K41

K41, an APAzine for PIECES OF EIGHT from A. Vincent Clarke, 16 Wendover Way, Welling, Kent, DA16 2BN, for February '94.

---

UPDATE

What's been happening?

Nothing's been happening, is the answer. Oh, I've found out a few things – the best way to tackle a carton of milk is to open the wings on the wrong side first, for instance, and you shouldn't put a small kettle on the gas-stove and then forget about it while you're writing LoCs (what's that funny smell of burning?) – but mostly January has been a flicker of wet days. Oh well ——

COMMENTS ON JANUARY MAILING

A LITTLE PIE etc. – Ian Bambro

Nice production. Thanks for the clipping you sent re. Phil Harbottle. As far as I know there's been no detailed history of all aspects of British S-F, but the late Walter Gillings more or less covered the pulp/paper-back side up to '45 in Phil's VISION OF TOMORROW. Phil himself co-authored VULTURES OF THE VOID to carry this survey to '56. But to my knowledge nobody is planning a comprehensive history of the British genre as a whole. Sort of thing that'd suit Brian Stableford, perhaps?

You bring back an odd memory or two in your mention of the Jarrow-based MARPHI group, five years ago. "As you can imagine this is going to be a major event. There has NEVER been an event of it's kind in this country, it is going to be even bigger than the World S-F Conventions!" I was told.

Gee!

Incidentally, two years later I had a questionnaire about media sf from one of the group. The covering letter mentioned that five hundred leaflets had been sent out. Five had been received back.

Never did find out what MARPHI stood for. Looking at it now, I'm puzzled. I suppose the final 'I' is for 'International' (no false modesty here), but the rest?

RYCT Theo, agree on social priorities outlined – I've no concern at all about the comfort of prisoners. In fact, I wonder why the authorities don't use leg shackles when transporting them? Might save some of Group 4's blushes.

PM ROUTINES – Andrew Butler

That's a doom-laden and dismal utterance – "We're all Thatcher's Children at this end". I sincerely hope not. There's middle positions between '60s communes and '80s selfishness.

But good PM R – appreciate the Red Hot Polkas crack and all the rest.

The remark re. Mr. Blobby (if he'd written a book rather than released a record, he'd win a Hugo for being so popular) is a throw-away flippancy which in fact makes one examine attitudes. To take one aspect, the whole Hugo bit has always seemed to me to be a little wry, especially since the time when you've had to be a World Convention member to vote.

The only time I can remember voting was when Arthur Thomson was on the short list of artists at the '87 World Con, and that was partly because he was ill and could have done with some sort of cheer.

And of course popularity in itself is no indication of worthiness, or The Sun would be the best newspaper in the country.

STRANGE DEBRIS 15 – Chris Carne

Interesting the extract from The Spectator; I looked a bit wall-eyed at "feminism or the more radical whores of sociology." Whores? Did he really mean 'mores'? I'd like to think that "literature will dance with science" is some sort of exaltation of SF, but I guess not.

WATCHER FROM THE SHADOWS – Jenny Glover

In your comment on Theo's piece, that's a thoughtful remark about the boy concerned being shown (by his parents) that you can 'get away with hurting things'. Someone said that there's no bad kids, only bad parents, and I'm inclined to agree. I don't get news-papers, so don't know the intricacies of the Bulger murder case, but find it hard not to blame the parents of the two guilty boys.

Interesting about the crystal radio set – was it made from eg. home-made coils, or was it bought in kit form from eg. Tandy?

SILVER PENNIES – Helen Gould

Interesting that our old friend aspirin comes up again – "The treatment is apparently half an aspirin a day...". One keeps on coming across aspirin as a treatment nowadays. In my own case, I was told to take a quarter strength (75gm) tablet daily to assist the blood flow. Only trouble was I started having nose-bleeds! But after years when aspirin was looked on with a sort of horror, it's certainly a new twist.

I was impressed with your clear style.

FRAGMENTS – Mike Gould

RYCT Ken about people losing jobs, and that 'The West' will have to cut standards of living. For years 'n' years it was worrying that in the computer revolution (tho' in SF it was often robots who were seen as the main factor) there'd be a vast upheaval. I think it was generally accepted that manufacturing processes would be streamlined, and superfluous workers would be absorbed into education, medical affairs and the like. It was horribly ironic that the most reactionary Government we've had for ages should have been in power during the relevant years and so distorted the outcome. History stranger than fiction as usual.

