ANSIBLE(R) 435
OCTOBER 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,
dead bards, lonely tapeworms or love-lorn truffles.

[NET NOTE. See https://news.ansible.uk/a435.html for the nice HTML version;
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### THE STUFFED OWL ###

MICHAEL CHABON has joined the authors suing Meta, Bloomberg and others for
using a database ('Books3') of 'more than 191,000' -- some say 187,000 --
pirated books to train their generative AI systems. (_Atlantic_, 25
September)
There's a Books3 author name search at
full-stack-search-prod.vercel.app/ -- though Neil Clarke warns '... you may
still be in there even if your name doesn't turn up any results. / Pirates
are not known for their data entry skills. Aside from typos, they may only
list some of the _[anthology]_ contributors or editor(s).' (Facebook, 26
September) Thus there are no hits for 'David Langford', but searching for
'Mike Ashley' or 'David G. Hartwell' shows several of their anthologies
containing my stories.
See also US Authors Guild comments at
authorsguild.org/news/you-just-found-out-your-book-was-used-to-train-ai-now-what/.

GRADY HENDRIX, learned author of _Paperbacks from Hell_, revealed on the
Barnes & Noble website that 'Horror didn't exist as a literary genre before
1967 when _Rosemary's Baby_ hit the bestseller lists and became a hit
movie.' (Barnesandnoble.com, 19 September) [TM]

ALAN MOORE has a good word for Thog the Liberator in his BBC Maestro
storytelling course. 'As a prospective writer, I would urge you to not only
read good books. Read terrible books as well, because they can be more
inspiring than the good books [...] If you are inspired by a good book,
there's always the danger of plagiarism, of doing something that is too
much like that good book. Whereas, a genuinely helpful reaction to a piece
of work that you're reading is, "Jesus Christ, I could write this sh*t!"
That is immensely liberating ...' (Upworthy.com, 9 September)

BILL WILLINGHAM declared that after years of frustrating disputes with DC
Comics over his _Fables_ sequence -- about fairytale/folklore characters
living in the real world -- he was allowing the _Fables_ IP to enter the
public domain, so others can make free use of the setting. DC was quick to
announce that, contrariwise, they own all rights to absolutely everything
and, what's more, have many highly paid lawyers. (_Lavie Tidhar:_ 'Let me
be the first comics writer to release a whole bunch of public domain
characters back into the public domain.' -- Xtwitter, 23 September)

### CONCHA ###

Until 1 Nov [] LONDON MONTH OF THE DEAD events, various venues. Speakers
include Kim Newman. See londonmonthofthedead.com.

6-8 Oct [] GRIMMFEST (film), Odeon Great Northern, Manchester. Full pass
for all screenings and events GBP79.50 plus fees at grimmfest.com.

7-8 Oct [] NEVERMORE (Gothic), online. GBP15 weekend or GBP10/day. See
www.thefolklorepodcast.com/store/c9/Forthcoming_events.html.

7-8 Oct [] OCTOCON, Gibson Hotel, Dublin. Euro60 reg; concessions Euro40;
YA or supp Euro20. Registration open at octocon.com.

18-22 Oct [] WORLDCON 2023, Chengdu, China. $70 reg (first Worldcon $50)
plus $50 WSFS voting rights. See en.chengduworldcon.com.

19-22 Oct [] CELLULOID SCREAMS (horror films), Showroom Cinema, Sheffield.
Full pass GBP105 or day rates at www.celluloidscreams.com.

20-22 Oct [] FESTIVAL OF FANTASTIC FILMS, Pendulum Hotel, Manchester.
GBP110 reg. For day rates see 'Book Tickets' at fantastic-films.uk.

20-23 Oct [] IRISH DISCWORLD CONVENTION, Cork International Hotel,
Cork.Euro75 reg; Euro55 concessions; under-17s Euro20. See idwcon.org.

21 Oct [] BRISTOLCON, Hilton DoubleTree Hotel, Bristol. GBP40 reg; GBP25
under-18s, concessions, disabled; under-14s free; GBP15 supp. _The Dealers'
Room is full -- no more bookings accepted._ More at www.bristolcon.org.

21-22 Oct [] FILM & COMIC CON CARDIFF, International Arena, Cardiff.
Weekend GBP16; GBP32 for early entry. See filmandcomicconcardiff.com.

21-22 Oct [] FINAL FANTASY FESTIVAL, ExCel, London. Weekend tickets
GBP159.99. See fanfest2.finalfantasyxiv.com/2023-24/eu/.

21 Oct [] OCTOBER COUNTRY (Ray Bradbury), QUAD, Derby. Noon-8pm. GBP30 reg.
Details at www.derbyquad.co.uk/events/octobercountry.

21-22 Oct [] SURREY STEAMPUNK CONVIVIAL, Stoneleigh, Epsom. See
bumpandthumper.wixsite.com/steampunkconvivials.

