The Official Newsletter of the Washington Science Fiction
Association -- ISSN 0894-5411
Edited by Samuel Lubell lubell@bigfoot.com
WSFA Changes Bylaws
Fanzine Reviews
Clive Barker's Abarat
Terry Pratchett's The Wee Free Men
Dave Duncan's Paragon Lost
Spider Robinson's Callahan's Key
Clarification from Alexis
Capclave Balance Sheet
Attendance Report
Getting Back to WSFA
Jules Verne's Invasion of the Sea
The 3/7 First Friday in March meeting began with Sam P banging the gavel at 9:16. "Let's have a meeting," he said. "Why?" came a chorus. But Sam had an answer. "So we can get it over with and go back to drinking." There was no old business. Bob pointed out, "Because there was no meeting." Sam Lubell pointed out that he was reporting that there was no old business at the last held meeting, a month ago. Bob expressed surprise, "You remember that far?" Lee explained, "He writes it down for a reason." Bob reported $389.54 for the treasury.
Activities committee reported a movie Ghost of the Abyss, a recreation of the Titanic. Eric said, "Life will not go on." Lee said, "It's not James Cameron's Titanic II. He's working on that now that he's finished with this.
Capclave sold memberships at Boskone. Bob said, "Sold about 12." Capclave future has someone to do
publications. "Some idiot", Sam Lubell
said. "Now you can guess who," Lee
said. WFC has a thousand PRs, labels, and
stamps. After the meeting busy hands
will assemble them. PR One makes it
look like we know what we're doing.
Entertainment reported that George Bush was on TV yesterday. Macbeth has waded so far in gore that going backwards is like going on. Austerity suggested people "bring money, spend food." He reported on the prizes for the pledge drive. "$10 picture of one of Erica's cats, $25 you get the cat, $365, just a dollar a day, you get Lydia." Sam said, "And you wonder why Erica cancelled the meeting."
Keith for publications thanks Rebecca for finding two of the three missing issues. Still missing July 93. Moved registrar to NetWizards to save money.
New business. Keith proposed a motion to change the Bylaws to change all mention of Disclave to Capclave. Sam Lubell suggested making the wording be the WSFA convention rather than specifying. Lawyer John said Keith could make this a friendly amendment. Keith did so. The motion passed by voice vote. By WSFA rules, constitutional changes get passed to the next meeting. No additional new business.
Announcements. Rebecca said that WSFA Journal is wrong and Chuck's party is this Saturday. She cleared her closets and take copies of what you wish. [WSFA Archives thanks you!] She needs a ride to Toronto. Lee's yoga studio is doing benefit for those in India. Lee is a fully accredited research for Encyclopedia Titanica. Mike said, "Lee, you're really sinking to new depths." Elspeth asked, "Is this the boat or the movie." Lee, affronted, "The Ship" Kathi has the Fast Forward for March featuring Will Ludwigsen and the memorial to the astronauts who died in the shuttle explosion." Mike offered Nude NESFA books. Cathy pointed out, "All they did was remove the dust jackets." Mike said, "Major article on Richard Whitmore will be in Harpers'. He also told about the Boskone hotel having a pipe burst after the convention on Tuesday night. Did a million and a half dollars worth of damage. He also told the story of how Jo Walton poured her Coke over David Brin for a sexist remark." The club joked "He did say drinks were on him" and "The Diet Coke Shampoo". Madeleine finished her quilt. "It's done, not dawn" said John. Eric pointed out that the Third Friday this month is Lunacon. Third Friday in April is Third Night of Passover. Alexis said we need sponsors for website. Erica said, "I just wanted to apologize for canceling last month's meeting. It's nothing I can get into here." But John spilled the beans, "Lydia is pregnant" Erica answered, "She does have a boyfriend" The meeting adjourned at 9:28 by acclamation.
Attendance: VP Sam Pierce, Sec and 2003 Chair Samuel Lubell, Treas. Bob MacIntosh, Trust Scott Hofmann, Trust. Eric Jablow, Trust Nicki Lynch, 2002 Chair Mike Nelson, 2004 Chair Lee Gilliland, Sheri Bell, Adrienne Ertman, Alexis Gilliland, Erica Ginter, Cathy Green, Elspeth Kovar, Bill Lawhorn, Keith Lynch, Richard Lynch, Keith Marshall, Cat Meier, Walter Miles, Kathi Overton, John Pomeranz, Rebecca Prather, George Shaner, Michael Taylor, Michael Walsh, Ivy Yap, Madeleine Yeh, Wade Lynch, Diana Swiger, Duck Dodgers!, Elaine Brenan, Marc Gordon
HEAD! #5 (Doug Bell & Christina Lake, co-editors, 12 Hatherley Road, Bishopston, Bristol BS7 8QA, U.K.; e-mail to head@headwest.fsnet.co.uk; available "on whim, or for letters of comment, artwork, contributions, other fanzines and, of course, alcoholic beverages for llamas." Some money to cover postage would no doubt also be appreciated)
Head! has within five reasonably frequent issues become one of the better fanzines around. It has accomplished this without pyrotechnics or even glitz, but the accomplishment has been noted by a Nova Award (voted on and handed out at the UK's Novacon, held every November).
