Norwescon 11 Post-Con Report
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WestWind No. 140 May/June 1989
Norwescon 11 Best of Show Postcon Report
COVER PHOTOS
The cover and interior photos for this publication where taken by Peter Citrak and John Sabota.
STAFF
Editor: Robert Suryan
Art Editor: Doug Booze
Layout Editor: Judy Suryan
Printing: Michael Brocha
Typing: Sue Bartroff, Judy Suryan, Robert Suryan
Mailing Lables: Lauraine Miranda
March-April Collating: Sue Banroff, Michael Brocha, Lauraine Miranda, Judy Suryan, Robert Suryan
CONTRIBUTORS: Andrew Bartroff, Craig Bowie, Elisabeth Eldred, Mark Manning, Lauraine Miranda, Yvonne V. Richardson, Dora Shirk, Kathy Smith, Judy Suryan, Judy Swanson, Debbie Tatarek, Elizabeth Warren
ART CREDITS: Andrew Banroff, Brad Foster, Shane, Sharee Sledge, Lynne Taylor, William R. Warren
FEATURES
Little Paper Faces by Mark Manning: Pages 6-7
Norwescon 11 Post-Con Reprot Report by Norwescon 11 Staff: Pages 8-20
When The Aliens Landed by Andrew Bartroff: Page 21
Other Matters by Dora Shirk: Page 23
DEPARTMENTS
Calendar: Page 3
Announcements: Pages 3-5
Social: Page 5
Book & Movie Reviews: Page 22
WESTWIND--the newsletter of the Northwest Science Fiction Society. Issue No.140, May/June 1989. Published by Northwest Science Fiction Society. Chairman: Judy Suryan (redacted). Vice-Chairman: Becky Simpson (redacted). Secretary-Treasurer: Sue Bartroff (redacted). Opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and not neccssarily those of the editors or publisher.
Contents copyright 1989 for contributors by the Northwest Science Fiction Society. Westwind is mailed monthly to members of NWSFS, (redacted), SEATILE, WA 98124. Memberships in NWSFS cost $15.00 ($18.00 for out of country - in U.S. funds only) per year including 12 months of Westwind. Advertising is accepted: must be received Camera-ready by the 5th of the month prior to issue. Mail to NWSFS. Full page (7.5 x 10), $20: Half-page (7.5 x 5), $12: quarter page (3.5 x 5), $7: eighth page or business card, $5. NWSFS INFORMATION HOTLINE: (redacted).
CALENDAR
July 28-31, 1989: MYTHCON XX University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C. GoHs Guy Gavriel Kay, Raymond Thompson. Memb: US$25, CDN$30. Info: (redacted), Station A, Nanaimo, B.C. V9R 5N2.
August 11-13, 1989: ZERO G, A RELAXCON. Cavanaugh's Motor Inn, Moscow, ID. GoH John Dalmas, FGoH Jon Gustafson. Memb. $10 to 2/1/89, $12 to 8/1/89, $14 at the door. Info: (redacted), Moscow, ID 83843.
August 25-27, 1989: DRAGONFLIGHT '89. Gaming Convention, Bellermine Hall, Seattle University. Memb. (Dragonflight + Con.) $20 to 5/31/89, $22 to 8/20/89. Info: (redacted), Seattle, WA 98111. (redacted).
August 31-September 4, 1989: NOREASCON III/47TH WORLD SF CONVENTION. Sheraton-Boston/Hynes Convention Ctr., Boston, MA GoHs Andre Norton, Ian & Betty Ballantine. FGoHs The Stranger Club. Memb. $70 (children $45) to 3/15/89, $80 ($50) to 7/15/89 ($20 supporting). For info. Noreascon 3, (redacted), MIT Branch P.O., Cambridge, MA 02139.
September 2-3, 1989: NORWESCON 11.5 Relaxacon. Tukwilla Nendells Hotel. (by Southcenter) Room Rates $57 Singal or Double. See details in May Westwind.
October 6-8, 1989: BANFF INTERNATIONAL 89. Banff Parks Lodge, Banff, Alberta. GoH Brian Aldiss, AGoH Vincent Di Fate, FGoH Mike Glicksohn. Memb. $25 ($21 US) to 1/1/89. Info: (redacted), Red Deer, Alberta T4N 5H3, or (redacted), Moscow, ID 83843.
October 13-15, 1989: ARMADILLOCON 11. Wyndham South, Austin Texas. GoH Lewis Shiner, FGoH Mike Glyer, Official Artist David Thayer, FAGoH Teddy Harvia, Editor GoH Pat LoBrutto, TM Connie Willis. Memb. $15 to 4/2/89. Info: Fact, (redacted), Austin, TX. (redacted).
October 13-15, 1989: PINEKONE 11, CANVENTION 9. Skyline Hotel, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. SFGoH Greg Bear, FantasyGoH Raymond E. Fiest, AGoH David Cherry, FGoH Michael Skeet. Memb: C$15/USS13 to 3/31/89, CS20/USS21 to 9/15/89, CS25/US$21 thereafter. Info: (redacted), STN F, Ottawa, Ontario, K2C 3Jl, Canada.
November 10-12, 1989: ORYCON 11. Columbia River Red Lion. GoH Michael Bishop. Memb: $16 to 5/31/89, $20 to 10/ 31/89, $25 at the door. Info: (redacted), Portland, OR 97228. (redacted) OryCon will be a weaponless convention.
December 8-10, 1989: SMOFCON 6. Howard Johnson Airport Hotel, (redacted), Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M9W 1J5. Memb: CS35/USS28 to 5/31/89, CS40/USS32 to 10/30/89, CS50/USS40 at the door. Info: (redacted), Station 'M', Toronto, Ontario, Canada M6S 4T3. (redacted).
January 19-21, 1990: RUSTYCON 7. SeaTac Hyatt Hotel; (redacted). GoH Ben Bova, AGoH Mike Grell, FGoH Frank Denton. Memb: $18 to 3/31/89. Info: (redacted), Seattle, WA 98124-5591.
March 29-April 1, 1990: NORWESCON 12 Tacoma Shearton Hotel (redacted). FGoH Pat Mueller, TM Dan Reeder. Room rates: Three night mininum (Thurs., Fri. and Sat.) $185 S & D; $205 T & Q. Each addional night $63 S & D, $69T & Q. Memb. $27 ($22 for NWSFS membs) to 9/3/89.
August 30-September 3, 1990: CON DIEGO/NASFIC 1990. GoH Samuel Delany, FGoH Ben Yalow. Memb: $55 to 7/1/ 89,$65 to 1/1/90, $75 to7/l/90, $85 at the door. Info: (redacted), San Diego, CA 92115.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Camlann Medieval Faire
Hear Ye, Hear Ye: The lord of Camlann invites you to attend his renowned annual faire. At the morning trumpet, the village gates open upon the colorful andl fascinating world of Chaucer's England in 1376.
Watch skilled village artisans make you fine crafted goods. Relax in the glen and listen to the gaily clad minstrels. At 12:30 and 4:30 the trumpet will call you to attend the tourney field. Puppet shows, jugglers, a roguish jongleur, dance troupes, caroles around the maypole alnd the village animals awaite all. You may also partake of the wolesome midieval foods for a small amount of coin.
Open Sat. & Sun., 11am to 6pm, July 22-August 27. Admission is adults-$7.00, kids 7-12 & Seniors 60 and over $4.00, and kids 6 and under are free. (Note: smoking is limited to posted areas, no pets.) Directions: From 1-90 take exit #22 (Preston) on 203 to Stillwater (2 m1. north of Carnation). Go to the Stillwater store and turn left on road to Lake Joy. Go 1 mi. to Camlann (on right). For info on the evening banquets or for directions for other locations call (redacted).
The Shadows Persist
Remember running home from school when you were a kid, eager to catch the next exciting chapter of your favorite TV show? The show that your mother didn't want to watch - complete with resident vampires, werewolves, witches, and various other assorted creepies? That show, of course, was Dark Shadows, and there never has been anything quite like it since. And, just like many of its characters, it simply refused to die out. Today, over twenty years later, its' devoted fans are keeping it alive through syndicated reruns, yearly festivals, local fan clubs, and national publications of both newsletters and fanzines. By working together, these organizations strive to keep the enjoyment of the series alive, for the fans, by the fans!