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

27 Oct - 25 Feb 2024 [] FANTASY: REALMS OF IMAGINATION (exhibition),
British Library, London. GBP16; under-12s free; other discounts vary with
weekdays, school terms, etc. See www.bl.uk/events/fantasy.

27-28 Oct [] FRIGHTFEST (film), Cineworld, Leicester Square, London.
Tickets on sale from 1 October at frightfest.co.uk/tickets.html.

29 Oct [] HALLOCON, Leasowe Castle Hotel, Wirral. 11am-5pm. GBP9; under-16s
GBP7; under-10s GBP5. See www.ljeventsentertainment.com.

3-4 Nov [] 16TH STARFLEET/KLINGON BANQUET, Peterborough Marriott Hotel.
GBP68 reg; more at www.starbase24.co.uk/Banquet.html.

3-5 Nov [] ARMADACON 2023, Future Inns, Plymouth. GBP45 reg; GBP35
concessions; single day GBP25/GBP20. More at www.armadacon.org.

26 Nov [] TOLKIEN SOCIETY SEMINAR on Tolkien and religion, free online. See
www.tolkiensociety.org/events.

9 Jun 2024 [] SEEK-LOCATE-CELEBRATE (_Blake's 7_; formerly Forever Avon),
Steventon Village Hall, Steventon, Oxford, OX13 5RR. 10am-4pm. See
www.facebook.com/TeamBlakeForeverAvon.

8-12 Aug 2024 [] GLASGOW 2024 (Worldcon) Glasgow SEC. GBP190 reg;
concessions GBP140; YA (under 26) GBP120; under-16s GBP80; under-11s GBP50;
under-6s GBP5; other rates at glasgow2024.org. _A price rise of 'on
average' 10% will take effect on 1 October -- GBP210 reg expected._

31 Aug 2024 [] WHOOVERVILLE 15 (_Doctor Who_), QUAD Centre, Derby. Tickets
GBP55; concessions GBP38; under-12s GBP10; registration open at
www.derbyquad.co.uk/events/whooverville15/.

### INFINITELY IMPROBABLE ###

THE WEAKEST LINK. Invited to complete a Labour of Hercules when given an
anagram of one of its words, the team brilliantly came up with 'steal the
glider of Hippolyta'. (BBC, _Pointless_, September) [POM]
_Bradley Walsh:_ 'The planet Jupiter is made up mainly of helium and
what other element?' _Contestant:_ 'Stones.' (ITV, _The Chase_, 14
September) [RJ]

TIMEBINDING: EVER SINCE COLOSSUS. 'And you have been able to scroll through
Word (or WordPerfect or WordStar or plain text) documents for as long as
computers have existed, even if few would call such an experience
_reading_.' (_The Atlantic_, 14 September) [GD]

AWARDS. _Bard Fiction Prize:_ _Brother Alive_ by Zain Khalid. [L]
_Booker Prize:_ shortlist includes the genre title _Prophet Song_ by
Paul Lynch. [F770]
_British Fantasy:_ HOLDSTOCK (fantasy novel) _The Spear Cuts Through
Water_ by Simon Jimenez. DERLETH (horror novel) _Just Like Home_ by Sarah
Gailey. NOVELLA _The Queen of the High Fields_ by Rhiannon A. Grist. SHORT
'Morta' by James Bennett (_The Book of Queer Saints_). COLLECTION _Under
the Moon_ by E.M. Faulds. MAGAZINE _Interzone_. AUDIO _The Stranger Times._
INDEPENDENT PRESS Luna Press Publishing. ARTIST Vince Haig. ANTHOLOGY
_Someone in Time_, ed. Jonathan Strahan. NON-FICTION _An Earnest Blackness_
by Eugen Bacon. BOUNDS (newcomer) Hiron Ennes for _Leech_.
_Dwarf Stars_ (SFPA very short poem): tie. 'Believe the Graves'
(_Deadlands_ 16) by Rasha Abdulhadi; 'In Perpetuity' (7/22 _Analog_) by
Bruce Boston.
_Elgin_ (SFPA poetry): BOOK _The Last Robot_ by Jane Yolen. CHAPBOOK
_Some Disassembly Required_ by David C. Kopaska-Merkel.
_Eugie Foster Memorial_ (short): 'Quandary Aminu vs The Butterfly Man'
(Tor.com) by Rich Larson. [F770]
_Reuben_ (US National Cartoonists Society), online comics category,
long form: Phil Foglio of fannish and _Girl Genius_ fame. [F770]

FASHION DEPARTMENT: COMFORT WEAR. 'Author Ned Beauman rarely dresses in
anything other than Rick Owens, whose interests in "Cronenbergian" body
mutations and Brutalism mirror his own.' (_Financial Times_, 'The Art of
Fashion' supplement, 22 August) [PE]

