• Ansible 464 -- March 2026

    From David Langford@drl@ansible.uk to rec.arts.sf.fandom,uk.people.sf-fans on Mon Mar 2 17:03:29 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.fandom


    ANSIBLE(R) 464
    MARCH 2026

    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 a good glass in the bishop's hostel in the devil's seat.

    [NET NOTE. See https://news.ansible.uk/a464.html for the nice HTML version; https://news.ansible.uk/pdf/a464.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 MAN OF THE CROWD ###

    RAY BRADBURY's _Fahrenheit 451_ was extensively quoted in an apparently AI-generated court document -- filed by a US attorney -- that provoked a
    New York federal judge to complain about its 'conspicuously florid prose'
    and terminate the case, mainly because of said lawyer's (or rather, it
    would seem, his AI's) repeated use of fake legal citations. (_American Bar Association Journal_, 9 February) [F770]

    GAY HALDEMAN is to receive this year's Kevin O'Donnell, Jr. Service to SFWA Award at the 2026 Nebula ceremony.

    GEORGE MELIES's long-lost sf film _Gugusse et l'Automate_ (1897) has come
    to light in the USA: a 45-second slapstick melodrama. Melies himself winds
    up a Pierrot automaton which promptly starts thumping him; retaliation with
    a comically huge sledgehammer follows. It's arguably the first ever robot film.... (Library of Congress blog, 26 February) [AJW]

    MICHAEL MOORCOCK was in the news with _Uncut_'s review of the 50th
    anniversary reissue of his 'apocalyptic space-boogie record' _New Worlds
    Fair_ by The Deep Fix (MM, Steve Gilmore, Graham Charnock), described as a 'singular, strange and charmingly gauche album'. (5 February) [F770]
    Another view is 'dolorous and kaleidoscopic'. (_Quietus_, 22 January) [JL]

    JOHN SHIRLEY's 'guide to wrecking your career in science fiction' is an uninhibited memoir of self-destructiveness and such bad career moves as (at
    a Clarion workshop) hiding in a tree and dropping on to the back of a
    highly unamused Harlan Ellison. (BoingBoing, 25 February) [PDF]

    MICHAEL SWANWICK on the working of karma: 'The guy who walked into my bank
    with my social security number and tried to talk them into giving him my account number (security tip: only bank where one of the officers grew up
    next door to you) has been sentenced to five years and six months, followed
    by three years' probation.' (Facebook, 17 February)


    ### CONNY WABBLE ###

    Until 19 Apr [] _THUNDERBIRDS_ AND _SPACE: 1999_ (exhibition), Museum of Brands, London. 10am (Sun 11am)-5pm. See museumofbrands.com.

    5-7 Mar [] FRIGHTFEST (film), Glasgow Film Theatre, Rose Street. Fri/Sat
    pass GBP88; for single tickets see frightfest.co.uk/filmsandevents/.

    7 Mar [] PICOCON 43, Imperial College, London. Tickets GBP10; Imperial
    students GBP8; ICSF members GBP6. See www.imperialcollegeunion.org/activities/a-to-z/science-fiction-and-fantasy
    for ticket sales.

    SOLD OUT 13-15 Mar [] MINAMICON (anime), Novotel Hotel, Southampton. GBP70
    reg; waiting list for registration at www.minamicon.org.uk.

    19-22 Mar [] CAMP SFW, Vauxhall Holiday Park, Great Yarmouth. GBP95 Fri-Sat
    or GBP130 Thur-Sat at www.scifiweekender.com.

    22 Mar [] SF, COMIC & TOY FAIR, Leigh Sports Village. 11am-4pm. Tickets
    GBP3, children GBP1. See www.mseevents.co.uk/.

    26 Mar - 8 Sep [] STAR TREK AT 60 (exhibition), Science Museum, London. See www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/star-trek-60.

    27 Mar - 23 Aug [] FAIRY TALES (exhibition), British Library, London.
    GBP13.50 peak; GBP11.50 off-peak. See events.bl.uk/exhibitions/fairy-tales.