The Tacoma/Seattle chapter of DS fandom is the SHADES OF WYNDCLIFFE DARK SHADOWS SOCIETY. Our club was founded in late 1987, one year after local television station KSTW 11 abruptly cancelled DS at an especially exciting point. Co-founders May and Judy Sutherland managed to locate copies of DS episodes on video-tape, and decided to share the good fortune with others who had not been so lucky. The club meets about every three or four weeks, to watch and enjoy taped episodes, and to share information and anecdotes with each other. We are up to the early 1795 episodes (the first "flashback" storyline, in which it was shown how Barnabas Collins became a vampire).
Our new fanzine, Wyndcliffe Watch, is both a local and a national publication, and subscriptions now total between forty and fifty (we're still growing!). The first issue, published on October of 1988, was over thirty pages long; and featured artwork, poetry, fiction, ORIGINAL Sherlock cartoons, reviews, 1967 episode synopses, and never-before-published, original TV-photos. The second issue, published in December 1988, featured more of the same, PLUS an in-depth look at the 1988 New York City DS FESTIVAL, complete with many original photos of the DS stars. We are currently at work on the third issue, due some time in June, 1989. It will include, of among other things, a look at the 1989 March Los Angels DS FESTIVAL, again with photos!
Membership rates are only $12.00 for four issues of Wyndcliffe Watch -- at only $3.00 an issue. Also included with your membership are an illustrated membership card, a Xerox copy of DS writer Sam Hall's important 1971 TV Guide article, and admission to the club meetings to watch DS episodes. (There is a bonus for fans of character "Julia Hoffman": a b/w 5x7 TV-photo. Please indicate if interested).
Our club is always ready to help promote anyone sincerely interested in DS and fandom in general. We're glad to help promote other zines/clubs, as well as help people locate items for their collections. Fandom is, to us, a fun means of sharing all the exciting things going on out there, and we want to do our part to help add to them. We sincerely hope that some of you wiH want to join us! For info please write: May Sutherland, (redacted), Tacoma, WA 98407.
Condiego/NASFiC
The 1990 NASFiC will be held in beautiful San Diego, California. As you probably know, the North American Science Fiction Convention is held when the Worldcon is held overseas. In this case, it is being held in The Hague, so all of us fans who can't go to Europe for a convention have a rather fine alternative choice.
Our professional guest of honor is Samuel R. Delaney, the Nebula and Hugo Award winner who has written such works as Babel-17, Dhalgren, and Trilon, to name only a few. Delaney is known best for his bright, sparkling images, and his many faceted characters.
Our fan guest of honor is Ben Yallow. Ben is well-known convention organizer, having been on the Worldcon committee, as well as regional and local cons in Massachusetts.
There will also be the Masquerade, a dealer's room with approximately 200 tables, a video room, Art Show, speakers and panels, and a film room.
All this in a bay side venue, including the brand new Convention Center. When you're seeking a break from frenzied conventioneering, you can walk down the street to a waterside park, where you can loll on the grass as you watch the sailboats glide by. Then if you have an urge to be on the water yourself, you can visit the Maritime Museum and go aboard a real clipper ship or a reproduction of the 'The Golden Hind'.
If you wish to travel back in time to Spanish California, Old Town can satisfy you, or if you wish to travel to modern Mexico, a regular trolley travels down to the border, where you can take a short walk into Tia Juana.
There is also a regular bus to Sea World, a marine park where you can watch killer whales play. And about fifteen minutes away is the world famous San Diego Zoo, where there are koalas on exhibit, one of the few places outside of Australia.
So, set aside Labor Day weekend, Aug. 28 - Sep. 1, 1990 to come play by the bay in San Diego.
Rates: $55.00 to 7/1/89; $65.00 7/2 to 1/1/90.
For further information send SASE to: ConDiego/1990 NASFiC, (redacted), Sao Diego, CA 92115
MagiCon/Orlando in '92
Hotel Rates: Magicon/Orlando in '92 has reached agreement with two of its three principle hotels on room rates for the prospective 1992 Worldcon. Rooms at the Clarion Plaza will be available for $63 to $69 per night, based on number of occupants. Rates at the Quality Inn Plaza are $33 to $37 per nighL Magicon has blocked 600 rooms at each hotel. Negotiations with the convention's headquarters hotel, the Peabody Orlando, are still in progress. Expect rates at the Peabody to be in the vicinity of $1OO per night in 1992 dollars, which is quite inexpensive for a hotel of that quality. Magicon has a 750 room block at the Peabody. It has blocked over 2,000 additional rooms at secondary hotels.
Magicon Presupport
Support for Orlando's 1992 Worldcon bid has reached new heights in two areas. The number of Magicon/Orlando in '92 presupporters has passed the 1,800 mark, while membership in the bid's "advisory committee", Friends of Orlando (F.O.O.), has also grown. MagiCon treasurer Sue Cole projects that the total number of presupporters will reach two thousand "sometime between Memorial Day and the Fourth of July". The Orlando bid thus continues to set a record pace, collecting more presupporting members than any previous Worldcon bid has claimed at a comparable stage.
MagiCon is the trade name of Orlando's bid for the 1992 World Science Fiction Convention. The bid is sponsored by Franc, Inc., a Florida not-for-profit corporation, and is cochaired by Becky Thomson, Joe Siclari and Tom veal.
For further info: MagiCon, (redacted), Orlando, Fl. 32862-1992, or call Joe Sidari (redacted) or Tom Veal (redacted).
New Bookstore
From: Aunt Violet's Bookbin and Menagerie, A Home For Decayed Gentlewomen; (redacted), Seattle, WA 98105. Phone: (redacted)
Dear Nizzfizz:
Can you announce in your newsletter that Jessica Amanda Salmonson & Jules Faye have opened a quality used bookshop and we are buying and selling fine books in many fields? Thanks!
-Jessica
[ed.-Yes we can, the first one is free]
Birthdays for April, May and June
April 1: Dixieanne Bennet
April 3: Tom Oswald
April 15: Janice Murray
April 16: Alexander Bennett
April 22: Beth Dockins
April 23: Ardis Jakubaitis
April 24: John Morrison
April 29: Thom Walls
April 29: Cindy Murata
April 29: Ann Fox
May 1: Ken Wong
May 6: Debbie Tutarek
May 8: Pat Mallinson
May 9: Joe Palmer
May 9: Dianna Dodson
May 13: Dave Wilson
May 16: Paul Wocken
May 18: Doug Girling
June 2: Steve Bard
June 3: Kitty Bailey-Town
June 4: Tony Chichetti
June 7: Peter Suryan
June 8: Suzle
June 8: Carol Pearsall
June 14: Shelley Berry
June 22: Kitty Canterbury
June 25: Peter Citrak
Lauraine's NEWSFS
New members for NWSFS (up to Norwescon)
1152 James Nagley Seattle
1153 Janet Lindsey Kennewick
1154 Lome Counter Kirkland
1155 Torry Allen Scott Salem, OR
1156 Michael Frantz Bremerton
1157 Pat Ausen Seattle
1158 Martin Haller Auburn
1159 Steve Haynack Granite Falls
1160 Michael Robbins Tacoma
The Green Book (our phone and address directory which ain't necessarily green) is due out around June. Be sure to get any changes to your listing in to me asap.
Social
The July Social is on Saturday the 29th and will be our annual sojourn to Wildwaves Park and Enchanted Village in Federal Way. If you have not been to this fun in the water park before now is the time to go. And at about half the cost of a regular ticket at only $9.00 each (Children under 2 are free) now is the right price to go too.
Wildwaves has deep pools and shallow ones for the kids as well as slides ranging from mild to tube slides that will take your breath away. There is also the wave tank; something you'll have to experience yourself to believe. They also have a food and beverage bar so your can refuel the body. Lockers are available to store you personnel belongings.
Enchanted Village is for the little ones (and the little one in all of us). It has shallow pools and the tamer water tubes and slides; a variety of carnival rides; a petting zoo; many different food concessions and tables and grassy areas to picnic on and around with your own brought in repast or with what you have purchased there. (You cannot bring ice chests or picnic baskets into the Wildwaves area.) There is also a Aqua theater with several shows daily on the weekends.