LITTLE BITS OF ZERO – Carol Ann Green

Having read through the family upsets, it's left me wondering again whether close-knit families are worth the trouble. I've completely lost touch with all those I ever knew except daughter, and the way I feel about buying Xmas presents that's probably just as well. Luck of the draw, I guess.

I've always understood a diaryzine would have each incident dated, as a diary, but this is a pretty good substitute.

DRIVULA'S DRIVELLINGS – Carolyn Horn

What a pleasant surprise, a sort of fannish Venus rising from the foam. Welcome.

Yes, it's bewildering to come into the conversation at a party, as it were, with so many things going on, so many in-jokes and references that you have to absorb, but you've made a startlingly good entrance.

New to fandom too? Well, years ago people who indulged in sf (and fantasy, tho' that wasn't so well regarded) felt that they had to get in touch with one another, and started fanzines. Then came conventions, in this country one a year. Then sf reached the masses, and those of us who lived through it still feel kinda breathless. And alas, while there's a convention at least once a month in Britain (and a couple every weekend in the States), the old-fashioned fanzine is limping along behind. But we keep the flag flying. (Put 10p in the slot and get the old-timer's lecture).

RYCT Ken, the 'Roobarb/Rhubarb' point came up because I'd remarked to Ken on a book by H. Allen Smith about a cat called Rhubarb and someone else took over with the TV series comment. Amazing how these things branch out like some tentacled alien, isn't it?

RYCT me. I'm floundering in fanzines most of the time – there's roughly 7000 here to lend out as required. I've already written to you, but for the benefit of anyone else, the Varityper was a typewriter where a sort of hammer behind the paper pushed the latter on to the typeface (1000s of words discarded for the sake of conciseness). Unfortunately, it turned out that this wasn't really adequate to cut proper stencils; it was back to the tried and true methods of using an ordinary typewriter, stopping occasionally to clean the 'wax' out of the keys with a discarded toothbrush. I suppose that the progress in fanzine circles of the electrostenciller (scanning script and cutting a stencil electronically) would have reinstated the Varityper into favour as you could change type styles quite easily, but along came photo-copying and the word-processor, etc. etc. etc. Progress! How many pounds are sacrificed in thy name!

RYCT Keith: I suppose I collect humour more than anything else except SF, sez he, eyeing shelves strewn with Coren, Perelman, Brahms & Simon, Thurber, Benchley, Lipman, Kington, Sharpe, Bramah, etc.

In fact, I've been wondering if I should introduce a few hybrids (fantasy/humour crosses) that I've chanced upon to the PoE crew for their reactions – Mark Twain's ADAM'S DIARY, Anthony Armstrong's YESTERDAILIES, Thorne Smith.... Don't see why not.

And of course there's always the unconscious humorists – for instance the lady who introduced 'tractor rays' into her fiction in the early 1920's (!), but also had the protagonists descend a pit in England and come out at the bottom of an Australian mine.

I've been back to some pretty basic practices in publishing, but never made my own paper. Jaw dropping time. And told with humour, too. The whole thing reminded me of a bit in de Camp's LEST DARKNESS FALL "For paper, he got hold of a felter and told him to chop up a few pounds of white cloth and make them into the thinnest felt that anybody had ever heard of. The felter dutifully produced a sheet of what looked like exceptionally thick and fuzzy blotting paper... etc. Truthfully, I'm not at all certain that this page is going to be of any use – but it's nice reading.

What a start to APA writing! Leaves me awestruck.

ANDMOREAGAIN – Paul Kincaid

"...and there were other things to fill my increasingly scarce spare time."

Amen.

THE ONE PER CENT FREE – Darroll Pardoe

Interesting about the phenomenon of the hot water bottle, but a certain lack of scientific controls evident – initial temperature, time it's evacuated from the bed, presence of passing fiends who might sit on it, etc. More research needed.

DRIFTING IN UNCHARTED SEAS – Eunice Pearson

Nice to see location of Pant. Does it (or Pantyscallog) mean anything in Welsh? Catch a snatch of Welsh on the afternoon serial you mention and it's certainly musical. Wouldn't like to try and wrap my tongue around it, tho.

