The WSFA Journal

THE WSFA JOURNAL

FEBRUARY 1984

Volume 7     Number 8

WSFA Minutes

Meeting of January 6, 1984, at the Gillilands'; Alexis Gilliland presiding.

The meeting was called to order at 9:14. It was agreed to waive the reading of the minutes as the January WSFA Journal was available. The treasury stood at $6,503.65.

Committees

MEMBERSHIP: At the December 16th meeting two people joined: Ellen Vartanoff and Catherine Slusser. Ellen's address and telephone no. were included in the Xmas WSFA Address List; but Catherine's was inadvertently left off. Sorry about that, Cat! Please note the following:

        Catherine Slusser
        [censored]
        Bethesda, MD 20814
        (301) 652-2245

PUBLICATIONS: The January WSFA Journal was available.

ENTERTAINMENT:

Doll reported that the Solstice Dinner was a rousing success. Also, she wanted to express thanks to all of the people who have been bringing munchies to meetings. She reminded everybody that HexaCon was this weekend and Brave New Con is next weekend.

1984 DISCLAVE: Chairwoman Jane Wagner reminded everyone that there will be a con committee meeting at the next WSFA gathering.

1985 DISCLAVE: Chairman Mike Walsh reports that not too much is happening but he did remind everyone to think of who they'd like to have as GOH.

OLD BUSINESS:

ConStellation Chairman Mike Walsh reported that BSFS decided to give Connie $1,000 outright and Connie has already received a check from them of said amount. After a very long discussion, it was finally decided that at the 1st Friday meeting in February a balance sheet noting incoming funds, outstanding debts and a projection of money still to come in shall be handed in to WSFA. A final decision of whether WSFA shall give $1,000 to Connie shall be made at that time.

NEW BUSINESS: Zip!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

  1. Mike Walsh announced that he now has a temporary job at the Towson University book store. Also, the hot water pipe burst at his abode.
  2. Peggy Rae Pavlat related that her house's water pipe burst also.
  3. Jack Chalker noted that not only his dwelling's water pipes burst, but so did the hot-water baseboard heating.
  4. Bill Marlow is looking for a home for a female dog.
  5. Jack Chalker reported that Kim Weston has gotten married. Congratulations!!!
  6. David Hastie gives the film, "The Keep", a good score.
  7. Jack Chalker let it be known that he has two books coming out in February: a) "The River of Dancing Gods" and b) "Spirits of Flux And Anchor".

The meeting evaporated at 9:54.

MORE MINUTES

Meeting of January 20, 1984, at the Olivers'; Alexis Gilliland presiding.

The meeting was called to order at 9:17. It was unanimously agreed to waive the reading of the minutes. The treasury stood at $6,318.69.

Committees

MEMBERSHIP: Zip!

PUBLICATIONS: The January WSFA Journal was still available.

ENTERTAINMENT: Zip!

1984 DISCLAVE: Chairwoman Jane Wagner announced no formal meeting tonight although she would be talking to various con committee members. Registrar Beverly Brandt noted that that evening would be the last WSFA meeting at which you could purchase a Disclave membership at the special $5 rate.

OLD BUSINESS: Zip!

NEW BUSINESS: Wayne and Joanna Dionne volunteered their home for the Fifth Friday Party in March and were accepted. Maps will be available at the Third Friday meeting in February.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

  1. Brian Lewis pointed out that Jack Chalker's book, "The River of Dancing Gods", is out at B. Dalton's. Walden's, on the other hand, doesn't even know it exists. (Ed. Note: It is, however, also out at Moonstone.)
  2. Rebecca Prather related that the small, white, female dog that Bill Marlow was trying to find a home for, now resides at her house. However, she is having some problems; can anybody help her?
  3. Brian Lewis is now a student at Capital Tech and is no longer looking for a job.
  4. Sue Abramovitz is now Assistant Corresponding Secretary for the "Atlanta in '86" Worldcon bid. She's selling presupporting memberships at $5; if they win, the $5 will be taken off your membership fee. You will also get a membership card and a copy of their newsletter, "South on Peach Street", which starts in March. Also, she is running for Corresponding Secretary of the Greater Columbia Fantasy Costumers Guild (GCFCG) which is now being organized. They are looking for interested parties who work with historical, fantasy and SF costumes. You can contact her at (301) 997-2383. NOTE: They will also be responsible for Costume Con in 1985.
  5. Wayne Dionne indicated for the benefit of the club's poker players that he has a green-felt table. Also, he and Joanna are still looking for someone to rent their front bedroom. Lastly, a local comic book store, "The Blue Beetle", will be selling 55,000 back issues of various comics for 50¢ apiece tomorrow, from 10:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M.
  6. Bill Berg announced that a week before Xmas his cat, Frisky, died of old agw. On Xmas day he got a new kitten which he promptly named "Fuzzy".
  7. Debbie Ettien is looking for a housemate in the College Park area. Call her at (301) 937-3394. Also, she recently attended ChattaCon 9 in Tennessee and next year she'll be working there as the Jacuzzi Lifeguard! (But who's going to guard her?)