All rides and slides are unlimited and no extra charge once you enter the park. You can spend the whole day there (or any part of it) from 10 am to 8pm for the one price.
Our Vice Chairman, Becky Simpson will be taking your reservations at (redacted) (you can also call in your request to Judy Suryan at (redacted)). She will also make arrangements with you to get your tickets. Please call by July 26th. See you there.
Little Paper Faces
Mark Manning
I hope you're enjoying the summer, fellow fans. A nice hope, not unlike the one which closed the last column, to wit: 'May your pockets fill with sticky quarters.'
For many years, any fanzine you'd care to name would cost 25¢. Fans would tape coins onto their letters requesting copies. The true fanzine fan, then, always had a pocket full of sticky quaners.
Sticky Quarters is also the name of the genzine published occasionally by Detroit fan Brian Earl Brown.
Down to business: Here we've got the latest two FOSFAXes, (#137 & 138, Mar & Apr 89, $15/yr or the Usual--your zine in trade, Letters of Comment, art, or articles--from FOSFA, (redacted), Louisville 40233-7281). The excellent Paul Young floating geisha cover on #137 welcomes the reader to this Hugo-nominated clubzine. Each ish combines three ingredients: Tons of reviews, the most active LoCcol I've seen, and other stuph. Other stuph? How about Taral's page-long list of fan histories in #137? Or the dead-on plot parodies in #138 for SF books of the future: Asimov's Guide to Callalian's Place and Hal's Place: A Prelude to Odyssey.
Norwescon 11's Fan GoH Mike Glyer offers File 770 #78 ($5/ 5 issues from (redacted), Van Nuys, CA 91401), with fannish newsy tidbits from all over: Fanfund winners, a lurid shakeup in the San Francisco Worldcon in '93 bid committee, a few con reports, art by Alan White, Brad Foster, C. Lee Healy, and other goodies.
Glyer's comical minutes of the LA SF Society grace the clubzine, De Profundis (for the Usual from (redacted), North Hollywood, CA 91601). Editor Jeni Burr sent us #206 & 207(Mar & Apr 89),and minutes pretty much fill them. Not bad at all.
It's been two years since NWSFS received a copy of Keith Walker's Fanzine Fanatique (for trade from (redacted), Lancaster, Lancs, LA1 4UF England). This unnumbered zine reviews zines, four relatively hard-to-read pages worth.
Pam Fremon edits Instant Message for the New England SF Association ($15/yr from (redacted) MIT Branch PO, Cambridge, MA 02139-0910), and in fact sent us issues #453 through 457, which appeared every other week as regular as a dose of salts, full of minutes as dull as squash.
New editor Bill Wilson (who may be the same person as the contributor of elegant work in various apas over the years) sends #47 & 48 (Feb & Mar 89) of the South FL SF Society's SFSFS Shuttle, which contains various club announcements. Bill fails to say how this zine may be acquired from SFSFS, (redacted), Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33307-0143, but I ran the info in "Little Paper Faces" back around October (now where's that diskette?).
The Portland SF Society sends Pulsar #125 & 126 (Mar & Apr 89)--nice material, what there is of it: Clubzine Lite, John Raymond Lorentz' column weighs the keel well as Pat Steed and Sam Butler edit one issue each. For $10/yr or your zine in trade from PorSFiS, (redacted), 97208
From Edmonton comes Neology #66 (Winter 88-89), in which editor T. Phinney stuffs Allen Brockman's meditation on the essence of NonCon, Mark Bourassa's rules for the extended-chess game called Ultima, a thorough zine review column, good LoCs, and great art. Neology doesn't appear frequently, but it may be my favorite club zine anyway, and will set you back $12/yr, your zine in trade, or a LoC (from ESFCAS, (redacted) Postal Station South Edmonton, Edmonton, AB T6E 4S8 Canada).
Another Canadian clubzine, Vancouver's Bcsfazine, still edited by Steve Forty, arrived this month, specifically #190 & 191 (Mar & Apr 89), and pleasant zines they are, too. Better than average cover art, "Ask Mr. Science," reviews, Sidney Trim's space news, editor-to-be R. Graeme Cameron's reviews of psychotronic films, & LoCs. Worthwhile stuph from BCSF A, (redacted), Stn E, Vancouver V6M 4G9, $12/ yr.
The NWSFS Library now has #27 & 28 (representing a couple months in Spring 89, I guess) of The Texas SF Inquirer (S6/6 issues or the Usual from FACT, (redacted), Austin, TX 78766). Nice covers (by Real Musgrave and Brad Foster, respectiveely), OK contents, including the last of Lawrence Person's survey of the horror small press. I'd have liked these Scott Merritt-edited issues more --but I came across a stack of old copies of the same zine as done by former editor Pat Mueller: They're worth visiting the NWSFS Llorary to see!
Two issues of Westwind ago, I reviewed the revived perzine Don-o-Saur #52, but omitted editor Don Thompson's address! You can get the new ish, #53, from him (for the Usual) at (redacted), Westminster, CO 80030. Lots of gnatter on the subject of anger here, lots of LoCs. More interesting than exactly fun.
Now, some capsule notes: Walter Jung's Communications of the NW Anime Society, Vol II #5, will interest Japanimation fans, with its plot summaries and newsy editorial: Write the Society at (redacted), Seattle 98168-8572 for membership info. For a report on the May gathering of the Nameless Ones, read The Shriek of the Nameless, edited by Kristi Austin, available c/o the Arkadian Bookshop, (redacted), Seattle 98105. The same address should work for It's Only Talk, #80 (Don Keller, editor) which reports on the April Babble-17 discussion of Lewis Shiner's Deserted Cities of the Heart. If you're a fan of Rocky & Bullwinkle, send $5/4 issues of The Frostbite Falls Far-Flung Flier, from Charles Ulrich c/o Swick, (redacted), Albuquerque, NM 87108-Vol 3 #3 concentrates on Boris Badenov.
Yours truly got a huge stack of zines this month, in large part thanks to having sent a bunch of virtual strangers copies of my new zine.
Harry Andruschak ((redacted), Torrance, CA 90510-5309) issues nicely done compilations of fanzine reviews every so often-probably available in trade for your zine. He sent me the latest two: Merry BAH! and a Happy HUMBUG! and Last of the Spirit-Duplicators. Thanks, Harry!
You may have met Alexis Gilliland at Norwescon 11. His new zine, Das Fangold, is devoted to one topic: Whether Worldcon committees should return surplus income to the con membership. Makes sense to me, as he's laid the idea out in #1 & 2 (available at whim or for $2 each from (redacted), Arlington, VA 22204).
The Dillinger Relic #61 is Arthur D. Hlavaty's perzine (available for $1, trade, or LoC from (redacted), Durham NC 22717). Arthur rambles through discussions of his college studies, the 10th Annual International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts, and books he's read. Well done, if not flashy.
Irwin Hirsh ((redacted), East Prahran, VI 3181) sends Sikander #15, his first perzine in a year and a half. While Keith cues a trumpet fanfare, I'll tell you about the excellent writing from Irwin--on a trio of Melbourne fannish pregnancies and his GUFF-funded trip to the English national con. Equally solid work by Mark Loney (fanzine criticism) and John Foyster (another trip report). Top flight art and LoCs.
Keith, can you cue the pianist to play a quiet passage from an Ives sonata? Here's Air-Glow #5 & 6, the perzine of TL Bohman, (redacted), East Thetford, VT 05043-0014. Terry's an Emergency Medical Technician (paramedic to you), and writes engagingly about his work, stargazing, bugs, weddings, and whatever else he feels like discussing. Good people send good LoCs, too. Well worth your $1/2 issues or Usual.
OK, you out there in Poulsbo or Ballard, here's Remember Lindisfarne, all three of them so far, from Heidi Lysbol, (redacted) Oslo 4, Norway. The first one was an apazine, in which various Norfen discussed their fannish projects or the history of Norfandom. In #2 & 3, RL had become a genzine, with articles, art, and fiction by various Norfen and Eurofen: Germany's Thomas Rechtenwald, England's Cardinal Cox, Czechoslovakia's Dr. Egon Cierny. Friendly stuph, available for the Usual or bribes in Norwegian currency.
