ANSIBLE(R) 444
JULY 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,
or secrets of the Temper Racket, Honeymoon Rob and Glim-Drop.
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### THE BLUE JAUNTE ###
FORREST J ACKERMAN's 1953 Hugo as #1 Fan Personality -- much hyped as the
first Hugo ever presented -- was auctioned in June for $12,065 ($9,500 plus
'buyer's premium'). Happily it was acquired by the Worldcon Heritage
Organization for its regular Worldcon Hugo exhibit. [BB]
HILARY HARWELL, literary agent at KT Literary, incautiously tweeted: 'Just
read a query that was essentially THE ROAD meets DELIVERANCE and now I want
someone to write this for me, please?' (Xitter, 23 June). This vision of
aspiring authors being brushed off and their interesting ideas farmed out
to others was not well received ('I'd rather pitch my story straight into
the heart of the sun ...'); Harwell very soon deleted her X.com account.
Next day, KT Literary announced the departure of an agent 'whose recent
public statements directly contradict our values and the trust we work to
build with our clients'. [F770] Oh dear.
URSULA K. LE GUIN's house in Portland, Oregon, is being donated to Literary
Arts as a venue for the Le Guin Writers Residency. (AP, 10 June)
CHRIS PRIEST's library has for the most part (over 2,000 books) been
donated to Abbey Books in Paisley, Scotland, where a 'gobsmacked' bookshop
worker reported severe autograph overload: '[He] wrote his name in all of
the books he purchased so, in a sense, everyone buying any of his books
will be receiving a signed copy.' (_Daily Record_, 17 June) [GVG] The shop
owner has been told about the coming Worldcon in nearby Glasgow.
IMELDA STAUNTON, whose genre credits include _The Snow Queen_ (1995) and
the _Chicken Run_, _Harry Potter_ and _Paddington_ films, was made a Dame
in the King's Birthday Honours. (BBC, 14 June) Other honours include an OBE
for the UK Children's Laureate Joseph Coehlo, and an MBE for actor and
stuntman Kiran Shah, seen in _Raiders of the Lost Ark_ (1981) plus _Star
Wars_ and _Hobbit_ films, among many others.
THOMAS TAYLOR, who for GBP500 created the watercolour cover art for the
first edition of _Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone_ and much later
sold it for some $100,000, was, well, philosophical about its Sotheby's
auction sale in June for $1.92 million. (_New York Times_, 27 June)
J.R.R. TOLKIEN has a new bronze memorial at Pembroke College, Oxford,
created by his great-nephew Tim Tolkien and unveiled in a 12 June ceremony
with Neil Gaiman (whose Tolkien Lecture that day drew record queues) as MC
and a poem read by Roz Kaveney. (BBC, 12 June)
ROBERT CHARLES WILSON was thrilled by an irresistible offer from _New
Scientist_ Discovery Tours: 'Robert, interested in becoming a science
fiction writer?' With enormous will-power he demurred: 'Thanks, guys, but I
already crossed that one off my bucket list.' (Facebook, 20 June)
### CONTORTAE ###
6 Jul [] TOLKIEN SOCIETY SEMINAR on his 'Romantic Resonances', Leeds Hilton
and online. Free. See
www.tolkiensociety.org/events/.
7 Jul [] AINTREE-CON, Aintree Racecourse. 10am-4pm. Adult tickets GBP11;
other rates at
www.ljeventsentertainment.com.
SOLD OUT 19-21 Jul [] FANTASY FOREST (cosplay), Sudely Castle, Cheltenham.
Waiting list at fantasyforest.co.uk.
26-29 Jul [] CONTINUUM (RPG), Cranfield University CMDC . GBP60 reg; day
pass GBP25 for any day. See continuumconvention.co.uk.
2-4 Aug [] DIANA WYNNE JONES (conference/festival), Watershed, Bristol.
Enquiries to
dianawynnejones2024@gmail.com SOLD OUT 2-5 Aug [] DISCWORLD CONVENTION, Birmingham NEC Hilton. GBP100
reg; GBP60 concessions. Waiting list at 2024.dwcon.org .
3-4 Aug [] SURREY STEAMPUNK CONVIVIAL, Stoneleigh, Epsom. See
bumpandthumper.wixsite.com/steampunkconvivials.
6 Aug [] EXTRA LONDON PUB MEETING before Worldcon: The Crown, 51 New Oxford
St, upstairs 7-11pm. If venue is closed try the Bloomsbury Tavern, 236
Shaftesbury Avenue (ground floor, same times). See also
file770.com/london-experiences-for-those-heading-to-the-worldcon/.