The fanzine has two things going for it: its editors. Christina Lake has been an active fan for two decades, is a past TAFF winner, and a celebrated fanwriter whose own fanzines are always guaranteed good reads. Doug Bell is a relatively new fan, who brings with him the enthusiasm and energy which powers Head! - and is no slouch as a fanwriter himself. Between them they set standards to which the fanzine's other contributors live up.
Head! is an attractively produced (computer typeset, as are almost all fanzines now, in a double-columned format using a readable san-serif typeface) 26-page fanzine. Beyond Brad Foster's cover there isn't a lot of interior art, although there a number of photographs relevant to the text they accompany.
But a sense of Art pervades the
fanzine. It crops up most overtly in
the first article, Gary Wilkinson's "Medicine Men," which is all about the art
of the last and current century, and has "Art" as its running head. But it crops up again in Doug's "Pil Pil, I
Love You Still," about his travels in Basque Spain and France, although now the
running head is "Travel." Doug spends
several pages on the Guggenheim art museum in Bilbao.
This sets the tone for the rest of the issue. Christina opens the issue with a one-page editorial, writes about fracturing her arm in the course of a long bicycle ride (running head: "Health") in "It's Not Quite Straight, Is It?" and offers some insightful musings into fandom in "Where the Neo-Fans Graze" (running head: "Fandom"). Nick Walters, a Dr. Who novelist, gets to meet his favorite Dr. Who actor at a poetry reading in "McGann," (running head: "Media") and is as thrilled about it as any fanboy while managing not to sound like one. Five pages of letters (running head: "Letters") round out the issue.
Head! is solid without being pretentious. Like most well-written fanzines, it addresses a small and intimate audience with informality and humor while occasionally dealing with important and serious topics. And, like most of the better fanzines, it evokes a sense of the fannish community from which it springs and to whom it speaks - most explicitly in Christina's "Where the Neo-Fans Graze." This is by no means a closed or snobbish community and Head! is a good way to gain access to it.
Clive Barker's Abarat
(New York : HarperCollins, 2002 http://www.clivebarker.com/)
Reviewed by Colleen R. Cahill
Children's fantasy can take us to wonderful, strange places, as in the Alice in Wonderland books. They present magical places that are both enchanting and frightening. Keeping with this tradition, Clive Barker has created Abarat, as weird and wonderful an adventure story as has ever been written. Do not let Barker's reputation as a horror writer throw you off: this is an outstanding piece that any fan of fantasy will want to read.
Candy
Quackenbush is growing up in Chickentown, Minnesota. It is a community known
only for its large chicken farms (hence the name of the town) and life can be
pretty dull. Not only does nothing exciting happen there, but Candy's family
life is grey, with an alcoholic, out-of-work father and a beaten-down
mother. While preparing a school report
for her sixth grade class, Candy discovers a hint of mystery in the town's past. Things really become strange when she
stumbles across a lighthouse in the middle of the prairie. She meets an
antlered man named John Mischief, a interesting character whose seven brothers
are heads attached to his antlers. After helping Mischief flee from a dark
pursuer, Candy chooses to go with him into the Sea of Isabella to Abarat. This
archipelago of twenty-five islands represents the hours of the day and one
island that is "time out of time." As Candy explores Abarat, she discovers it
is not a land of sunshine and happiness.
Two men are wielding their power over the islands to change it's face to
what they desire. The Prince of Midnight, Christopher Carrion, wants to plunge
the archipelago into darkness and allow the monsters at the bottom of the sea
to rise. Rojo Pixler, owner of Commexo Company, sees the islands joining into
his technological ideal, with all magic disappearing. Candy slowly begins to
feel she has been in Abarat before and that she may not only have some role to
play in its future, but also in the future of these two men.
While this is not a horror work or even a dark fantasy, Abarat does have it's hard edges. This is not a drawback. Barker sets the atmosphere and ignores no details. Even the names of the characters are wonderful and remind me of the Gormenghast series. The visual aspects are not neglected: there are over one-hundred color pictures in this lavishly illustrated book, all painted by Barker. These capture the feeling of the book, giving the reader access the author's vision of Abarat directly.
This book is the first of four and the final judgment on the series will have to wait until all the volumes are printed. If the ones that follow are as good as Abarat, Barker will have a new children's classic to his credit.
Terry Pratchett's The Wee Free Men
(New York : HarperCollins, 2003 http://www.terrypratchettbooks.com/)
Reviewed by Colleen R. Cahill
There have recently been some very good children's books published, such as Neil Gaiman's Coraline and Clive Barker's Abarat. These have a dark edge to them which is part of their charm. Sometimes, however, I just want a good laugh. The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett presents fantasy with a lighter touch while still being a great book. Humor is Pratchett's speciality, as readers of his Discworld series can tell you and this stand-alone novel is set in that universe. It is a wonderful addition that can be read without any knowledge of the earlier works and it is a treat for fantasy fans of all ages.
