ANSIBLE(R) 426
JANUARY 2023

From DAVID LANGFORD, 94 London Road, Reading, Berks, RG1 5AU, UK. Website
news.ansible.uk. ISSN 0265-9816 (print); 1740-942X (e). Available for SAE
or any edition of Silas Haslam's _History of the Land Called Uqbar_.

[NET NOTE. See https://news.ansible.uk/a426.html for the nice HTML version;
https://news.ansible.uk/pdf/a426.pdf for a printable PDF. Mailing list
subscribe/unsubscribe information appears below -- please don't send such
requests to my own e-mail address. DRL]

### THE TEN THOUSAND DOORS ###

DOUGLAS ADAMS was remembered in the Inquisitor crossword 'Valediction'
(_i_, 10 December), where much juggling with aquatic life led to a
well-known phrase and book title. See Fifteensquared.net, 20 December.

FREDERIK POHL (late news alert) had a Martian crater named after him by the
International Astronomical Union in August 2022, thus leading to a slight
double-take for fans who read a related scientific paper: 'Our mapping also
shows that Pohl's knobby rim regionally represents a broader history of
megatsunami modification....' [MC]

ADAM ROBERTS saw the _NY Times_ headline 'Scientists Made Snails Remember
Something That Never Happened To Them' and could only say: 'We Can Remember
It For You, Whole Snail'. (Twitter, 26 December)

JOHN SCALZI tested a cutting-edge writing AI by instructing it to create a
short story in his style: 'Once upon a time, in a far-off galaxy, there was
a planet called New Earth. It was a lush, verdant world, teeming with life
in all its forms. The inhabitants of New Earth were a diverse and
intelligent species, known for their quick wits and even quicker reflexes.
They lived in harmony with their environment, taking only what they needed
to survive and thriving in the process.' And so on for six more bland
paragraphs with no dialogue and thus _no swearing_. Mr Scalzi reckons that
'I may keep my gig until the next iteration at least.' (Twitter, 5
December)

SOMTOW SUCHARITKUL is creating a new opera based on the almost legendary
_Plan 9 from Outer Space_. 'I intend to compose the score in the spirit of
Ed Wood -- with utter seriousness and high moral intent, as befits the
exalted subject matter about aliens saving humanity from itself -- so
timely in these, ah, times.' (_Hollywood Reporter_, 19 December) [LP]

ROB WILKINS, who wrote and also narrated _Terry Pratchett: A Life with
Footnotes_, mingles joy and woe: 'I'm sorry that, in The Times Audiobooks
of the Year today, I didn't win "Best Celebrity Reading". They gave it to
someone called Bono. Absolute travesty. But we know how these things work.
Still, I DID get "Best Biography"....' (Twitter, 17 December)

### CONQUIAN ###

Until 8 Jan [] BEATRIX POTTER: DRAWN TO NATURE (exhibition), V&A, London.
GBP14; children free. See tinyurl.com/2p89r2vf.

3-6 Feb [] SCOTIACON (furry), Crowne Plaza Hotel, Glasgow. GBP100 reg.
Other details at www.scotiacon.org.uk.

16-19 Feb [] UK GHOST STORY FESTIVAL, Museum of Making, Derby. Talks etc.
are separately ticketed: see www.ukghoststoryfestival.co.uk.

17-19 Feb [] SCI-FI BALL (media), Southampton. Tickets from GBP145 (GBP35
child) plus various more expensive options at scifiball.com.

25-26 Feb [] SURREY STEAMPUNK CONVIVIAL, Stoneleigh, Epsom. See
bumpandthumper.wixsite.com/steampunkconvivials.

11-13 Aug [] TFNATION (_Transformers_), Birmingham NEC. Day rates only;
e.g. Saturday is GBP45 or GBP80 for early access. See tfnation.com.

25-28 Aug [] ASYLUM-XII (steampunk), The Lawns and other venues in Lincoln.
Details awaited at www.ministryofsteampunk.com.

19-22 Oct [] CELLULOID SCREAMS (horror films), Showroom Cinema, Sheffield.
Tickets awaited at celluloidscreams.co.uk.

26-31 Oct [] EDINBURGH HORROR FESTIVAL, Banshee Labyrinth and other city
venues. Event tickets from edinburghhorrorfestival.co.uk.