8-12 Aug [] GLASGOW 2024 (Worldcon), Glasgow SEC. _The planned 1 July price
rise has been cancelled._ GBP230 reg; first Worldcon and 'historically
under-represented' GBP165; Scots residents GBP150; under-26s GBP135 (GBP95
if Scots); under-16s GBP90; under-11s GBP55; under-6s GBP5. Virtual
membership GBP80. Further details and day rates at glasgow2024.org.
9-11 Aug [] TFNATION (_Transformers_), Hilton Birmingham Metropole near the
NEC. Various day ticket rates at tfnation.com/2024.
16-19 Aug [] ERASMUSCON (Eurocon), Rotterdam, Netherlands. Euro125 reg;
under-23s Euro75; under-13s Euro10, under-3s free. Under-19s must be
accompanied by an adult. See www.erasmuscon.nl for day rates.
17 Aug [] SMALL PRESS DAY, various events throughout the UK and Ireland,
and online. See smallpressday.co.uk.
17 Aug [] STARS OF TIME (comics), Winter Gardens, Weston-super-Mare.
GBP11.55; child/concessions GBP7.21. See www.starsoftime.co.uk.
29 Sep [] FANTASY & SCI-FI SPOTLIGHT, The Nerdy Cafe, Shrewsbury. 11am-7pm.
See www.fantasyandscifispotlight.co.uk.
11-13 Apr 2025 [] CORFLU 42 (fan), Chequers Hotel, Newbury. GBP75/$95 reg;
GBP25/$32 supp; GBP10/$15 virtual. More details at corflu.org. _Room
bookings are now open to members and The Boss advises fans to book early._
18-21 Apr 2025 [] RECONNECT, Hilton Lanyon Place Hotel and ICC, Belfast.
_Now GBP80 reg_; GBP40 discounted (_under-18s, concessions, Eastercon
first-timers, fans living in Ireland)_; GBP25 supp. See
easterconbelfast.org.
3-4 May 2025 [] PORTSMOUTH COMIC CON, Guildhall, Portsmouth. Tickets GBP33;
concessions and day rates at portsmouthcomiccon.com.
18 Oct 2025 [] PICTCON1, Salutation Hotel, 30-34 South St, Perth, Scotland.
GoH Francesca Tristan Barbini. GBP30 reg; GBP20 concessions. See
www.facebook.com/events/1186045639366253/.
RUMBLINGS. _Birmingham Anime Film Festival_ returns in September/October
2024: dates and prices are awaited at
www.baff.uk.
_Worldcon 2026:_ site selection voting is open at the Glasgow 2024
site, the only filed bid being Los Angeles.
_Worldcon 2028:_ at last, several signs of life from Australia's
Brisbane bid, which in June updated its banner at x.com/brisbanein28 to say
2028 rather than 2025 and launched a new website at brisbane28.org. The
only active bid had long been Kampala, Uganda, regarded by many fans as
problematic owing to the country's horrific anti-LGBT laws (punishments
include life imprisonment and death).
### INFINITELY IMPROBABLE ###
TECHNOLOGY MASTERCLASS. _Microsoft Windows Time Estimates Predicted!_ 'In
the indicator windows of the electronic brain various groups of figures
began to appear. First, "400,000", then appeared a little sign "3 Minutes",
which promptly disappeared and gave place to "800,000 Minutes". There was a
whirring and clicking which rapidly changed to "133,33/20". Just as rapidly
these figures also vanished to the accompaniment of another clicking, then
a new row of fives began to appear, "555----".' (Vargo Statten [John
Russell Fearn], _A Time Appointed_, 1954) [BA]
AWARDS. _Bram Stoker_ (horror) novel winners: NOVEL _The Reformatory_ by
Tananarive Due. DEBUT _The Daughters of Block Island_ by Christa Carmen.
CHILDREN'S _The Nighthouse Keeper_ by Lora Senf. YA _She Is a Haunting_ by
Trang Thanh Tran. Full list at
locusmag.com/2024/06/2023-stoker-awards-winners/.
_Lambdas_ (LGBTQ+) speculative fiction category: _I Keep My
Exoskeletons to Myself_ by Marisa Crane, [F770]
_Locus:_ SF NOVEL _System Collapse_ by Martha Wells. FANTASY NOVEL
_Witch King_ by Martha Wells. HORROR NOVEL _A House with Good Bones_ by T.
