Copyright 1998
The Electronic Edition
David Henninger, Editor
Robin R. Brunner, Publisher
The Circular of Janus is a publication of the Circle of Janus Science Fiction Club of Central Indiana. Subscription is included with membership, $10/year. For information, write to Circle of Janus, P.O. Box 68514, Indianapolis, IN 46268-0514 or e-mail davidhenninger@cs.com
IN THIS EDITION:
OPENING REMARKS
MEETING/PARTY INFO
PRESIDENTIAL PONDERINGSBy Mike Cowper
SEC'S NOTESBy Lynnette R. F. Cowper
FOUNTAIN OF MYSTERY TO CLOSE
A LETTER FROM JEAN WHITELAW
ECCENTRIC ORBIT #59By Don Dailey
AMAZON.COM'S TEN BEST SCIENCE & NATURE TITLES OF 1998
LAST RITES - Humor
WATCH OUT FOR THE "BAD TIMES" VIRUS - Humor
SANTA IS A GIRL! - Humor
OPENING REMARKS
With the club approaching its nineteenth birthday, it's putting on a more
organized and formal appearance. The amendment to the by-laws was passed
codifying the board of directors required for our incorporation. Next month
we will have the first regular election of the chairman of that board. We
will, as usual, elect a new crop of officers next month as well. The text of
that amendment and a complete list of candidates nominated so far is in
Lynnette Cowper's Sec's Notes column.
If you missed the last meeting and want to nominate someone or place your own
name in nomination for an office, you can do so before the election at
January's meeting or write or e-mail Robin or me and we'll place it in the
next Circular. We will also publish articles (speeches) by those who want to
blow their own horns, or someone else's before the election.
Don Dailey and Jean Whitelaw return this month. Jean offers her perspective
on InCon and children's SF.
Don't miss the article on Fountain of Mystery's last sale. DAH
MEETING/PARTY INFO
There will be no regular meeting in December. Instead we'll have the
Anniversary/Christmas party! This will be at Kat Robinson's place. [address
and phone number not published in the web edition - JNT]
The next regular meeting of The Circle of Janus will be Saturday, January 2,
1999 at the Children's Museum. Doors open about 6:30 p.m. Enter via the
group entrance as usual. This is the election meeting.
PRESIDENTIAL PONDERINGS
Well, the year's almost over. I've not been good about getting presidential
ponderings written for the newsletter. Maybe I don't ponder enough. I do want
to make a few comments about the year as whole though.
This was my first year as club president, and it's been fun. I won't claim to
have done the best job. There have been others better than I in the past. But
I think the year turned out OK. We've got a place to meet for next year, we
had what I think was one of the best InCons ever, and we've started
non-meeting meetings again. Not too bad I think. Of course I didn't really
have much to do with most of that.
I know there was quite a bit of discussion about the direction of the con
was taking after it was over this year. I didn't contribute much because
everything that I would have said was already being said by other people.
InCon is, in my opinion, a very well-rounded convention, and I like it that
way. I've gone to a couple other conventions this year, but InCon was the
best.
I'm looking forward to another good year next year, whether I'm president
again or not, and I'm sure that everyone will do their best to make it so.
For anyone who doesn't make it to the Christmas/Anniversary party, I wish you
a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Thank you all for a good year and a good convention.
SEC'S NOTES
The November meeting of the Circle of Janus was held on Nov. 7th, 1998, at
the Children's Museum. The meeting opened at 7:41 PM. 21 adults and 2
children were present. All officers were present.
We had one visitor, Theresa Williams, another of the ConSept people.
The minutes for October '98 were accepted as published.
The treasurer reported [amounts withheld in the web edition - JNT].
In convention reports, for InCon '98, Andy reported that it appears we made
about $1000 this year.
Randy Porter reported for InCon '99. There have been two concom meetings to
date and everything is moving, though slowly. The Concom is filled, but there
are always positions assisting and so on.
Keith was absent, and thus there was no report for InCon 2000.
In old business, the amendment that the club dues be raised to $15 a year was
passed, with 18 yeas and 0 nays.