2-3 Dec [] FOR THE LOVE OF SCI-FI (media), BEC Arena, Stretford,
Manchester. GBP49.50; under-10s GBP19.25. More at fortheloveofsci-fi.com.

RUMBLINGS. _Chengdu 2023:_ the traditional Worldcon presentation at Smofcon
in December (not attended by any Chinese member of the 2023 committee) did
little to address fan worries about the lack of published progress reports
or hotel information, continuing failure to make memberships buyable
online, and whether the usual Hugo nomination and voting timetable will
even be possible. Finance depends on mysterious Chinese sponsorship deals
rather than membership sales. Interesting times. [F770]

### INFINITELY IMPROBABLE ###

AS OTHERS QUOTE US. 'The sky over the city of Vancouver was the color of a
television tuned to a Prince concert.' (Opening of news story about LED
streetlights turning purple; businessinsider.com, 29 November) [CH]

AWARDS. _Irish Book Awards_ (children's, senior): _Girls Who Slay Monsters_
by Ellen Ryan, illus. Shona Shirley Macdonald. [F770]
_SFPA Grand Masters_ (poetry): Akua Lezli Hope and Mary Soon Lee.
[F770]

PUBLISHERS AND SINNERS. Hachette's merry end-of-year letter to its authors,
illustrators _et al_ noted that 'The principle _[sic]_ challenge is supply
chain cost -- we have seen huge increases in the cost of paper, printing,
distribution and haulage in the past year. To give a case study of this, a
shipping container of books from the UK to Australia cost around Aus$4,000
in 2021, versus Aus$16,000 in 2022.' (Email, 5 December)

LORD DYSON'S BANE. On a gadget or fashion accessory whose actual release
was announced in December: 'Dyson's new Zone air-purifying headphones look
like something you'd expect to see in a dystopian sci-fi movie, maybe even
on the head of a Batman villain.' (CNET, 3 April) [RF]