The book starts on a sheep farm, where
nine-year-old Tiffany lives with her family. A quiet, observing child, she also
shows ingenuity when faced with a monster in the local stream. She brings intelligence and cunning to the
problem, plus a willingness to use her little brother as bait. But she does not
just see people as tools: her sense of justice is strong and she strives to
learn how to protect those who are helpless. To this end, she has decided to
become a witch. This is somewhat daring on her part, as a old woman was shunned
by the locals last year because she was believed to be a witch. But Tiffany has the role model of her
Grandmother, who was the best shepherd in the area and who displayed some
unusual powers. When the little brother she used as bait is kidnapped by the Queen
of the Elves, Tiffany turns to the Nac Mac Feegle or the Wee Free Men. These six inch blue-tattooed men, with red
hair and dressed in kilts, are fond of "stealin' an' drinkin' an' fightin'." They are incredible strong and fear
nothing ... but lawyers. Assisted by
this enthusiastic crew and armed with a iron frying pan, Tiffany marches to the
rescue of brother, facing dreams and nightmares to get him back.
Pratchett has created a fun work with lots of humor. The Wee Free Men are a wonderful counterpoint to Tiffany: their wildness and live-for-the-moment attitude contrasts well with Tiffany's more sober and pragmatic way of thinking. But this adventure in fairyland also has messages of the responsibility power conveys to helping others and the value of family. It is being marketed as a children's work but there are several levels and adults will find delight in these pages, also.
Any Discworld fan probably already has this title on order. Anyone else who enjoys a good laugh, be they young or old, should also grab a copy of this book.
Dave Duncan's Paragon Lost
Reviewed by Samuel Lubell
Dave
Duncan has always been an author on the verge of superstardom but somehow never
making it. He writes the kind of light
fantasy that fans of Eddings, Brooks, or Piers Anthony would enjoy, but just a
little bit more sophisticated. His A
Man of His Word four book series showed great imagination in playing with
the different tropes of fantasy while sticking consistently to a set of
rules. Lately he's been writing a
series about the King's Blades. These
are well trained swordsmen who are given a mystical binding to be loyal to
their ward. The binding gives them
special abilities, including no need to sleep but makes them supernaturally
aware of their ward's security needs.
Duncan wrote a trilogy The Gilded Chain, Lord of the Fire Lands, and
Sky of Swords. What made this
trilogy unique is that the events in the second book contradicted some of the
events of the first book and it took the third book for it all to make
sense.
His new book Paragon Lost is more straightforward (of course The Gilded Chain in isolation was straightforward too.) Sir Beaumont, an excellent swordsman and too bright for his own good, is given to an elderly diplomat (along with two other Blades) on a secret mission to get the Czar's daughter for the King to marry. The Czar rules a country that isn't exactly Russia but whose weather, traditions, and politics might as well be. Through little fault of his own (except that sometimes his plans are too clever for his own good) the mission fails and the reader encounters the largely destitute "Ned Cookson" selling fencing lessons at a tavern. So the mystery of how the mission failed takes up a large part of the book in a flashback and then there's Sir Beaumont's return trip to the faux-Russia to restore his reputation. In the process he winds up manipulating the rulers of three different countries.
Like the other books in the series, Paragon Lost is a lot of fun. It's a modern swords and sorcery tale (with very little sorcery) a few unexpected twists, and a hero who succeeds (and fails) as much by his wits as by his swordplay. This is not a classic nor as ambitious as the author's Great Game about British colonialism (well, in a way). It's a fun, adventurous romp that's enjoyable going down even if it doesn't really have much to say.
Spider Robinson's Callahan's Key (Bantam $23.95)
Reviewed by Samuel Lubell
Spider Robinson's Callahan books, which started out as a bunch of tall tales set in a bar, are largely plotless interactions of highly unusual individuals ranging from time travelers (who must pay in cash), genius super scientists, talking dogs, and ladies of the evening. Callahan's Key is a slight departure from the formula - literally. Most of the book is comprised of journey of bar owner Jake Stonebender, of the now closed Mary's Place, to Key West Florida accompanied by the collection of highly unusual individuals who frequented his bar. At one point, when someone tells him how hard it is for a new bar to get started in Key West, he jokes that he brought his own clientele with him.
But the Callahan crew is not moving
South just to get away from Inspector Grtozkzhnyi who refuses to let them
reopen Mary's Place. They are on a mission
from supergenius Nikola Tesla (who faked his insanity and death and is now an
immortal time-traveler) and have only ten years to get telepathic and save the
planet. Unfortunately, after a rather
interesting trip down to Florida, Tesla tells them that they have a matter of
weeks not years because an orbital satellite armed with a Tesla weapon will be
involved in a cosmic accident that will destroy not just Earth but everything
in the universe as well. It takes Jake's
teleporting supergenius baby daughter, the memory of a Florida real estate
agent, the luck of Lucky Duck, Robert Heinlein's Pixel - aka The Cat Who Walks
Through Walls, and the ultimate in government surplus to solve the
problem. Incidentally, I found some of
the solution a little too reminiscent of the final section of David Palmer's
Emergence.