Kingfisher. YA NOVEL _Promises Stronger Than Darkness_ by Charlie Jane
Anders. FIRST NOVEL _The Saint of Bright Doors_ by Vajra Chandrasekera.
NOVELLA _Thornhedge_ by T. Kingfisher. NOVELETTE 'The Rainbow Bank' by
Uchechukwu Nwaka (8/23 _GigaNotoSaurus_). SHORT 'How to Raise a Kraken in
Your Bathtub' by P. Djeli Clark (1/23 _Uncanny_). ANTHOLOGY _Out There
Screaming_ ed. Jordan Peele & John Joseph Adams. COLLECTION _White Cat,
Black Dog_ by Kelly Link. MAGAZINE _Uncanny_. PUBLISHER Tor. EDITOR Neil
Clarke. ARTIST John Picacio. NONFICTION _Space Crone_ by Ursula K. Le Guin.
ART _The Culture: The Drawings_ by Iain M. Banks. _Special_ Jeanne Cavelos
and the Odyssey Writing Workshop.
_National Fantasy Fan Federation:_ these awards' wildcard 'none of the
above' category went to the 2023 Hugos as 'Best example of how not to run
fan awards'. [NF]
_Nebulas:_ NOVEL _The Saint of Bright Doors_ by Vajra Chandrasekera.
NOVELLA _Linghun_ by Ai Jiang. NOVELETTE 'The Year Without Sunshine' by
Naomi Kritzer (_Uncanny_ 11/23). SHORT 'Tantie Merle and the Farmhand 4200'
by R.S.A. Garcia (_Uncanny_ 7/23). CHILDREN'S/YA _To Shape a Dragon's
Breath_ by Moniquill Blackgoose. GAME _Baldur's Gate 3_. DRAMATIC _Barbie_.
_Seiun_ (Japan) best translated novel: _The Kaiju Preservation
Society_ by John Scalzi, translated by Masayuki Uchida.
_Yoto Carnegie Medal for Writing:_ _The Boy Lost in the Maze_ by
Joseph Coelho.
RANDOM FANDOM. _First Fandom_ changed its name in June to First Fandom
Foundation (since there are alas no surviving members of the actual First
Fandom, as defined by fannish activity in the 1930s) and incidentally
raised the annual dues from $15 to $20. [CP]
_James D. Nicoll_ sums up _The Last Dangerous Visions_: 'On the plus
side, after long delay, every word of Ellison's title will soon see print.'
(_Reactor_, 12 June)
_Retro Hugos:_ a motion submitted to the 2024 WSFS Business Meeting
(by Kent Bloom, seconded by Kevin Standlee) argues that these awards 'have
outlived their usefulness and should be abolished.' [F770]
R.I.P. _Erich Anderson_ (1956-2024), US actor in _Friday the 13th: The
Final Chapter_ (1984), the unsold tv pilot _The Witches of Eastwick_ (1992)
and many genre tv series, died on 1 June aged 67. [SJ]
_Nicholas Ball_ (1946-2024), UK actor in _Lifeforce_ (1985), _Mutant
Chronicles_ (2008), _The Haunting of Pendle Hill_ (2022) and others, died
on 6 June aged 78. [SJ]
_Terrence Beasor_ (1935-2024), US actor in _Time Trackers_ (1989),
_Demon Hunter_ (2005) and genre tv series, died on 28 May aged 89. [AIP]
_Tom Bower_ (1938-2024), US actor in _The Postman_ (1997), _Brothers
of the Head_ (2005), _The Hills Have Eyes_ (2006) and genre tv series, died
on 30 May aged 86. [LP]
_Kevin Brophy_ (1953-2024), US actor in _Hell Night_ (1981), _Time
Walker_ (1982), _White Dwarf_ (1995) and others, died on 11 May aged 70.
