Westwind #22 November 1978
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[Art by Vicki Poyser of a long-haired woman wearing a headband standing on a rocky barren landscape under a starry sky with two moons. Robed figures walk in the distance behind an abstract sculpture.]
Westwind
The newsletter of the Northwest Science fiction Society. Number 22, November 1978
Editor: Gregory R. Bennett, P.O. Box 24207, Seattle, WA 98124 Phone 822–9129
Layout: Greg Bennett & Bill Warren Printing: Michael Brocha & Kipy Poyser
Computer Support: Tony Pepin Mailing: Cliff Wind Typing: Shelley Dutton, et al.
Contributors to this issue: Greg Bennett, Shelley Dutton, Dennis Pernaa, Cliff Wind Artwork: Vicki Poyser (cover and interior illo), Steve Adams, William R. Warren (title art)
Contents copyright (c) 1978 by Gregory R. Bennett, for the contributors. WESTWIND is mailed monthly to all members of the Northwest Science Fiction Society. Annual dues in the Society are $5.00 until December 31, 1978, $7.00 thereafter. Send to the address above, payable to NWSFS. Pre-supporting memberships in our bid for the 1981 World Science Fiction Convention are only $1.00. Send checks to the same address, payable to Northwest Convention Fandom.
[Ad: Designed like a comic book cover. Oh, no! It’s Oly-Con, Olympia’s first comic book, science fiction and fantasy convention. Saturday November 25 from 10 to 6. 207 E. 4th, Olympia, WA. Two doors down from Four-Color Fantasies and across from the State Theater. Thousands of comics to buy, sell and trade. See original comic book art, artists at work. Costumes - prizes awarded for best costume and much, much more! To be held in conjunction with grand opening of Four-Color fantasies – a unique downtown event. Table Rates: Before Nov. 12 for one table, regular $7.50, wall $10; after Nov. 12 for one table, regular $10, wall $13; lower rates if you take more than one table, inquire. Tables and information at Four-Color Fantasies, 203A East Fourth, Olympia, WA 98501 [PHONE REDACTED].]
[Ad: Designed like a comic book cover. Four-Color Fantasies presents its grand opening. Four-Color Fantasies, 203A E. 4th, 10–6 Tues.-Sat. [PHONE REDACTED]. Olympia’s specialty shop for comics – new, used and rare, science fiction and fantasy magazines and used paperbacks. Theater lobby posters. Prints, portfolios and original art. Buy - Sell - Trade. Used science fiction paperbacks. Fantasy art. Comics. Sale! November 24–25 Fri–Sat 10–6 ten to fifty percent off on everything! Events right next door: Oly-Con, Olympia’s first comic book, science fiction, and fantasy convention! Comics, costumes, artists, and SF books. Admission $50¢. 207 E. 4th Nov. 25 only.]
SF/Fantasy Publication
Wanted! Articles and artwork for Darkstar, eclectic review of SF and fantasy. We want elaborate critical articles, not publicity handouts. We also need great illustrations to illumine our deathless prose.
Contact: Steve Younkes, 1016 E. Seventh, Olympia, WA 98501 ([PHONE REDACTED])
Iguanacon Program Book
Remember the gorgeous Bill Warren cover for the Iguanacon Program Book? Well, we’ve finally been given permission to give credit where credit's due. The person who arranged to have the color separations done free of charge for the Iguanacon Committee is Karen Walker. Thanks, Karen.
Meetings…
Nov. 18, Saturday: Olympia Chapter meeting
6:30 Potluck & Business Meeting
7:30 Social
Place: Mike Ross’s House, 1129 N. Eastside
Directions: Turn right on Puget St. off State
Phone: [REDACTED]
Nov. 19, Sunday: Worldcon Committee Mtg.
Nov. 25, Saturday: NWSFS Meetings
3:30 Business, potluck follows
7:30 Party
Place: Jane Hawkins' house
4121 Interlake N.
Seattle Phone [REDACTED]
(See map)
Please follow the sidewalk around the house to the right and enter from the back. Otherwise, you’ll wind up traipsing through Vonda MacIntyre’s living room, and that’s no way to impress an author!
[Hand-drawn map to Jane Hawkins' house south of Green Lake in Seattle.]
