 |
| Wrap-around Program Cover by Russ Manning |
“western tanagers yellow and black red heads
scrabbling for spilled popcorn
their movements take milliseconds
followed by frozen moments two or three magnitudes longer sometimes four or five magnitudes thus a visual illusion of instantaneous motion between one stillness
and another for each ecstatic
instant we must an anguish pay” 2312
“Our stories go on awhile, some genes and words
persist; then we go away. It was a hard
thing to remember.” 2312
The first Witchcraft and
Sorcery Convention in October, 1971 at the Los Angeles Hilton Hotel was
monumental for Outlaw Fandom. It was
there that we met and/or, for Reality News, interviewed Ray Bradbury, Forrest J
Ackerman, Jack Kirby, Robert Bloch, E Hoffman Price, and others. Price was the shiniest, craziest diamond in
this solid sack full, overflowing with stories and memories regarding his days
writing for the pulps, and especially those days with his friend, HP
Lovecraft. Bjo Trimble, this year’s
Westercon Costuming Special Guest (along with husband John), was in charge of
the art show, and it was at this con that a séance was held to contact Bela
Lugosi. Unbelievably, we were actually
embraced by a host of fans and guests; Price would become a life-long friend
who we would stay in contact with and run into several times in the years to
come.
It was also at this
convention that OF stalwart Macho Marty was “seduced” by a fan predator who we
nicknamed El Bastardo. Bastardo was a
sleazy pseudo-“fan” who evidently hung out at conventions preying on attractive
young women. He was pretty disgusting in
his own right, but the fact that he was married only made it worse. That first night, he brought us to his home
in Newport Beach, where his utterly charming wife gave us our first
taste of Jack Daniels, which she affectionately referred to as her Tennessee sippin’ whiskey.
This of course only endeared her to us, but while we were sippin’, El
Bastardo was making his moves in another room.
MM, though pretty tough on many levels (hence her nickname), was no
match for this privileged, deep pocketed lothario. Things just got worse in the following days;
needless to say, just before we left LA, unbeknownst to MM, El Bastardo endured
some very deserved “unpleasantness”.
I have finished reading my
third Hugo nominee, 2312. It is without a doubt not only one of the
best sci-fi books I think I’ve ever read, but just an outstanding achievement,
well written, great pacing, fascinating characters, an “experimental” approach
to story-telling – I know, I’m just repeating stuff I’ve said in previous
posts, but I’m here to tell you it holds up extremely well through to the
end. I have not read any other Robinson,
but that will change, and I would LOVE to enter this world he created
again. HIGHLY recommended.
And now it’s on to 2013 Hugo Nominee
number four.
To Be Continued
No comments:
Post a Comment