[LP]
_John Burnside_ (1955-2024), Scots author whose utopian sf novel was
_Havergey_ (2017), died on 29 May aged 69. [JC]
_Jeannette Charles_ (1927-2024), UK actress who played Queen Elizabeth
II in various productions including _Q6_ (1975-1980), _Queen Kong_ (1976)
and _Austin Powers in Goldmember_ (2002), died on 2 June aged 96. [SJ]
_Bill Cobbs_ (1934-2024), US actor in _The People Under the Stairs_
(1991) , _Demolition Man_ (1993), _Night at the Museum_ (2006 plus sequel),
_Vampires in Venice_ (2013) and others, died on 25 June aged 90. [AIP]
_Tom Davies_ (1941-2024), Welsh author whose satirical sf novel was
_The Electric Harvest_ (1984), died on 16 March aged 82. [PS-P]
_Hermina Frankova_ (1928-2024), Czech novelist and screenwriter whose
1968 children's fantasy 'Carodejnicka na kosteti' ('The Witch on the
Broom') became the film comedy _Divka na kosteti_ (_The Girl on a
Broomstick_, 1972), died on 12 June aged 95.
_Ruth Stiles Gannett_ (1923-2024), US author of the popular,
much-translated children's fantasy _My Father's Dragon_ (1948) and its two
sequels, died on 11 June aged 100.
_Peter B. Gillis_ (1952-2024), US comics writer most active with
Marvel in the 1980s, writing _Captain America_, _The Defenders_, _Doctor
Strange_, _Micronauts_ and others, died on 20 June aged 71.
_Alan Gold_ (1945-2024), UK author whose novels include the
global-pandemic 'eco-thriller' _Bat out of Hell_ (2015), died on 18 June.
_Robert Irwin_ (1946-2024), UK mediaeval historian, Arabic scholar and
novelist whose first book _The Arabian Nightmare_ (1983) was a
tour-de-force of darkly complex fantasy, and who wrote further fine novels
and nonfiction studies, died on 28 June aged 77. I liked him a lot.
_Yoshiko Kuga_ (1931-2024), Japanese actress with a rare genre credit
for _Godzilla vs. Biollante_ (1989), died on 9 June aged 93. [SJ]
_Tony Lo Bianco_ (1936-2024), US actor in _God Told Me To_ (1976) and
_Endangered Species_ (2002), died on 11 June aged 87. [LP]
_Taiki Matsuno_ (1967-2024), Japanese actor in many tokusatsu and
anime series who was also the Japanese voice of SpongeBob SquarePants, died
on 26 June aged 56.
_Spencer Milligan_ (1937-2024), US actor in _Sleeper_ (1973), _Land of
the Lost_ (30 episodes 1974-1975) and other genre tv series, died on 18
April aged 86. [LP]
_Martin Mull_ (1943-2024), US actor in _Sabrina, the Teenage Witch_
(73 episodes 1997-2000), _Danny Phantom_ (14 episodes 2003-2007), _Oliver's
Ghost_ (2011) and others, died on 27 June aged 80. [LP]
_Priscilla Olson_ (1951-2024), US fan active in NESFA Press
publishing, a Fellow of NESFA who chaired four Boskones and worked on
multiple Worldcons, died on 14 June aged 72. [GS] I remember her fondly as
unflappable chair of the Boskone where I was a guest. She is survived by
her husband Mark Olson, to whom all sympathy.
_Janis Paige_ (1922-2024), US actress in _Angel on My Shoulder_ (1980)
and genre tv series, died on 2 June aged 101. [SJ]
_Tamayo Perry_ (1975-2024), US surfer and actor in _Pirates of the
Caribbean: On Stranger Tides_ (2011), died in a shark attack while surfing
off Oahu on 23 June; he was 49.
_Betty Anne Rees_ (1943-2024), US actress in _Deathmaster_ (1972) and
_Sugar Hill_ (1974), died on 3 June aged 81. [LP]
_John Maddox Roberts_ (1947-2024), US author of much genre fiction
(including Conan stories) since his sf debut _The Strayed Sheep of Charun_
(1977), died on 23 May aged 76. [L]
_William Russell_ (1924-2024), UK actor in _The Adventures of Sir
Lancelot_ (1956-1957), the original _Doctor Who_ (1963-1965 plus later
spinoffs) and _Superman_ (1978), died on 3 June aged 99.
_Alan Scarfe_ (1946-2024), UK-born Canadian actor in _Without Warning_
(1994) and genre series including _Star Trek: TNG_ (1991-1993), _Mysterious
Island_ (1995) and _Andromeda_ (2004-2005), died on 28 April aged 77. [LP]
_Seven_, the dog in _Ghost Squad_ (2015) and _The Walking Dead_ (23
episodes 2018-2022), died in mid-June. [AIP]
_Armando Silvestre_ (1926-2024) Mexican-US actor in _Tarzan and the
Mermaids_ (1948), _The Bat Woman_ (1968), _Night of the Bloody Apes_ (1969)
and others, died on 3 June aged 98. [SJ]
_Pat Sims_ (1937-2024), US fan and convention-runner active from the
early 1960s, who with her husband Roger (1930-2022) won DUFF in 1995, died
on 9 June aged 87. [JH] She received the 2002 Big Heart award.