R.I.P. _Kirstie Alley_ (1951-2022), US actress in _Star Trek II: The Wrath
of Khan_ (1982) and _Village of the Damned_ (1995), died on 5 December aged
71. [LP]
_Michael Ambrose_ (1956-2022), US Lovecraftian author from 1972 and
editor of _Macabre_ (1972-1976) and _The Argonaut_ (1977-1995), died on 20
July. [KG]
_Eduard Artemyev_ (1937-2022), Russian composer whose many film-score
credits include _Solaris_ (1972), and _Stalker_ (1979), died on 29 December
aged 85. [AM]
_Angelo Badalamenti_ (1937-2022), US composer whose credits include
_Nightmare on Elm Street 3_ (1987), _Twin Peaks_ (1989-1991 and spinoffs)
and _The City of Lost Children_ (1995), died on 11 December aged 85. [TP]
_Gabrielle Beaumont_ (1942-2022), UK director of episodes of _The
Tomorrow People_ (1978), _Star Trek: The Next Generation_ (1989-1994),
_Touched by an Angel_ (1997) and other genre series -- plus the tv film
_Beastmaster III_ (1996) -- died on 8 October aged 80. [AIP]
_John Bird_ (1936-2022), UK comic writer, satirist and actor whose
rare genre credits include _Jackanory_ (1970-1971) and _Jabberwocky_
(1977), died on 24 December aged 86. [SF2C]
_June Blair_ (1933-2022), US model and actress in _Island of Lost
Women_ (1959), died on 4 December aged 89. [SJ]
_Richard Bober_ (1943-2022), US artist for many genre book covers
since 1972 -- including a number of Gene Wolfe titles -- died on 7 or 8
December aged 79. [SHS]
_Stephen 'tWitch' Boss_ (1982-2022), US DJ and actor in _Ghostbusters_
(2016), shot himself on 13 December; he was 40. [LP]
_Chris Boucher_ (1943-2022), UK writer and script editor who wrote
three _Doctor Who_ serials (1977) and four _Who_ novels, plus episodes of
_Blake's 7_ (1979-1981) and his own creation _Star Cops_ (1987; 2013
novelization), died on 11 December. [F770]
_Albert Brenner_ (1926-2022), Oscar-winning art director and
production designer whose films include _Capricorn One_ (1977), _2010_
(1984), _The Monster Squad_ (1987) and _The Witches of Eastwick_ (1992),
died on 8 December aged 96. [AIP]
_Bert Deling_ (1942-2022), Australian writer and director of _Keiron:
The First Voyager_ (1985), who also wrote three 'Choose Your Own Nightmare'
videogames (all 1998), died on 14 December aged 80. [GC]
_Ruggero Deodato_ (1939-2022), Italian director of _Hercules, Prisoner
of Evil_ (1964, uncredited), _Atlantis Interceptors_ (1983) and various
horror films, died on 29 December aged 83.
_Sonya Eddy_ (1967-2022), US actress in _Blast from the Past_ (1999),
_Inspector Gadget_ (1999), _The Hive_ (2014) and genre tv series, died on
19 December aged 55. [SHS]
_Cliff Emmich_ (1936-2022), US actor in _Halloween II_ (1981),
_Digital Man_ (1995), _Inspector Gadget_ (1999) and others, died on 28
November aged 85. [LP]
_Jay Faulkner_, UK author of various short stories since 2010,
committed suicide on 1 December. [PDF]
_Gary Friedkin_ (1952-2022), US actor in _Return of the Jedi_ (1983),
_Hard Rock Zombies_ (1985), _Snow White_ (1987), _Cool World_ (1992) and tv
series, died on 2 December aged 70. [LP]
_Stephen Greif_ (1944-2022), UK actor in _Blake's 7_ (1978) and other
genre series who also did voice work for Judge Dredd videogames and _Doctor
Who: The Infinite Quest_ (2007), died in December aged 78. [FM]
_Mike Hodges_ (1932-2022), UK director whose credits include _The
Terminal Man_ (1974), _Flash Gordon_ (1980) and _Morons from Outer Space_
(1985), died on 17 December aged 90. [SG]
_Carl Kleinschmitt_ (1937-2022), US screenwriter for _Hi Honey -- I'm
Dead_ (1991), died on 8 December aged 85. [PDF]
_Dominique Lapierre_ (1931-2022), French author who wrote _The Fifth
Horseman_ (1980) with Larry Collins, died on 4 December aged 91. [AM]
_Frank Lauria_ (1935-2022), US author whose books include the occult
'Dr Owen Orient' series (1970-2014) and the Riddick novelization _Pitch
Black_ (2000), died in December aged 85. [PDF]
_Gabriella Licudi_ (1941-2022), UK actress who starred in _Unearthly
Stranger_ (1963), died on 18 September aged 81. [HB]
_Diane McBain_ (1941-2022), US actress in _The Deathhead Virgin_
(1974), _Puppet Master 5_ (1994), _Invisible Mom II_ (1999) and genre tv
series, died on 21 December aged 81. [AIP]
_Bob McGrath_ (1932-2022), US actor and long-time _Sesame Street_
regular -- also in _Follow That Bird_ (1985) and other spinoffs -- died on
4 December aged 90. [LP]
_Stuart Margolin_ (1940-2022), US director and actor in _Women of the
Prehistoric Planet_ (1966), _The Big Bus_ (1976), _Futureworld_ (1976),