R.I.P. _Allan Asherman_ (1947-2023), author of _The Star Trek Compendium_
(1981) and other nonfiction books about the series, died on 22 September
aged 76.
_Helena Binns_ (1941-2023), Australian fan and artist active in the
Melbourne SF Club since 1958, official photographer for the 1975 Australian
Worldcon, and widow of Merv Binns (1934-2020), died on 18 September aged
82. [BB/BG]
_Jean Boht_ (1932-2023), UK _Jackanory_ narrator and actress in _The
Cloning of Joanna May_ (1992) and _Jim's Gift_ (1996), died on 12 September
aged 91. [SHS]
_Jimmy Buffett_ (1946-2023), US musician and actor seen in _Congo_
(1995) and _Jurassic World_ (2015), whose soundtrack credits include
_Arachnophobia_ (1990), _Contact_ (1997) and _Angry Birds 2_ (2019), died
on 1 September aged 76. [LP]
_John Cairney_ (1930-2023), UK actor and _Jackanory_ narrator seen in
_Target Luna_ (1960), _Jason and the Argonauts_ (1963), _Spaceflight IC-1_
(1965) and _Nightmare Man_ (1999), died on 6 September aged 93.
_Dick Curtis_ (1928-2023), US actor in _The Day It Came to Earth_
(1977), _Motel Hell_ (1980) and _What Waits Below_ (1984), died on 16
September aged 95. [SJ]
_Marcia de Rousse_, US actress in _True Blood_ (2009-2014) and _The
Disappointments Room_ (2016), died on 2 September aged 70. [AIP]
_Sandra Dorsey_ (1939-2023), US actress in _Gordy_ (1994) and
_Frankenstein_ (2004), died on 26 September aged 83. [SHS]
_Martin Ellis_, 2nd unit/assistant director whose credits include
_Curse of Chucky_ (2013), _The Flash_ (2016-2017) and _The Power_ (2023),
died on 22 August. [AIP]
_Bernie Evans_, UK fanzine, APA and con-running fan who chaired
Novacon in 1987 and 1990 and received the 1995 Doc Weir award, died on 27
September. Another old fan friend gone.
_Sir Michael Gambon_ (1940-2023), multiple BAFTA-winning Irish actor
who played Dumbledore in six Harry Potter films, died on 28 September aged
82. Other genre credits include _The Wind in the Willows_ (1985), _Sky
Captain and The World of Tomorrow_ (2004), _Fantastic Mr Fox_ (2009) and
_The Book of Eli_ (2010).
_Rose Gregorio_ (1925-2023), US actress in _Eyes of Laura Mars_
(1978), died on 17 August aged 97. [LP]
_Vyacheslav Grishechkin_ (1962-2023), Russian actor in the children's
sf film _Asiris nuna_ (2006) died on 15 September aged 61. [AM]
_Edward Hume_ (1936-2023), US screenwriter best known for _The Day
After_ (1983), died on 13 September aged 87. [AIP]
_Gayle Hunnicutt_ (1943-2023), US actress in _The Legend of Hell
House_ (1973), _The Martian Chronicles_ (1980) and _Hard to Be a God_
(1989), died on 31 August aged 80. [AIP]
_Nathan Louis Jackson_ (1978-2023), US playwright and screenwriter who
co-produced and wrote episodes of _Luke Cage_ (2016-1018), died on 22
August aged 44. [AIP]
_Pete Kozachik_ (1951-2023), US cinematographer and visual effects
artist whose films include _Innerspace_ (1987), _The Nightmare Before
Christmas_ (1993), _Starship Troopers_ (1997), _SW: Attack of the Clones_
(2002), _Corpse Bride_ (2005) and _Coraline_ (2009), died on 12 September
aged 72. [AIP]
_Lisa Lyon_ (1953-2023), US bodybuilder and actress in _Vamp_ (1986),
died on 8 September aged 70. [AIP]
_Aleksandr Khvan_ (1957-2023), Russian director and actor in the
fantasy film _Serdtse permy_ (_Land of Legends_, 2022), died on 17
September aged 65. [AM]
_David McCallum_ (1933-2023), UK actor whose many genre credits
include _The Man from U.N.C.L.E_ (1964-1968), _The Invisible Man_
(1975-1976), _Sapphire and Steel_ (1979-1982) and several animated Batman
series (voicing Alfred), died on 25 September aged 90.
_Michael McGrath_ (1957-2023), US actor in _Spamalot_ (2005 Broadway
musical), _The Secret of Kells_ (2009) and _Wolfwalkers_ (2022), died on 14
September aged 65. [CH]
_Bill Malley_ (1934-2023), US art director/production designer whose
films include _The Exorcist_ (1973) and _The Fury_ (1978), died on 1
September aged 88. [SHS]
_Eddie Marks_ (1947-2023), US costume designer for _Buckaroo Banzai_
(1984), _Cocoon_ (1985), _Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade_ (1989) and
others, died on 11 September aged 86. [SHS]
_Gherman Mazurin_ (1932-2023), Russian artist who illustrated
children's fantasies including a many times reprinted edition of Lazar
Lagin's classic _Old Khottabych_ (1938), died on 19 September. [AM]
_Brent Monahan_ (1948-2023), US supernatural horror author whose first
novel was _Deathbite_ (1979; filmed as _Spasms_, 1983) with Michael Maryk,
died on 31 August aged 75. [GVG]
_Beth Porter_ (1942-2023), US-born UK actress with voice roles in
_Dick Deadeye_ (1975) and _The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe_ (1979), died
on 1 August aged 81. [AIP]
_Buichi Terasawa_ (1955-2023), Japanese manga and anime creator whose
credits include _Space Adventure Cobra_ (1982 plus spinoffs) and _Karasu
tengu Kabuto_ (1992), died on 8 September aged 68. [LP]
_Ira M. Thornhill_ (1953-2023), US fan and publisher who co-founded
Corroboree Press, publishing R.A. Lafferty and others from 1982 to 1986,
died on 25 July aged 69. [L]
_Michael D. Toman_ (1949-2023), US librarian and author who published
a number of sf stories from 1974 to 1991, was found dead at home on 2
September; he was 73. [TM]

