November 1999
Greetings From the Penultimate Year of the 20th Century.
As Thanksgiving approaches and thoughts of mutant alien cloned
turkeys and intelligent dressing whet the appetites of science
fiction fen, we find ourselves thankful for the two latest additions
to our small but growing community, Jennifer Boudreaux from
Webster, Texas and Nichele Briscoe from Port Arthur, Texas.
Welcome aboard, both of you, and thanks for signing up. Fasten
your seatbelt and bring your browser window to an upright and
locked position.
And we are off ....
As always, how far off you have to determine for yourself.
Bradbury Recovering
In a very pleasant change from our usual reports of SF disasters,
we are pleased to report that Ray Bradbury, who suffered a "mild
stroke" November 6, seems to be on his way to a full recovery.
See
http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/art-main.html?1999-11/11/21.29.books
Judith Ward Recovering
Texas Fandom's beloved, but feisty, "Official Rude Person" let us know
that she was going back to the hospital in order to "get more blood
running to my head". She was last in the hospital getting the blood
flow straightened out on the other side back last January. She entered
the hospital on November 9 for a transplant from the right ventral
artery to the carotid artery.
She says "If they keep this up I will have a full head of hard and get
really smart {like I was long ago and far away}: before all this mess
started."
Last time I talked to her (at ArmadilloCon), there was no hint that
she wasn't firing on all nine cylinders, and if unblocked flow of
blood produces that much improvement, we may all be in trouble! :-)
We were worried for awhile, since I got the email for her daughter
wrong and couldn't get in touch with them. But the news is very
good!
She is home now recovering from the successful surgery, though
still suffering headaches, and of course recovering from surgery is
never fun.
Get well soon, Judith.
Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine Survives
Despite Bradley's recent death, her magazine is continuing, at least
for the present, under Ann Sharp, a trustee for the trust which owns
the magazine, and editor of the Darkover Newsletter for over ten
years, and MZBs ninth cousin. Ann wrote a series of Articles on
writing for MZB's Fantasy Magazine.
Marion Zimmer Bradley's FANTASY Magazine - http://www.mzbfm.com/
Ann Sharp - http://www.mzbfm.com/ann.htm
Fannish Fatwa Declared
R A Salvatore is not the kind of person you would expect to be
receiving death threats. And yet he is. His crime? Could it be
that he has roused religious fundamentalists with his many
Dungeons and Dragon books featuring the magic using Drow,
dark elves?
No.
His death threats come rather from fanatical fans. And not just
any fans, but from Star Wars Fans.
But he is starting off Del Rey's five-year New Jedi Order story arc!
(See http://www.randomhouse.com/delrey/starwars/njo/ )
What could have caused such a violent reaction on the part of the
people who have funded the Lucas Empire?
Not to keep you in suspense, he has killed off a major beloved
Star Wars character in his first Star Wars novel, Vector Prime.
(On the theory that you may yet read the book and you live in
a vacuum, we won't spoil the suspense by saying which character
he quashed.)
Perhaps, treated with sensitivity, he could have gotten away with it,
but this comes in a book where he treats rather lightly the existing
emotional relationships between the established characters.
One reader, for example, complains that Luke touches his "beloved"
wife Mara exactly once in the whole novel. And of course Timothy
Zahn is a hard act to follow, in the best of times.
On the positive side, Salvatore establishes a new race, the Yuuzhan
Vong, a race with an interesting biotechnology that really seems
more than a match for the Jedi.
The points of view expressed by the pro- and anti-Salvatore
factions at Amazon.com and other places on the Internet are
fascinating, but we should warn you before you follow the link
that they contain MAJOR SPOILERS.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=3D0345428447/fantasicfuturesbA
The death of (censored) is confidently pronounced the doing of
George Lucas by the people at SF CrowsNest
- http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/
(Note from Margaret - the article in the Houston Chronicle Zest
said that Salvatore had asked for and received Lucas' permission
for the, shall we say, dirty deed.) but it's hard to know how
seriously to take this when their story at
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/sfnews/newsg1199.htm says
"She was heard complaining to the Washington Post that she has
had an avalanche of threatening hate mail, some actually
threatening to do to her what she did to ..." and otherwise
identifying Salvatore as "she" and "her".