The amendment that "The Board of Directors shall consist of the members of
the executive committee, headed by a Chairbeing elected every two years from
among the current membership who have previously held club office. The
sitting Chairbeing of the Board shall not concurrently hold any other club
office," was passed, with 18 yeas and 0 nays.
In New Business, Mike opened nominations for '99 club officers. Those not
present at the meeting, please, feel free to nominate via email or letter
prior to the January meeting. Or, you can nominate someone at the January
meeting, if they are present to accept/decline.
The nominations below were all accepted, except as noted.
The nominations at the meeting were:
President:
Vice-President:
Secretary:
Treasurer:
Sergeant-at-arms:
ConChair 2001:
Chairbeing of the Board:
In other new business, our usual after-the-meeting spot, Flakey Jake's, is
out of business. We need to be thinking about other possibilities. For the
November meeting, Mike had made arrangements with Donato's Pizza, at the
corners of 10th and Indiana and Riley, for the after-the-meeting gathering.
The club anniversary party (sometimes known as the Christmas party), will be held at Kat Robertson's on Sunday, December 13th, from 1 PM to 9-ish.
In other announcements and reviews:
Linda had Philcon flyers for anyone who was interested.
Tim mentioned that Fantasy Island had been canceled.
Randy Porter reviewed Steven Baxter's _Titan_. It is an alternate history and
Porter described it, as much of Baxter's alternate history books, as
depressing. It was mentioned that this appears to be true ONLY of his
alternate histories, not his other works.
Linda Dunn mentioned that Barnes and Noble is buying Engram, the major book
distributor. SFWA and the ABA are collecting signatures against this deal.
Kat mentioned that Saving Private Ryan is very good.
What Dreams May Come was reviewed as being a tearjerker with excellent SF/X.
Chris Canary reviewed the new Crow TV show as being so-so, Highlander: The
Raven as good; and Fantasy Island as being very enjoyable. He also
mentioned that the book What Dreams May Come was excellent; The
Girl Who Would Be Death, a comic book, as excellent if you like the feel
of Sandman; and Superman: War of the Worlds as a good, though odd
alternate world. 7 Days was described as "adequate".
The book Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Continuing Mission was
mentioned as having a lot of good behind-the-scenes information.
Brooks mentioned that the library book sale was that weekend through the
following weekend.
Chuck reviewed Vampires as being an obvious attempt to make a cult film.
Chaos was declared at 8:40 PM.
The after-the-meeting gathering was at Donato's.
Respectfully submitted,
FOUNTAIN OF MYSTERY TO CLOSE
Fountain of Mystery Book Store is going out of business. Winona Eads, the
owner will undergo knee surgery soon and has decided to retire.
She wants to clean out the shelves before she sells the store. Everything is
at least 50% off.
Gordon Burton, a chaplain at Methodist Hospital passed this on to us. He says
it's very important you mention his name when you come and that grocery sacks
might come in very handy. fountain of Mystery still has an extensive
inventory of SF as well as mystery. The address is 1119 E Prospect. Hours are
1:00 to 5:00 PM, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. If you can't make it then
call 635-CLUE for an appointment.
A LETTER FROM JEAN WHITELAW
Dear Dave and Robin,
I enjoyed talking with you at con and just wish I could have stayed around
longer. The layout was much easier for Peg and I to get around in. no mile-
long corridors and almost around the corner from our room. the only thing we
missed was the coffee shop open till all hours.
We had Chris Bovard (10 year old #4 grandson) with us. Saturday morning I
took him to the talk on the making of artifacts on space movies. He left it
for a time to watch the SCA demonstration and come back. I asked him how he
liked the con and he nodded and said he liked it. Then, when his mother and
brother showed up later, he started boasting. He gave point by point on the
talk and blow by blow on the demo turning them green with envy.