RYCT Barry: Out of the depths of 60+ years the name of Nathaniel Hawthorne as the author of Tanglewood Tales arises. But I wouldn't swear to it.

RYCT Theo: Superficially I agree with your remarks on children and respect (well, I would, wouldn't I?) but it occurs to me that the Victorians instilled respect into their kids and they went off to World War 1 still respectful, instead of properly rebelling.

Your love affair with your new village makes interesting reading – hope to hear more of it.

THE STRUTHIAN PERSPECTIVE – Theo Ross

The fiction interesting, and in spots reminds me of tales written earlier in this century – elegant, relaxed, learned, and willing to tell a story.

RYCT Rosemary: Thanks for springing to mutual defense of not idolising the Beach Boys. I find it odd that '60s and later cultures set so much store by pop music. In my youth everyone knew Gershwin, Berlin, and other tunesmiths, but it in no way formed a part of life. I suppose some of this must be because of technical advances – as Maureen says in her contribution "Stereo headphones also help." Must have a check on pop music culture in the public library ("broadening horizons").

Nice motto for mailcoms: Please somebody every time and everybody some time.

IN THE LAND OF GREEN GINGER – Maureen Speller

ITLOGG? Dammit – a second literary poser that niggles at the little grey cells. I think I saw a quotation once from this book or poem title – but no. Give up.

I respect your liking (or love) for Le Grand Meaulnes but your very full synopsis makes me believe I wouldn't like it.

Why not?

Because delvings into the adolescent psyche have about as much appeal to me as the explorations in Neighbours. All that is too many years ago.

Re. lack of response to writing, in an APA or elsewhere, I came across this quote from Sam Johnson: "There is nothing more dreadful to an author than neglect, compared with which reproach, hatred and opposition are names of happiness".

Ah – RYCT me – the fossil mystery solved. I'd imagined smaller ammonites. That beach must be an interesting sight.

MS SELENEOUS – Sue Thomason

Believe it or not, I found the partial diaryzine quite interesting, partly because of unexpected details, partly because it read so normally. To a fairly eccentric solitary person it was a glimpse of another Way of Life. And how didyou do it? Recollection with the help of a good memory or did you make notes as you went along?

Bit of a mystic note too – "Drew a couple of tarot cards." Not out of a pack, presumably, but a bit of DIY artistry just to concentrate on. And then what?

TRAVELS OF THE BEARD – Keith Walker

I notice that this is headed 'For FAPA', so I presume it's for the 75-strong US APA as well as our humble 20. Nothing wrong in that (Dave Langford for one did similar things in past APAs) but it does mean that we don't get near the primal Keith Walker as we have no individual mailcoms. Pity.

Sorry to hear about your troubles with wife and job – similar to Ken Cheslin, you're having a hard time – and can only say I hope things turn out OK.

I suppose that you had your mind on the American market, as it were, when you wrote 'Travels', but I'd have liked to have seen more detail, even if it meant leaving out some bits of the broader picture. "I'd been warned not to expect too much of Times Square" really needed some detail, though anyone passing through Piccadilly Circus for the first time, another hub of a Metropolis, must have been sharply disappointed at the sheer tawdry aura of the place.

I also note the line about "incredible rationalisations being made by people from the jury..." which has me wondering. I know that during a trial the jury must keep quiet, but presumably in the States they're free to blab once the trial's over. Is this a new departure? I'm pretty sure that there's a sort of continuing silence from them in this country, tho' I'm unclear as to whether it's legally enforced.

THE ARACHNO FILE – John D. Rickett

Pun re. 'Lessa' noted with traditional screwed-up face and downwards motion of right hand holding handle. Incidentally (glad you reminded me), saw a BBC2 advert which said a P.K. Dick piece was coming along in 'Arena'.

The literary enquiry. For the third time in this month's proceedings I find myself searching vainly through dusty depths. Yep – I remember the story (vaguely), but give me a couple of years to come back with title, author and provenance....which I'm pretty sure was ANALOG.

RYCT Ken re. his comment to Tara & Barry; that's an interesting exposition of your feelings about being a 'fringe fan'. Yes, I understand what you're saying, being subject to it myself, but how are you going to meet new friends if you don't mix with old friends and un-friends? I partly allowed this sense of isolation to take over at the last World Con in Britain, when I spent almost all my time behind the counter in the Fan Room selling fanzines, T-shirts, mugs and other memorabilia. In that position I met everyone I wanted to, but amongst the 3000+ attendees don't think I got acquainted with more than three or four fresh faces. (All of them, now I come to think of it, American female fans. Strange.)