Amazon.com, by contrast, informs us that Salvatore lives in
Massachusetts with his wife, Diane, and their three children.
In any case, Lucas has now promised the author the loan of his
professional bodyguard team for as long as the "Fan Fatwa"
against Salvatore lasts.
Science Fiction Writers On the Web
In spite of my previous complaint about SF CrowsNest's accuracy,
I am indebted to them for pointing out the existence of James Gifford's
Robert A. Heinlein Home Page -
http://www.nitrosyncretic.com/rah/index.htm .
Particularly impressive are the Online Archives
http://www.nitrosyncretic.com/rah/archives.htm which include such
diverse offerings as excerpts from the forthcoming book, Robert
A. Heinlein: A Reader's Companion, to wav files of Heinlein
speaking, to a guide to Martian and Lunar craters named for
Heinlein and his characters.
The presence of an enormous FAQ and the comprehensive
(published and unpublished) Opus List (aka bibliography) go
without saying.
A similar labor of fannish love can be found at a site produced by
Daniel Reitz, The Compleat Piers Anthony
- http://www.piers-anthony.com/ .
Last we checked, the site used frames with Microsoft-only
extensions that broke Netscape Browsers.
If you have trouble go to the table of Contents at
http://www.piers-anthony.com/toc.html and if all else fails, load it
with images off. Daniel tells us that he is working on making the
whole site frameless, so if you just can't make it work, then give
him about a month and try again.
----
(HOLD THE PRESSES!! Margaret here. I had had major trouble
seeing Daniel's site with my Netscape computer (because he had
designed it using Explorer) but Daniel ALREADY has the bugs
out.
I just now ducked over to my Netscape, typed in the URL, and
the site loaded * with frames- promptly and correctly. This site is
ready now for prime time, folks! Now, back to Clif's commentary.)
----
Giving the URL for the table of contents as I do above is in direct
conflict with Daniel's explicit restrictions on providing links to any
page of his site except the top level.
-----
Uh, Clif, the "do not link to any interior page"-type statement is no
longer on the site (as of just now). So, again, this is no longer an
issue. It's a moot point. - Margaret
----
Unfortunately this triggered one of my (Clif's) hot buttons and
Daniel was the victim of one of my mini-rants (rantlets?) on the
evils of letting the lawyers muck up the Internet.
(Deep linking is currently a controversial topic with lawsuits in the
wings).
He reacted with remarkably good grace, and truth to tell, I think
he is more concerned with people making unfair use of his images.
Science Fiction on TV
Farscape Continues....
For those of you, like me (Margaret), who came in late, it hasn't
been too bad seeing so many repeats on Farscape.
The first episode I watched was broadcast on August 27, 1999.
As the series premiered March 19 on the Science Fiction
Channel, I had quite a bit of catching up to do.
Farscape has aired two new episodes since August 27 but I've
just now caught up (with the Nov. 12 episode). I have now seen
all of the episodes save the premiere itself.
The bad news is that we get one more repeat Nov. 19 and then
nothing until Friday January 7, 2000. (Farscape is pre-empted
the last week of November and all of December.)
A new episode will air every Friday in January, bringing the first
season to a close at the end of January (most probably followed
by six weeks or so of repeats again).
The good news is that the Science Fiction Channel has not
cancelled Farscape.
http://www.scifi.com/farscape/
But Hercules Does Not
The same cannot be said for Hercules.
Hercules' Legendary Journeys have come to an end.
The magic number of 100 episodes had been surpassed. The
producers, Studios USA, decided that they had enough to assure
syndication and didn't want to make any more.
After all, Hercules had "six years, 100-plus episodes, an animated
feature, several television movies, two spin-offs, and a cottage
industry of conventions, trinkets and fan clubs" (according to Ian
Spelling, "Inside Trek" New York Times Special Features column).