Surprisingly, there aren't as many scenes of drinking and punning in this book (compared to the typical Callahan novel) and there is a much stronger plot than usual. The three-year old genius is a fun character and Callahan actually develops Jake, the bartender, into a more rounded character. The result is a fun light read is just a bit deeper than the other Callahan books. My recommendation is that those who have read other Callahan books but got tired of the series should pick this up. This is probably not a good place to start the series, as some aspects of the book depend on things that happened in earlier books (however, everything is explained so a first visitor to Callahan's probably would be able to figure out the talking dog, superintelligent toddler etc.)
Regarding my article on Solar heating in the last WSFA Journal, we have an authoritative comment from Dr. Hunter Fanney of the National Institutes of Standards and Technology. Dr. Who? I hear you say, where did HE come from? Well, before writing the article for you, I wrote him a letter outlining my idea. His name was obtained from the program book of the Solar Decathlon 2002, which listed him as one of the judges on the Engineering Design Panel. Dr. Fanney's reply in brief is that while the visible spectrum of light is admirably conducted by fiberoptical glass, the longer wavelengths associated with the infrared part of the spectrum are not, with the result that the melting point of glass would be quickly reached in my suggested system. Thus does reality subvert my elegant theory. Who woulda thunk it?
|
Account ID |
Account Description |
Debit Amt |
Credit Amt |
|
|
|
10200 |
Cash in Bank |
$ 2,052.49 |
|
Split - $500.00 to Capclave 2003/ $1,552.49 to WSFA |
|
|
50100 |
Memberships-Full |
|
$ 7,410.00 |
|
|
|
50200 |
Memberships-Day |
|
$ 450.00 |
|
|
|
50300 |
Dealers Fees |
|
$ 750.00 |
|
|
|
60100 |
Banking Fees |
$ 14.95 |
|
|
|
|
60150 |
Credit Cards Fees |
$ 54.83 |
|
|
|
|
60260 |
Publicity Expenses - Postage |
$ 102.00 |
|
|
|
|
60300 |
Hotel - Facility Rental |
$ 3,150.00 |
|
|
|
|
60310 |
Hotel - Catering |
$ 1,091.20 |
|
|
|
|
60410 |
GOH Expenses - Per Diem |
$ 700.00 |
|
|
|
|
60420 |
GOH Expenses - Dinner & Gifts |
$ 410.00 |
|
|
|
|
60500 |
Con Badges |
$ 70.00 |
|
|
|
|
60600 |
Restaurant Guide |
$ 19.69 |
|
|
|
|
60700 |
Con Suite |
$ 426.73 |
|
|
|
|
60800 |
Program Book |
$ 37.79 |
|
|
|
|
60900 |
Programming |
$ 480.32 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total: |
$ 8,610.00 |
$ 8,610.00 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
By Keith Lynch
For the fourth year in a row, here is my annual WSFA meeting attendance report. The information this report was based on comes almost exclusively from the meeting minutes in the WSFA Journal. This information is not always accurate or complete, so please take this report with a grain of NaCl. Some people don't sign in, some arrive after the meeting is over, and some write in fake names.
We now have over eleven years of WSFA Journals online (at http://www.wsfa.org/journal/), but meeting attendance wasn't consistently taken and recorded in the Journal until 1995. So we have eight and a quarter years of attendance data from 189 meetings, 91 of which were at the Gillilands', 89 of which were at the Ginters', and 9 of which were elsewhere.
Where are the WSFAns of yesteryear?
If I define a "regular" as someone who attends at least a third of the meetings, 1995 had 46 regulars, and 2002/03 has 38. Of the 46 1995 regulars 33 have attended at least one meting in 2002/03, and 21 are 2003/03 regulars. The 1995 regulars who have disappeared entirely (attended no meetings in 2002 or 2003) are Covert Beach, Dan Burgess, Steven desJardins, Jim and Terilee Edwards-Hewitt, David Grimm, the late Joe Mayhew, Rachel Russell, John and Peggy Rae Sapienza, Michael Watkins, Miles Weissman, and Ben Zuhl.
Of the 38 2002/03 regulars, 21 were 1995 regulars, 5 were 1995 irregulars, and 12 are new. The 12 new regulars, and when their first meeting were, are Sheri Bell ('98), Adrienne Ertman ('00), Cathy Green ('01), Scott Hofmann ('98), Jim Kling ('01), Bill Lawhorn ('01), Keith Lynch ('97), Cat Meier ('01), Sam and Judy Scheiner ('00), Elizabeth Twitchell (aka Elizabeth Celeste) ('01), and Ivy Yap ('01). It's possible that some of them may have attended pre-1995 meetings, but none of them attended any meetings in 1995, 1996, or (except in my case) 1997. Ivy has been out of the country since August, but is expected to return soon.