Nov. 25, Saturday: Oly-Con
Olympia’s first SF/Fantasy & Comic book convention. See ad on facing page.
Dec. 2, Saturday: PSST Open House
7:00 at Starbase Seven (Puget Sound Star Trekkers' headquarters)
6207 - 7th Avenue NW in Ballard (Seattle) [PHONE REDACTED]
Dec. 3, Sunday: Norwescon Committee Mtg.
Dec. 8, Friday: Nameless Ones Meeting
starts at about 7pm at Horizon Books on Capitol Hill. The Nameless, which is the oldest SF group in the Northwest, meet at Horizon books on the 2nd Friday of every month.
Dec. 16, Saturday: Olympia Chapter meeting
Kipy Poyser’s house (tentative) 503 S. Sawyer; near “The Cinema” Theater.
[PHONE REDACTED]. Begins at 6:30; social at 7:30.
Dec. 17, Sunday: Worldcon committee meeting
Dec. 30, Saturday: NWSFS Meetings
At NWSFS HQ (see map and note below)
3:30 Business
6:30 Potluck
7:30 Social
NOTICE: ALL CONVENTION COMMITTEE MEETINGS ARE HELD AT THE GREATER POCATELLO SPACEPORT, SOCIETY HQ, UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED. SEE THE MAP FOR INSTRUCTIONS. PHONE [REDACTED]
[Hand-drawn map to the Worldcon committee meeting place, nicknamed the Greater Pocatello Spaceport, in Kirkland, WA.]
Inverted Flight
or, watching the world from a more appropriate perspective…
by Greg Bennett
I had intended to write about editorial policy in NWSFS publications this month, but I'd rather write about falling asleep.
How many independent consious processes are you aware of when you think? Most people seem to be aware of one, while occasionally a second process will creep into their consious mind when situations become complex. Of course, all the while one is thinking in the consious state, there are dozens, perhaps hundreds, of sub-consious processes going on along with a host of autonomic control systems taking care of bodily functions.
My life seems to be a bit more complex than most, since usually I'm aware of at least three consious processes going on at one time, especially when I'm chairing a business meeting of one of the organizations in our growing bureaucratic tree.
What does this have to do with falling asleep? Well, when one falls asleep, all of the consious processes, one by one, are given over to the subconsious. I am intrigued by sleep, and especially by the process of falling asleep. So, one night I set one consious process to the task of experiencing the adventure of falling asleep.
An adventure it was, too. Usually, I fall asleep by allowing a daydream to become a real dream; that is, creating some story line for my mind and thinking about it until all real sensory inputs are ignored and the fantasy world becomes real.
This one night, perhaps annoyed by my deciding to watch myself fall asleep, my active fantasy was reluctant to release my consious mind. So, in order to encourage the adventurer along into that restful trance, I gave it a particularly complex story line.
As an unembodied spirit, I followed a stone staircase which spiralled downward to the right into the inner chambers of my own memory. (This is much more fun than counting sheep or computing π to the last digit.) The staircase is narrow, bordered by walls of large blocks of rough-cut stone; granite, I suppose. As the need for more complexity arises in order to suppress external sensory input (for example, the sound of the furnace coming on or the touch of a warm back against mine), I demand more detail from the fantasy. Moss is added to the stone walls, and the cracks between the blocks become more real and detailed.
The staircase leads me past several doors, all made of sturdy oak with black iron staps and heavy iron hinges and latches.
The first such door I come to is locked: chains, two inches in cross-section, are joined across it by padlocks the size of my hand. The locks are new, and search though it may, my ethereal self is unable to find a key. They must have been recently placed by some guardian process over which I have little control. I shudder at the thought of the guardian one day opening that door, and continue downward.
The next door stands ajar. Looking in we find an art gallery, with carefully placed electric spotlights on the paintings giving an anachronistic contrast to granite block walls. The paintings are the usual mixture of heroic fantasy and space hardware one finds in Norwescon art shows, each offering its own path into a different world of fantasy.
Around one wall of art hangings we find the section of more risque paintings,offering a different sort of fantasy, and with them a lovely sylph-like creature carefully attending to their display. Uh oh, time to leave; consiousness is trying to take control and that back is getting a bit warmer. We're trying to fall asleep, remember?
Farther down, we pass quickly by a room set with rows of stone altars, each attended by a greedy-looking demon who chuckles quietly to himself as he dribbles gold coins from one hand to another.