So it ended in the seventh season, in the eighth episode "Full
Circle". Look for Kevin Sorbo in the new series Andromeda set to
premiere Fall 2000!
http://www.mca.com/tv/hercules/
Neither Does Sliders
Sliders, like Farscape, will be pre-empted 11/26/99 and all during
December. After that, four new episodes remain to be shown,
including the series finale. (The air dates of the final four episodes
have not yet been announced by the Science Fiction Channel.)
First Wave, another Friday "Sci-Fi Prime" show, also is pre-empted
the last Friday in November and all of December, presumably to
return in January.
Star Trek Special to Air Wednesday, Dec. 1, 1999
>From the UPN Press Release:
"Star Trek," the most successful television and film series in
entertainment history, will be celebrated in the definitive
retrospective, a distinctive, fast-paced special, "Ultimate Trek:
Star Trek's Greatest Moments," airing WEDNESDAY,
DECEMBER 1 (7:00-8:00 p.m., Central Standard Time)
on UPN. Jason Alexander, "Seinfeld" star and "Star Trek"
aficionado, will host.
In "Ultimate Trek: Star Trek's Greatest Moments," viewers will
be treated to a remarkable assortment of "Star Trek" moments -
both lighthearted and thought-provoking -- from the four "Star
Trek" series, scenes that reflect the far-reaching effect "Star
Trek" has had on popular culture.
Among the segments to be presented will be: "Most Beautiful
Guest Stars," "Sexiest Moments," "Most Memorable Villains,"
"Best Dialogue and One Liners," "Those Last Minute Heroics"
and a touching salute to the late DeForest Kelley, "Our Man
Bones."
"Ultimate Trek: Star Trek's Greatest Moments" will reach out
to the phenomenal "Star Trek" fan base with an Internet poll
via http://www.startrek.com where fans can choose the "Best
Episode of All Time." The winning episode will be announced
at the conclusion of the special.
Star Trek Rumors
The Internet is a hotbed of rumors concerning the replacement
show in the Star Trek pantheon.
The following rumors are selected, not from any particular degree
of believability, but strictly on the basis of interest.
One consistent rumor is that the next Star Trek Captain will be
non-human, though of course the details as to the race vary widely.
The most extreme form of this rumor has the alien captain played
by the next generation of computer graphics, though this seems
unlikely, strictly for budgetary reasons.
One of the most interesting rumors on the next ship is a huge ship
designed to serve for the emergency evacuation of an entire planet
(say from incoming Borg) and afterwards serve as a semi-permanent
home for the population, along the lines of a generation ship.
A party of Star Fleet Officers enter the shuttle which lifts rapidly
off planet.
The shuttle meets and enters the shuttle bay of a starship.
The Starship turns and begins to flash past the planets of the solar
system.
As the system is left behind and the stars begin to flash past, the
starship is joined by first one companion and then another.
As we pull back, the starship is shown to be just one of a small
swarm of scout starships dwarfed by a truly huge ship. (Anyone
remember Battlestar Galactica? Sorry, couldn't resist - Margaret)
The officers beam from the scoutship to the new ship.
Now the swarm of starships began to jump to warp, those
furthermost ahead of the large ship first.
After the last of the scouts disappears there is a slight delay until
it is confirmed they are all clear. Now the long bank of matter-anti-
matter reactors come online and leap to life and the new ship, moving
slowly at first, nacelles straining, but then with rapidly increasing
speed leaps forward and disappears in a blinding flash of light in yet
another new voyage of the Starship Enterprise.
Another set of rumors has the new show happening at the opposite
end of the Federation where humans are more rare and the Federation
runs into a new somewhat xenophobic race which has gone from
barbarism to star travel technology slightly superior to the Federation
in a single generation, due to a minority of individuals with a new
genius mutation, and without the time to develop the veneer of
civilization.