The meeting dispersed at 9:28.

Address Corrections

BILL JENSEN
[censored]
GREENBELT, MD 20770
(301) 345-7420

"Terms of Endearment"

Movie Review

- Geoffrey Gould

Paramount's TERMS OF ENDEARMENT is a wonderful film filled with humor, true-felt emotion, yet packs a powerful ending on a very serious note. Shirley MacLaine and Debra Winger star as mother and daughter in this tender piece.

The story is essentially the life of Emma Greenway Horton (Winger), from her mother Aurora (MacLaine) waking her from a peaceful sleep as an infant to her sad demise in a cancer ward some thirty years later.

With the loss of her father at a young age. Emma's life is dominated by the strong Aurora until she marries Flap Horton (Jeff Daniels) against Aurora's wishes. Flap's character is rather two dimensional, mostly due to the film's focus remaining on Winger and MacLaine.

Jack Nicholson plays former astronaut Garrett Breedlove, his surname a dead giveaway for his comic character. Nicholson is delightful and obviously had tons of fun with the non-manic role, as he woos Aurora.

John Lithgow gives a tender performance as a bashful bank manager who has a brief affair with Emma when she suspects Flap is fooling around himself. While the first three-quarters of the film is very funny, it makes the serious climax and ending all the more tear-jerking.

"2010" Film Flash!

Keir Dullea and Douglas Rain have agreed to revive the character of Astronaut Bowman and the voice of computer H.A.L., respectively, in 2010, the sequel to "2001" now in production at MGM under the direction of Peter Hyams. The movie also stars Roy Scheider, John Lithgow and Bob Balaban.

Upcoming Cons

Feb. 3 - 5:
OMNICON V at the Miami Marriott located at 1633 North Bayshore Drive, Miami, FLA 33132 (305) 374-3900. Room rates for Single/Double are $60. GOH: John Nathan-Turner ("Dr. Who" Producer), FGOH: Verna Trestrail (Doc Smith's daughter), MC: Kerry O'Quinn. With: Dave Kyle, Kirk Alyn, Lee Hoffman, C.C. Beck, Anthony Ainley & others. Membership: $28.50. Write to: OmniCon V, P.O. Box 970308, Miami, FLA 33197
Feb. 17 - 19:
CLIPPERCON at the Hunt Valley Inn in Cockeysville, MD. Room rates are $56 flat! GOHs: Nichelle Nichols, Allen Asherman, Howard Weinstein. Membership: $25. Banquet: $20. Write to: ClipperCon c/o Marion McChesney, 3429 Chestnut Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21211
Feb. 17 - 19:
BOSKONE 21 at the Boston Park Plaza. GOH: Gene Wolfe, AGOH: Vincent DiFate, Special Guest: David Hartwell. Membership: $20 at-the-door. Write to: Boskone 21, c/o NESFA, Inc., Box G, MIT Branch PO, Cambridge, MA 02139
Feb. 24 - 26:
WISCON 8 at the Inn on the Park, Madison, WI. GOHs: Jessica Amanda Salmonson & Elizabeth A. Lynn. Membership: $16. Write to: SF3, Box 1624, Madison, WI 53701-1624
Feb. 24 - 26:
BOBCLAVE, WSFA's private relaxacon, at the York Valley Inn, 3383 E. Market St. in York, PA (717) 755-2881. When calling, mention WSFA to get these special room rates: S - $26, D (1 bed) - $32, D (2 beds) - $34, T - $37, Q - $40 and a Cot - $6. Plus a 6% sales tax. The hotel has a sauna and a heated indoor pool. Membership: $5 at-the-door only. For a map, see elsewhere in this Journal.

Smithsonian's SF Films

Beverly Brandt

The following films are being shown FREE at the Hirshhorn Museum in D.C. Programs begin at 8:00 P.M.