Maverick (unnumbered, but probably #6 or so) comes for the Usual from Jenny Glover, (redacted), Leeds LS12 2WP England. Jenny's editorial concentrates on her unusually stressful job, Dublin's Jo Jaquinta sends an excellent bit of fan fiction, Father X recalls life as a Moonie, Ken Cheslin's "The Golden Chalice of Foo-Foo" tells a fanish tale a la Tolkien, and dozens of folks from England and Europe add to the LoCcol. Recommended.
The Toronto genzine torus #5 (from the Kamikaze Editorial Collective, (redacted), Stn M, Toronto ON M6S 4T3 for the Usual) includes an interview with Ben Bova, Terri Neal on catfandom, LoCs, good art, and Taral Wayne's absolutely superb fannish future history, "Future Recall." Lloyd Penney, Keith & Nancy Soltys, and Michael Wallis do a wonderful job on torus. You'll like it.
Stungunn #10 (for trade or Aus $2/4 issues from Ian Gunn, (redacted), Ashburton 3147, Victoria, Australia) is the Special Parody Flattery Edition, with uncannily well-done takes on several of the weirder zines done by Melbourne fans. Keith, can you cue the skateboard-rock album--thanks. You might get more out of the ish if you'd read the zines Gunn's bashing here (I know all but one of them), but even if you hadn't, you'd probably still recognize Stungunn as a tour-de-force.
One of Ian Gunn's targets is Get Stuffed, a Melbourne-based hoaxzine of goofy padding and anti-fan fanart, all aimed at winning the Ditmar, Australia's equivalent of a fanzine Hugo. Editor Jacob Blake sent me #3 (for the Usual or something from (redacted), West Brunswick 3055, Victoria, Australia), together with the news that the zine had won. Now what new heights will Blake want to conquer?
Fmally, Jerry Kaufman brought me The Enchantment back from Corflu (the con for fanzine fans). This is celebrated Northern Irish fan (OK Keith, here's where the full brass orchestra anthem goes) Walt Willis' report of his GoH trip to the 1989 Tropicon in FL Lauderdale. Editing by the celebrated Boca Raton fanhistorian Joe Siclari and his celebrated fannish companion Edie Stern, art by the lovely and celebrated Southern fan Lee Hoffman, the abovementioned and celebrated Alexis Gilliland, the English and celebrated fan ATom, and Gail Bennett, who'll probably be celebrated someday, for all I know. Send the SFSFS (address above) $5 for this jewel, read it, and celebrate!
Even if you're too young to remember those longgone days when LeeH was a man, you can still enjoy the spell cast by Willis' in The Enchantment. Wait a minute? What do I mean by "when LeeH was a man?" Fmd out in the next oolumn.
Until then, saying thanks to the Northwest's Number One fannish DJ, Keith Johnson, for the musical tributes to the month's best mies, I'm out of here. Keep fannish!
Norwescon 11 Post-Con Report
Chairman's Corner
by Elizabeth Warren
I am hearing rumors that Norwescon 11 went pretty well. I was kind of busy, so I have to take your word for it. I really like this job better than hospitality, thank you Debbie Tutarek for taking over and doing such a great job.
I want to use this opportunity to tell you the truth, the whole truth and all that. It's not my fault! Norwescon went well due to the efforts of a lot of committed people. Each Norwescon takes about 18 months worth of planning and the committee works very hard during that time. They all deserve the highest praise, they have done a wonderful job. I join you in thanking them for a wonderful weekend.
Thank you all for coming and sharing the fun. Thank you especially to those of you who gave an hour or 30 in the service of Norwescon, you really are the backbone of the convention.
LOCS
All dear Norwescon people,
Just let me send you this naive childish scrawl to thank vou for having me as Special Guest Writer-on-Wheels, 1989.
I enjoyed myself and in particular appreciated the door-to-door transportation by Mr. Suryan. On being suddenly informed by the hotel at 5 after 4 that I should have left at 4, I accepted Dave Hall's ride back to Bremerton rather than interrupt the schedule(s) of the busy official con people, wasn't that considerate of me? Sorry I did not eat the Brunch Banquet food but for me to have had a heart attack on the spot would have been counter-productive and questionably attractive. Thank you again for all favors and I will recommend you - plural to all my friends.
Very yoursly yours,
Avram Davidson
Norwescon XI Con Com:
Thanks for your hard work and its good results. As Always, I wish I'd had time and energy for all the potentially interesting bits.
Having hotel staff handle the elevators may have helped a little, but let's face it - that hotel is undersupplied with elevators (just imagine the hellish torments due hotel designers and builders who skimp on things like elevators.
It was good to have Hospitality where elevators weren't needed to reach it, but next year could it be in a more aesthetically pleasing area? Thousands of thanks for having it non-smoking.
I heard wishes expressed that the Dealers Room had more space and more/wider range of dealers.
The KidCon programming was a great idea-some of it would've interested older folks too. Thanks for thinking of the under 12 people.
Overall, congrats and thanks again.
Elisabeth Eldred
To the Norwescon 11 Convention Committee:
Thanks again for a fun Norwescon. As in past years, it provided me with not only a needed break from the ordinary, but with a boost in creative energy as well.
I particularly enjoyed the masquerade (of course), despite its occasional confusion, and would like to thank Keith Johnson and Michael Citrak for their incredible patience and invaluable mid-performance assistance. You can't do it without the sound and lights, folks. Special thanks go, also, to Nora Hogoboom for her quick-thinking solution to the mixup in the awards announcements. The contestants were great and put on a fine show. I thought the turtles and chickens all terrific.
Best wishes to the entire convention staff. Your many hours of work are most appreciated.
Aloha!
Carol Severance
Gaming Department
by Craig Bowie
This year gaming was a big success in a small place. Gaming had a 200% increase in space available and we managed to fill it quite easily. I was quite pleased to see a high level of skill in the tournament game masters and we had quite a good group of gamers as well.
There will be some changes made for next year, the sign up sheets for games will go up only 1/2 day before the game is played, and there will be a registration for all game masters including the "open gaming". We had very few times the rooms were not full and there were many times they were too full. We learned some things this year that will help us more efficiently use what space we have available to us. If you are interested in running a tournament or game at Norwescon 12, contact me by February 1, 1990:
Craig Bowie
Norwescon 12 Gaming
(redacted)
Auburn, WA 98002
Many thanks are to go to Steve Jackson for running Darwinopoly (a game where the better breeder wins) and Brian Underhill for running GURPS: Clifhangers (an adventure system based in the pulp novel era). They gave us a chance to try games that hadn't been released yet.
I would also like to thank the following Game Masters for getting a hold of me before Norwesoon and putting in their time and effort, I received compliments about all of them for the job they did;
Guy "Battlemaster" Girone
Robert Moshell
Kris Gould
Cecily Burke
Matt "Just one more game" Hyra
Todd "Gurps? Who me?" Smith
Rick Bligh
Here is the mt of winners and special awards:
Uno
1st Mark "Madsax" DeLoura
2nd Jim Lane
3rd Robert "Nicklepede" DeLoura
TOPGUN
1st Tony Burdett
2nd RayCurrie
3rd Mark "Madsax" DeLoura
Diplomacy
1st (tie) Paul "Head Embezzaler" Randles
1st (tie) Coy "Solitaire" Kearney
Battletech
1st James "Rambo" Wilson
2nd Joseph Imfeld
3rd Aaron "Random" Clements
AD&D
1st Brian Funk
2nd John "Presto Castaspella" Jacobson
3rd Josh E. Wright
Ghostbusters
1st Jeff Jorgenson
2nd Julie "Sister Chaos" Larson
3rd (tie) Keith "Chie Don Ford" Larson
3rd (tie) Damond "Ronin" Crump
Traveller
1st Robert Mosbell
2nd Stephen Terrenzio
3rd Craig McKinney
Gurps: Clifhangers
1st Thomas Sherer
2nd Tun "The Evil Doctor" Tozer
3rd Thane Walkup
Special Awards
"Going down in Flames" Brian Funk
"Strongest position in 1904" Dave Lawson
"Biggest Blunder" Walfei "Caz" Perera-Casainoua
"Unluckiest Battletecher" Tanis Dragon
"Worst Die Roll" Julie Elwick
"Worst Recon" Robert Smith
"John Wayne" Stephen Terrenzio
"Politest Gamer" Betty "Larina" Claar
"Most Helpful Volunteer" Gaetano "Guy" Girone
"Kid Kon gamer" Chris Benson
"Hitpoint Hitman" Mark Richardson
Green Room Report
by Dora Shirk
The Green Room ran very well this year. We had a few small problems (emphasis small), but this year was so much smoother and 'together' than last year. I know, you're saying this sounds like a re-run of the report I gave last year (if you remember that one), and it is very similar, but there were oh, so many, differences.