According to one rumor, the series would start off with a contact
and "Q" show, with both groups receiving the benefits(???) of
Q's attention as he finds himself absolutely fascinated by both groups.
Xena Lives On, As Lucy Lawless Gives Birth
(This info courtesy The Magrathea/SFTV Page
http://homes.acmecity.com/tv/scifi/4/sftv/ )
Lucy "Xena" Lawless gave birth to a baby boy, Julius Robert Bay
Tapert, on Saturday, Oct 16th. As those of you who saw this
past week's episode, they will not be hiding her pregnancy on Xena.
For more information, see our listing at:
http://www.clever.net/cam/sftv.html
Asimov's & Analog Get Small
Ready to read your sf magazines on a computer you can hold in
your hand? Dell Magazines and Peanutpress.com certainly hope
so.
Here's a quote from Peanutpress.com:
"We're thrilled to be the first to offer popular contemporary
fiction and nonfiction books straight from publisher frontlists
along with out-of-print works directly from popular contemporary
authors for reading on handheld computers. This is a growing and
dynamic bookstore. We will be adding new titles weekly as they
become available."
Check it out at:
http://www.peanutpress.com/home.cgi?07141667-40058-45149
Prefer to Read Your New SF Novels On The Web?
Did you ever envy those lucky bookstore employees that get to
read advance review copies that no one else can get their hands on?
Did you ever find yourself frustrated by reading teaser chapters of
novels that weren't coming out for months or more??
Have you ever though you would die if you had to wait the full time
for the next installment of your favorite series???
Has Baen Books got a deal for you!?!
Baen is going one better than the industry standard of just posting the
first chapters of books to the Web. Baen is bringing sf magazines'
tradition of serializing new sf to the Web.
With Baen Webscriptions, (see FAQ):
http://www.baen.com/WS_FAQ.htm
Three months before the print publication date, Baen will post the
first quarter of four new novels. Two months before, the second
quarter is added. One month before, the third quarter becomes
available.
NOTE: "The initial segments of the books will typically be
un-proofed copy similar to galley copies....The final segment
release will refresh the entire book with the final proofed copy
as sent to the publisher." [So what you are seeing is literally the
book in process. It's like looking over the publisher's
shoulder while Baen gets the book ready for printing.]
Of course, this is for subscribers only but Baen only wants $10
per month for this privilege!
For more information (after you've read the FAQ), sign up at:
http://www.baen.com/FormsLogin.asp?/WebScription/
Speaking of forthcoming SF.....
Forthcoming SF&Fantasy Books
Dragonholder is here! (If I (Margaret) have to say more, you're
reading the wrong newsletter!! :)
http://www.randomhouse.com/delrey/pern/index.html
November Releases from C.J. Cherryh, Raymond Feist, Harry
Harrison, Katharine Kerr, Todd McCaffrey, Andre Norton,
Charles Sheffield, & Harry Turtledove.
For more sf&f new book listings and more detail (updated monthly),
see http://www.clever.net/cam/forthcomingsf.html .
World Fantasy Awards Announced
The 1999 World Fantasy Awards were presented November 7,
1999 at the 25th World Fantasy Convention held in Providence,
RI.
http://world.std.com/~sbarsky/mcfi/wfc/
The winners are, courtesy Sci-Fi Wire,
http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/art-main.html?1999-11/07/17.00.books
Life Achievement
Hugh B. Cave
http://www.vintagelibrary.com/pulp/cave/index.htm
Novel
Louise Erdrich, The Antelope Wife
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=3D0060930071/fantasicfuturesbA
Novella
Ian R. MacLeod, 'The Summer Isles' (Asimov's Nov)
Short Story
Kelly Link 'The Specialist's Hat' (Event Horizon Nov)
Collection
Karen Joy Fowler, Black Glass
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=3D0805055576/fantasicfuturesbA
Anthology
Dreaming Down-Under ed. Jack Dann & Janeen Webb
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=3D0312865740/fantasicfuturesbA
Artist
Charles Vess
Special: Pro
Jim Turner (Golden Gryphon)
Special: Non-pro
Richard Chizmar (Cemetery Dance)
Signings and Celebrations
Austin's Science Fiction Bookstore, Adventures in Crime And
Space, will be hosting a signing by James Morrow of the latest
in his Godhead trilogy, The Eternal Footman, on Friday,
November 19th from 6 to 8 p.m.
