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June 6 [sic -- 5], 1987
At Gilliland House. Mike Walsh presiding (First meeting with new officers) ATTENDING: Joe Mayhew, Cat Slusser, Lee Strong, Flahsh, Lance Oszko, Larry Proksch, Steven Fetheroff, Naomi Ronis, Ray Ridenour, Lee Uba, Joe Hall, Alan Huff, Erica Van Dommelen, Gary Sanger, Christian Smith, Mary E. Scharadin, Alison L. Munn, Clifford R. Bell, Jr., Alex Grigolia, Alexis A. Gilliland, Chick Derry, George Shaner, Kate Terrell, Chris Callahan, Michael Walsh, Dick Roepke, Candy Gresham, Dave Gresham, Elaine Stiles, Steve Stiles and Brian Lewis.
The meeting was called to order at 9:05. The minutes of the previous meeting were accepted as printed in the WSFA JOURNAL. Bob MacIntosh reported that outgoing Treasurer, Steve Smith, had not yet surrendered the books to him and so Bob could not report.
DISCLAVE'87 Chairman Joe Mayhew reported this year's Con would be turning over profits to WSFA later. 1129 had bought memberships and there were 115 guests; 69 dealer tables were sold. A table was donated to both the 1992 bids: Magicon was represented by 11 staff members but the DISCON III table was not used. Scott Dennis was also given a table for his help in planning and running the Dealer Room.
Tom Schaad reported that 76 artists entered 555 pieces in Disclave's show. 41 made sales; 164 pieces were sold for a total of $ 832.00. The new lights heated up the room a bit but made it possible to use all the space. They will be a long range asset. The Hotel issued DISCLAVE'87 a check for the earned roomnights ($574.20). They say they're pleased with us and hope we'll be coming back for the 1988 convention. All who worked on the Con should feel proud of a job well done.
DISCLAVE'88 Chairman Tom Schaad reported 137 memberships and 15 dealer tables sold at Disclave for next year. He has arranged with NESFA to use their credit card accounts at a cost to us of around $15.00 to pay their fee for a month, plus 1.5 or 2% on credit card sales. It will be used for membership and art show payments.
POKER TABLE Mary Morman reports (via Telephone) that the tables may be available by the 3rd Friday meeting in June at her house. They have been on "back-order".
FOURTH OF JULY AT JACK & EVA's ([censored], Westminster, MD. 21157) Bring swimwear, there's a pool. Doll Gilliland asks people to tell her what they are bringing so that we don't wind up with all potato salad. WSFA will provide the beer and sodas as well as the kosher hotdogs. It will probably get started around noon.
PUBLICATIONS solicits your personal reports on DISCLAVE'87. A new mailing list is scheduled for August. Please give Joe Mayhew your current address and phone number.
DISCON III quarterly meeting is at Pavlat House on Sunday at 3:00 PM. Members expected, others very welcome to attend.
OLD BUSINESS: The 3rd Friday meetings in June & July will be at Bloom/Morman House, August must be held elsewhere.
CAT SLUSSER (trustee) will be commuting from her new house in Richmond. She's now VA State Archeologist. Adjourned 9:26.
June 19, 1987
At Bloom/Morman House. M.Walsh presiding. ATTENDING: Joe Mayhew, Kent Bloom, Mary Morman, Tom Schaad, Jill Ellern, Dolly McCumpsey, Naomi Ronis, David Busch, Marianne Petrino Schaad, Dan Hoey, George Shaner, Lance Oszko, Bob MacIntosh, Mike Walsh, Neil Ottenstein, Joe Hall, Lee Strong, U Bear Winfield, Sue Winfield, Steve Smith, John Pomeranz, Kathi Overton, David Lassman, Kate Terrell, Alan Huff, Dave Gresham, Candy Gresham, Abner Mintz, Walter Miles, Judy Newton, Barry Newton, Bill Jensen, Eric Breitenbach, Lee Uba, Cat Slusser, Jack Heneghan, Bob Lee, Wolf Johnson, Terilee Edwards-Hewitt, Jim Edwards-Hewitt, Peggy Rae Pavlat. Erica Van Dommelen, Steven Fetheroff, John Sapienza, Steve Smith, Sue Wheeler, Alexis Gilliland, Raymond Rose, Judy Fetter, Art Coleman and Bill Squire.
The meeting was called to order at 9:12. Bob MacIntosh reported WSFA's treasury balance at $13,659.63.
DISCON III. President Kent Bloom announced there would be a meeting after the WSFA meeting to discuss hotel, party and other business. Joe Mayhew announced a meeting of those interested in working on DISCON III's publications committee would be held at his house at 3:00 on Sunday, July 12th, you don't have to belong to the corporation to attend.
