Boston Worldcon. We had such a good time there in 1989 for Noreascon 3. We wanted to be at N4, but money wouldn't allow for it. In this day where Worldcon memberships can be purchased on the installment plan because they are so expensive, I may be among the first of eventually many who will say that Worldcons are great, but I cannot afford to go to it any more. At least Bob Devney let me put an essay in the First Night one-shot. I was pleased when I learned I cam in sixth place for Best Fan Writer ... always a bridesmaid, and never a bride. And, the Fan Gallery put up a huge picture of us, so were there in spirit.
I am glad Mike Resnick enjoyed the Movenpick Marche; there are several in Toronto, and take-out versions in some supermarkets here.
I am always amazed at some of the stories you relate, about the crimes committed, the people who commit them, and the fact that these people may go free, receive probation, receive a still fine, receive a jail sentence or the death penalty for a crime, depending on what state they may be in when they perpetrated the crime. Some people are free today for crimes others may have been executed for. Perhaps I exaggerate a little here, but I don't think I exaggerate much.
I've never wanted to own a boat, really, but one thing I have always wanted is to live by the lake or ocean. Being in Toronto, Lake Ontario is to the south, and we always seem to live fairly close to the lake, so we're happy. We try to spend at least two Saturdays every summer having a day-long picnic in a lakeside park, enjoying the breeze, the cool grass, the shade, and the chattering squirrels in the trees before the parks get too crowded.
Gotta agree with you on the two cities of Niagara Falls. One reason I'd been given about the differences between the two cities is that NFNY is still recovering from a major embezzlement of funds from the Niagara Falls Tourism Commission bank account some years ago. There are now two casinos on the NYOnt side, and an Indian band-run casino in what used to be the Convention Centre on the NFNY side, gambling doesn't seem to be the reason any more. You probably discovered that the Rainbow Mall, intended to be a Mecca for tourist shopping, has been long closed. Eeriecon, the local con in NFNY, comes along in about six weeks, so I hope to see Joy Moreau there again. We did The Maid of the Mist a few years ago on a whim ... a good time. We sneaked away with our plastic ponchos, and they are in the car in case we're caught in a cloudburst.
Doing a Lynddie ... just last night on 60 Minutes, there was a report on rendering. The US government can call it whatever it wants, but it is state-sponsored kidnapping, plain and simple. I think the military is out of control, to match the government that funds it. It all shows that any excuse can be given to forget one's morals. Somehow, assaulting foreign nationals and holding them without due process of law, so holy in American documentation, is okay in this post-9/11 era. It would seem that any crime, no matter how heinous, is just fine if done in the name of national security.
Once again, I don't mean to dump on you ... it's quite easy to look across the border and shake my head. But if I do that, I can only imagine how many Americans feel at the idea of their government doing the very things they used to decry in foreign government activities, like those governments in the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, East Germany, Romania and Albania. 9/11 hurt us all in so many ways, we may never realize them all.
The next Corflu will be right here in Toronto, so here's another good excuse to come north. We'd love to see you up here, and we can have a good time without a Worldcon getting in the way.
"The Einstein Code" made me smile. I know that The DaVinci Code is fiction, but I am amused to find how many people think it a book of revelation into an ages-long mystery. I haven't read it myself; I'm too entertained by the public reaction to it.
I am hoping that Chris Garcia will actually do an article on his father, and the things he did for SCA and Worldcons. I have had some contact with SCA, through a few of its members who are also involved with fandom, and with its website and its duchy system. I remember talking to one local person who had quit SCA because he wanted to do some creative recreations in a time period SCA did not cover, and he was actively discouraged from proceeding with it. Anachronism, yes; creative, but only to the extent we say you can. He formed his own recreation group, had some fun, and faded from my view about ten years ago. I think a recreation group that would recreate the fine clothing and manners of a bygone era, such as Chris describes, would be a fine idea.
Sometimes, I think I've never been an adult. I feel like I've been a kid for a long time, and now, I feel like a premature old man. The eyes are going bad, the knees are good only with the consumption of glucosamine-chondroitin capsules, the bald spot continues to enlarge, as does the pot belly. I wish for those good old days of goshwow, and while I still have them from time to time, they are becoming rarer, and I treasure any day that has it. I always wondered if these eccentric professors were so nerdy or weird, how on earth did they find a girl to marry so they could have daughters to worry over in those great stories?