The next door reveals rows of benches facing a stage. It's difficult to hear the players voicing their lines on a set that reminds me of the surface of the moon. There is no orchestra, but horrendous background music competes with a clattering noise from somewhere in the room. There is an odd flicker in the stage lighting. Best not to linger here, I suppose.
Downward into the caverns, the winding staircase leads past rooms of elves feasting and the drunken revelry of dwarves, past chambers of forest nymphs who threaten to put me back at the top of the stairs, past a cage of chimp-like creatures who writhe in time with a rythmic racket which emanantes from large wooden box, and finally to a huge double door.
The doors are closed, but not bolted, so I timidly push one of them open and peek in. It's a room, a bit like a jury room at the courthouse, with a long table and ornate chairs lining the walls. Most of the chairs are occupied, by an odd mixture of dwarves, nymphs, elves, goblins, and whatnot, and all the occupants are looking at me. Bored looks are replaced by looks of anticipation, as they glance at the empty chair at the end of the table. They were waiting for me.
Now, finally, here's a fantasy I can sleep with…
Pleasant dreams,
Greg
[Art by Vicki Poyser of a sleeping man’s profile, underneath which is seen a stone staircase spiraling down into darkness.]
Worldcon
To vote for SEATTLE IN 1981, you must be a member of the 1979 World Science Fiction Convention. Both supporting and attending members can vote. To join, send $7.50 for a supporting membership, or $15 for attending, to: Tony Lewis, P0 Box 429, Natick, MA 01760. Make checks payable to Tony Lewis in US funds. Rates go up to $10 and $20 on 1/1/79, so join NOW! If you’d like to at- tned the 37th Worldcon in England, contact Bob Doyle at [PHONE REACTED] for news on group flight plans.
Seacon will be August 23–27 at the Metropole Hotel in Brighton. The British GoH is Brian Aldiss; American GoH Fritz Leiber; and Toastmaster will be Bob Shaw. The British address is: Seacon '79, 14 Henrietta St., London WC2E 8QJ U.K. (Missed one … Fan GoH - Harry Bell.)
If you can’t make it to England, you might consider NorthAmeriCon in Louisville, Kentucky. NorthAmeriCon is the convention sanctioned in the region which lost out when the Worldcon left the North American continent. Since the two events are a week apart, you can even attend both. Expect the Seattle Committee to hold the greatest victory party in the history of fandom at NorthAmeriCon next year!
Write to: NorthAmeriCon, P0 Box 58009, Louisville, KY 40258. (GoH-Frederick Pohl Toastmaster-George Scithers, Fan GoH-Lester Del Rey.)
The 1980 Worldcon (NOREASCON II) will be August 29 - September 1 at the Sheraton- Boston Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts. At Iguanacon this year, Boston won the bid for the 38th Worldcon, with (rumor has it) the hoax bid for Flushing, NY far behind in 2nd place and the Baltimore bid a poor third.
Memberships are $8 supporting and $15 attending through 1978, with the latter going to $20 in 1979. Write: NOREASCON TWO, P0 Box 46, MIT Branch P0, Cambridge, MA 02139. GoH’s: Damon Knight & Kate Wilhelm Fan GoH: Bruce Pelz.
The fate of the Seattle bid (1981 Bidding Competition - Western Region) will be decided by the members of Seacon '79 next year. The three bidding committees still in the running are Denver, Los Angeles, and Seattle. An earlier bid for Honolulu has folded. Join Seacon '79 now so you can votefor SEATTLE IN 1981! Remember, presupporting memberships in the Seattle Worldcon are only $1. Send to the NWSFS address, payable to Northwest Convention Fandom.
Three bidders have announced for the 40th Worldcon so far: Chicago, Detroit, and New Orleans (1982 Bidding Competition- Central Region). The latecomer is Chicago, who just announced their bid within the past month. The Chicago Committee, headed by Larry Propp and Ross Pavlac, looks the strongest, but the other committees are rumored to be gathering members. Note that the New Orleans bid is NOT the ill-received clan who bid for 1979.
We’ve only heard of a bid for Australia so far in the 1983 Bidding Competition - Eastern Region. They may even go unchallenged, since fannish sentiment seems to be in favor of another trip down under. Australia last hosted a Worldcon in 1975. We may expect one of the East Coast fan centers to rise to the challenge, however.