The following day, Michael Moorcock will be signing from his
Eternal Champion Omnibus from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. followed by
a party at the Willie Siros mansion for part one of the store's fifth
anniversary celebration.
Then November 27, Neal Barrett will recover from Thanksgiving
and sign at the store from 3 to 5PM.
Adventures in Crime and Space - http://www.CrimeandSpace.com/
Forthcoming SF, Fantasy, & Gaming Cons
One Houston Con Takes A Year Off, Another Debuts
I Think Therefore I Con, after two successive years, is going to
spend the year 2000 on hiatus while its parent Rune's Law
concentrates on its new RPG game.
See: http://www.runes-law.com/800x600/ittic.html
Fortunately, another con is set to debut this summer here in
Houston, Consortium (June 9-11, 2000).
Also, I've received an email saying that there will be an
upcoming announcement re a new OwlCon. I'm looking forward
to getting the details on that one!
ExotiCon is back for its second year Nov. 19-21 in the New
Orleans, LA, area. Also, Starbase Houston is co-sponsoring
Space City Con 2 with a number of media guests Nov. 20-21,
1999.
Be sure, also, to mark your calendars to turn out for the
Millennium Party Dec.31, 1999-January 1, 2000 at the Courtyard
by Marriott here in Houston (in the Galleria area).
For a more complete listing see our monthly What's Happening list
at http://www.clever.net/cam/concalendar.html .
Party! Party! Party!
Don't forget when you plan your new year that Several Unlimited
and their friends are organizing a block of parties to welcome in the
new millennium the night of December 31, 1999.
Where? The Courtyard by Marriott inside Loop 610 near the
Galleria.
Hall Costume Awards
Party Food and Non-alcoholic drinks
Worldwide Y2K surveillance
The very best company in which to welcome the next thousand years.
For $5 you party through the night and hit any (or all) of the
component parties (which includes Clif and Margaret's
pre-millennium party, since the REAL start of the next millennium
is 2001).
Several Unlimited is going all out with planned activities etc. and
they are also dropping some of their zine loot on their party, so
believe me, you're getting a bargain.
January 1, 2000 join the gathering of the Houston Ritual SF
Breakfast group at the hotel. Breakfast buffet at the Courtyard
Restaurant is $7.95 a person and for New Year's morning you
won't find better food at a better price.
Then, start off the New Year with Friends of Fandom's Open
House beginning shortly after the 10 AM Ritual SF breakfast.
We might even have a few black-eyed peas and a microwave
available.
If you don't think you could pull a 24-hour party into the new year
and don't want to face the drunks on the road, there is always a
hotel room at $119/night, or next door at the Fairfield Inn at a
somewhat more reasonable $89/night for single or double occupancy.
Party Like It's 1999!!!
Millennium Party - http://members.aol.com/ErikaF/su/millparty.htm
Several Unlimited - http://members.aol.com/erikaf/su/
Friends of Fandom - http://www.clever.net/cam/fof.html
Other Texas Area Fan Organizations
http://www.clever.net/cam/clubslist.html
Futuristically Speaking
Nanotech and Houston
It isn't generally realized but Houston is actually a center of
nanotechnology research.
Most obvious, Rice University is home to Richard E. Smalley,
1996 Chemistry Nobel Prize Winner, and world-renown expert
on fullerene nanotubes & creator of nanoscale wire, as well as
experimental physicist Ken Smith who directs the Rice Quantum
Institute and is exploring the use of tightly focussed energetic ion
beams to probe and modify surfaces and create functional
nanostructures on them.
The CNST (Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology)
[http://cnst.rice.edu/ ] maintains a balanced, three-pronged
approach.