We went to the Huckster Room and Chris wanted to buy some books. The trouble
is that most of the kids know only Star Trek and Star Wars which he was
looking over. So I picked up a paperback of the Hobbit and one of Andre
Norton's Solar Queen adventures, and he loved them. He got the hardbound
illustrated Hobbit for his birthday along with the Jungle Book
and will get The Lord of the Rings for Christmas. They out grow
plastic toys but books they keep. So I agree with the "Good Doctor";
children need a sense of wonder. I'm also buying Baen Books reprints of the
Oz series. Again, all so many kids know is the movie. Got to bring these
kids up right!
Talking of books, one I really liked was Remnant Population, by
Elizabeth Moon. Being an oldie myself, I appreciated how she lived her own
life and especially the final paragraph. I always wanted to be the kind of
parent the kids have to keep track of, not the other way around.
My hand is getting tired so I'd better bring this to an end.
See you next year!
PS: My thanks to everyone who got me a copy of the Chicon Masquerade. I
didn't know I had it in me.
ECCENTRIC ORBIT #59
5. Find that idiot that came up with the "Christmas in July" commercial idea
for local yokel advertisers. He should be dressed in raw seal skins and
dropped at the South Pole on July 4th. I'm not a cruel monster. I'd give him
a 24-hour head start before turning the polar bears loose.
4. Programmers who "pre-empt" your favorite show for a 2-hour special of
"Luciano Pavarotti Sing the hits of Tiny Tim". And then re-schedules your
show (a 50-50 chance it is a season ending cliff-hanger) at 4 am on the day
daylight savings time kicks in, making it impossible to program your VCR!
3. Who's idea was it to cram the closing credits of programs and movies in to
one third or one fourth of the screen to the point of unreadability? I have
some relatives in California who are in show business. If my niece was in a
show, I would like to see her name on the screen. I already know what's
coming up next. I have TV guide,the local newspaper, and the Preview
Station!!!
2. Those program closing blurbs. "We'll be right back with more of the
Dingleberrys after this message". And when they come back, more of the
Dingleberrys? NO, Just the closing credits. Which you can't read because they
are crammed into the corner of the screen!!!
And, the number one thing that bugs me about TV:
1. Those screaming blurbs about the new shows. "The breakout comedy of the
year", "This show make ER as boring as watching paint dry", "The show you've
all been praying for". And all are canceled after two weeks! Hey, TV bigwigs,
it is the viewers that determine what shows are hits. Not those overpaid,
non-imaginative deadheads in Programming and Advertising.
And I didn't even mention commercials, or those "infomercials" that are
creeping into prime time.
AMAZON.COM's TEN BEST SCIENCE & NATURE TITLES OF 1998
In 1998 we read lots of terrific science and nature titles, and we had a hard
time picking 10 favorites. The books we chose were compelling, accessible,
and made us want to learn more. Here's our list of 10 of the best science and
nature books of the year.
[We've reported these books as they came out but these are definitely on our
reading list. DAH]
If you've ever thought about which famous scientists you'd invite to dinner,
you'll be fascinated by The Cambridge Quintet. Scientist and author
John L. Casti decided he'd contemplate what four brilliant thinkers --
Schrodinger, Wittgenstein, Haldane, and Turing -- would discuss given the
following topic: Can we build a machine that could duplicate human cognitive
process? This speculative evening, imaginarily moderated by C.P. Snow, makes
for an absorbing narrative.
Put wind in your sails with Jan DeBlieu's excellent book examining the
movement of air--such a simple thing, yet it can change our moods, fill our
sails, power our machines, and sometimes threaten our lives. DeBlieu's elegant
prose marks this as a classic in the making. Go fly a kite!
Mathematical folk hero Paul Erdos used to show up to meetings, clutching the
two small suitcases containing everything he owned, and announce to a group of
waiting mathematicians, My brain is open! Bruce Schechter's biography
of Erdos opens that famous brain for us, revealing "an Ali Baba's cave,
glittering with mathematical treasures."
Hal Hellman picks some fights in Great Feuds in Science -- and not
just squabbles but the knockdown, drag-out mental fisticuffs that have
colored the history of science. It's "Cope vs. Marsh", "Johanson vs. the
Leakeys", and "Lord Kelvin vs. Everybody" in the fight of the millennium!