This year we knew who was supposed to come, even tho' many didn't (due to the combined facts that we are still in Tacoma, it was Easter, and there were four cons that weekend).
The only thing that we did not have this year that we normally do have, was a bulletin board for the panel discussion sheets. We missed it at some moments and didn't miss it most of the time. I want to send out a very large "THANK YOU" to Hospitality for the way they kept us stocked. The pros were extremely happy and commented often that it was nice to be able to have this available without fighting a crowd. Thanks Debbie.
If all goes as it should we will be in the same location next year. It works well. It is accessible to all panel locations and the ability to separate the pre-panels into different rooms makes it much better for avoiding two pre-panels joining together (which makes for a mess).
All in all things went well, especially since it is "our" volunteer that will be next years Volunteer GoH -- Yeah Joe
!
We had good volunteers and hopefully they will all be back next year. There is one out there whose initials are RB that will probably hear from us before the year is over.
I will take up no more room -- end of Green Room Report.
Hospitality
by Debbie Tatarek, Dragonette
Well we made it through another year again.
Thanks for all your patience in our new location. It did pose some interesting problems and some wonderful benefits. Thanks for stopping by the hospitality suite for something to eat or drink, to meet someone or just a little conversation. For my first year solo, I think it went pretty dam good.
I want to thank all of you who volunteered your time, effort, and energy to hospitality. Without your help there wouldn't have been a hospitality. Thank you!
I want to make some special thanks:
Matt Winkleman: for all your time and especially the mornings.
Eric Jones: for time above and beyond the duty, plus Beer Roulette.
Joanne Welty and Dick O'Shea: for all your years of devoted service.
Brittany Bell: for volunteering her truck.
C.J. Minnekin and James West: for helping to pack and set up on Wednesday night.
Tom Smith and Denise Karnovan: for hours and hours of service.
And thanks to all the res of you for everything: Snake, Catherine Melissa, Eric Fellows, Mike West, Sharree Sledge, Gina Disteldorf, Joanne Fry, Mike Bomber, Mona Reece, Nancy Boden, Bruce McPeek, Edward Martin, Irene Lewis, Beth Moursand, Erika Sauby, Chuch VanderLinden, Peter Horvath, Carol Zebold, Dottie nelson, Kathy Hunter, Jay Karnoven, Joe Jagar, Yvonne Stevens, Robert Grimes, John Holdrew, Herby Fairbanks, Raw, Q, Penny Lane Ruhl, Judy Wheat.
I take no responsibility for any names written wrong or right. This is what you wrote on my lists or didn't write if you didn't sign up.
Now for the volunteers who volunteered their souls to me for the convention, my seconds Debbie Stine and Janice Paulsen, Thank you both from the bottom of my heart. I really appreciated your help.
Our donations were down and the Kitty went a little hungry. However, a special thanks to all who did donate. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! your donations helped buy the extra supplies that kept us going through the weekend. Which brings me to the annual "what did we consume at Norwescon" report. Well, let me tell you we consumed a lot!
The List!
295 cases of pop
69 cases of beer
1 case of champagne
48 liters of wine
56 boxes of cookies
30 boxes of crackers
4 loafs of bread
20 dozen bagels
20 loafs of banana bread
50 pounds of vegetables
154 pounds of meat and cheese
38 bags of chips
18 pounds of coffee
20 pounds of sour cream
24 pounds of cream cheese
assorted teas
2 cases of oranges
1 case of apples
30 liters of apple juice
20 liters of orange juice
Masquerade
by Judy Swanson
Judy Swanson, Masquerade director, would like to thank all the volunteers for this year's Masquerade. The Masquerade could not function without all their time and effort.
JUDGES:
John Barnes
Astrid Anderson Bear
Kathleen Cogswell
Marie Cooley
Dave Maddingly
Dameon Willich
JUDGES ASSISTANTS:
Virgil Buell
Norah Hogoboom
Scott Swanson
STAGE MANAGER/NINJA MASTER
Tony Ferucci
STAGE NINJAS/SPOTTERS
Ken
Pippin
Spike
Elisabeth Eldred
Payne Fifield
Gail Glass
Douglas Taylor
DENMOMS/DEN DADS
Alphonse
Marni Cowen
D'Artagnan
Lenore Kobayashi
Annette Mercier
USHERS
Mark Richardson
Team Cyclone
The Persecutors
CAMERAS
Thom Walls
Vicki Glover
Becky Sukavati
Ken
DISASTER CREW
Marie Cooley
Chris Fuhr
ASSISTANTS TO THE DIRECTOR
Spencer
Carole Carr
Keith Mears
Greg Sardo
Thank you to anyone whose name I forgot, or who volunteered anomynously.
MASQUERADE WINNERS
CHILD:
Best Television Recreation - Bert Metz III - Rapheal, Mutant Teenage Ninja Turtle
Best Performance - Autumn J. Grieve - Autumn, Stringer of Flux
Best Comic Recreation - "Roo" Warren - Desert Peach's Foot Maiden
Best Movie Recreation - "Eddie" Butler - Roger Rabbit
Best Use of Materials - Heather Metz - The Latest in the Recyclo-botics Spring Fashion Line
Shirley Temple Award - Angela Suryan - Fairy Princess
Best Group Presentation - Lissa Fuhr, T.T. Fuhr
TECHNICAL MERIT
Best Multi-Media - Frank Teele - Sir Black
Best Dyeing Effects - JoAnne Kirley - The Phantom's Masquerade
Best Soft Sculpture - Sally Berkland, Lorne Counter
Best Tailoring - Joanna McCoy - Dr. Crusher
Best Millinery - JoAnne Kirley, Kathleen Greco - The Phantom's Masquerade
Best Design for a Specialty Function - Julie A Zetterberg - Beneath the Opera House
Honorable Mention for Mask Work - Richard Perry - Lord Sarnath
COSTUME
Journeyman Runner-up - Joanna McCoy - Dr. Crusher
Master Runner-up- Julie A Zetterberg- Beneath the Opera House
Best Novice - Darth Vagrant
Best Journeyman - The Capt., Randy D. Gordon - Captain Commie and Buckinski
Best Master - JoAnne Kirley, Dragon, T. Brian Wagner, Traper Graves, Wolf, Van Kirk - The Phantom's Masquerade
PERFORMANCE
Journeyman Runner-up - Hans Meier, Mike West
Best Novice - Kirge Vestal Overton - Klingon Instructor
Best Journeyman - Lisa M. Gordon - Traci, The Space Cadet
JUDGES' CHOICE
Integrated Presentation - Frank Teele - Sir Black
Most Humorous - Aash Bazbo
Best Costume in the Performance Category - Tahia Alibeck
Special Thanks - Susan Taubeneck, Betty Bigelow, David Bigelow - The Awakening
Best of Show - The Phantom's Masquerade
SITE SERVICES
SECURITY
The reports from both Rover and Watch Divisions indicate a very quiet convention, with (quite literally) only one or two exceptions. One or two bad apples in a barrel of nearly 2300 is pretty good. Several people commented that they'd hardly noticed the Security volunteers. That's one of the nicest compliments we received. Security was there, doing their work so quietly and efficiently that some people didn't even notice them. That says a lot for the caliber of people who volunteered for Security this year. They did a great job! A big thank you to everyone in Security, both Rover and Watch.