_Bud S. Smith_ (1935-2024), US film editor and producer whose credits
include _The Exorcist_ (1973), _Darkman_ (1990) and _Virus_ (1999), died on
23 June aged 88. [AIP]
[]_ Donald Sutherland_ (1935-2024), noted Emmy-winning Canadian actor whose
genre credits include _Dr Terror's House of Horrors_ (1965), _Invasion of
the Body Snatchers_ (1978), _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ (1992), _The Puppet
Masters_ (1994), the _Hunger Games_ films (2012-2015) and _Ad Astra_
(2019), died on 20 June aged 88. [LP]
_Anthea Sylbert_ (1939-2024), US costume designer whose films include
_Rosemary's Baby_ (1968), _The Illustrated Man_ (1969), _The Day of the
Dolphin_ (1973) and _King Kong_ (1976), died on 18 June aged 84. [AIP]
_Don Webb_ (1934-2024), UK screen writer -- mostly of police drama --
who scripted the Alan Garner tv adaptation _Elidor_ (1995), died on 26 May
aged 89. [SH]
OUTRAGED LETTERS. _Mark O'Neill_ pondered the pantheon: 'I sometimes think
that @ansiblemag's Thog's Masterclass has had a larger influence on the
English language than Shakespeare'. (Xtwitter, 10 June) Hats off again to
the late Paul Barnett/John Grant, onlie begetter of Thog.
FANFUNDERY. _TAFF Books:_ as promised, the latest release is Rob Hansen's
_British SF Conventions Volume 2: 1952-1957_ as a free ebook and
simultaneous trade paperback. See ae.ansible.uk/?t=UKcons2. TAFF benefit
paperbacks raised nearly GBP500 for the fund in January-June 2024.
THE DEAD PAST. _30 Years ago_, censorship struck: David Garnett 'had a
story in _SF Age_ recently -- "Sherlock the Barbarian". There was NO
nudity, profanity, overt sex or violence. Well, not much. But the word
"shit" was changed to "dung".' _Ansible:_ 'Context! We need context! If,
for example, the resulting phrase was "'Oh, dung,' she hissed
sibilantly...."' (_Ansible_ 84, July 1994)
_50 Years Ago_, a new urban legend was born: 'Did you know that the
ancient Egyptians had electric Mickey Mouse toothbrushes? / These and many
other NEW facts are revealed in my next best selling novel of fact, titled
_Toothpaste of the Gods_! Just mail me your signed blank check now and hold
your breath waiting for the book.' (Terry Hughes in _Mota_ 7, July 1974)
_60 Years Ago_, fan history was in the making: '_All Our Yesterdays_
is the title Harry Warner currently favors for his history of fandom,
1939-59 -- although John Trimble is campaigning for _The Immortal Calm_.'
(_Starspinkle_ 43, 30 July 1964)
ANOTHER AUCTION. Fan memorabilia sold through Heritage Auctions in June
included a rare flyer for the 1939 New York Worldcon ('No admission
charge') that went for $1,440; Frank R. Paul's original logo artwork for
the same event's programme book was sold for $10,200.
EDITORIAL. Being routinely paranoid about links that don't go where
claimed, I was a little slow to vote in 2026 Worldcon site selection. The
email from the voting subcontractor ElectionBuddy Inc shows the URL as
'secure.electionbuddy.com/' followed by the promised 19-character voter ID
-- but hovering over the link reveals it as 'go.electionbuddy.com/' plus
some 200 characters of alphanumerical gibberish. No doubt there are vitally
important security reasons for this....
_SF Encyclopedia:_ many thanks to Conversation 2023, the UK Eastercon,
for a substantial donation towards _SFE_ expenses -- much appreciated!
Other donors likewise.