Three bidders have announced for the Orwellian Worldcon (1984 Bidding Competition
(Continued on page 9)
[Art by Peter Bartle of a small UFO flying around the towers of Westminster Abbey in London.]
Data Spike
Shelley Dutton
October was a very busy month. Between planning Norwescon 1.5, special events such as plays and training sessions, and the normal round of parties and meetings, those of us who are very active in NWSFS (gluttons that we are) found it very hard to arrange a free day. But we do it anyway — I guess egoboo and the thrill of being with crazy, fun, active people is compensation enough.
On Oct. 14, thirteen people attended a crisis intervention training workshop taught by Kevin Sanders of Rainier Outreach and Crisis Services. He spoke about how to deal with emotional crises, crowd control, first aid, how and when to get outside help, dealing with police and hotel security, what kind of people make good security and operations staff, basic pharmacology, and how to recognize and get help for drug overdoses. Among those who attended were ConCom members Jack McGill is (Operations), Linda Hoffer (Security), Liz Warren (hospitality), Cliff Wind (Art Show), Gordon Erickson (Film Program), myself (Stage Manager), and, of course, Chairman Greggie.
The Olympia NWSFS Chapter is growing by leaps and bounds. Their last Social Meeting saw the entrance of five new members. Special egoboo to Kipy Poyser, the Chairman of the Olympia Chapter, for his work in NWSFS. He is almost single-handedly responsible for making Olympia a valuable and active part of the Society, not to mention his top-quality work on WESTWIND, to which he brings expertise as editor of NW Chess magazine. Another Oly person who deserves mention is Michael Brocha, our printer.
Those of you who missed the Oct. Social Meeting here in Seattle missed one terrific party. It started slow, with people downstairs playing a noisy game of Hearts, people upstairs watching “KISS Meets the Phantom,” and the inevitable kitchen contingent talking skiffy. But by 11:00 the floors were jumping and the dancing and carrying on didn’t let up until 4am, when everyone decided to go out for breakfast. There are still sore muscles among the participants.
Negotiations continue with the Guild 45th for a special showing of Lord of the Rings. They don’t know yet what times they will be showing it and what arrangements they can make. They haven’t even seen it yet. But, we’re trying.
Ross Pavlac, part of our ConCom for the Seattle in '81 bid, is now co-Chair of a bid from Chicago for the '82 worldcon. Good luck to Ross and Chicago. How can we help?
Linda and Brad Hoffer have moved to Burien after the fire last month in their old apartment building. They express thanks to everyone who made donations to help them set up housekeeping again.
The Headquarters House of the Chairman in Kirkland has now been dubbed the Greater Pocatella Spaceport. Don’t ask me why — it just sounded good.
Happy Birthday to Michael Citrak of Olympia (Nov. 21). He’ll be 21.
Quote of the month: “SF Fans Do It With Imagination.” – an imaginary bumpersticker.
Futurelove Productions
A special interest group is now being formed within the Society. Called Futurelove Productions, its purpose will be to produce, direct, and stage productions for upcoming conventions and events. Works now in the planning stages include a disco and a multi-media presentation for Norwescon II. Hopefully, we will be doing plays and other full-scale productions in the future. If you are interested in becoming a member of this production company, please write Futurelove Productions at the club address.
Moscon I
Date: Sept. 29 - Oct. 1, 1979
GoH’s: Verna Smith Trestrail & Alex Schomburg. Distinguished Guest: Robert Heinlein (if health permits) Fan GoH: Jessica Salmonson
Memberships: $5 til 2/1/79; $6 til 9/3; $10 door. Hucksters $15 incl memb.
University Inn-Best Western, 1516 Pullman Rd. Moscow, ID
INFO: P.O. Box 9141, Moscow, ID 83843
Dedicated to E.E. “Doc” Smith
The Six-Foot Upper Amazonian Jug Band
Karrie Dunning
Continuing Adventures In The Green Machine
Since this newsletter reaches friends I have yet to meet, perhaps I should explain myself and the reason for this column. I entered fandom in late 1975 by working at the first convention of the Puget Sound Star Trekkers. Since that time, I’ve found NWSFS and mainstream fandom. I’ve also found independence and strength through the friends I’ve made and the lifestyle of fandom. I’ve tried to add as many new experiences to my life as possible since becoming single again. Finding training and adventure is sometimes hard for anyone, but especially hard for an insecure Amazon.