Here is an attendance grid of people present at WSFA meetings in 2001-2003 to date. V or M for Virginia or Maryland meeting, lowercase if attendance wasn't taken, C for a meeting at Capclave, and x for a meeting not held. Only people who have been to three or more meeting during this time are listed. People known by different names at different times are listed under their current name.
A J before the person's name means they've contributed to the WSFA Journal during this period, an L means they're on the WSFA email list, an O means they're an officer, and an M means they've hosted one or more events to which all WSFAns were invited during this period. I do not have information on who is a paid member, or on who has attended Capclave.
2001 |2002 |2003
J F M A M J J A S O N D |J F M A M J J A S O N D |J F M
VMVMVMVMVMvMVMMVVMVMVMVM|VMVMVMVmVMVMVMMVVMVCVMVM|VMVxVM
Thierry Barston ** *** *| ** |
Mike Bartman *| * * * * |
Covert Beach *** *** * | |
Bernard Bell * * *** ** *** * * * *|* * * * ** ** **|* *
Sheri Bell ** ***** *** ***** ***| ** ** **** ** ** ** | * **
J Colleen Cahill * **** * * **** |* ** ** ** * | *
Christopher Damrosch * |* * |
Candice Davis ** * | |
JM Chuck Divine * | * * * |
JL Adrienne Ertman * ****** * ****** ****|******* ******* ********|* * **
Carolyn Frank * * *| * * * * * * |
Zabeth Gallagher * | ** * **** |
JM Alexis Gilliland ************* *** *****|***** * ********** *** |*** *
J Charles Gilliland * | * * * |
JMO Lee Gilliland ************* **** *****| *** * *************** |*** *
JLM Erica Ginter ** * * * ** * * * *| * ** * **** *** * | * **
M Karl Ginter * * * * *| * * * |
Marc Gordon * |* * * | *
JL Cathy Green * ** ** ***** * ** **|* ***** ******** ** ****|* * **
L Sally Hand * **** *** ****| **** * |
Dan Hoey * | * * |
LMO Scott Hofmann * * * *** ****|******* ****** *** ** **|* * **
LO Eric Jablow *************** *** ****|***** * ******** *******|*** **
Bill Jensen ** * * | * * *| *
L Ron Kean ** * *** ** * *| * * * * * |
Liza Kessler *** * * *** * |* * |
O Judy Kindell * *** **** ** *** ***|* ** * ***** * *** **|* *
J Jim Kling * * *| ** * * * * ***** *** |*** *
L Elspeth Kovar *** ****** ** *** *|* * * ** **** * * |* *
L Bill Lawhorn ** |* ***** * * * ** * * | * **
Brian Lewis * | * ** * | *
JLO Samuel Lubell *** ** *** ** **** *****|** ** * ******** ***** *| ** **
Will Ludwigsen ** * * **** **** | |
Bradford Lyau * * * ** ** | |
JLM Keith Lynch ************************|******* ****************|*** **
JLO Nicki Lynch *** ****** ************|******* ********** *** *|*** *
L Richard Lynch *** ****** ************|******* ************** *|*** *
JO Bob MacIntosh * ******* * ****** **** |*** *** * ************ *|*** **
JL Candy Madigan * *| * * * | *
John Madigan * * | | *
Keith Marshall ** *** * * * * * * | * * * * | * *
M Cat Meier * | **** * ** ****** **** |* * **
L Walter Miles * * * ** ** * * ** **|* *** * ************* * |* *
Marilyn Mix | ** * | *
J Michael Nelson * * * ** * *** * * * |* * * * * * ***** *| *
L Barry Newton * * * * * * * ** *|** * * * * *** *| *
L Judy Newton * * * * * * * | * * * * ** *** *|
L Meridel Newton *| * * * * * |
Lance Oszko * ** ** * * |* * * ** |
M Kathi Overton * ** * * * * |* * * * * * * * *** * |* *
Aly Parsons | * * * | *
Paul Parsons | * * * | *
Evan Phillips * * * * * * * *| * * * * | * *
LO Sam Pierce * ****** * ** * **** * | * * *** * ** * | * **
M John Pomeranz * ** * |* * * * * * * * * |* *
JM Rebecca Prather * * * * * * ** * * * |* * * * * ** *** * |* * *
Dick Roepke ** * | * |
Doc Ryl | * * * |
Tom Schaad * |* * |
Judy Scheiner * * * ** * * |* * * * * *** * |* *
Sam Scheiner * * * * ** * * * |* * * * * * ** *** * |* *
George Shaner * ****** ****** *** **|**** * * * ******** |*** *
JL Steven Smith ** * * * ** * *****| * **** ** ********* *|**
Victoria Smith * * * * * * |* * * * * * |*
William Squire * * * *|** * * * *| *
JL Lee Strong * * * * * ** |* * * * * * * ** * |
Diana Swiger * * | | *
Dave Taylor | ** * |
Michael Taylor * ******** * ** * * ** |***** * ****** ** * *| * *
Rob Thornton **** * **** *| * |
L Jim Toth | ** | *
LM Elizabeth Twitchell * |*** * * * *** **** |* * *
JL Michael Walsh *** ** **** ** * * * |*** * * *** ** ** * |*** *
Steve Weese | * * * |
Andrew Williams ** * *** ***** | * * * * * ** |
JL Ivy Yap ***** * ** ********|******* **** |
J Madeleine Yeh * ** *** * **** *****| ** * * * ** * * *|* * **
VMVMVMVMVMvMVMMVVMVMVMVM|VMVMVMVmVMVMVMMVVMVCVMVM|VMVxVM
J F M A M J J A S O N D |J F M A M J J A S O N D |J F M
2001 |2002 |2003
Here's a Virginia vs. Maryland attendance cross-plot, for meetings in 2001, 2002, and 2003 to date:
Each * represents one person. The horizontal axis is how many Maryland meetings that person attended, and the vertical axis is how many Virginia meetings they attended. A 2 (or other numeral) represents 2 (or more) stars in the same position. A + represents more than 9 stars in the same position. There's a V where someone who attended all 26 Virginia meetings and no Maryland meetings would be plotted. There were no such people. There's an M where someone who attended all 24 Maryland meetings and no Virginia meetings would be plotted. There were no such people. There's an A where someone who attended all Virginia and Maryland meetings would be plotted. There was one such person. There's an 0 where someone who attended no meetings would be plotted. There were about six billion such people.
