K50


K50, a Jan. '95 APAzine for Pieces of Eight, from A. VINCENT CLARKE, 16 Wendover Way, Welling, Kent, DA16 2BN.


UPDATE

The end of '94 saw a slight reduction in the books-to-be-read mountain at 16 WWW, partly because of economic factors (ie. fewer purchases, as money seemed to be shrinking), but mostly because I was increasingly terrified by the sheer amount of reading material to hand. It's a truism, of course, that failing the discovery of some immortality elixir I shall never be able actually to re-read what I have – which holds for many of us – but a lot of new stuff seemed to be, frankly, not worth reading.

On the other hand, the unseen videos pile increased. Odd, that, because the amount of material on Xmas TV I wanted to record was smaller than for many years. Anyone have a formula for deciding before the event if an item's worth keeping ?

Incidentally, I've found one small local shop (does TV & video repairs) which has a small stock of Memorex E-195 tapes. Besides the length being convenient they are, I reckon, the best on the market. Have you any favourite brand or length?

Once upon a time there were several choices of slightly longer-than-standard 3hr. tapes, but they've faded away. Currys, for instance, sold an excellent E-200 tape under their own name, (tho' Ghod knows who actually made it), but no longer. I suppose Dixons, who took over Currys, had their own contractual obligations about what they sold, and the 200min. length disappeared.

I've no inhibitions about using 'own-brand' material, whether it's video-tapes or soap powder. Many years ago I was managing a DIY shop and we sold an 'own-brand' paint which was made by one of the top three names in the field. It was very good stuff.

What does the 'E' in 'E-180/195/240' mean, anyway?


BOOKSY NOTES

As mentioned above, not much new. One oddity I couldn't resist was The Destruction of Atlantis: Ragnarok, the Age of Fire and Gravel by Ignatius Donnelly. Yes, the same US politician who initiated the whole modern Atlantis phenomenon in 1882. The present book was a follow-up the next year. Unread yet.

But in an entirely different category is The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way, by Bill Bryson, an American journalist living in England. This is a large PB from The Softback Preview people over here, but appears to be a straight American edition. It's an exhilarating read, with so many quotable quotes that I'm having trouble in not devoting the rest of this 'K' to it. For instance, there are many words which are 'ghost' – they exist by mistake. 'Sweetheart' a mishearing of 'sweetard'. 'Bridegroom' was bryd-guma in Old English, but the context made people think of 'groom' and they added an 'r'. Etc., etc.

There's some striking stuff, including comments concerning acquisition of language: Most adults tend (even when they are not aware of it) to speak to infants in a simplified, gitchy-goo kind of way. This is not a sensible or efficient way to teach a child the difference between, say, present tense and past tense, and yet the child learns it. Indeed, as he increasingly masters his native tongue, he tries to make it conform to more logical rules than the language itself may possess, saying 'buyed' 'eated' and 'goed' because, even though he has never heard such words spoken, they seem more logical to him – as indeed they are, if you stopped and thinked about it.


COMMENTS ON DECEMBER MAILING

Apologies to Ros, but I've mislaid the current rules/do's and don'ts/Cap'ns message, etc. I do gratefully remember, tho, that the January deadline was put back to the 7th., a consummation devoutly to be wished. Everyone wrote around Xmas time, I'm still floundering in a sea of letters and fanzines.

ROPE OF SAND No.15 – Brian Jordan

Yes, security of possessions can be worrying. I have TV, video and tapes tucked away where they can't be seen from the window. In fact, anyone looking through would get an eyeful of some boring old books, a portable radio and – well, more books. I envy you the stop-cock under the floorboards, though – mine's in the front garden and rusted immovable.

Re. Internet, this seems to be going over big with US fandom – I see Dick and Nicki Lynch of the Hugo-winning MIMOSA have their code in the latest issue – and I suppose that if I could afford it I'd make the effort. But it's a long long way from duplicated fanzines!

Had an Xmas card from the Shorrocks (as Norman was a stamp-dealer, the envelope was decorated by old commemoratives, which the PO had considerately very delicately post-marked) and several other old-timers – Ethel Lindsay, Ted Tubb, etc. Only one sombre note – a card to Dennis Tucker, who edited a war-time fanzine and was a fanzine letter-hack in the '50s, was returned marked 'Deceased'.

On the other hand, the biggest card I had was from a computer firm in Orpington with whom I've never dealt or had any contact. Funny old junk-mail world.

THE MOON-DRENCHED SHORES – Darroll Pardoe

Very good on the HB New Worlds debacle. A gift to the remainder shops. Think it also possible that SF short stories don't sell well nowadays – Asimov's Robot Visions and Frank Herbert's Eye are both included in the last remainder catalogue I saw, and both of these are well known authors.

MAN OVERBOARD – Keith Walker

Interesting on your computer progress. I've stuck with Amstrad because a glorified typewriter was all I was looking for – virtually no interest in games. Surprised the people you mention had difficulty with elementary stuff like templates, file-recovery, tho'. I feel they were just being bloody-minded for some reason.