I am as guilty as the next fanwriter; I rarely comment on artwork in my locs, and I should. Many fan artists never see the inside of a fanzine, and that's a shame. I can think of some local artists who are regularly seen in local art shows ... Larry Stewart, Lar deSouza, Chris Knight, and several others fatigue won't let me remember. Jeez, what is Tim Kirk doing these days? Disney! Every so often, a modern fanzine shows off a gem by Kirk, or George Barr, or even a Bjo. Tim, were you able to land on that fateful day, or did your plan land somewhere in the Yukon? Many planes coming in from Japan landed in Canadian territory.
Interesting trip with Jack Vance. I've read about a dozen of his books, which many not be enough to grasp how good a writer he is. I had read about how he was slowing down, and then about his failing eyesight, and I understood better why he seemed invisible these days. He's nearly 90 and mostly blind, and I can only imagine what kind of frustration that must be in such a visual medium as science fiction.
Oh, I wanted to be at the Boston Worldcon. We had such a good time there in 1989 for Noreascon 3. We wanted to be at N4, but money wouldn't allow for it. In this day where Worldcon memberships can be purchased on the installment plan because they are so expensive, I may be among the first of eventually many who will say that Worldcons are great, but I cannot afford to go to it any more. At least Bob Devney let me put an essay in the First Night one-shot. I was pleased when I learned I cam in sixth place for Best Fan Writer ... always a bridesmaid, and never a bride. And, the Fan Gallery put up a huge picture of us, so were there in spirit.
I am glad Mike Resnick enjoyed the Movenpick Marche; there are several in Toronto, and take-out versions in some supermarkets here.
I am always amazed at some of the stories you relate, about the crimes committed, the people who commit them, and the fact that these people may go free, receive probation, receive a still fine, receive a jail sentence or the death penalty for a crime, depending on what state they may be in when they perpetrated the crime. Some people are free today for crimes others may have been executed for. Perhaps I exaggerate a little here, but I don't think I exaggerate much.
I've never wanted to own a boat, really, but one thing I have always wanted is to live by the lake or ocean. Being in Toronto, Lake Ontario is to the south, and we always seem to live fairly close to the lake, so we're happy. We try to spend at least two Saturdays every summer having a day-long picnic in a lakeside park, enjoying the breeze, the cool grass, the shade, and the chattering squirrels in the trees before the parks get too crowded.
Gotta agree with you on the two cities of Niagara Falls. One reason I'd been given about the differences between the two cities is that NFNY is still recovering from a major embezzlement of funds from the Niagara Falls Tourism Commission bank account some years ago. There are now two casinos on the NYOnt side, and an Indian band-run casino in what used to be the Convention Centre on the NFNY side, gambling doesn't seem to be the reason any more. You probably discovered that the Rainbow Mall, intended to be a Mecca for tourist shopping, has been long closed. Eeriecon, the local con in NFNY, comes along in about six weeks, so I hope to see Joy Moreau there again. We did The Maid of the Mist a few years ago on a whim ... a good time. We sneaked away with our plastic ponchos, and they are in the car in case we're caught in a cloudburst.
Doing a Lynddie ... just last night on 60 Minutes, there was a report on rendering. The US government can call it whatever it wants, but it is state-sponsored kidnapping, plain and simple. I think the military is out of control, to match the government that funds it. It all shows that any excuse can be given to forget one's morals. Somehow, assaulting foreign nationals and holding them without due process of law, so holy in American documentation, is okay in this post-9/11 era. It would seem that any crime, no matter how heinous, is just fine if done in the name of national security.
Once again, I don't mean to dump on you ... it's quite easy to look across the border and shake my head. But if I do that, I can only imagine how many Americans feel at the idea of their government doing the very things they used to decry in foreign government activities, like those governments in the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, East Germany, Romania and Albania. 9/11 hurt us all in so many ways, we may never realize them all.
The next Corflu will be right here in Toronto, so here's another good excuse to come north. We'd love to see you up here, and we can have a good time without a Worldcon getting in the way.
Congrats on winning the Best Letterhack FAAn Award at the last Corflu!
posted by ;-p at 7:14 PM
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