Well, the Army Reserve offered training, challenge, and a chance to test new values and survival skills in a world very different to me. (Different? That’s an understatement!) If I can survive the “Green Machine,” I can survive any socio-economic crisis, any emotional crisis; anything … So, here I am, in basic training at Ft. McClellan, Alabama.
Hopefully, this column will be, if not entertaining, at least enlightening. If there are any questions and/or comments (some ideas on how to tie this in with fandom?), please write:
PVT. Karen M. Dunning [ID REDACTED]
A Co. 2nd Bn (BT)
Ft. McClellan, AL 36205
I arrived at Ft. McClellan at 2230 hrs. (10:30pm to you Civilians) on the 7th of Oct. I was tired and very scared; what was I doing here?
Upon arrival at my new “home,” three other girls and I were shouted upstairs and yelled at to shower and go to sleep. The Shouting Lady later turned out to be one of our Drill Sargeants.
My first day in the Army was spent standing in line waiting to be fed and sitting around talking to the other women in my platoon. Monday was a holiday, so again we did nothing but talk and stand in line waiting to eat. On Tuesday began the weeklong trial of “inprocessing.” That consists of more waiting in line and being shouted at.
I suppose everyone facing anything new has some preconceptions. Well, I’d worried about the intellectual wasteland I was entering. I’d worried about my youth, my lack of physical strength, and my lack of competitive spirit … I was foolish. In my platoon there are women ages 17 to 30. We’re all going to Ft. Sam in Houston, Texas for training in Medical Corps, so we’re all at least able to read and write. None of the women are ex-prostitutes or “bull-dykes.” We are a cross-section of American women.
Truly, being a new member of the “Green Machine” is an experience. As I march along to breakfast at 5:00 in the morning I suddenly realize that I’m in a place totally foriegn and alien to anything I know. I sometimes wonder if this place can be real .
[Art by Vicki Poyser of a mythological Echidna, half-woman and half-snake, with long, dark straight hair, laying on a rock by a gnarled tgree with a human skull by her tail.]
Cinemaa
by Dennis Pernaa
Martin: this movie has already been shown in the East. It is about a modern vampire who has no fangs and is unaffected by all the usual anti-vampire paraphernalia.
Superman: the promo flying and thunderous credits are back at the Southcenter and the Cinerama. It has been recently expanded to introduce the cast, but there are as yet no actual scenes. The big media blitz is not far off, however.
The Last Wave: probably coming to the Crest Theatre soon.
Watership Down: it too is probably coming to the Crest soon.
Fire in the Sky: Iguanacon attendees may be interested in the scene where the Hyatt Regency is destroyed when the comet strikes Phoenix.
Battlestar Galactica: Universal is going to test the theatrical release of the two hour pilot in Texas.
Brainstorm: this is being billed as the first science fiction murder mystery. Filming will start in March, 1979,
Odysea: This movie will take place under the sea in the year 2080. The producers claim it will have excellent special effects and realistic people.
Phantasm: A horror movie?
Monty Python’s Life of Brian: New name for Brian of Nazareth. It is now in production.
Alien: The film about a gruesome alien taking over a person’s body is now in production. The slide show at Iguanacon made it sound very interesting.
Nosferatu: The Werner Herzog film starring Klaus Kinski will open in the U.S. in February.
Buck Rogers: This series will not appear on television in January. Production should now be finished on the 2-hour, $4 million feature, which is going to be released in theaters starting about next April.
The Day the World Ended: The latest Irwin Allen disaster is scheduled to begin production on Feb. 9 in Hawaii, with a $20 million budget.
Meteor: More than another $1 million in special effects has been added to boost the total budget to $17 million. The release date has apparently been moved from next April to sometime next summer.
Society Bylaws and Constitution
The organizational structure and governing documents for our various organizations were finally adopted at the NWSFS business meeting on November 10.
A new umbrella organization, SF Northwest, was formed to top off the Christmas tree. SF Northwest has two units: the Northwest Science Fiction Society and Northwest Convention Fandom. Under NWCF are the Norwescon and Worldcon committees, and in the organizational tree under the Society are its affiliates and special interest groups.