V A
*
* 2 * *
* *
*
2 *
* *
* *
* *
* *
* * * * *
* * * * *
* *
* *
*
* *
*
* * * * *
* * * * *
4 * * * *
7 2 * 2 *
+ 6 3 * * * * *
0 + 5 * 2 * * M
Here is grid covering all the data we have. One column each two months, rather than per meeting. The number in the column indicates how many meetings they attended in those two months. Only people who have been to eight or more meetings during this period are listed.
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
JMMJSNJMMJSNJMMJSNJMMJSNJMMJSNJMMJSNJMMJSNJMMJSNJMMJSN
Matthew Appleton 121122 2
Eric Baker 1 112 12 11 1 1 1
Thierry Barston 332
Covert Beach 33324322433232333232413332341333 23333 1
Bernard Bell 1 122134222122234321313232312324212323221123122
Sheri Bell 3 21 112 2223334322422212
Mary Bentley 11 1 11 1 1 1
Dan Burgess 32131 133 122 21 1
Colleen Cahill 11 1 1 11 1 2212223432314111312221 1
Chris Callahan 24323 1222 1 11 22 12 1 1
Steven desJardins 133321 3221 11 1 1 1
Chuck Divine 22212 2212 2112 21212 2 111 1 1 11 1
Gail Dood 1 121 2211
Darrin Dowty 23331 1
Geoffrey Drumheller 133 1 1 1
Jim Edwards-Hewitt 22332111132121 1
Terilee Edwards-Hewitt 22332112 21121 1
Adrienne Ertman 1114333443434422
Carolyn Frank 1111 221
Zabeth Gallagher 1 2131
Alexis Gilliland 41443312434443433333423343342433444444432442343331
Charles Gilliland 11 1 1 111 2 2 11 11 1 1 111
Lee Gilliland 41232311334441333222322432432442333344433422444331
Erica Ginter 14333422212231222223312223222231223121222212233112
Karl Ginter 141 1221111 1 111 2 1121 1 112 1 11211 1
Cathy Green 13242333442422
David Grimm 2222312332112 1 111 1 1
Joe Hall 11 122231111 2 1
Sally Hand 233432
Shirl Hayes 1111 1 1 1 1
David Hines 132213
Dan Hoey 23442 243323112 231 1 1 1 1 11
Scott Hofmann 21111 1 1111 22443433322
Chris Holte 12 2 1222122 11 32 11 2
Daniel Horne 11113 2
Eric Jablow 22344323422232232342332343334433332344433442443432
Bill Jensen 1122221131211 1 1 1 1 22 11 1 1
Kitty Jensen 121 12 112
Ron Kean 1 11121 11 111 22222212
Liza Kessler 11313 11 1
Judy Kindell 32223222341122222222233433233323323423332322332311
Jim Kling 1222223331
Elspeth Kovar 11244222442222331222422241211312444334223111233111
Bill Lawhorn 11 33221212
Brian Lewis 223 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 111 1
Paula Lewis 113 1 11
Winnie Lim 2312 2
Samuel Lubell 1223412 443231333343334442444331434433333432443322
Will Ludwigsen 31422
Perrianne Lurie 3213 212 1 1
Bradford Lyau 212131
Keith Lynch 322222432222432344444344444443444432
Nicki Lynch 12324313312332233223412233132343342334244443443331
Richard Lynch 12334312312332233323412233132343342334244443444331
Bob MacIntosh 44434323434343444334334433434333444334243333344332
Candy Madigan 11 122112 111212 1 1 11 1111 1111 1 1
John Madigan 1 1211 1 11 11 2 1
Keith Marshall 323343213112222113322 2 212132434 33232121 1 11111
Kit Mason 1 2 2 2 1 1 1 1
Winton Matthews 22 11 112 11 1 111 1 111 2
Joe Mayhew 33444321434343444443422444343442
Cat Meier 132243322
Walter Miles 3244432142113212111 121 2223321121232332444211
Abner Mintz 1111 1 111 1
George Nelson 1 12322231141 12 1
Michael Nelson 2243331242334332433442232313332334 2231312212142 1
Barry Newton 11 123 2 1 2 2122111 2111 1222123312211223111311
Judy Newton 1 22 1 1 2 1 1 1111 1221 1321211111211231
Meridel Newton 1 1 1 1 2 22111 211 11222 1231 111111
Lance Oszko 3244232242334231441321231112 11222 131 1111 12
Kathi Overton 211 21 1111 21321 241 11 13 1122 1 222223111
John Peacock 113 1 11
Evan Phillips 211221 211 12 2 32 2 2422221121211111221 11 111
Sam Pierce 2331111322233331222312211313211333434224111322 12