DISCLAVE'88 Chairman Tom Schaad reports that he has been in contact with GOH Barbara Hambly, and that he's starting to get his staff together.
JULY REGULAR MEETING AT UNICON. No other meeting is scheduled for Friday, July 17th. Unicon is at the Holiday Inn of Annapolis. Membership in the Con is not required to attend the WSFA meeting, which will be in Joe Mayhew's room, if nothing better comes up. The location will be posted.
JULY 5th FRIDAY: will be at Jack Heneghan's. Elaine is out of town.
AUGUST 3rd Friday (21st) will be held at the home of Barry and Judy Newton, in Sandy Spring, Md.
NEW BUSINESS: Kathi Overton suggested that WSFA might schedule
films for its meeting nights and was appointed to head a committee
to investigate probable budget, etc.
Adjourned at 9:40.
Lee Strong reports, "PREDATOR IS -- really, folks! -- a science fiction film. The opening is blood'n'guts but the plot and the ending are both straight SF devices.
THE MAD ENGINEER returns with issue number seven, featuring an article on SF behind the Iron Curtain. Borrow WSFA's library copy, or support fannish publishing by ordering a subscription from Mary Hagan, [censored], Bloomington, Lee Strong is the local sales representative."
YOU TOO CAN SHOW OFF, VENT YOUR SPLEEN, ETC.
Why not contribute an article, cartoon, con report, news item, just about anything not designed to offend or fiction, is welcome.
[ After a brief but very positive explanation of the Writers of the Future contest, Gene asked the audience how they picked the books they read. The responses varied from the insightful to the downright silly. Continuing in the same Socratic vein, he drew us out and then, point by point, in response to what he had educed, presented the ideas contained in the following outline.]
HOW TO READ A SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL AND ENJOY IT
[He expanded some of these points considerably, and while his outline is contains some useful ideas about how to get more out of what you read for enjoyment, the speech was a far richer experience, to some extent for its wit and spontaneity. On the whole, it was rather a magical hour of simple, direct and genuine communication.]
While there were no more than 350 attending, not one of them was embarrassing to be seen with. No one seemed to have dressed to offend (one of the weapons which should be banned at SF cons) and one didn't need to dread riding the elevators. Bob Colby, a Boston area Fan, though not a NESFA stalwart, ran it, Eric Van programmed it and Gene Wolfe was the writer GOH; Mark Ziesing was Publisher GOH. It was the sort of con which seemed to bring out the best in panelists and despite the Hotel's crotchetiness and corkage fetish, the Con Suite was a great place to be. Friday there wasn't any program at all, folks just hung around and went out to dinner together. I wound up going out with five completely new friends...Chinese, naturally. It reminded me of long-ago cons.
All of this brings us to what you could do about it. Well, READERCON 2 will be held September 23-25, 1988 in the Boston Area. Memberships are $15.00 until 8/12/88, thereafter, $20.00. Make check to Readercon and mail it to P.O. Box 6138 Boston, MA 02209.
To get to the Annapolis Holiday Inn, take the Crownsville exit from US Route 50 (the first Annapolis Exit). Stay in the center lane of the ramp and go straight across at the traffic light; at the third light, turn right, into Holiday Court. It's near Parole Plaza...no kidding!
The exact location of the meeting will be posted. As usual, it will begin around 9:15 -- unless it begins at some other time. You know how such things go. This will be the only officially scheduled WSFA meeting for the third Friday in July.
It will not be necessary to Join Unicon in order to attend the WSFA meeting held there, If you can scrape up the money, why not enjoy the whole convention weekend. I mean, if you bother to go clear to Annapolis for a WSFA meeting, you might as well let the Unicon folks do their stuff for you and maybe even pitch in and do something fannish yourself. Ah, go on, buy a Unicon Membership!
GOH = DAVID BRIN. ART GOH = DAVID MATTINGLY. FAN GOH = MARTY GEAR. Also expected to attend: Hal Clement, Alexis Gilliland, Richard Grant, Marvin Kaye, Sterling Lanier, Shariann Lewitt, Mark Rogers, Don Sakers, Charles Sheffield, Paula Vosky and Doug Winter. Music by CLAM CHOWDER and others. MEMBERSHIP = $20.00 until June 30th; then $25.00.
Quarterly meeting at Pavlat's, Sunday, June 7, 1987. The corporate members attending were: Kent Bloom (Pres), Joe Mayhew (Sec), Naomi Ronis (Treas), Peggy Rae Pavlat, Mike Walsh, Alan Huff and Dick Roepke (Board), Chris Callahan, Alexis Gilliland, Jack Heneghan, Kate Terrell, Dan Hoey, Tom Schaad, Bob MacIntosh, Heather Nachman, Barry Newton, Judy Newton, Lance Oszko, Jul & Mark Owings, John Pomeranz, Cat Slusser, Jack Chalker and Eva Whitley.