Officers were appointed to serve in the interim period until the next official election. Since at this point NWSFS has only one elected official, Greg Bennett, he was directed to appoint the rest of the executive committee. The executive committee of the Society now consists of: Vice Chairman Steve Bard, Treasurer Bob Doyle, and the committee members: Shelley Dutton, Jane Hawkins, Tom Halls, and Richard Wright.
SF Northwest has 3 officers, with the same chairman and treasurer as the Society, and Richard Wright as secretary.
Yes, this all sounds bureaucratic and confusing, but it works and makes for interesting wall charts.
Worldcon
Continued from page 6
Western Region): Los Angeles (of course, as always), Vancouver, BC, and Washington, DC. The Vancouver crowd are also bidding on the 1981 Westercon, and plan to work on the 1981 Seattle Worldcon to develop a finetuned Committee, according to their Chair, Joanne MacBride.
The Washington, DC bid hasn’t been advertising much lately, but their bid may gather some support from the irony of the year. Should they win the ballot, they then must garner a two-thirds majority of the business meeting at the 1982 Worldcon to move the convention out of the Western Region, where normal rotation would place it.
Fanspace
Hunting the Elusive Fan
by Cliff Wind
With the recent increase in Seattle of that strange species the SF fan, there has been some interest expressed in a guide for hunting the mysterious creature.
The surest means of locating Seattle fen is through their various nesting grounds, the largest number of which are in the Capitol Hill area (hence the subspecies The Capitol Hill Mob). The most frequented nests have been identified as Harper Hotel and the While- away Hideaway. Two other nests to the north and south are known as the Greater Pocatello Spaceport and Crackerbox Estates West. For the inexperienced fen-hunter, it is recommended he seek out the nesting grounds, it being a surer method, especially if a particular fan is sought. To the more experienced hunter, who may find this method of tracking his prey too easy, we recommend instead lying in wait at the favored watering holes of Seattle fen.
We must begin again with Capitol Hill, in fact with 15th Avenue East. At 524 is the Cause Celebre Cafe, now with a luncheon menu, but best known for its handmade ice cream, espresso, and poetry readings. Try there on a second Friday, after a meeting of the Nameless. Or cross the street to 605 to Bloch’s for late sandwiches and beer. Earlier in the day try hunting at the newly enlarged Matzoh Momma’s at 509. Enjoy bagels and blintzes while you wait, or savor the vegetarian fare down the street at 431, Mother Morgan’s Gumbo Factory & Live-in Restaurant Honey. On the other side of Capitol Hill is B&0 Espresso at 204 Belmont E., where fen may sometimes be seen talking over cappuccino or fattening themselves on the rich desserts. To the south, at least a couple of fen may be found on most Monday nights enjoying live jazz at The Other Side of the Tracks, 106 W. Main Street, Auburn.
There are other places, to be sure, but the above are the most frequented and hence a good place to begin. Good luck, and good hunting.
Fourth World Fantasy Con
by Victoria Poyser
Although I’d lived near Ft. Worth for a number of years, I’d only been there once before the con, and now I remember why. Someone told me they wanted to hold it in Cross Plains, but chose Ft. Worth instead for its facilities, hoping to retain the same flavor (of a small town, shit-kicking cowboy Texas mentality, I presume). In this they succeeded. I got the feeling everyone was slightly paranoid.
I went with my brother Christopher (his first convention). We arrived around 2 pm Friday and found the art room in a state of chaos. People were milling around and none of the art panels were up. After some hassle I got the work hung and wandered thru the show. Michael Whelan was there, hauling out masterpiece after masterpiece. He soon had a crowd of gaping admirers. Feeling completely humbled, I began looking around for lesser works. There weren’t any. I was definitely in a very professional show. One of Whelan’s pieces, The Mad Poet, is in my opinion worthy of a Renaissance master. Another very interesting work was Roger Stine’s Flight, which I believe was shown at Iggy.
Alicia Austin had a stunning display. If I’d only come with money–her color work is vibrant and her sense of line sheer magic. I talked to her for a time about art, and amazingly she bought 12 of my unicorn prints!
Saturday morning more work was added, a- mong them George Barr’s The Butterfly. Reproductions just don’t convey the delicacy of his work.