John Pomeranz 22334113333243444344331 231342123 1122 2212 211
Rebecca Prather 2212112212211121222 21121111112 222212222113221
Richard Pugh 1 3321
Dick Roepke 143241112312213 1 222 11 12 21 1
Rachel Russell 123313132 11 1
Juan Sanmiguel 13332
John Sapienza 22232111 2 11 1 1 1 1 1
Peggy Rae Sapienza 234331223121 123 111 1 1 1
Tom Schaad 2111211 1 111 11 1 12
Judy Scheiner 11 11111121121222
Sam Scheiner 1 112111222221322
George Shaner 34243413444231234424313433333423411214343341224231
Steven Smith 13444212423 321222334 221323121123132212242323432
T.R. Smith 1232 1 1 1 1
Victoria Smith 11 1 1 1 11 1 11 1 1 1211 12 2 111
William Squire 3232312 21 11 121 21 1111 21111 1 2 112 1121
Lee Strong 1111221 3232221 14 2 11 2222 31 212121 212122
Michael Taylor 23443321312141324433412332234431324234322242332211
Ronald Taylor 11 3111211 111 11 1 1 1 1
Rob Thornton 32221 1
Elizabeth Twitchell 131132321
James Uba 3232221 1 2 1 1 11 1 1 111 1 1
Michael Walsh 334243224233323132232 121321 222213332332132322131
Michael Watkins 2122211131132 2 1211 11 1
Miles Weissman 222212 2 1
Andrew Williams 22232212 2
Ivy Yap 332444322
Madeleine Yeh 1241 2111121 3122111312222132131 13233421221222
Beth Zipser 1121111 11 11 1 2 1 1 1 2 1 1
Mike Zipser 1 21121 11 11 1 2 1 1 1 2 1 1
Ben Zuhl 121231
JMMJSNJMMJSNJMMJSNJMMJSNJMMJSNJMMJSNJMMJSNJMMJSNJMMJSN
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
I also generated a five year grid, with one month per column, but chose not to include it, to save space, and because it doesn't provide any information that the two year grids in this and prior years don't. (For the prior years, see the March '00, April '01, and April '02 issues of the WSFA Journal, which are online at http://www.wsfa.org/journal/)
Top ten in attendance for the past eight and a quarter years, during which there have been 189 meetings for which we have reasonably complete attendance data:
171 Bob MacIntosh
163 Alexis Gilliland
154 Eric Jablow
149 Samuel Lubell
144 Lee Gilliland
143 George Shaner
142 Richard Lynch
140 Nicki Lynch
132 Michael Taylor
125 Michael Nelson
Top ten in Virginia attendance (91 meetings):
83 Lee Gilliland
82 Bob MacIntosh
82 Alexis Gilliland
75 Eric Jablow
73 George Shaner
71 Richard Lynch
70 Nicki Lynch
69 Samuel Lubell
69 Michael Nelson
67 Rebecca Prather
Top ten in Maryland attendance (89 meetings):
83 Erica Ginter
75 Bob MacIntosh
72 Eric Jablow
71 Samuel Lubell
71 Alexis Gilliland
69 Richard Lynch
69 Michael Taylor
68 Nicki Lynch
66 George Shaner
55 Steven Smith
The average attendance of the 91 Virginia meetings for which we have full attendance data was 30.9. The median was 29 (i.e. half the meetings were larger, half were smaller). The range was 19 (most recently April 2000) to 49 (most recently May 1995). The average attendance of the 88 Maryland meetings for which we have full attendance data was 28.4. The median was 29. The range was 10 (November 1995, opposite Philcon) to 43 (most recently September 1995).
The average attendance of the twelve Virginia meetings in the past year was 30.7, the median 31. The range was 24 (December) to 39 (April). The average attendance of the nine Maryland meetings in the past year for which attendance was taken was 28.8, the median 31. The range was 21 (December) to 33 (September).
Considering how much
turnover there has been, our meeting sizes have been remarkably stable over the
past eight years. It would be interesting to find out how many people
were typically at meetings in the '80s, '70s, '60s, '50s, and '40s. (Yes,
WSFA has been around for a while.)