The Treasurer reported that we had spent $427.32 since the last meeting, leaving a balance of $1,221.68. She reported on the proposed budget (the Secretary requested, but did not get a copy). That budget was approved.
The Secretary announced the sale of $65.00 worth of buttons, which would be turned over to the Treasurer. He also reported that the petty cash fund previously voted had been exhausted and he requested $200.00 more and way voted it. He reported on Fliers, ads and similar projects. A list was passed for size etc. for the T-shirt with Vicki Wyman's design on it. Much of the petty cash request will be used to finance the T-shirts, and thus will be returned to the petty cash fund as the shirts are sold. Committee name badges were discussed at length. The previously approved business cards might serve, but the cost of other types is to be investigated for future report.
Jack Heneghan was appointed to head the Representation Committee, principally responsible for parties. Plans to put together packets of documents and promotional literature to send to volunteer representatives was discussed and would be continued at a special meeting after the next WSFA meeting. Only two parties had been already scheduled: 1 at the World Con and another at the Nasfic. Jack Chalker volunteered to throw a party at selected conventions. The Party scheduled for ConSpiracy needs a room in the Metropole, none available so far. A recruitment party was discussed for Unicon. Alexis is going to AdAstra (Canadian National Convention) and will take fliers, Jack Chalker will take them to Midwestcon. Jack will update current flier for that purpose. Steve Swartz (listed in the attending as "John Pomeranz" due to faulty memory) and Mike Walsh will serve on Party Committee.
Peggy Rae Pavlat was appointed head of Hotel Liaison Committee (Jack Heneghan having moved to Parties). Alan Huff and Barry Newton will serve on it.
The next meeting was scheduled for 3:00 PM at Pavlat's on Sunday, September 27th. The meeting, called to order at 3:15 was adjourned at 5:07. Jul Owings (Assistant Secretary) provided excellent notes, which helped me condense these minutes. - Joe Mayhew, Secretary, DISCON III.
[When Erica Van Dommelen turned over the WSFA stuff, the following minutes turned up. As best as I can determine, they date from a meeting at Bill Berg's, probably on, or about November 19, 1976. This date is deduced from the mention of Jack Chalker's donation of a copy of his first novel JUNGLE OF STARS, Which is inscribed "This copy is for WSFA, in spite of whom I finished it, so they can donate it to the WSFA library where no human beings will ever see it again. Jack L. Chalker, WSFA, Nov 19, 1976."
The text is published as is, with the exception of bracketed footnotes]
at Bergs
9:10 called to order. Tres. $1,674.32 + one book called "lets Have A Party". Memb. 2 new suckers. Pub - Moving right along. Entertainment - is here. Disclave commercial: please join your library & get films. Dolan selling Springcon [1]. Tree Trimming 2nd meeting of Dec. Dinner 18th of Dec [2]. Jack Chalker donated a copy of Jungle to WSFA. Party Tomorrow: Housewarming for Doug & Melanie w/ Applesusan as GOH. SF Con at U of M [3] tomorrow. FREE. 11:00 - 6:00. SFWA refuses to accept contributions to AMAZING & FANTASTIC as credentials. Balticon will be Easter Weekend. Jack [4] is editing SunCon PRs - looking for articles & cartoons & etc. Andy Awful [5] is trying to give fandom the SFWA shaft. Adjourned unanimously 9:36. I forgot there was a meeting in progress so these minutes are incomplete.
Avedon (for Ted Pauls)
Footnotes: 1: A small convention actually held in the dead of winter. 2: The WSFA holidays dinner at Gilliland's. 3: A one day affair sponsored by the University of Maryland SF Club, which featured Tom Monteleone, among others. [4] Chalker, naturally. 5: andy offutt. Does anyone remember what he was doing?
Homo Snobians smugly asserts he is the only animal capable of abstracting ideas. Ms. Washoe's "water-bird" sort of blows that idea out of the water; when a chimpanzee can learn American Sign Language and make up (and communicate to another species) a new, untaught word, it is time to reevaluate Homo Sapiens as the unique, distinguishing quality of our species. Sapiens, or "thinking" was supposed to set Homo above his fellow creatures on Earth and give him "dominion over them" (the right to eat them, torture them and work them without mercy). "Dominion" needs a comfortable distance - a rationale. What is actually unique about Homo which, can Justify such preeminence?