Our biggest problem was beer that wandered past the alcohol boundary into the lobby and ballroom areas. Security is there to remind you where the alcohol boundary is, but they depend on your cooperation. This year the hotel threatened to shut down the dance if any more beer was found in the ballroom. In the future the result could be that Hospitality willserve only soft drinks.
PEACEBONDING
Again, peacebonding reported no major problems. Almost everyone who came to the convention seemed to be informed about the weapons policy and knew that peacebonding was required. There were only one or two objections. (Gee, they were the same one or two exceptions that Security saw. Does that mean something?) Peacebonding was available in Operations, in the Security Office, and from all Rovers as well as the table in the Registration area. When you consider all the costumes that include weapons, it's plain that our peacebonders are truly dedicated -- and they got a real close-up view of some fantastic weapons.
Thank you!
MAINTENANCE
No, you haven't all learned to pick up after yourselves, but the litter critters were out there, carrying their little bags. They reported that some areas, especially Hospitality, were not as messy as in past years. The improvement was mostly due to the nice big garbage cans. Other areas, notably Gaming, looked a lot like your room at home. Thanks to the Maintenance volunteers who got there before the hotel did.
Technical Services
Thank yous
Keith Johnson
Pat Oros
Becky Fallis
Peter Kafka D'Anglemont
Paul Wocken
Jesse A Welch
Bob Grieve
Robert Johns
Mark Anaker
Chad Barden
Brittany Bell
Chy Claton
Cliff Cooper
Robert Damey
Dawnella Douglas
Karen Downing
Alisan Farrell
Autmn Grieve
Debbie Johns
Dan Levine
David Ludke
L Pierce Ludke
Edward Martin
Hans P. Meire
C.J. Minneker
John Marrison
Beth Moursund
Lindy Pangan
Claudia Quate
Paul Stratton
Dave Valentine
John Valentine
Kim Valentine
LuAnn Valentine
Chuck van der Linden
Eighty-four Hours of Fun
by Yvonne V. Richardson
From Thursday noon to Sunday midnight was 84 hours. For some people, it was but a few short moments; for others it was a lifetime. For the Norwescon Programming Staff it was BOTH -- but it was worth missing the winter of 1988 (and half the summer too) to create the marathon of Norwescon fun.
People still seem to think that programming is magic, that it appears at the drop of a hat and disappears with a snap of the fingers. Well, as any knowledgeable gamer could tell you, magic costs -- and the better the magic, the more it costs. Here's an estimate of how much your eighty-four hours of fun cost this shaman and cohorts:
23 gallons of Maalox
14 weeks of sleep
2.346 friendships
75 gallons of gasoline
0.287 jobs (we think)
16 medium-sized trees, only 2 of which had been previously recycled
617 brain cells
3.293 vacations
1 tax return
a partridge in a pear tree
What sort of spell was required, using these ingredients, to produce your 84 hours of fun? Putting together a convention as large as Norwescon is an exercise involving both halves of the brain. Looking at my own mathematical/musical background, the incantation used was the following:
- Generate 200 equations with 200 unknowns.
- Optimize it.
- Stuff the resultant data back into your computer.
- Produce a musical score for a 175-piece orchestra. Instrumentation includes bagpipes, synthesizers, fish, gumi bears and Neanderthal trombones as well as the standard 20th century instruments.
- Hand out the parts to the various attending pros, panel participants, and assorted fans.
- Give the command to start the musical piece: EVERYBODY JAM!
And jam we did! Once again, about 150 pros arrived to do approximately 200 panels, despite the fact that this year's Norwescon had to compete with Easter and four other conventions that weekend. Of course, I'm not mentioning conflicts such as the Florida convention the previous weekend and World Fantasy Con in the fall. I'm not saying anything aboutthe race with time either -- would the Pavilion renovation be completed before we moved in? In one of my last few coherent moments before THE WEEKEND, I dimly remember getting the news and my response was, "ALRIGHT! The airwalls are in...OH NO! The airwalls are in!"
Somewhere between March 3rd and March 23rd commenced the final struggle to get everyone and everything back in order without trashing the previous six months' work. It isn't easy to work 12 to 16 hours a day and retain the mental/physical/emotional facilities necessary to do the job, regardless of rain, snow, gloom of night, hotel remodeling, stuff like that. Nevertheless, fans, pros, and staff alike got together on the last weekend of March to do All That Jazz, scifi style. People were searching all over the hotel for fun, each other, fun, Easter Eggs, and still more fun. Since I worked all through the convention and followed that up with a month's worth of overtime, I have to rely on YOU to let me know how much fun you found -- please drop a note to the P. 0. Box to let me know what you thought was terrific, what you thought was not so terrific, what you saw this year that you particularly enjoyed, and what you didn't see that you would like to see next year.
Despite the fog that descended upon me in October and did not lift until nearly May, I do have a few impressions of my own. As usual, the convention was well attended. This year's auctions, both the Clarion West auction and the Art Show, beat the records they set last year. For that matter, the Art Show sold works before the auction, during the auction, and even after the auction. Of course, in order to buy anything after the auction, you would have had to have been in the hotel at 2:00 a.m. Monday morning when we were told that the NCAA Championship folks were to move into the hotel by 8:00 a.m. -- which meant we had to be out. Did we panic? No! We were too busy having fun! What kind of fun? Be an emergency volunteer next year and find out!. (Sneak preview [? postview?] of some of the emergency fun in the Rumor column ...)
People approved of the dance-every-night format, and the few panels we repeated from last year. Some new panels, such as After Challenger and Build a Better Mouse, packed some rooms to bursting; other panels fizzed (they held them in the bar) due to lack of PR and/or being scheduled opposite other fantastic events. Decisions, decisions -- by trying to offer something for everyone, we ended up with nine solid tracks of programming, not including gaming, the Art Show, the Dealers' Room, and the programming I wasn't supposed to put in the Fanzine Room. Needless to say, that's a bit much. Some panels may not have gotten the expected amount of attendance because there was too much to do. But as for lack of PR, you didn't read your program book! It's full of lots of important information -- it's not just another pretty face!
As always, attendees have last-minute changes in plans, and many were kind enough to inform me beforehand of cancellations. We missed you this year, and hope things will work out such that you will be able to appear next year.
Speaking of next year, I have been blackmailed into being volunteered to be next year's Program Director, and I will try to take some of the wishful thinking I've heard into consideration for Norwescon 12 programming. However, be forewarned: as with all other magics, sometimes getting what you wish for can be a dangerous thing. I've heard there should be both more and less gaming, filking, science, business, writing and costuming panels, and that there should be more quality and less quantity. Your wish is my command! Which wish? You figure it out.
Special thanks to:
Assistant Program Director: Marybeth Zele.
The Norwescon Programming Staff: Kristi Austin, Doug Booze, Jeannine Gray, Karen Hill, Andrea Hunt, Jerry "I said I wasn't going to do this" Kaufman, Casey Leichter, and Marci Malinowycz.
Computing Services: James Lane, Richard Wright.
Fannish Olympics: Mark Richardson.
Larer Tag: Alan Smith.
Media Crew: Walter Jung, Chris McDonnell.
Counted Others: John Brautlacht, Bruce and Trish Byfield, John G. Cramer, Russell Galen, A.P. McQuiddy.
Countless Others: all you folks who had fun!
Dr. Grant D. Callin. Even though the SF community likes to think of itself as a family, it doesn't compete with quality time with one's "real-time" family -- especially on holidays and other special occasions. Special thanks for coming all the way to Norwescon on Thursday evening to say that you couldn't attend due to family commitments. Thanks also to David Deitrick, Ru Emerson, Lita Smith-Gharett, and others who were kind enough to call as soon as they knew they could not attend.
Apologies to:
Avram Davidson: I don't know how our little secret got out. I'll make sure no signs are put up next year.
Several friends: I didn't realize just how stressed out I was until someone mentioned that I seemed to still have my composure and I replied, "I keep it in a jar on my desk."
The Society for Creative Anachronism: I'm sorry I hadn't seen the room before I scheduled you in it -- my apologies for providing ten times the audience you expected. I'll try to do better next time.
YOU JUST HAD TO BE THERE
by Snebl Bebletz
And now for all those situations where You Just Had to Be There. If you weren't, but you know people who were, have them explain it to you -- or better yet, make up your own explanations -- they may be far more fun.