Apparently 337 people have been to at least one of the 189 meetings. (Some of the names were probably written in as a prank, or are mis-transcriptions of hard to read written-in names.) 153 of those 337 have only been to one. 184 have been to two or more, 146 to three or more, and 128 to four or more. Of those who have been to at least three, the median attendance was 18. Of the 28 "regulars" (those who have been to at least a third of the meetings, i.e. to 63 meetings) the median attendance is 113, 60% of the meetings. As described above, there's considerable non-overlap between the 1995 regulars and the 2002/03 regulars.
One more question I attempted to answer is what kind of weighted average of past attendance is most predictive of future attendance? Loosely speaking, what's the effective half-life of a WSFA member? This turns out to be more difficult than I thought it would be, even with various simplifying assumptions. The heuristic method I used found that it scored best if it predicted that *nobody* would show up for the next meeting, since this uninteresting guess was always correct for the vast majority of the 337 people in its list. I'll work on it some more, and report the results in future months if I get something useful.
I am open to suggestions for interesting analyses or charts I can do on these data. I also have (or can easily get) weather information for all meeting dates. Perhaps I should check to see if there are any fen who are less likely (or more likely) to show up during bad weather. I plan to do this again next year.
The 3/21 Third Friday meeting began with Prez Judy taking charge and saying "It's 9:15ish and I've bought my membership, so we can get started." There was old business, a constitutional amendment to change all reference to Disclave in Constitution and Bylaws to the WSFA convention. Erica moved we acclaim. Motion passed by acclamation.
Treasurer reported $1,972.02. The club stayed silent in awe. Capclave 02 has dissolved. Calls were heard for another Capclave.
Capclave Present got $500 or 20 members worth from Caplave 02. Alexis Gilliland will pass out flyers at Lunacon.
WFC has a special $35 WSFA slave rate. Mike is at Lunacon. The Entertainment Committee gives us fireworks over Baghdad. Erica said, "We can watch the Wide World of War later".
"Getting back to WSFA..." Judy was interrupted by a "motion to adjourn" from the back. "Down in back" Bob kept order. Eric for austerity said, "Even though WSFA has more money than in the past, bring food and money. I almost brought a brie cheese but realized it's French." Keith said publications is still looking for a July 93 Journal. He asked on rasff.
New business: Erica apologized for the short notice that the last meeting here was cancelled. "And you had nothing to do with the DC marathon being cancelled," Sam joked. Colleen reported that the Library of Congress will have speakers and she will be on a panel at the Nebulas. Elizabeth has room for rent to a catless female. Keith said that Rebecca Prather was in a Vienna newspaper covering her MENSA event. Keith reported that Octavia Butler, Steven Barnes, and Nalo Hopkinson were presenting at Howard University and Vertigo books.
Meeting unanimously adjourned at 9:39.
Attendance: Pres. Judy Kindell, VP Sam Pierce, Sec & 2003 Chair Samuel Lubell, Treas Bob MacIntosh, Trust Scott Hofmann, Trust Eric Jablow, Sheri Bell, Colleen Cahill, Adrienne Ertman, Erica Ginter, Cathy Green, Bill Jensen, Jim Kling, Bill Lawhorn, Keith Lynch, Cat Meier, Bill Mayhew, Evan Phillips, Jim Toth, Elizabeth Twitchell, Ivy Yap, Madeleine Yeh, Brian Lewis, Paul and Aly Parsons
Jules Verne's Invasion of the Sea
(Wesleyan University Press, 2001)
Reviewed by Lee Strong
I am certainly glad that Monsieur Verne
is publishing again. Being dead for 96 years slowed him down considerably and
it's good to see that he's back at work. Unfortunately, he's still not back up
to par.
This is a rather pitiful little travelogue masquerading as a science fiction novel. The invading sea of the title refers to a serious 19th (and 20th and 21st) Century idea to create an inland sea by flooding parts of the Sahara Desert. The goal would be to improve the climate of the area and, incidentally, create a military barrier to 19th Century Tuareg caravan raiders. In Verne's novel, the plan is put into motion by one company and taken over by another in the future year of 1930. The prospect of no longer being able to raid European colonial commerce upsets the local Arabs who promptly seize the surveyors checking on the work in progress. The latter easily escape their captors and a convenient earthquake ex machina creates the sea and some minor suspense.
This story is pretty much Verne's last work and it clearly shows it. All of the potentially interesting macro-engineering work is handled off stage by the earlier company and earthquake. The European surveyors simply ride or walk across the landscape talking about dates, sand dunes and Arab distemper. The anti-colonial Arabian characters are somewhat more interesting but their story is reduced to cheap melodrama. In the end, the most interesting characters are a European horse and dog. The entire story is a sad anti-climax for the creator of the brooding Captain Nemo and the fabulous Nautilus.
I rate the disappointing Invasion of the Sea as a mere ** on the five star scale as being only marginal science fiction with a weak plot. I'd rate the book lower but the appendices provide some interesting information on Verne's works, past translations, and Wesleyan University Press' plans to bring more quality Verne translations to the Anglo-Saxon audience. -- LS