    27 Mar [] HAUNTED WOODS AND GRIMM TALES with Philip Pullman and Sam Leith, opening the above BL exhibition. 7-8:30pm. GBP15; online GBP5. See events.bl.uk/events/haunted-woods-and-grimm-tales.

    27-28 Mar [] TFNATION (_Transformers_), Pendulum Hotel, Manchester. Adults GBP15 Fri, GBP40 Sat; under-18s GBP10 and GBP25; accompanied under-16s (up
    to 3 per adult) free. See tfnation.com/TFN-Manchester-2026.

    29 Mar [] CHORLEY COMIC CON, Town Hall, Chorley PR7 1DP. 11am-5pm. See www.mseevents.co.uk/.

    3-6 Apr [] IRIDESCENCE (Eastercon), Birmingham NEC Hilton. GBP90 reg; GBP50 concessions; under-18s GBP20; under-7s free; GBP40 supporting or virtual.
    See eastercon2026.org.

    13-15 May [] GIFCON (University of Glasgow conference), 'The Technologies
    of the Fantastic', online. See tinyurl.com/yfdbvdwj.

    19 May [] TOLKIEN LECTURE by Brandon Sanderson, Oxford Town Hall, Oxford.
    6pm. See tolkienlecture.org.

    11 Jul [] FRANCES HARDINGE symposium, King's College, London _(NB venue
    change; now a one-day event)_. 9:30am-5pm. Tickets GBP50 or GBP35
    concessions, with lunch; GBP25 without lunch. See tinyurl.com/5aabu9d2.

    16-17 Jul [] CURRENT RESEARCH IN SPECULATIVE FICTION (conference),
    University of Liverpool. See crsfhome.home.blog.

    1 Aug [] NORTHERN HORIZON (_Blake's 7_), Copthorne Hotel, Newcastle upon
    Tyne. 10am-4pm. GBP25; 'VIP' GBP80. See nufcmatters.co.uk/shop/.

    1 Aug [] REBEL BASE NORTH EAST (_Star Wars_), Newcastle upon Tyne.
    10am-4pm. GBP20; 'VIP' GBP75. _Same hotel and website as the above._

    5 Sep [] WHOOVERVILLE 17 (_Doctor Who_), QUAD Centre, Derby. From 10am.
    Tickets GBP60 ; concessions GBP50; accompanied under-13s GBP20. Guests and tickets at www.derbyquad.co.uk/events/whooverville17/.

    19 Sep [] HI VIS COMIC CON, Kings Heath, Birmingham. 10am-9pm. Tickets GBP11.55. See highviscomic-con.com.

    8-11 Oct [] GRIMMFEST (film), Odeon Great Northern, Manchester. Weekend
    pass (not Thursday) GBP84.99; other options at grimmfest.com.

    24-25 Oct [] BRISTOLCON, Hilton DoubleTree Hotel, Bristol. Online
    registration was to open on 1 March but remains closed for full
    memberships; supporting membership available at GBP20. See
    www.bristolcon.org,

    28 Nov [] DRAGONMEET (gaming), London Excel. 9am-10pm. Ticket sales awaited
    at www.dragonmeet.co.uk.

    29-31 Jan 2027 [] CONTABILE 37 (filk), Wensum Valley Hotel, Norwich. GBP45
    reg; GBP35 concessions; under-18s GBP1 per year of age when the convention starts. See www.contabile.org.uk/c37/. The same hotel has already been
    booked for Contabile 38, 28-30 January 2028.

    5-8 Feb 2027 [] SCOTIACON (furry), Crowne Plaza Hotel, Glasgow. Kaiju
    theme. Registration awaited at www.scotiacon.org.uk.

    RUMBLINGS. _Worldcon 2028:_ the bid for Nuremberg in Germany has a website
    at nuremberg2028.de and has chosen 13-17 July as its proposed dates. The ConKigali bid for Rwanda has been withdrawn owing to 'ongoing immigration changes in the USA and around the world' which had made in-person
    campaigning virtually impossible. The remaining bid for Brisbane in
    Australia (27-31 July) continues: see brisbane28.org.