THOG'S MASTERCLASS. _Science As She Was Spoke._ 'We get our power by
feeding gravity rays across the generator fins of our power units, because
we've no natural gravity up here.' A new satellite -- made of uraniametal,
'the strongest and lightest substance known to man' -- will 'not be in
orbit with Earth. It therefore will not spin on its own axis in order for
it maintain the velocity necessary to retain it in an orbit.' (E.C. Eliott,
_Kemlo and the Satellite Builders_, 1960) [JD via NW]
_Renewable Power Source._ 'The Venusians are ... using their planet as
a kind of armature. In its slow spin against the ether it obviously
generates energy ...' (Vargo Statten [John Russell Fearn], _A Time
Appointed_, 1954) [BA]
_Small Arms Dept._ '... he felt in the pockets of the heavy ammunition
belt around his waist ... finally he had brought to light an A-bomb no
larger than a walnut ...' (_Ibid_) [BA]
_He Did the Metaphor Mash._ 'He opened the dampers on the fire of her
passion, and she blew flame from the hot coals of his. His hunger was now a
raging thirst ...' (Pete Lewis [cover] or Peter J. Crown [title page],
_Father of the Amazons_, 1961) [BA]
### GEEKS' CORNER ###
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### 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.htmlhttps://ae.ansible.uk/https://ansible.uk/books/index.htmlGROUP THEORY.
11 July 2024, from 8pm: Northumberland Heath SF Open Meeting (free),
Duchess of Kent, DA8 1JD.
http://www.concatenation.org/n-heath-sf.html 18 July 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-5232021e961fSTUPEFYING THINGS WE LEARNED ONLINE: 'Most of the Mars scenes in _The
Martian_ (2015) were actually filmed on Earth.' (Facebook) Now I need to
hide in my thought-proof reality exclusion shelter before hearing similar
heresy about _Forbidden Planet_ or _2001_.
WOOF! The regular Worldcon APA is open for contributions. Bring 25 copies
of your zine to the Glasgow 2024 fan lounge by the Saturday or send a PDF
for printing ('generous' GUFF donation requested, GBP2 per side or as much
more as your generosity suggests) by 25 July to official collator Christina
Lake, glasgow24woof [at] gmail.com, to whom all enquiries should go.
RUMBLINGS II. Reconnect's 1 July price rise from GBP70 to GBP80 full adult
membership has not yet taken effect on the registrations page as this
_Ansible_ goes to press. The cunning ploy of concealing the main site from
search engines with 'robots ... noindex, nofollow' instructions has now
been wisely abandoned.
https://registration.easterconbelfast.org/SOME LINKS from the _Ansible_ home page.
Mythopoeic Awards finalists
https://file770.com/2024-mythopoeic-awards-finalists/ N3F Awards at _Locus_:
https://locusmag.com/2024/06/2024-n3f-awards/ Stoker Awards winners at _Locus_:
https://locusmag.com/2024/06/2023-stoker-awards-winners/THOG'S GOLDEN OLDIES from _Ansible_ 204, July 2004. _Zero Tolerance Dept
(or, The Wages of Washing)._ 'I merely refer you to our "Code of Light"
drawn up in the dark days of 1979 _[...]_ if a girl comes home here covered
in oil and grease or the soil itself she can travel unmolested. Otherwise
she is liable to get picked up on a trumped vice charge _[...]_ such as
being a "person of known vicious private habits loitering for immoral
purposes etc".' (Paul Charkin, _The Living Gem_, 1963)
_Dept of Urban Metamorphosis._ 'Like a man in wonderland Gordon Drew
watched them for a while, then he went further up the main street and
finally turned into a small teashop.' (Hugo Blayn [John Russell Fearn],
_Flashpoint_, 1950)
_Bearded Lady Dept._ 'At least his face was unmarked; in the bandages
it looked like an unshaven nun's face' (Ramsey Campbell, _Ancient Images_,
1989)
_Hazards of Smoking Dept._ 'Smith struck a match and relighted his
pipe. He began to pace the room again. His eyes were literally on fire.'
(Sax Rohmer, _The Mystery of Dr Fu Manchu_, 1913)
_Ansible_(R) 444 (C) David Langford, 2024. Thanks to Brian Ameringen, Bill
Burns, John Clute, Jack Deighton, Nic Farey, _File 770_, Joe Haldeman,
Steve Holland, Steve Jones, _Locus_, Phil Stephensen-Payne, Lawrence
Person, Curt Phillips, Andrew I. Porter, Alison Scott, Geri Sullivan,
Gordon Van Gelder, Nick Watkins, and our Hero Distributors: Durdles Books
(Birmingham SF Group), SCIS/Prophecy and Alan Stewart (Australia).
1 July 2024
-- David Langford | http://ansible.uk/ | http://news.ansible.uk/
Ansible 444 -- July 2024
Re: Ansible 444 -- July 2024