John Purcell, College Station TX

Whatever happened to Kenny Mitchroney? He gave me a wonderful piece of art that I've used a couple times over the years (a Star Wars parody featuring Sylvester the cat and his son), and he used to be quite prevalent back around 1980 or so. Then he disappeared. What happened to him? He was a fine artist, as this cover on your latest Challenger attests.

Googling Kenny's name shows that he was in the art department of several creative TV ventures in the past, but I can find nothing current. Anyone help?

Music is a wonderful basis to form a fanzine upon, since there are so many musically inclined fans lurking about. Fifteen or so years ago I was a card-carrying AFM (American Federation of Musicians) member while playing in jazz bands up in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. Those were fun years, for sure, and I could easily have written about that for you. In fact, back in And Furthermore #26 (Jan., 2007) I did indeed write about that time as I completed my musical autobiography. My tale wasn't as nutty as spending a night partying with Guns 'n Roses in Mexico, but it was still fun.

Speaking of musical tales, I had no idea that there were so many science fiction and fantasy based musicals. Mike Resnick's extensive listing and capsule summations really was an eye-opener, but I guess the fantasy-based musicals shouldn't be surprising since, after all, many of those story lines are definitely pure fantasy. There are definitely some wonderful shows listed, too: Brigadoon, Peter Pan, Dr. Dolittle, Lion King, Camelot, Aladdin, Carousel, and others. Great shows all. The masochist in me -- well, the part of me that enjoys making fun of trashy movies -- wants to see some of the real clunkers listed just for the hell of it. This listing is way beyond what I would have thought possible in terms of stfnal or fantasy links in stage musicals. I am suitably impressed. Either that or stunned.

I was very sad to hear of Hank Reinhardt's passing. I corresponded with him briefly during my first swing through fandom back in the 70s and 80s; he was on the mailing list for This House, and I seem to recall receiving the occasional LOC from Hank. Unfortunately, I never had the pleasure of meeting him. He shall be missed.

Immeasurably.

Same thing for Calvin "Biff" Demmon. Unlike Hank, I never corresponded with Biff, but read some of his work here and there. Again, a sad loss for fandom.

I am likewise quite impressed by your recollection of Confederation and the quest for NolaCon II. Your recollections are remarkably lucid about an event that happened mumble-dy mumble years ago. Oh! and thank you so much for interspersing your tale with the various Nolacon II advert illos. Great stuff throughout.

I'd like to claim a photographic memory, but my article about Confederation, like that about SFPA 100 in this issue, was based on my contemporary report. Of course, I didn't know in 1986 that I'd marry Rose-Marie 15 years later, but I wish I had: those years would have certainly passed more quickly.