    ### INFINITELY IMPROBABLE ###

    AS OTHERS SEARCH FOR US. Douglas Adams would doubtless mutter about the
    Sirius Cybernetics Corporation if he could see this Bing search engine
    report: 'The Amalgamated Union of Sages, Philosophers, Luminaries and Other Thinking Persons (AUPSLOTP) is a fictional organization in Arthur C.
    Clarke's "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."' [D]

    AWARDS. _BAFTAs:_ _Zootropolis 2_ won as animated film.
    _Jack Gaughan_ (new artist): Abigail Larson.
    _Robert A. Heinlein_ (writing inspirational for space exploration):
    Andy Weir.
    _Skylark:_ Keith R.A. DeCandido.

    R.I.P. _Danny Boyd_ (1956-2026), US film-maker who directed _Chillers_
    (1988) and _Strangest Dreams: Invasion of the Space Preachers_ (1990), and comics writer who with William Bitner wrote _Death Falcon Zero vs the
    Zombie Slug Lords_ (2008), died in February aged 69. [SG]
    _Bobby J. Brown_, US actor best known for _The Wire_ whose genre film
    was _From Within_ (2008), died on 26 February.
    _Vernon Brown_, long-time UK fan who was a founding member and past
    chair of the Birmingham SF Group, edited its newsletter, chaired the first Novacon in 1971 and was fan GoH at Novacon 38, died on 4 or 5 February.
    [CG] He was one of only four fans to have attended every Novacon. [CM]
    _Robert Carradine_ (1954-2026), US actor in _Wavelength_ (1983),
    _Escape from L.A._ (1996), _Ghosts of Mars_ (2001), _Sharktopus vs
    Pteracuda_ (2014) and others, died on 23 February aged 71. He was also the producer of _Lycanthrope_ (1999). [SF2C]
    _Jeffrey A. Carver_ (1949-2026), US author of many complex space
    operas beginning with _Seas of Ernathe_ (1976), which opened his popular
    'Star Rigger' series, died on 6 February aged 76. [PDF]
    _Bud Cort_ (1948-2026), US actor in _Brewster McCloud_ (1970),
    _Electric Dreams_ (1984), _Brain Dead_ (1990), _Theodore Rex_ (1995),
    _Dogma_ (1999), _The Little Prince_ (2015) and others, died on 11 February
    aged 77. [LP]
    _Eric Dane_ (1972-2026), US actor in _Feast_ (2005), _Painkiller Jane_ (2005), _X-Men: The Last Stand_ (2006), _The Last Ship_ (starring in 56 episodes 2014-2018) and others, died on 19 February aged 53. [SJ]
    _Shelly Desai_ (1935-2026), Indian-born US actor in _Q: The Winged Serpent_ (1982), _Project X_ (1987), _Demon Cop_ (1990), _Barb Wire_
    (1996), _Escape from L.A._ (1996) and others, died on 10 February aged 90.
    [SJ]
    _Robert Duvall_ (1931-2026), Oscar-winning US actor in _THX-1138_
    (title role, 1971), _The Handmaid's Tale_ (1990), _Phenomenon_ (1996),
    _Deep Impact_ (1998), _The 6th Day_ (2000) and genre tv series, died on 16 February aged 95. [LP/MR]
    _Felix Eldemurov_ (1957-2026), Russian occultist, cartomancer and
    author of the Tarot-based fantasy _Ptichka na tonkoi vetke_ (_A Bird on A
    Thin Branch_, 2015), died on 9 February. [AM]
    _Rob Grant_ (1955-2026), famed co-creator and writer of _Red Dwarf_
    with Doug Naylor, who besides _Dwarf_ spinoffs (some jointly as Grant
    Naylor) and solo tv series (_Dark Ages_, _The Strangerers_) published standalone sf novels beginning with _Colony_ (2000), died on 25 February
    aged 70. [AR]
    _Joseph (Joe) Green_ (1931-2026), US author active since 1962, whose
    early books included _The Loafers of Refuge_ (1965), _Gold the Man_ (1971