_Mr. Smith_ (1983) and genre tv series, died on 12 December aged 82. [LP]
_Richard Miller_ (1942-2022), US visual effects sculptor and
model-maker whose work appeared in many genre productions from _Return of
the Jedi_ (1983) and further _Star Wars_ films to the _Pirates of the
Caribbean_ sequence (2003-2007), died on 8 December aged 80. [PDF]
_Kim Mohan_ (1949-2022), US author and game designer, editor of _The
Dragon_ 1982-1995, _Ares_ 1983-1994, and _Amazing_ 1991-2000, died on 12
December aged 73. [CR] He wrote the 'Cyborg Commando' sf trilogy
(1987-1988) with Pamela O'Neill.
_Lou Mougin_ (1954-2022), US comics fan, author and historian
(especially of Marvel) whose novel is _Joe Computer: Private Detective_
(2022), was reported on 1 January as having died. [PDF]
_James J. Murakami_ (1931-2022), US art director and production
designer whose credits include _Battlestar Galactica_ (1979), _WarGames_
(1983), _Peggy Sue Got Married_ (1986), _Delirious_ (1991) and _Groundhog
Day_ (1993), died on 15 December aged 91. [AIP]
_Paula Helm Murray_ (1956-2022), US author and fan active in Kansas
City fandom, who published short fantasy stories 1987-1991, died on 28
December. [SHS]
_Yuji Nunokawa_ (1947-2022), Japanese anime producer who founded
Studio Pierrot in 1979 and whose credits include _Casshan_ (1973-1974),
_Urusei yatsura_ (1981-1983), _Ninja Robots_ (1985-1986) and _Bleach:
Memories of Nobody_ (2006), died on 25 December aged 75. [PDF]
_Terrence O'Hara_ (1945-2022), US director and actor whose credits
include _Voyager from the Unknown_ (1982), _Angel_ (2002-2004),
_Smallville_ (2002-2007) and _Grimm_ (2012-2017), died on 5 December aged
76. [AIP]
_Michael Reed_ (1929-2022), UK cinematographer whose Hammer credits
include _The Gorgon_ (1964), _Dracula: Prince of Darkness_ (1966) and
_Prehistoric Women_ (1967), died on 15 December aged 93. [SJ]
_Christian Roberts_ (1944-2022), UK actor in _The Mind of Mr. Soames_
(1970), various genre tv series, and the 1989 stage musical _Return to the
Forbidden Planet_, died on 26 December aged 78. [SJ]
_Ralph Roberts_ (1945-2021), US author and small-press publisher (as
Farthest Star) whose one sf novel was _The Hundred-Acre Spaceship_ (2002),
died on 24 June 2021 aged 75. [SHS]
_Hank Saroyan_ (1947-2022), US tv worker with script credits for
_Dungeons & Dragons_ (1983-1985), _Muppet Babies_ (1988-1991) and _The Life
& Adventures of Santa Claus_ (2000), died on 23 September. [PDF]
_Sybil Grafin Schonfeldt_ (1927-2022), Austrian/German writer who
translated children's fantasy -- including Roald Dahl's _The Witches_ --
and wrote a biography of Astrid Lindgren, died on 11 December aged 95.
[SHS]
_Timofey Spivak_ (1947-2022), Russian actor who starred in _Zvyozdny
inspektor_ (_The Star Inspector_, 1980), died on 30 November aged 75. [AM]
_Al Strobel_, US actor in _Twin Peaks_ (1989-1990, plus spinoff
films), _Megaville_ (1990) and others, died on 2 December. [PDF]
_Robert Tayman_ (1942-2022), UK actor in _Moon Zero Two_ (1969),
_Vampire Circus_ (1972) and various genre tv series, died on 10 December
aged 80. [SJ]
_Maggie Thrett_ (1946-2022), US actress in _Dimension 5_ (1966) and
genre tv series, died on 18 December aged 76. [LP]
_Christopher Tucker_, UK make-up expert whose films include _The Boys
from Brazil_ (1978), _Quest for Fire_ (1981), _Monty Python's The Meaning
of Life_ (1983) and _The Company of Wolves_ (1984), died in December. [PDF]
_Ronan Vibert_ (1964-2022), UK actor whose credits include _Tale of
the Mummy_ (1998). _Sir Gawain and the Green Knight_ (2002), _Tomb Raider:
The Cradle of Life_ (2003) and _Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell_ (2015), died
on 22 December aged 58. [AIP]

In message <p8o8rhl8bmf421k87otgbivfelo3mh371e@4ax.com>, David Langford
<ansible@cix.co.uk> writes
<snip>
>THE WEAKEST LINK. _Bradley Walsh:_ 'Helen Moffett's novel _Charlotte_
>is inspired by which Jane Austen novel?' _Contestant:_ '_Charlotte's
>Web_.' (ITV, _The Chase_) [PE]
> _Jeremy Paxman:_ 'Who wrote the Elric novels?' _Contestant:_ 'Neil
>Gaiman.' (BBC2, _University Challenge_) [JL]
<snip>

The second one isn't the worst answer in the world. At least the
contestant seems to have identified the genre correctly.
--
John Hall "Do you have cornflakes in America?"
"Well, actually, they're American."
"So what brings you to Britain then if you have cornflakes already?"
Bill Bryson: "Notes from a Small Island"