One prong is wet nanotechnology (things that work in solution),
the second prong is dry nanotechnology, and the remaining prong
is computational nanotechnology, the mathematical simulation of
nanoscale structures on the computer.
Developing the computational models to realistically model the
nanoscale world is a major advantage as the design of nanotech
devices are a lot easier and less costly if you can try it out on the
computer first, until you get it right.
Space, The Final Frontier.
Houston/Harris County is also the site of the pilot program for the
Mars Millennium Project, an interdisciplinary learning project for
students where they work in teams which imagine and design a
community for 100 people colonizing Mars in the year 2030.
Mars Millennium Project - http://www.houston-mars-bound.org/
Houston's Promise - http://www.houstonspromise.org/
NASA Not So Dumb
Even though they THINK they are completely Y2K compliant,
NASA is absolutely NOT going to risk a shuttle (and astronaut
lives) to find out for sure.
Even if it means flying the Hubble Repair Mission over Christmas,
the shuttle will not be in the air for the advent of the Year 2000.
http://www.space.com/news/spaceshuttle/shuttle_y2k_991101.html
The Hubble repair mission is absolutely essential as one of the
remaining three gyroscope pointing devises abruptly died last week
leaving the multi-billion dollar observatory useless, till fixed. The
repair mission is currently scheduled to lift off on December 6,
which probably means it will be early January before the Hubble
is back in business again.
NASA Press Release *
ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/pressrel/1999/99-136.txt
IO IO OH!
The photos back from Galileo's pass of Jupiter's closest moon,
Io, back on October 10, show the Prometheus volcano on Io
has characteristics remarkably similar to those of the Kilauea
volcano in Hawaii, though several times larger.
Prometheus is of some interest since it has been erupting in every
single photo of Io we have that would show such a level of detail.
Kind of the Old Faithful of Volcanoes.
Speaking of detailed photos ...
NASA will be having an Io press conference on November 19,
presenting an assortment of new images and describing their latest
discoveries so shortly afterwards we will be updating our Io page
at http://www.clever.net/cam/space/io.html .
On to Mars
The only photo ever taken of Mars by the late, lamented Mars
Climate Orbiter (taken September 7) is on the Web Page
http://www.msss.com/mars_images/marci/9_99_marci_approach/index.html
There is something sad about seeing the small dead planet alone in
immense space. Or maybe it just strikes me that way.
On a brighter note, the orbiter's companion, the Mars Polar Lander
should arrive on the surface on December 3 and start slowly playing
back the photos from its Descent Imager (Mardi - Mars Descent
Imager). To see the latest Mardi Photos you will be able to check
http://www.msss.com/mars_images/ .
That web site is also a good place to see the latest Mars Global
Surveyor photos.
Unexpectedly, the wide angle cameras which monitor changes in Martian
weather and surface conditions, are also proving to be a good way to
spot the frequent solar eclipses that occur on Mars when Phobos passes
between the red planet and the Sun.
Phobos is a tiny, potato-shaped moon that is only about
13-by-11-by-9 kilometers (8-by-7-by-6 miles) in size.
Liquid Seas on Titan
The Mauna Kea telescope, using new techniques to computer combine the
results of hundreds of short snapshots which freeze and then allow the
removal of clouds leaving only the constant structures, has shown dark
areas which are believed to be the only other known open liquid bodies
in the solar system other than those on Earth. See the dark areas on
the image at http://www.cnn.com/TECH/space/9907/30/titan.seas/titan.jpg .
The seas of Titan are believed to be methane, ethane, and other
hydrocarbons rather than water.
The temperature, -180 degrees C (-290 degrees F) is believed
too cold to support life. Titan is swamped with hydrocarbons
and a nitrogen-rich atmosphere like Earth's, so scientists think it
may otherwise resemble the early conditions on our planet.
This makes Titan a prime target for investigation when the Cassini
mission reaches Saturn in 2004.
Cassini Home Page - http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/cassini/
Other Stars - Other Worlds
Numerous stars with Jovian or Super-Jovian planets in close orbit
have been detected due to the resulting positional "wobble".