    vt _The Mind Behind the Eye_) and _Conscience Interplanetary_ (1972), and
    whose latest was a 2021 collection, died on 20 February aged 95. [BP]
    _Alun Harries_ (1956-2026), Welsh-born London fan active since the
    1978 Novacon, a founder member of Frank's APA in 1983, died in February
    aged 69. [SB] Another old pal gone.
    _Natalya Klimova_ (1938-2026), Russian actress in _Giperboloid
    inzhenera Garina_ (_The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin_, 1965) and the
    Andersen adaptation _Snezhnaya koroleva_ (_The Snow Queen_, 1967) died on
    25 February aged 87. [AM]
    _Nikolay Komyagin_ (1987-2026), Russian rock singer and actor in the historical fantasy series _Karamora_ (2022), died on 20 February aged 39.
    [AM]
    _Bob Layzell_ (1940-2026), UK artist whose debut was in _Science
    Fiction Monthly_ (1974) and who painted many effective hard-sf book covers
    for Corgi, Futura/Orbit, NEL, Pan, Panther/Granada, Sphere and others, died
    on 29 January aged 85. [PS-P]
    _Sondra Lee_ (1928-2026), US actress in the Broadway _Peter Pan_
    (1954), died on 23 February aged 97. [AIP]
    _Dmitry Mikhailov_ (1958-2026), Yakut actor in the horror films
    _Setteekh sir_ (_Cursed Ground_, 1996) and _Ichchi_ (_Spirit of Itchi_,
    2020) died on 22 February aged 67. [AM]
    _Tom Noonan_ (1951-2026), US actor in _Wolfen_ (1981), _The Monster
    Squad_ (1987), _Last Action Hero_ (1993), _Robocop 2_ (1999), _12 Monkeys_ (2015-2018 tv) and others, died on 14 February aged 74. [SJ]
    _Anna Ranalli_ (1942-2026), Italian actress who played Andromeda in _Perseus Against the Monsters_ (1963), died on 14 February aged 84. [SJ]
    _Dan Simmons_ (1948-2026), noted US author whose novel debut was _Song
    of Kali_ (1985), a World Fantasy Award winner, and whose best known sf is
    the grand-space-opera 'Hyperion Cantos' sequence opening with the Hugo
    winner _Hyperion_ (1989), died on 21 February aged 77. [LP] Other awards include Stokers for his vampire novel _Carrion Comfort_ (1989) and the collection _Prayers to Broken Stones_ (1991), International Horror Guild
    for _The Terror_ (2007) -- which became a tv series -- and World Horror Convention Grand Master for life achievement in 2013.
    _Hudson Talbott_ (1949-2026), US children's author and illustrator
    whose _We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story_ (1987) became a 1993 animated film,
    and whose _Into the Woods_ (1988) adapted the Sondheim musical for young readers, died on 22 January aged 76. [AIP]
    _James Van Der Beek_ (1977-2026), US actor in _The Plague_ (2006),
    _Eye of the Beast_ (2007), _Mrs. Miracle_ (2009) and _Vampirina_ (69
    episodes 2017-2021), died on 11 February aged 48. [SG]
    _Richard Van der Voort_, UK sf bookseller who with his wife Marion
    (died 2007) traded as At the Sign of the Dragon -- for many years in East Sheen, from 2002 in Wigtown -- and was a long-time stalwart of the UK convention circuit and dealers' rooms, died over the Christmas period last year. [O]
    _Lesley Walker_ (1945-2025), UK film editor for _Mary Reilly_ (1996),
    _The Brothers Grimm_ (2005), _Tideland_ (2005) and others, died on 2
    December aged 80. [AIP]
    _Tatjana Wood_, German-born US comics artist/colourist (married to
    Wally Wood 1950-1966) for EC and then DC as DC's main cover colourist along with much interior work, died on 27 February aged 99. [SJ]

