K56


K56 – an APAzine for PoE from A. VINCENT CLARKE, 16 Wendover Way, Welling, Kent, DA16 2BN for November '95.


UPDATE

So why, you ask, isn't he using the PC386 that some kindly fans provided him with? Or to put it another way, with which some kindly fans provided him? Hell, I never was much good at grammar.

Well, the answer is that the 386, tho' it has hundreds of unexplored avenues, little quirks and a 300-odd page manual, has installed on its hard-disk a W/P program called JustWrite, all the way from the States. Unfortunately, there's no manual. This in itself, according to internal evidence on the computer, is another 300-odd pages.

Frankly, altho' I can just about find my way about in JustWrite, I feel far happier using an Amstrad PCW2856 word-processor which has been a faithful companion for, lo, these past 8 years.

I am taking steps to try and get hold of the aforementioned manual, but seeing the program and manual are dated 1992, practically antediluvian in computer terms, and from another country – well, I'm not holding my breath.

Of course, I tried Foyles, Waterstone and Blackwell (amongst others) for that manual, without success, and no one will ever know the pain I suffered going past those thousands of books to the Computer Section, grim, single-minded, with money practically incandescent in my pocket. Lucky, in fact, that there's very very few recent offerings that I want.


BOOK TALK

In fact, this caution about buying new books extended back to Intersection, where, as far as I can recall, I bought only one – Teresa Nielsen Hayden's MAKING BOOK (NESFA Press $9.95). I think I've mentioned this before – it contains several essays from her fan days (early '80s), including the marvellous piece on how she was ex-communicated from the Mormons, to her later metamorphosis as Tor's Managing Editor, which has produced an equally marvellous piece (if not so funny) on Copy Editing. Great stuff.


A NOTE FOR FAN-HISTORY BUFFS

I was pleased at Intersection to have chats with Dick Lynch, editor of MIMOSA and the recent hard-cover A WEALTH OF FABLE. Dick has now set himself to gather together facts about international fandom in the '60s with a view to writing a history of that decade. The synopsis (which I have if anyone wants to borrow it) runs to 50+ pages, so the history is going to be pretty comprehensive. And in connection with which – tho' it's pretty tenuous – has anyone a copy of Ron Bennett's newzine SKY RACK No. 96 (Feb. '71)? If so, I'd like to borrow it. I was going through my library SKY RACKs for Dick Lynch's benefit (as they were almost all duplicated in the '60s) and found that I'm needing that particular issue. No, Ron hasn't got a copy as far as he knows.


COMMENT ON LAST MAILING

OFFICIAL STUFF

Sorry to see you step down, Ros – you did a good job, and it's not your fault that the once-in-a-decade World Con interfered with some people's fanac. Full of admiration for your essays too – any chance you might keep on as crew?


MOVING TARGET – Brian Stovold

Good start to an interesting travelogue. Was a bit disappointed, tho', at there being no explanation for the upwardly mobile water, which from your account violates all sorts of basic laws.

Unexpected talent – organ playing. Brought back one or two fragmentary memories of self practising in a spiritualist church when I was about ten years old. Never did get around to real playing, tho.


ALL AT SEA (Sept & Oct) – Pauline Plant

I like the thought of an electric typewriter named Kevin. But this is strange about the word-processor being affected by paper quality. Any chance of learning more?

Your comments on the children at your school were interesting – I speak as one whose grand-daughter is starting in Infants next January, some months prior to her fifth birthday. Doesn't know her alphabet yet but, of course, can load a disk into a computer and play a game. In a way it makes me wildly jealous – Ghod, I wish I had her chances!.

Some of your account of your tour of Glastonbury etc., is very good, which makes the intrusion of some typical 'mannered writing' phrases a pity – "long vanished walls of refectory and cloisters" – "which towered gold in this long hot summer" – "Do those steps lead straight to hell?" – "a hill of a mile compass at the top." One has the feeling that at these places and others you're repeating stuff you've heard elsewhere, where you liked the phraseology. But damned good writing about the coloured springs.

NIPPERKIN 4 – John Mædracki

Good nightmarish stuff for the most part, tho' the first few paras. perhaps sound a little too much like something written 60 years or more ago. Tho' again, the non-anchoring of characters to period or even personal ages adds somewhat to the dream-like quality. A nice effort.