Take a deep breath and hold it because you'll never want to inhale again after
reading Wayne Biddle's A Field Guide to the Invisible. Find out what's
in the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the pollutants we produce... if
you dare.
Science writer Douglas Starr takes a look at blood and examines the huge
worldwide trade in this liquid, which is both beautiful life essence and
carrier of feared disease. Read this book and understand why a barrel of
blood is worth far more than a barrel of oil.
The world's oceans are in trouble, says scientist and fisherman Carl Safina,
and our own survival is connected to the health of the seas. In Song for
the Blue Ocean, Safina examines our relationship with the sea and the
creatures living in it. He uncovers both greedy exploitation and hopefulness
in unlikely places.
"Limpets sit about, doing nothing much, most of the time," writes zoologist
Martin Wells in -Civilization and the Limpet.- This pithy collection looks at
some of nature's unappreciated beauties. Wells's essays are elegant and funny,
inviting readers to share his love of sea urchins, lugworms, and other denizens
of the briny deeps.
Life probably began in "something approximating the medieval idea of Hell," writes
paleontologist Richard Fortey in "Life." Investigate the connections between individual lives
and the lives of everything from bacteria to whales in this personal, poetic chronicle. The
Guardian says, "This is not a book for people who like science books. It is a book for people
who love books, and life."
In an anthology destined to become a classic of ecological literature, Robert Torrance gathers
nature writing from all times and locales, ranging from the creation stories of Native
American people to the lyrics of the Chinese T'ang dynasty poet Li Bai.
LAST RITES
The priest was preparing a man for his long day's journey into night. Whispering firmly, the
priest said, "Denounce the devil! Let him know how little you think of his evil!"
The dying man said nothing.
The priest repeated his order.
Still the dying man said nothing.
The priest asked, "Why do you refuse to denounce the devil and his evil?"
The dying man said, "Until I know where I'm heading, I don't think I ought to aggravate
anybody."
by Mike Cowper
by Lynnette R. F. Cowper
Mike Cowper, nominated by Chris Canary, seconded by Andrew Happli.
Vicki Merriman, nominated by Cheryl Andrews, and seconded by Andy Andrews.
Chris Canary, nominated by Susan Rati, and seconded by Andrew Happli.
Lynette Cowper, nominated by Brian Davidson, seconded by Randy Porter.
Linda Dunn, nominated by Tim (I'm drawing a blank on his last name), and seconded by Andy Andrews.
Andrew Happli, nominated by Kat Robertson, seconded by Chris Canary.
Andy Andrews, nominated by himself, seconded by Andrew Happli (Yes, Andrew seconded the nomination on an opponent).
Lynette Cowper, nominated by Walt Daniels, seconded by Chris Canary.
Kathie Thompson, nominated by Vicki Merriman, seconded by Andy Andrews.
- Kathie was not present to accept or decline the nomination.
Bob McGillem, nominated by Susan Rati, seconded Mike Cowper.
- Bob was not present to accept or decline the nomination.
Jeff Thompson, nominated by Randy Porter, seconded by Vicki Merriman.
- Jeff was not present to accept or decline the nomination.
Andy Andrews, nominated by Cheryl Andrews, seconded by Andrew Happli.
- (Please note, if Andy were to win the club office of Sergeant at Arms, for which he is currently nominated, he would need to withdraw from the election for Chairbeing.)
Vicki Merriman, nominated by herself, seconded by Brian Davidson.
- (Likewise, if Vicki were to win Vice-President, for which she is currently nominated, he would need to withdraw from the election for Chairbeing.)
Nominations will be open until just prior to the elections at the January meeting.
- Lynette R. F. Cowper
Jean Whitelaw
by Don Dailey
One of the more popular items on TV and radio these days is David Letterman's
Top Ten Lists. I have been watching a lot of TV recently and I have decided
I should make my own list of "things" that bug me about TV. But it will be a
short list, only five items:
by Editor, Therese Littleton
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Contributed by Pam Barker