    INTERESTING TIMES. On 10 February the BSFA Awards' online voting form
    (which generates the final shortlist) was spammed in a single hour with
    10,000 bot-generated votes, with a significant though unrevealed pattern of preferences. All were deleted. (BSFA Discord, 10 February)

    AWARDS IN PROGRESS. _Bram Stoker_ novel finalists: _Witchcraft for Wayward Girls_ by Grady Hendrix, _King Sorrow_ by Joe Hill, _The Buffalo Hunter
    Hunter_ by Stephen Graham Jones, _The Bewitching_ by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, _Girl in the Creek_ by Wendy N. Wagner. For all categories see tinyurl.com/bsfinal2026.
    _BSFA_ novel finalists: _The Salt Oracle_ by Lorraine Wilson, _Edge of Oblivion_ by Kirk Weddell, _When There Are Wolves Again_ by E.J. Swift, _Project Hanuman_ by Stewart Hotston, _A Granite Silence_ by Nina Allan.
    Other categories at bsfa.co.uk/bsfa-awards-shortlist.
    _Compton Crook_ (debut sf/f/h novel) finalists: _All the Water in the World_ by Eiren Caffall, _The Book of Lost Hours_ by Hayley Gelfuso, _The
    Raven Scholar_ by Antonia Hodgson, _Sleeping Worlds Have No Memory_ by
    Yaroslav Barsukov, _A Song of Legends Lost_ by M. H. Ayinde, _Splinter
    Effect_ by Andrew Ludington.
    _ESFS Awards_ nominations opened in February and close on 3 April. See www.esfs.info/2026/02/06/nominations-for-the-2026-esfs-awards/.
    _Hugo Nominations_ opened on 11 February and will close on 28 March.
    See www.lacon.org/hugos/.

    RANDOM FANDOM: CORFLU 43. A cartoon homage to _Peanuts_ proved unwise: 'Regrettably we have no t-shirts to offer. Apparently our logo is too close
    to something trademarked by a famous cartoonist's estate for Cafe Press to allow it.' (_Progress Report_ 4, 16 February)
    Jerry Kaufman's name emerged from the hat as GoH.
    _FAAn Awards:_ GENZINE _Idea_ ed. Geri Sullivan. PERZINE _This Here
    ..._ ed. Nic Farey. SPECIAL _Dancing to Architecture_ ed. Doug Bell.
    FANWRITER Nic Farey. FANARTIST Brad W. Foster. LETTERHACK Leigh Edmonds.
    COVER Jeanne Gomoll for _Idea_ 15. LIFE ACHIEVEMENT Bill Burns.
    _FWA Past President:_ Jeanne Gomoll.
    The 2027 Corflu will be in Vancouver, BC, Canada, 26-28 February
    (dates TBC): see corflu.org.
    _Overheard at the Con:_ 'But if I had suction cups coming out of my armpits, that would be cool.' (Corflu Discord, 1 March)

    THE DEAD PAST. _20 Years Ago_, '"_The Bookseller_ gave its Diagram Prize
    for Oddest Book Title of the Year to a self-help book about being haunted, entitled _People Who Don't Know They're Dead: How They Attach Themselves to Unsuspecting Bystanders and What to Do About It_." I think I've met a
    number of these people at sf conventions.' Also _The Week_ (5 March)
    declared a 'Good Week For Science-fiction fans, after a mysterious black
    goo bubbled up between cracks in the streets of downtown Los Angeles,
    forcing the evacuation of hundreds of residents.' (_Ansible_ 224, March
    2006)
    _10 Years Ago_, a classic As Others See Us: '"Though there are extraterrestrials, _We Are the Ants_ by Shaun David Hutchinson isn't really
    a science fiction novel." (_Shelf Awareness_) Like so much non-sf, it
    "blends existential despair with exploding planets."' (_Ansible_ 344, March 2016)

    COURT CIRCULAR. Various sf writers represented by The Ethan Ellenberg
    Literary Agency are suing the Topps Company, a publisher which they claim
    'has intentionally refused to pay its Authors royalties or provide
    accountings required under the publisher's contracts with the Authors. The Topps Company, Inc. has instead strong-armed the Authors and insisted that
    they give up their rights to future royalties so that Topps can change its business model.' (_Locus_, 16 February) Naughty, naughty.