Current evidence based on this Doppler planet-detection
technique indicates that roughly 5% of solar-type stars have these
so-called "hot Jupiters".
On November 5, Geoffrey Marcy, a professor of astronomy at
the University of California, Berkeley, and his colleagues, Paul
Butler of the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism at the Carnegie
Institution of Washington in Washington, D.C., and Steve Vogt
of UC Santa Cruz and Lick Observatory, first detected a wobble
in the star called HD 209458.
Ascribing the wobble to a nearby planet, they were able to estimate
its orbit and approximate mass.
As with all new planets they detect, the team immediately brought it
to the attention of collaborator Greg Henry, an astronomer at the
Tennessee State University Center of Excellence in Information Systems
in Nashville.
Henry turned one of his automated telescopes on the star at the
time Marcy and Butler predicted the planet would cross the face of
the star if the planet's orbital plane were lucky enough to carry it
between Earth and the star.
Until now, none of the 18 other extrasolar planets Marcy and Butler
have discovered has had its orbital plane oriented edge-on to Earth
so that the planet could be seen to transit the star, nor have any
of the other planets discovered by other researchers.
However, on Nov. 7, Henry observed a 1.7 percent dip in the star's
brightness. Because the planet orbits its star once every 3.523 days,
he was able to repeat his observations on Sunday, Nov. 14.
"This planetary transit occurred at exactly the time predicted
from Marcy's observations, confirming absolutely the
presence of a companion," Henry said. "The amount of
dimming of the star's light during the transit also gives us the
first-ever measure of the size and density of an extrasolar
planet. We've essentially seen the shadow of the planet and
used it to measure the planet's size."
The star HD 209458 is 47 parsecs (153 light years or 1.4
million billion kilometers or 859,000 billion miles) away in the
constellation of Pegasus, and is about the same age, color
and size as our own Sun. It is very near the star, 51 Pegasi,
around which the first extrasolar planet was discovered in
1995. With the orbital plane of the planet known, the
astronomers for the first time could determine precisely the
mass of the planet and, from the size of the planet measured
during transit, its density.
Interestingly, while the planet's mass is only 63 percent of
Jupiter's mass, its radius is 60 percent bigger than that of
Jupiter. This fits with theories that predict a bloated planet
when, as here, the planet is very close to the star.
To detect terrestial type planets around other stars, rather
than just the hot Jovian planets will require the development
of space-based infra-red Interferometers such as the proposed
Darwin Project.
Astronomy Now Story
http://www.astronomynow.com/breaking/9911/14planet/index.html
Map of Known Extra-Solar Planets
http://www.generation.net/~mariob/astro/xtrasol.htm
Darwin - http://astro.estec.esa.nl/IRSI/
Simulation of infra-red interferometer image that could be detected
around a star 30 light years from the sun:
http://athene.as.arizona.edu:8080/caao/fig7.html
Extra-Solar System Planets and the Study of Solar System Evolution
http://sciastro.net/portia/articles/extra-planets.htm
The Write Stuff (Pen and Ink Optional!)
FADE IN:
Those who use Microsoft Word and find themselves working on
the great American screenplay (or just trying their hand at
screenwriting from time to time) will want to peruse Linda
Brevelle's new extensive review of an extraordinary collection
of Word macros from Script Werx.
http://nmreview.com/reviews/scriptwerx/index.htm
New Media Review - http://nmreview.com/
FADE OUT:
Barnes & Noble Gobbles the Universe
The real life saga continues as Barnes & Noble acquires 49
percent of online publishing portal IUniverse.com
IUniverse.com just got a real world presence (read BAM, the
new acronym for the savvy re "bricks & morter") in physical
Barnes and Noble stores and B&N just got into online publishing
in a big way.
"This investment is about giving authors with small voices the
loudspeakers they need to get their works published and distributed
throughout the world," said Steve Riggio, B&N's vice chairman.