Amongst others the late unlamented L. Ron Hubbard wrote TYPEWRITER IN THE SKY in this sort of vein, with that marvellous line about the ms. creator – "God? In a dirty bathrobe?"

Sorry, didn't see your (upside-down!) request for tanners until end of October. I might have some somewhere if they're still wanted. What were they for – a treasure hunt?


THE STRUTHIAN PERSPECTIVE – Theo Ross

"God – in a librarian's outfit?" Um – would be appropriate, except that librarians appear to dress much as you and I, if more soberly. Possibly "Behind a librarian's desk"?

Yes, libraries are heaven. Except that here on Earth they sometimes have difficulty in getting the books one wants. Here again, an old F & SF yarn intrudes on the memory, about the difficulty of indexing libraries. As I recall it, they were down to 'notched molecules'.

Marvellous chatter, Theo, and interesting thoughts on Le Beau also.

Without getting out a magnifying glass, the illo. looks remarkably like the Eatanswill election out of Pickwick.


WATCHER FROM THE SHADOWS – Jenny Glover

So! Prospective APA editor, huh? You surely must be the most active fan in these islands. I thought that, given the hordes which had to be entertained, Intersection went off very well. And there was a lot of stuff around which as far as I've seen hasn't had a mention – for instance, the bouncy tiger for the kids and the enclosure for 'em. The square erection in the middle of the hall (a boxing ring?) where uninhibited fans were playing TV games without props. Gruesome exhibits......Must be hundreds of untold stories – seems a pity someone doesn't gather them up.

So that was what was wrong with the duplicator! I was surprised it didn't turn up, but there were so many other things going on, including your marvellous lecture on hektography, that it got relegated to the might-have-been.

Re frogs legs, what else can you do in a French restaurant except try the local cuisine? But I jibbed at snails.

I'm amazed at your amazement at the ephemeral feel of Intersection. Surely, unless you do something drastic like dying (sorry, John, it slipped out), any experience must be relegated to memory and souvenirs after the fact. Except that just sometimes it's a learning process. I think the time-span between World Cons more or less eliminates that. The sheer size of the thing dwarfs other considerations – I don't see that lessons learned (if any) can be applied to a smaller Con.

Very good 'zine, Jenny.


ROPE OF SAND – Brian Jordan

Re. a possible fanzine database, Don Fitch in the States has sent over two or three indexes for fanzines – but they're really elaborate, listing LoCs, illos, etc. You can more or less count on a page to an issue in that style. With 7000 fanzines to record, I'll have to discard all over. I'm already looking at the possibility of squeezing contributor's names down to initials, or even numbering 'em – "H/art 98" meaning "humorous article (by) Bob Tucker" sort of thing.

RYCTme – I gathered together all the books about SF that I had into a box when the computer arrived, and they haven't been disinterred yet. Maybe continuation next 'K'. Meanwhile, Ken Lake pointed out that James Blish wrote his THE ISSUE TO HAND under his pen-name of William Atheling. True – a slip up.

Lapping up details regarding Internet. "As long as there are no two people with the same i.d on your computer...." I take it then that you could get away with 'Jordan' – or in my case 'Vince'?


OH G*D – IT'S HIM! No.5 – Ken Lake

I heartily regret leaving this 'K' to the last moment (as usual), as Ken's OGIH deserves a far better response than a few squeezed words.

The Hitler piece standard to old-timers, tho' I notice that the 'support of financiers and industrialists' in backing Hitler is rather glossed over. If it hadn't been for their backing.......

A recent survey showed that the average National Lottery stake was £3; as the intake would appear to be £15m (any accurate figures available?), it means that there must be about 5 million people taking part. Mugs!

Read the Jenkins article with amusement – I reckon we've all felt like that at some time. I don't see that one can do much about this second Industrial Revolution that we're experiencing, and as it might lead to numerous people working from home may turn out to be a Good Thing. In any event, the human response is always to try and improve (as the inventor sees it) with faster cars, more elaborate computer chips, even better bicycles. The Sustran stuff very interesting. As a strictly suburban cyclist I'm all for cycle tracks & etc. But what do these people do? Surely they don't, all by themselves, build cycle tracks?

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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