    FANFUNDERY. _TransAtlantic Fan Fund:_ voting in the 2026 race from North America to the Berlin Eurocon (MetropolCon, 2-5 July) opened on 9 February
    and will close on 7 April. The candidates are Lisa Hertel and Katrina 'Kat' Templeton. See taff.org.uk for the ballot with their platforms and the
    online voting form.
    _European Fan Fund:_ a reminder that nominations for the 2026 trip to MetropolCon (as above) close on 15 March. See effund.github.io.
    _GUFF:_ the southbound race from Europe to Swancon (Perth, WA, 29 May
    - 1 June) began on 21 February with two candidates: Farah Mendlesohn and
    Misha Sumra. _Note that voting closes on 12 March!_ See
    taff.org.uk/guff.html for links to the ballot and online voting form.
    _DUFF:_ Erin Underwood, the 2020 US southbound winner who was then
    unable to travel, will be the DUFF delegate at Swancon as above.

    RANDOM FANDOM II. _British Fantasy Society_ members were bemused to receive _Poetry London_ (Spring 2026) rather than the _BFS Journal_, after the
    printer used the wrong address labels. Replacements were sent. (Facebook,
    12 February)
    _Bruce Gillespie_'s Facebook account was cancelled in February for 'breaching Community Standards' by 'being an ADVERTISER' -- that is,
    innocently answering his 120-odd birthday greetings messages. [RD]
    _Alan Stewart_, long-time hero distributor of _Ansible_ Down Under via ANZAPA, has left that APA. If anyone wants to continue the tradition, PDF _Ansible_s appear on publication day at news.ansible.uk/pdf.

    THOG'S MASTERCLASS. _Mediaeval Times, or How Many Cat Footsteps in an Apple Drop?_ '... this process took as long as it takes for a raindrop to fall
    from your hair to your nose, or for a cat to hear a footstep.' 'In the time
    it takes for a good cook to peel an onion his coat and hat were so
    completely saturated that he could feel the water trickling down his skin.' '... he was washed, shaved, tonsured, respectably dressed and outside the abbot's lodgings in less time than it'd take to milk a cow.' '... a good sixth-year should be able to complete it and return to rest, sword flicked
    free of blood and back in the scabbard, in the time it takes for an apple
    to drop from a tree.' (K.J. Parker, _Shadow_, 2001) [BA]
    _How Ice Ages Begin._ 'A huge moving sheet that extended for many
    miles over land and sea had suddenly popped up overnight and crushed the
    town, leaving no survivors to tell the tale.' _So much for Alaska. Later in
    New York:_ 'Into the residential part of the city it tore -- with the roar
    of a thousand Niagaras, the fury of a thousand miles, and before its might man's handicraft gave way and was crushed and plowed under by ice. [...]
    New York had become one with Nineveh and the hoariest of pasts in fifteen minutes.' ('Marius', _The Sixth Glacier_, January 1929 _Amazing_)


    ### GEEKS' CORNER ###

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    British Isles -- https://news.ansible.uk
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    Overseas -- https://news.ansible.uk/conlisti.html [no longer updated]


    ### ENDNOTES ###

    PAYPAL TIP JAR THINGY. Donate to support _Ansible_, cover website costs and keep the editor happy! Or just buy his books.
    https://ansible.uk/paypal.html
    https://ae.ansible.uk/
    https://ansible.uk/books/index.html

    GROUP THEORY.
    19 March 2026, 6pm to late: London Zoom meeting, third Thursday of
    each month. 'Please share this with people who you know typically come to
    the Bishop's Finger, but aren't on Facebook.' https://bohemiancoast.medium.com/first-thursday-london-sf-fan-virtual-drinks-5232021e961f