Riggio promised that the relationship will open a new era of
opportunity for writers, who can now have books published within
30 days and expect to earn higher royalties.
(Quote courtesy Wired at:
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,31973,00.html )
See:
Barnes & Noble and IUniverse
http://www.iuniverse.com/daily/110299bn.asp
Other Empires
Also, the Houston Chronicle reported 11/10/99, in a copyrighted
story based on wire service stories, that Alexandria Digital Literature
has agreed to buy out Mind's Eye Fiction. No details were given and
neither party was available to comment. (Note: I (Margaret) have
repeatedly searched both parties' Web sites and cannot find press
releases re company business on either site.)
Alexandria Digital Literature - http://www.alexlit.com/
Mind's Eye Fiction - http://tale.com/
Warner Novel Contest
Warner Books has announced its second novel contest for new and
unpublished science fiction and fantasy writers. The winning entry
will be published by Warner's SF&F imprint, Warner Aspect, as part
of the "New Aspects" program, which features "first novelists of
outstanding talent and potential."
Manuscripts must be double-spaced and typed on 8.5" x 11" paper,
and they must include a business-sized self-addressed stamped
envelope for response. Submissions must be received between
Dec. 15, 1999, and June 30, 2000, and they must include a disposable
copy of a synopsis of the complete story, plus the first several
chapters of the manuscript (up to 60 pages).
There is a limit of one entry per person, and only finalists from
the first round of judging will be invited to submit their complete
manuscripts. Entries can be sent to:
Warner Aspect First Novel Contest,
Editorial Department,
1271 Ave. of the Americas,
New York, NY 10020.
See also our Houston and/or Texas Writers Groups for more writer's
links at http://www.clever.net/cam/writers.html
FFFeedback
[Last issue, we reported on the Lord of the Rings Movie and
commented on the lack of casting for Gollem and Sauron.]
We heard from Carl Weisman
The most ominous omission from the cast list is Eowyn, the most
important female character by far. Sauron isn't a character. We have
only Pippin's recounting of the palantir revelation.
----
It's true that Eowyn is not in the cast list.
Well, they had to draw the line at announced characters somewhere,
I guess.
I tend to think of all of the horse-lords as minor characters and they
didn't announce any of them (that I recall, the list isn't in front of
me) but they did announce Wormtounge so obviously they are doing the
horse-lords.
Given that they are playing up the romantic angle, I don't see how
they could leave Eowyn out.
Again it's true that Sauron isn't precisely a character.
Memory suggests that he doesn't show up directly until the very end
when he realizes he's been decoyed out of position and turns his
attention back to where the ring is being cast into the volcano,
but gets there too late. And of course he is in flashbacks in the
hall of Elrond, where you are getting the history of the Ring.
Apparently it's fairly definite that they have axed Tom Bombadil.
- Clif Davis
We also heard from Kirk Abrigo who wanted to tell us about his new
Samuria Guard comic, http://www.geocities.com/~colburncomics/ , from
Judith Ward, from Catherine Asaro who loved the American Pie Filk,
from Stanley Sutton who forwarded us a tale of UFOs, Black Ops Defense
Projects, NASA, HALSO, Raptor, and stealth reconnaissance, "The truth
is up there, out of sight. And it won't be coming down for some time.",
and from Jessica P. Martin who sent us a copy of the 99th issue of her
email/Web-zine which can be reached from http://www.sfcrowsnest.com .
-----------
And that pretty much wraps things up for this issue. Send any email
comments or suggestions regarding fannish activities/events in the
greater Houston area (or within the greater Texas area) or regarding
this Info Alert to fof@www.clever.net .
If you received this Info Alert as a sample and would be interested
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Happy Thanksgiving, Y'all. (Eat Well and Prosper) Be seeing you!
Margaret A. Fincannon, Friends of Fandom Info-Alert Staff
Clifton B. Davis, Friends of Fandom Info-Alert Staff
http://www.clever.net/cam/fof.html fof@www.clever.net
And now, may the fine print be with you!
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