Rumor: The Blood Drive was cancelled because Bram Stoker couldn't make it to the convention this year.
Fact: The Blood Drive was cancelled because Blood Bank volunteers don't work on Saturdays.
Rumor: I'm taking program suggestions, panel ideas, and names & addresses of prospective panelists for next year.
Fact: I'm not taking program suggestions, etc., for next year. Send them to the Norwescon P. O. Box, PLEASE -- when it comes to sorting through Norwescon mail, it's far more efficient than I am. (Sorry for calling you an "it", Lauraine, but I'm making a point.) A good portion of the mail that eventually winds up in Programming's hands goes to other departments as well; it's far wiser for YOU to send it to our distribution point and avoid any delays I may cause by having too much to do and not enough time in which to do it.
Rumor: Wesley Crusher was going to be at Norwescon this year.
Fact: His mother said no.
Rumor: Norwescon employs a full-time staff year round in order to put on the March convention. The salary and fringe benefits are incredible -- which allows Norwescon staff to devote 40 hours a week to convention planning, and even more for "that personal touch".
Fact: I, like all the rest of the Norwescon staff, only work on Norwescon in my spare time. Even though I quadrupled my Norwescon salary, four times nothing is still nothing, so I have a real job to pay all those real bills. The "personal touches" which make Norwescon programming an intricate fugue are supplied by the panelists, my staff, and some really crazy senses of humor. Working until 3 or 4 in the morning doesn't hurt, either.
Rumor: Somewhere in the hotel, a pair of Middle-aged Mutant Sumo Somethings are still waltzing away, while one of the Norwescon Crisis Crews congas off into the sunrise, singing Day-o! Day-o! Daylight comin' and me wanna go home..."
Fact: ???
Personal Notes:
Max, the Dendarii mercenary: Thanks for the on-the-spot volunteering. It was help I sorely needed -- as well as a reminder that fans out front DO remember that there are real people behind the curtains trying to make things work. Now if only Toto and the howling dogs would leave the curtain alone...
Karen Hill: The howling dogs were discovered in an enclosed location from which they could not have escaped. They have since been rescued and returned to their rightful owners. No, they didn't go to Kansas with Toto.
Bob, Jim, and Kristi: I ate the steak without anyone having to cut it up for me. It was far easier to finish it without the vulture impressions.
The Fan from Hell: Thank you very much for buying your membership this year. There's hope for you yet.
Casey Leichter: You have our deepest sympathies. Your new cat is in the mail.
Judy Suryan: You have your wish. I don't know how you managed it, but my room at V-Con was the light sweatbox. Where did you find the magician who did that? We may need him next year if my own spells run out.
NORWESCON 11'S VOLUNTEERS
We, the Norwescon committee, have always said that the convention we all love so dearly would never have gone beyond a twinkle in a few eyes if it were not for the hard work done by the volunteer staff of each one of the Norwescons. So we list below the names of those hardy souls who bravely put their bodies on the line to make Norwescon run better for everyone.
As usual this list is not only incomplete but is probably rife with misspellings. So, if we missed or misspelled your name here or elsewhere in this issue, feel free to drop us a note and we will certainly give credit where credit is due. We also hope that you will all return next year (same Bat time, same Bat Channel) to do it all again. And if your not one of the people on this list take a chance. We think you'll enjoy it. A lot of new things were put in place at Norwescon 11 for the enjoyment of our volunteer staff and since they worked out so well this time we will be doing it all again even better next year. All the volunteer staff hope that you will join the team.
Last but definitely not least, we want to give a very special thanks to Bonnie Baker and the whole staff at the Shearton Tacoma Hotel for helping to make our 5 day stay there a very enjoyable one. Working with a hotel staff that has it's clients needs in mind at the same time as meeting it's own interests and then working to see that BOTH needs are met is very refreshing and makes things a whole lot easier. We haven't got all the bugs worked out yet but with this kind of teamwork I'm sure we will.
AGAIN...THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!
[Volunteer list not transcribed here.]
Fiction: When the Aliens Landed by Andrew Bartroff
"I was only ten years old when the Aliens arrived on Earth. Why they came here, nobody knows. They wouldn't tell us. Better people than me have tried to find out. Some of my memories are but vague feelings but most are clear recollections of what happened when "They" arrived. The reason I am recording this is to let later generations (you) know what effects "They" had on us."
It was about a month before the world knew what was going on. The Alien's vessel had suddenly appeared at the south pole. None of the equipment that was suppose to warn us did. Vast arrays of radio telescopes and secret military equipment constructed for just such an event remained silent. The only hint of their presence was the alarm from the seismic recorders at the polar science labs that was set off by the huge ship setting down on the Antarctic tundra. It was roughly the size of London.
Even though the Aliens did nothing, the arrival of such a craft prompted quite a number of responses from the various nations of the world. The superpowers rushed their combined military forces to the area and forced the excited scientists back north where it was "safe." The abandoned science stations were occupied by the military. At first, the world thought it was just another wartime between the big boys. The rumors of an extraterrestrial city ship parked at the SouthPole appeared mostly in the supermarket newsrags. When proof finally came, in the form of a news video smuggled out of the war zone, things got really crazy.
Most of the people of Earth went nuts; "What is this, a bad SF movie?", they asked. All of the third world saw this as the second coming of God, along with most of those with heavily religious beliefs. It was a wild time on old planet Earth. The media went psychotic with the story, interviewing people left and right, rushing to and fro like chickens with their heads cut off. Riots erupted, of course, and lots of people died from suicide and from the killing sprees. The world's economy escalated and collapsed over and over. It was nearly the end of us all. Miraculously none of the Atomics went off. No one noticed at that time that practically everything atomic ceased to function. Aliens, or just us?
Gradually society recovered, retrieving it's misplaced sanity. A select minority of the populace was not affected much by the surprise event of an apparent Alien invasion. These people were fans of Science Fiction, and they had prepared for these days for ages. With their help, a new organization was formed, the splintered factions of the world were united into one society, an Earth nation. The peoples of the new world picked themselves up. Everyone was wondering what had really happened.
The Alien vessel was still there and hadn't done anything during the chaos. Some suspect that they used some form of mind control to make us go crazy, but others pointed out that if this were so they would have taken control long ago. Many such ideas were postulated and shot down just as quickly. True scientists were once again at the site of the Ship. A small by powerful defense force escorted them (we weren't stupid). And now we would get some answers.
All of the world focused on the weird problem of this strange Vessel. We all had questions we wanted answered. The standard whos', wheres' and whys'. We went about getting them. This combined world effort brought peoples and races closer together. A new religion took the place of those that had been eclipsed by the Event. Not many of the organized ones went beyond the second coming, those that did survived in this new one; a universal belief, we weren't alone anymore.
With the Unification (as we came to call it) resources weren't wasted anymore. We found out things about the mysterious Aliens just by looking in the declassified old government records. They (the Aliens) had visited many times before in smaller crafts; it was all kept hush hush. It turned out that we had invited them here when we sent out our space probes with the recorded messages. All the back research resulted in the discovery of photos, from old spy satellites, of the CityShip parked on the Moon. We were too busy fighting amongst ourselves to even notice their arrival.
The conclusion reached, that they didn't want to cause all of the resulting chaos, they couldn't get out attention any other way than actually landing on our planet (much later, we learned this was true).
The Aliens didn't do anything for a long time. They just sat behind their weird force walls (completely mirrored!). Not a peep was heard, until exactly one hundred years to the date of the first landing. I was there when the door appeared.
I had grown to 11 decades, middle age, and would live longer thanks to the new longevity medicals. As one of the Recorders of this occasion, I was to accompany the diplomatic party to the door. People now got their jobs according to their inborn talents. Everyone had a job and there was a job for everyone. Sort of socialist, but it worked. The diplomats entered first with the world watching through the Recorder (me), saying their soon to be famous words. The rest of the party followed.