On Friday, September 29, 2023 at 12:06:28 PM UTC-4, David Langford wrote:

> 'CULTURAL APPROPRIATION.' Scots MP Chris Law is very annoyed by 'Created in
> London' posters featuring the animated _Dennis & Gnasher_, based on the
> _Beano_ 'Dennis the Menace' strip launched in 1951 by D.C. Thomson of
> Dundee. (Downthetubes.net, 27 September) Owing to the identically titled US
> strip, the UK Dennis is sadly no longer a Menace.

Remarkably, both versions debuted on the same day: 12 March 1951.
As a small kid living in the US, I was familiar with the early 1960s TV version.
When I moved to the UK in 1968, it was quite disorienting to see the BEANO
version.

Pt

In article <2601f76b-faea-4d2e-8b47-bc9163482f00n@googlegroups.com>,
petertrei@gmail.com (Peter Trei) wrote:

>
> Remarkably, both versions debuted on the same day: 12 March 1951.
> As a small kid living in the US, I was familiar with the early 1960s
> TV version. When I moved to the UK in 1968, it was quite disorienting
> to see the BEANO
> version.

Interesting. I knew the strips started about the same time but I hadn't
realised that although the UK version had a 17th March issue date, it
actually appeared earlier.

I actually remember the American sitcom version from the late fifties. I
thought it was shown on British television under the title Dennis the
Pickle but the IMDb gives it as Just Dennis.

About the same time, the series Top Cat was shown on the BBC but they
changed the name to Boss Cat, as Top Cat was a brand of cat food and the
BBC does not carry advertising. As the Wikipedia article points out the
only change was a title card with the new name. Dialogue wasn't changed,
so he was still TC and Top Cat still appeared in the title song.

On 10/3/23 6:14 AM, Paul Dormer wrote:

> I actually remember the American sitcom version from the late fifties. I
> thought it was shown on British television under the title Dennis the
> Pickle but the IMDb gives it as Just Dennis.
>
> About the same time, the series Top Cat was shown on the BBC but they
> changed the name to Boss Cat, as Top Cat was a brand of cat food and the
> BBC does not carry advertising. As the Wikipedia article points out the
> only change was a title card with the new name. Dialogue wasn't changed,
> so he was still TC and Top Cat still appeared in the title song.

I've heard that The Avengers (the one about the team of MCU heroes) was
released in the UK as Avengers Assemble, perhaps because of the earlier
UK cloak-and-dagger TV series The Avengers. Is that true?

--
Gary McGath http://www.mcgath.com

In article <ufjce2$3pjm$1@dont-email.me>, garym@mcgath.com (Gary McGath)
wrote:

>
> I've heard that The Avengers (the one about the team of MCU heroes)
> was released in the UK as Avengers Assemble, perhaps because of the
> earlier UK cloak-and-dagger TV series The Avengers. Is that true?

Yes, I believe that was so.

Gary McGath wrote:
>
> I've heard that The Avengers (the one about the team of MCU heroes) was
> released in the UK as Avengers Assemble, perhaps because of the earlier
> UK cloak-and-dagger TV series The Avengers. Is that true?

That is correct. The MCU film "The Avengers" was released as "Marvel's
Avengers Assemble" in the UK.

The fact that there had been a big screen adaptation of The Avengers UK
television series a few years before was probably a big factor (Ralph
Fiennes was Steed in that movie) as that was, unsurprisingly, called "The
Avengers"!