    R.I.P. II: LATE REPORT. _Hannu Blommila_ (1957-2025), Finnish fan, convention-goer, author and translator who wrote many enthusiastic and knowledgable articles and reviews for the semiprozine _Tahtivaeltaja_ --
    most actively from 1996 to 2011 -- died on 13 October 2025 aged 68. [TJ]

    C.O.A. _Michael J. Lowrey and C. Kay Hinchliffe_, P.O. Box 340305,
    Milwaukee, WI 53234, USA.

    SOME LINKS from the _Ansible_ home page.
    _Ansible_ 463 supplement: Charles Platt on James Sallis https://news.ansible.uk/a463supp.html
    Bram Stoker Awards final ballot http://bramstokerawards.horror.org/front-page/horror-writers-association-releases-the-2025-bram-stoker-awards-final-ballot/
    BSFA Awards shortlists
    https://bsfa.co.uk/bsfa-awards-shortlist

    THOG'S GOLDEN OLDIES from _Ansible_ 224, March 2006. _Dept of Cosmic
    Ennui._ 'A cyclone stood still compared to the _White Bird_. The flight of bullets, the flight of meteors, the flight of light, were snails in
    relation to him. He annihilated the far reaches of the universe at hundreds
    and thousands of light-years per second. A flash in infinity, a silvery
    bolt through the black, a ghost that was gone more quickly than the
    messengers of death, the _White Bird_ bored the known universe ...' (Donald Wandrei, 'Colossus', 1934)
    []_ Brighter Than You Think._ '... it appeared the night sky would be
    cloudless and the land exposed to the revealing light of the new moon ...' (Terry Brooks, _The Sword of Shannara_, 1977)
    _Visionary Dept._ 'Closing his eyes, he stopped in front of the row of sloping narrow windows in the ceiling and gazed at the cold sterile beauty
    of the stars.' (David Mack, _A Time to Kill_, 2004)
    _Dept of Moderate Ruthlessness._ '"If you make a sound, I will kill
    you where you stand." / "What do you mean?" he asked in amazement. /
    "Exactly what I say."' (Captain S.P. Meek, 'Awlo of Ulm', 1931)
    _Neat Tricks._ 'She shrugged with her buttocks.' (Ron Goulart, _The Enormous Hourglass_, 1976)


    _Ansible_(R) 464 (C) David Langford, 2026. Thanks to Brian Ameringen,
    Sandra Bond, Claire Brialey, Corflu 43, Robert Day, Dop, Paul Di Filippo,
    _File 770_, Carol Goodwin, Steve Green, Toni Jerrman, Steve Jones, Jim
    Linwood, Andrey Meshavkin, Chris Morgan, Omega, Bill Plott, Adam Roberts,
    Phil Stephenson-Payne, Lawrence Person, Andrew I. Porter, Marcus Rowland,
    _SF2 Concatenation_, A.J. Wright, and as always our Hero Distributors:
    Durdles Books (Brum Group) and SCIS/Prophecy. A final thank-you to retired
    hero Alan Stewart.

    2 March 2026
    --
    David Langford | http://ansible.uk/ | http://news.ansible.uk/
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Gary McGath@garym@mcgath.com to rec.arts.sf.fandom,uk.people.sf-fans on Tue Mar 3 06:06:48 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.fandom

    On 3/2/26 12:03 PM, David Langford wrote:
    GEORGE MELIES's long-lost sf film_Gugusse et l'Automate_ (1897) has come
    to light in the USA: a 45-second slapstick melodrama. Melies himself winds
    up a Pierrot automaton which promptly starts thumping him; retaliation with
    a comically huge sledgehammer follows. It's arguably the first ever robot film.... (Library of Congress blog, 26 February) [AJW]

    Here's a link for the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8jGTcmFY8A
    --
    Gary McGath http://www.mcgath.com
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2