January 26:
METROPOLIS
This version includes a rarely seen prologue and synthesizer score. (97 minutes)
January 27:
THX-1138
(88 minutes)
February 9:
JUST IMAGINE
(110 minutes)
February 10:
THINGS TO COME
(150 minutes)
April 5 & 6:
CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI
(70 minutes)

The following films start at 11:00 A.M.:

February 4:
SNOW WHITE
(75 minutes)
February 18:
MOBY DICK
(Animated; 50 minutes)
February 25:
DUMBO
(50 minutes)

WSFA BIRTHDAYS!

2/1 Phil Cox
2/9 Marianne Petrino-Schaad
2/10 (Carl Benzino)
2/24 Walter Miles
2/16 Laura Jones
2/24 Walter Miles

IMPORTANT NOTE: There was an error in last month's WSFA Journal. Bill Berg's birthday is on 1/23 NOT 1/24. Sorry about that, Bill.

February's New Books

(Courtesy of Moonstone Book cellars, Inc.) KEY: Hardback - (H), Paperback - (P) & Tradepaperback - (T)

Asimov, Isaac & Martin H. Greenberg:
    w/Patricia Warrick (Eds.): Machines That Think - $22.95 (H)
    w/Charles G. Waugh (Eds.): Computer Games and Capers - $7.95 (T)
Boyer, Robert H. & Kenneth J. Zahorski (Eds.): Fantasists on Fantasy - $3.95 (P)
Busby, F.M.: Star Rebel - $2.50 (P)
Carr, Terry (Ed.): The Best From Universe - $11.95 (H)
Chalker, Jack L.: The River of the Dancing Gods - $2.95 (P)
Clarke, Arthur C.: 2010: Odyssey Two - $3.95 (P)
Dickson, Gordon R.: The Last Master - $2.95 (P)
Dvorkin, David: The Trellisane Confrontation - $2.95 (P)
Edmondson, G.C. & C.H. Kotlan: The Takeover - $2.75 (P)
Foster, Alan Dean: Spellsinger II: The Hour of the Gate - $2.95 (P)
Frost, Gregory: Lyrec - $2.75 (P)
Gravel, Geary: The Alchemists - $2.95 (P)
Larson, Glen A. & Ron Goulart: Battlestar Galactica #9: Experiment In Terra - $2.50 (P)
Laumer, Keith: The Galaxy Builder - $2.75 (P)
        Retief To the Rescue - $2.95 (P)
Leigh, Stephen: A Quiet of Stone - $2.50 (P)
Lorrah, Jean: Captives of the Savage Empire - $2.75 (P)
McEnroe, Richard: The Shattered Stars - $2.50 (P)
Nahmlos, John: Survivors - $3.25 (P)
Pohl, Frederik: Midas World - $2.95 (P)
Sadler, Barry: Casca #10: The Conquistador - $2.50 (P)
Streiber, Whitley: Black Magic - $3.95 (P)
Tepper, Sheri: Wizard's Eleven - $2.95 (P)
Vardeman, Robert: Cenotaph Road #4: Iron Tongue - $2.75 (P)
Vinge, Joan: World's End - $13.95 or $30.00 (H)
Wilson, F. Paul: An Enemy of the State - $2.50 (P)

Bobclave Map

[map coming soon]

------------------------------------------------------------

The WSFA Journal is the contumacious monthly newsletter of the Washington Science Fiction Association. Editor-in-Chief: Beverly L. Brandt, 3326 Lauriston Place, Fairfax, VA 22031 Tel. No.: (703) 573-8230.

Brave New Con

Rich Kolker reports that the convention turned out well. They sold about 525 to 540 memberships of which somewhere around 480 attended. A small profit was made - amount, at this time, unknown.

Due to a power blackout at the hotel on Thursday it almost looked like everyone would be scattered to the four winds; however, the problem was eventually taken care of. The convention was off to a slow start on Friday - due to the ice storm - but started to pick up after dinnertime.

GOH Fred Pohl and AGOH Frank Kelly Freas said they had a good time and the convention ended on Sunday afternoon with a performance of the satire "Return of the Jedi - Address Unknown". Thanks to all who came and especially to those who worked on the convention.

Artists' Corner

Starting with this issue, any artist who contributes to the Journal will see his/her name listed in this section.

This particular month's artist, Charles Gilliland, illustrates Valentine's Day with his rendition of an alien punk girl. Another piece of Charles' art is on Page 2. Other artists in this issue include: Lou Benzino on Page 2, Suzanne Griffin on Page 4, Warren Rodgers on Page 3, William Rotsler on Page 1, Jeff Schalles on Page 3, and Alexis Gilliland on Pages 3 and 4. Thanks to all of you who contributed.