RYCT me: Blood donors card. I've been carrying one for years – actually the comprehensive one, saying they can saw off bits as required – but what is slightly odd is that they don't ask you if you're a possible donor at hospitals. Afraid of depressing you, I suppose. (Or possibly, self-doubt surging to the fore, they can see what sort of wreck they're dealing with).

Re. the remark about putting fanzine details on disk instead of paper, I should have mentioned that the idea is to send out copies of the paperwork to interested people. Yes, they're going to be out of date quite quickly, but so is any printed catalogue. The ideal is a frequent update with more pages (said he with a hollow laugh).

I find myself agreeing with virtually every word of the bits to Theo, Maureen, etc etc. You're not bad for an unreconstructed Tory.

Article from New Scientist interesting (my, that word is getting over-worked), and I'm glad I'm out of the rat-race.

By the way, I've been rubbing along for years on the old definition of IQ – dividing mental age by chronological age and multiplying by 100. Rather crushingly (initial results published in 1939!), it turns out that this has been overturned. Andrew M. Colman, reader in Dept. of Psychology, Leicester University, says: After the age of about 17 or 18, most people show no further increase in intellectual ability. In other words, mental age tends to stabilize, and in later life may even decline, but chronological age, regrettably, marches on. Average 40-year-olds perform at about the same level on IQ tests as average 20-year-olds, but according to the old formula (would thus) have an IQ of 20/40 x 100 = 50, which would seem to indicate severe retardation.

Now, according to Colman, "scores on any test are converted to IQs by equating the mean (average) score in the standardisation sample to 100 IQ points, and the standard deviation (which is a statistical index of dispersion or scatter amongst the scores) to 15 IQ points." He goes on to say that there's a great deal of empirical evidence that scores are distributed in the standard bell-shaped curve. By definition 50% of people score over 100, 16% score above 115, 3% score above 130%, 0.13% above 145.

Sorry if this is old hat to some of you, but it struck me as interesting. Which is, I suppose, all that can be said for most things on the good ship Jenny Hanniver.

K40 – self

Old friend (and potential crew member in 1995 or thereabouts) Steve Sneyd comments on my mention of suddenly curious grand-daughter: I've heard kids on buses doing the regressing "why" plenty of times, but the harassed mother, at whatever risk to her offspring's future emotional and intellectual development, is usually snarling "shut up" long before the meaning of the universe, life and everything is reached. We probably did something on it in Educational Psychology on the course last year, but my mind has blotted out most of the edubabble....there are probably as many explanations as there are ed. psys.

Granted – just thought the onset was rather sudden and strange.

I also quoted the two haikus that turned up in the Jan. mailing (from Theo & John), expressing some admiration at the foredoomed attempt to compress several thousand words of Homer into a few syllables, tying this in with a mention of the British Haiku Society (no less) which Steve mentioned in one of his genre poetry combine harvesting pamphlets.

In his answer, he says of the Society's attempt to lay down standard definitions and rules, "a Western way of treating haiku which, according to Gene Van Troyer who teaches in Japan, has the Japanese themselves in polite stitches, since they reckon no Westerner can really understand the meaning of true haiku in all its layers of emotion etc., anyhow, and regard it as irrelevant what is done with the form in other languages.

Steve goes on to say that he enjoyed the attempts at the impossible that have been made, but then goes into technicalities which I haven't been able to sort out with him yet.

Incidentally, Steve has had a book (or booklet) of poems published by a German University, which is some sort of record, I guess.

He also mentions Collective nouns for women, that don't cause offense...these days, as you say, a hard one. Even 'lasses' would probably offend the more fervently PCist as being patronising, though men don't seem to object to being referred to as 'the lads'. Wonder if 'she-persons' would catch on?

But enough of non-crew SS's comments. There's been a flurry of fanzines in, including ex-crew man Chuck Connor's THINGUMY BOB. Also heard from Robert Lichtman in Los Angeles – upset shelves all over but the only casualty he knows from the earthquake is Harlan Ellison, who broke his nose rushing downstairs in the dark. AVC