CALENDAR – Ken Cheslin

And a real Kenchy finale to his membership. Many thanks – come back when you can.

THE STRUTHIAN PERSPECTIVE – Theo Ross

RYCT Helen: I too dislike 2nd-person narrative, tho' haven't read much of it. H.J. Campbell wrote two or three SF PBs thus in the early '50s – a peculiarity which wasn't at all popular. Seems to me pointless – doesn't add any narrative tension, and makes it harder to tell the story.

RYCT John: The Broken Seal by Ladislas Farago (Mayflower '69) gives almost a minute-by-minute description of the cryptological turmoil preceding Pearl Harbour. Apparently the Japanese had decided to deliver a long rejection of American negotiations at exactly the same hour that their planes bombed Pearl Harbour. As you say, Japanese fumbling in their decoding – a farewell party to a diplomat the previous night was partly to blame – put paid to this idea.

The Americans (says Farago) were aware that something was about to happen as they'd decoded the long rejection sooner than the stateside Japanese (!), but weren't at all sure if this denoted an attack was imminent or indeed where. The relevant Colonel (of Traffic Operations) given the task of relaying a warning to outposts, found that the direct radio channel to Honolulu was out due to atmospheric conditions, and after 15 minutes consideration sent a telegram by Western Union. It bore no marks to indicate that it was special or urgent and took ten hours and thirty-eight minutes to get from sender to recipient, well after the attack had started.

Earlier: "Mr. Hopkins then expressed the view," Schulz added, "that since war was undoubtedly going to come at the convenience of the Japanese, it was too bad that we could not strike the first blow and prevent any sort of surprise." The President nodded and said, "No, we can't do that. We're a democracy and a peaceful people."

RYCT Kench: I read somewhere years back that the '11,000 virgins' martyred in Cologne should have read '11' but someone wrongly translated the (Latin) number. Can't find any real-life basis for Perrault's 'Sleeping Beauty', tho' the Opie team believe that he was writing down oral tales. In The Classic Fairy Tales they trace the story back some scores of years. In two versions the unfortunate Beauty was raped by the visiting King or Prince when she wouldn't waken. The Opies say the story probably originated in Norse myth, Brynhild and that bunch.

HIGH RATES DRIFTER – Ron Gemmell

I wondered what had happened to the video Cinderella – looking for it myself. Can't get the memory of those sewing mice out of my mind.

ALL AT SEA – Pauline Paul

"Who is writing what and what is worth reading?" ? See my para. 1 , page 1. a lot depends on personal taste; Anne McCaffrey for anodyne, Dan (Hyperion) Simmons for high literacy. Connie Willis has written interesting stuff, Vernor Vinge has suddenly started on Epics, Colin Greenland has some very readable yarns,, writes Victorian melodrama plus space opera.......Also depends on how long you've been away. Only author I've read and re-read in recent times has been Terry Pratchett and he doesn't write in any of the categories you cite except 'interesting characters'. Suggest you sub. to CRITICAL WAVE for their reviews.

TRICHINOPOLY – Barry and Tara

Congratulations on getting the duper to work; I take it you're using electro-stencils? If I can help with latter let me know. Nice decorations, too.

PM ROUTINE YELLOWS – Andrew M. Butler

Oh yes, 'preferring to spend my time reading' echoes with me, too. And spreading word about that you were a poet whilst still at school must have been incredibly brave – or foolish. I took a Palgrave Golden Treasury into the RAF with me, with the intention of learning a lot by heart, but service life engulfed me.

COLD IRON – Ros Calverley

I'd always thought of comics as being read primarily by lip movers, & only a small percentage by intelligent adults. Found the psychological probings and evident enthusiasm fascinating, even tho' my knowledge of comics is zero. You make a good case that intentions are liberal, but you note it's been hard to gain acceptance of a popular female heroine, or a black hero. Odd dichotomy – popular literature (?) that goes against popular conceptions? I think your remark about WW2 being a raison d'etre is worth considering – there were comics before that event, but the constant violence (as I understand it) that grew in the '40s really altered the whole genre. Very very interesting – will re-read.

FRAGMENTS – Mike Gould Meteor watch – you live in light-sky suburb?. Only mention of POE Novacon meet. Any piratical plots launched? Article good. VINCE

PreviousNext

Vince Clarke's APAzines
Contents

PreviousNext

Notes and Queries
K1
K2
K3
K4
K5
K6
K7
K8
K9
K10
K11
K12
K13
K14
K15
K16
K17
K18
K19
K20
K21
K22
K23
K24
K25
K26
K27
K28
K29
K30
K31
K32
K33
K34
K35
K36
K37
K38
K39
K40
K41
K42
K43
K44
K45
K46
K47
K48
K49
K50
K51
K52
K53
K54
K55
K56
K57
K58 to K69
K70
Books About SF Continued
From K??
Vincentian 1
Vincentian 2
Vincentian 3