My other brother came down Saturday and we caught a bit of programming. After the readings, Charles Grant invited me to a party “for professionals only” (no brothers). I, apparently greatly privileged I later discovered, went to the party—-my brothers went to the movies. I met Fritz Leiber briefly; he seemed quite nice and gentlemanly, but he talked of backgammon, of which I know nothing. Harlan Ellison came in and pointed a finger at me, “There’s that girl who walks around with two men.” (My brothers are on the towering side of six feet. I guess that made an impres- sion on him.)
The art auction Sunday morning was sparsely attended and bidding was lackadaisical. Surprisingly my stuff sold and one piece drew a feeble round of applause. Charles Grant got one of my pieces. Talking to him after the auction, Harlan approached us and pointed to one of Charles' purchases, “Why did you buy that?”
“Well, uh, I’m no art critic, but I know what I like.”
Harlan’s reply, preceded by an anecdotal preamble which somewhat softened the blow… “That, my dear sir, is something you share with all the lower orders of animal life.”
Altogether, the Fantasy Con seemed quite different from SF cons. No blue jeans, no costumes, and scarcely any programming. The place was aswarm with pros, and fans, and fan- nish traditions, were actually discouraged.
Noncon I
October 7–9, 1978
Edmonton, Alberta
Report by Becky Bennett; Photos by Kipy Poyser
I made the trip to Edmonton from Vancouver by train, along with 12 other fen. We arrived Friday night, but I only went up to the Hospitality Suite long enough to tell everyone hello and good night, as the 25-hour train trip took its toll. However, I was up on Saturday morning early enough to grab a quick breakfast and catch the first item of programming, John Thomson’s Neofan Slide Show. John has made quite a few adjustments to the show as I saw it at V-Con last summer, with more emphasis on convention happenings and less travelog-type shots. I think it has improved a lot.
In lieu of the opening ceremonies, I went in to see Metropolis. I’ve been trying for years to get my first viewing of the film, and I’m happy to say that the film room was quiet, very dark, and had good acoustics. Unfortunately, there was nothing else on the film program to entice me back again. They did have Fahrenheit 451 and Silent Running, as well as a large selection of Buck Rogers serials.
Most of my Vancouver cohorts were watching the first round of the trivia contest when Metropolis ended, so I took off for the panel on Alternate Technology. This turned out to be a discussion of solar power, both on Earth and in space colonies, by Alan Dyer and Prof. Dave Panar. It wasn’t a bad programming item, although I think the L-5 Society might have been able to produce someone slightly more fannish and less dry.
I gave up on the panel after 20 minutes and wandered through the art show, which was predictably small but very good. Bill Grader, Vicki Poyser, and of course Fan GoH Grant Canfield were the dominant artists, with lots of good works for sale. Tim Hammell also had some extremely nice pieces on display, but unfortunately they were all NFS.
After a brief lunch and shopping expedition at the beautiful mall next to the Four Seasons, I caught the second round of the Trivia Bowl. The “V-Con Champs” beat the “Shadows” by 130 to 88 in a round of exceedingly trivial trivia which concentrated on GoH Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Darkover novels. The NonCon people borrowed Al Betz’s equipment (used for V-Con and Nor- wescon) and the system is working very well.
I skipped Jon Gustafson’s talk on SF art (after having heard from him that he was unaware of the panel until he saw the program book on arrival at the con two hours earlier) and took in the huckster room. The NonCon people can be credited with doing a good job of bringing in some out-of-the-area bookdealers, but I was disappointed to see few posters or prints, and no buttons, slides, jewelry, etc.
The Saturday night party in the Con Suite was affected with a restrictive mood imposed by Alberta liquor laws and by the hotel. The Four Seasons ignored its promise to block convention members, and had fen scattered all over the hotel, with mundanes stuck near the party suites. (I heard the Ambassador from Mexico was lodged directly below the Con Suite, which caused that dignitary some discomfort.) Predictably, there was a multitude of complaints about noise, and the hotel staff insisted there be no partying or drinks in the halls, and that the Con Suite door be kept closed. The suite wasn’t very big anyway, so the atmosphere got pretty stifling. Furthermore, the only way the con could have a bar was to “give away” tickets in return for “donations,” and ticket distribution had to close at 11:30, which didn’t do much for fannish mood and tradition. Nonetheless, I was there late enoughthat I slept through Grant Canfield’s address and the panel on fantasy gaming Sunday morning, waking just in time to get dressed for the luncheon banquet.