That was the end of the major changes the Aliens had on our world. It was a new world now. To be sure, they had additional effects on us, but not as major as the first ones. We had no more reason to be afraid, no longer did warheads threaten, no more crime worth mentioning. All seems to be going well. Though our Friends (the Aliens) say they had little to do with it. I believe they helped us more than we will ever realize. I am in the evening years of my life now and my Friends have offered to take me one last time into space. I think I'll refuse. I've seen enough changes in my lifetime. Haven't I?
Movie Review
by Elisabeth Eldred
The Laserman. 1988. Director/Producer/Screenwriter: Peter Wang.
The Laserman is a comedy/mystery in a high-tech setting, but not a typical SF film. It focuses on a laser researcher, his employers with shadowy motives, and several related characters, including a detective (played by Wang himself). The myriad plot elements are linked up by the end of the film. While the high-tech element is central to the story, the focus is on characters (all with their own quirks) and humor (ranging form broad to wry irony).
Peter Wang was a laser researcher until 1983. One reason he chose to make The Laserman is that in most commercial movies, a lot of money is spent on special effects but the "lasers" depicted are merely pretty, showy and completely unauthentic (Wang cited Real Genius as one example). On a modest budget ($1.4 million) The Laserman manages authenticity. Wang also likes to work against/break down stereotypes, and his characters are anything but stereotype-bound.
Peter Wang attended the Seattle premiere of The Laserman (and the world premiere of his third film, First Date) at the 1989 Seattle International Film Festival and answered question from the audience. Since the success of his first film, the excellent A Great Wall, he has been offered big money by studios to make a sequel or similar film. Wang doesn't want to merely repeat himself ("make Great Wall 2 or Great Wall 5")and choses to remain independent so that he can make a variety of films. The wry, modest and unique The Laserman confirms the wisdom of Wang's thinking. Wang reports that Canadian distribution of The Laserman has been arranged, and he hopes to have U.S. distribution arranged by the end of 1989. (So far it has been seen in the U.S. at film festivals almost exclusively.)
Looking For Something Different in Movies
Check out any film festivals in your neighborhood. You may get to see the only local showing of something rare or exotic, or the first showing of something new (major studio or independently made). Film festivals occur in may U.S. and European cities; at least one specializes in speculative fiction movies.
The annual Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) (May-June) tends to include SF/fantasy films, some of them rare or offbeat. When the creators of Android wanted to finetune their second movie, City Limits, SIFF was one of the places they showed it. The two creators also appeared on stage after the film to answer question and get audience feedback on what was admittedly a working rough print (and still not widely released). SIFF has presented regional or world premieres of several films in its 15 years, including Return of the Jedi and Earth Girls Are Easy. SIFF has also premiered or featured such gems as The Road Warrior, Eating Raoul, Android, The Brother From Another Planet and Chinese Ghost Story (which succeeds in may ways that Big Trouble in Little China did not).
So watch the listings for film festivals near you...and when you travel, don't forget local newspapers and magazines may clue you in to good opportunities.
Earth Girls Are Easy. Vestron Pictures, 1989. Directed by Julian Temple. Written by Julia Brown, Charlie Coffey,Terence E. McNally.
Earth Girls Are Easy is a broad comedy whose SF framework provides a basis for social parody. From the opening credits to the background touches of humor, it works a variety of influences including cartoons, music videos and California jokes. Director Julian Temple chose the San Fernando Valley as the setting both because it is a suburb of Hollywood and because it is, he thinks, as weird as any place on Earth. After three aliens land their spaceship in her backyard, Valerie (Gena Davis) tries to keep them out of trouble as they explore the local scene (as if her personal life weren't already complicated enough). There are lots of peripheral funny bits (a store named 2001 Flavors, LA's Griffith Park Observatory as a disco named Deca Dance) and an entrance by Jeff Goldblum harkening back to another famous role of his. While, as mind food, it is closer to popcorn than to chateaubriand, Earth Girls Are Easy is good, enjoyable popcorn.
Other Matters
By Dora Shirk
It's June? Already! Really?
I guess that means you want to know things like whether the world of science fiction/fantasy news still exists and if its doing anything.
The answer is yes, its still there and its busy........
You want to know more? You are getting picky, aren't you? Well, since you insist, I suppose I will go into greater detail about some of the many things that are going on.
Let's begin with the somewhat scandoulous news that the Hugo Award Nominations that were printed in Science Fiction Chronicle include nominees that have now withdrawn due to the rumors that they stuffed the ballot box. They remain only in the category for the John W Campbell Award.
You want to know what the nominations are and who "they" are? I'll give you one out of two. Here goes;
Best Non-Fiction
The Motion of Light in Water by Samuel R Delany, First Maitz by Don Maitz, SF, Fantasy and Horror 1987 by Charles N Brown & William Contento, A Biographical Dictionary of SF and Fantasy Artists by Robert Weinberg, and (unfortunately) The New Encyclopedia of SF edited by James Gunn
Best Novel
Cyteen by C J Cherryh, Island In The Net by Bruce Sterling, Red Prophet by Orson Scott Card, Falling Free by Lois McMaster, Mona Lisa Overdrive by William Gibson
Best Novelette
The Function of Dream Sleep by Harlan Ellison, Peaches for Mad Molly by Stephen Gould, Do Ya, Do Ya Wanna Dance? by Howard Waldrop, Ginny Sweethips the Flying Cirrus by Neal Barrett, Jr, Schrodinger's Kitten by George Alex Effinger
Best Novella
Journals of the Plague Years by Norman Spinrad, Surfacing by Walter Jon Williams, The Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Comedians by Bradley Denton, The Last of the Winnibagos by Connie Willis, The Scale Hunter's Beautiful Daughter by Lucius Shepard
Best Short Story
The Giving Plague by David Brin, Our Neutral Chernobyl by Bruce Sterling, The Fort Moxie Branch by Jack McDevitt, Stable Strategies for Middle Management by Eileen Dunn, Kirinyaga by Mike Resnick, Ripples in the Dirac Sea by Shepard A Landis
Best Professional Editor
Stanley Schmidt, David Hartwell, Charles Ryan, Edward L Ferman, Gardner Dozois (all of these will be at NWC 12, right Yvonne??)
Best Fanzine
FILE 770 ed. by Mike Glyer (Yeah!), And Other Realms ed. by Chuq Von Rospach, Lan's Lantern ed. by George Laskowski, Fosfax ed. by Timothy Lane, The Niekas ed. by Ed Meskyes (if any of you have and are willing to part with or photocopy any of the above fanzines [except FILE 770- I've got that] please, please, please get in touch with me.)
Best Fan Writer
Mike Glyer, Dave Langford, Gut Lillian III, Avedon Carol, Arthur Hlavaty, Chuq Von Rospach
Best Fan Artist
Brad Foster, Diana Gallagher Wu, Stu Shiffman, Teddy Harvia, Taral Wayne, Merle Insinga
Best Semi-Prozine
Science Fiction Chronicle, The New York Review of SF, Thrust, Interzone, Locus
Best Movie
Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Alien Nation, Big, Willow, Beetlejuice
Best Professional Artist
Bob Eggleton, Don Maitz, Thomas Canty, David Cherry,
John W Campbell Award Christopher Hinz, Michaela Roessner, William Sanders, BJ Beese & Todd Cameron Hamilton, Melanie Rawn, Kristine Kathryn Ruszh, Delia Sherman, whew...
For those who have been wondering -- yes, there will be a novelization of Beauty and the Beast. The pilot will be done by Barbara Hambly.
Looking for something to do this summer? Want to improve your writing? Willing to travel? Do you remember how much fun listening to David Hartwell is? Then have I got the Course for you. In the great state of Massachusetts is a little college called Harvard, and they are offering a summer course on SF/Fantasy writing taught by Hartwell.
In the spirit of never letting it be said that I won't admit to stupidity when I have to -- Do the following titles mean anything to anyone out there? Beyond the Dragon Star, Dawn of the Dragon Star, Night of the Dragon Star. If they do, PLEASE let me know, or let Yvonne or Jody know so that they can let me know. It has its importance.
The May issue of Science Fiction Chronicle includes a picture and short article on "40 Years Ago with Seattle's Nameless Ones.
Once again into the "spirit" of things, this time the spirit of letting everybody have their fair share of space in this crowded issue. So, in that spirit, I'm going to sign off for this month and start gathering up news for next month.
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