With the exception of the triumphantly ignorant and uneducable H. Snobians, who desperately cling to the fantasy that Ms. Washoe was just a circus trick done with mirrors, it is blatantly obvious to the rest of us that Homo are just better at some of the tricks we share with the rest of animal kind, not only do we acknowledge that animal species have elaborate communications systems, but, given the regional dialects found in bird calls, it seems that such communication is obviously learned and not instinctual.
While some of the trendier H. Snobians feel it is OK to prattle about the possibility of intelligence among porpoises and whales, they still continue to vomit up banalities about how superior H. Snobians is to the tasty and succulent pig, the handy little rhesus money, and the rest of the species he exercises "dominion" over. The very justification for bacon, to H. Snobians is that Homo's superiority is not mere a matter of degree, but of type.
To H. Snobians, it is essential to believe that MAN ALONE IS ABLE TO USE TOOLS (cf. Chimpanzees, ants, etc.) HE ALONE IS AWARE OF HIMSELF THINKING (egocentrically) and tedious utter crock after tedious utter crock. Of course the rest of the species on the Earth feel, think, dream, know, plan and remember. But that's no reason to give up BACON! I have a new bastion of superiority for mankind to justify eating piggie parts, messing over rat, rhesus and puppy dog!
HOMO PUBLICANS! Mankind publishes! There simply aren't any shrew fanzines, otter anthologies, parakeet paperbacks or gnu best sellers. Despite untold racks of Penguin books, those cute little antarctic birds don't seem to make use of them, or, conversely, produce a line of PEOPLE paperbacks for themselves. Thus the term Homo Sapiens could be retired in favor of Homo Publicans.
Man, the Editor! This brings up a problem, of course. Everyone doesn't publish, and just scads of folks don't even read. Is it OK to eat them? Should those who have never pub'ed an Ish, submitted a LOC, APAed or even xeroxed an original limerick be used in laboratory experiments? If a man can't prove he has even written on a bathroom wall, should he be cast outside the species?
Not if he READS! For reading is just as important as publishing. If no one read, where would publishing be? Clearly reading is essential to publication and thus readers are co-equal (more or less) with publishers. But what about illiterates, those who do not willingly read, or cannot do so with their mouth full? Are they of the same species and members of the club? Is it OK to julienne a couch-potato? Is it OK to test make-up on the face of a fundamentalist? Is it OK to fricassee a Trendy or parboil a militant just because they obviously eschew rationality? Lamentably, no.
They ARE, after all, biologically a product of the same species and
must be held capable of reason, of reading and even of publishing --
even though those powers seem atrophic.
Now, this argument may not convince Homo Fanans, who consider the zine-ophobic to be sub-human. The devout wordaholic may think it wishy-washy gush designed to placate the potentially dangerous untermenschen, but the human species must include within its ranks the non-publisher, the non-reader, the mongoloid and even the Wayne Newton fan.
While it is, despite the up-dating of Homo Sap. to Homo Publicans, still clearly immoral to eat, exploit or vivisect genetic human beings, personally, I don't care whether piggies develop literacy or not. It'll do them no good. I shall continue to add bacon to my BLT whether I risk the loss of a porcine Shakespeare or not. If piggies develop a publishing industry, I shall explore some other class distinction, such as accent or schooling to determine who is supper and who is guest.
Just as in the system of distinguishing Man by sapience brings up the rather wide range of wisdom found in the species (measured by the inverse P.T.L.-ometer), the criterion Publicans has problems as well. All publications are not of equal merit. The Crudzine (the literary analogue to flatulence), PEOPLE MAGAZINE (the literary analogue to diabetes) and THE WATCHTOWER (the literary analogue to hemorrhoids) are examples of publications which do not ennoble their producers above the tasty porker. They are, indeed, thee type of Ish a swine would pub, given the opportunity.
Finally, the dignity of Publicans is not one for Homo to take for granted. He must not rest upon his laurels...or on his pines, for that matter, or upon any other tree, as trees would naturally view the whole pulp and paper industry, which underlies publication, with extreme distaste.
Hurley opened discussion on the possibility of forming a Junior WSFA club for juvenile devotees of SF. Felkel moved that someone be appointed to act in a Liaison capacity between the two groups. Hurley proposed that this be amended to provide for a committee instead of one person. Vallin made a motion to include the amendment, seconded by Felkel who proposed also that the Liaison committee be composed of three WSFA members and a man from TV Station WTTG. It was unanimously carries. Bridges opened the question of an age minimum for WSFA. Hurley suggested 18 years. Felkel pointed out that there was no arbitrary maturity level. Hurley Felkel and Griggs were then appointed to the liaison committee
The Junior Liaison Committee was dissolved.
It was decided to hold a Walpurgis Night Party.