Again, problems with the banquet were mainly hotel- induced. It seems the concom was unable to get a firm commitment on price and menu until three weeks before the con, necessitating an unexpected increase in banquet ticket prices and a menu of fish instead of the promised beef. Toastmaster Doug Barbour did an excellent job, and speeches by Grant Canfield and MZB were both very entertaining. The NonCon staff did well in their choice of GoH’s.
The final round of the Trivia Bowl was Sunday afternoon, in which a team including Carl Juarez, Jon Gustafson, Steve Fahenstalk, and someone I haven’t met massacred the “V-Con Champs” by over 100 points.
We got back from supper just in time for the Costume Bacchanal, for which I have nothing but praise. For one thing, NonCon deserves credit for succeeding, as a first convention, in attracting 23 contestants who ranged from good to great. MZB did a very good job of introducing the costumes, and I was especially impressed with the way Marianne Nielson handled the pun competition at half-time. After the costume awards were announced there was dancing, which I personally enjoyed immensely. (For one thing, I got to talk to/dance with Grant Canfield, a distinct pleasure in itself.) The music was good, there was just the right amount of space, and the mood was really conducive to having fun, even though Alberta liquor laws decreed we had to go to the Con Suite for a drink. Unfortunately, the law also said we couldn’t dance past 11:30. (Actually, we were not at a dance; we were all practicing dance lessons. Alberta law doesn’t allow you to hold a dance on Sunday.) The Con Suite seemed rather a letdown after leaving the Bacchanal, though I stayed to see it close at 2 a.m. There was filksinging going on in another room, but no one had a songbook and they were singing “American Woman” by the time I got there. I gave up and went to bed. Rumor has it that Grant Canfield refused to get up for this panel on cartooning on Monday morning. So did I. I also didn’t make it to the art auction, which was just as well financially, though I’d have sold all rights to my first novel for the Poyser piece of the unicorn and dragon that went to M-K Reid for S61 .
NonCon had an attendance of about 450, and I’ve heard encouraging reports they broke even. In general, I’d say almost all NonCon’s problems stemmed from not taking a firm hand with the hotel. This is understandable since it was a first convention, but a smaller hotel might have improved matters. The con was just a minor event for the Four Seasons, and one not in keeping with their carefully nurtured image of a dignified first-class hotel. Though I may have been spoiled by Norwescon, I was also disappointed in the lack of authors and guests other than the GoH’s. I didn’t like the idea of closing down programming completely for meals, and it would have been nice if some of the alternate programming on Saturday had been moved to the dead spots on Sunday. But enough complaining. From what I saw, and heard from others, NonCon was an extremely enjoyable first convention. May there be many more.
One more note. I think we should give Chris Bell a special post-convention punning award for his remark on Monday night that went something like: “Edmonton’s main problem with NonCon was that they need more experience in convention fandom. They’ll get better as they get further into con-dom.”
And on that note it’s only right to identify the winners of the pun competition. Steve Fahenstalk took the dubious honor with an anecdote about Anne McCaffrey and her “dragon writers with perms.” David George was second.
Noncon Costume Bacchanal Winners
Best Darkover - Adrian Fischer - Darkover Comym Lord with Hair Dyed. Designed by Fischer and Joy Eikenhurst
Best Craftsmanship - Bill Grader - Hagar the Horrible Before He Got Fat
Best Characterization - Georges Giguere. Designed by Gail Carioux
Most Original - Yvonne Higgins - Amphibian Alien. Completely handmade by Yvonne.
Contestant’s Choice - 3way tie - Bill, Georges, and Yvonne
Spectator’s Choice - Bill Grader - Hagar
[Photo: Grant Canfield & Debra Simms sitting at a table on a panel.]
[Photo: Bill Grader wearing horned helmet and cape looking down at a child.]
[Photo: Marion Zimmer Bradley, Grant Canfield, and Debra.]
[Photo: Tim Hammell and Yvonne Higgins.]
[Photo: Tony Higgins]
[Photo: Hen Flanders walking next to a man wearing nothing but small shiny shorts.]
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