444 – ALEX SCHOMBURG AND MOSCON 1
MosCon was a Northwest Fannish Legend (perhaps in its own mind), and Steve takes you back to those “thrilling days of yesteryear,” as The Lone Ranger used to say.
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HOW TO ATTEND A WORLDCON AND MISS EVERYTHING!
For Steve’s 50th year as a convention fan, he wanted to attend the closest one: Seattle 2025, the 83rd World convention. There is always a lot to do at a Worldcon, like panels, awards, parties, multi-track programming, films, get-togethers with old friends, etc. But Steve didn’t really do any of that. Read the column to find out why.
NOT AGAIN! REHASH COLUMN 29 from 2014!
Steve rewrites one of his earlier columns for Amazing (again!) just in case you want to know how he started in this whole “fannish” business. Do you care? Did you read it before?
R.I.P. REVIEW: “A BOY AND HIS DOG”
In honour of the late Harlan Ellison, Steve deconstructs—without major spoilers—the film “A Boy and His Dog.” It’s not a great film. See whether you agree!
STEVE DOES DAVE BARRY: IT’S COLUMN 29 ALL OVER AGAIN!
Steve rewrites and repeats one of his earlier columns for Amazing just in case you want to know how he started in this whole “fannish” business. Do you care?
RETRO: OF MOSCON AND HEINLEIN AND VERNA
This week, Steve continues his romp into his past by talking about Robert A. Heinlein, E.E. “Doc” Smith’s daughter, Verna Smith Trestrail; and MosCon 1, back in 1979.
WELCOME TO 2017, and 2016’s LIST OF COLUMNS
As he has done for the past several years, Steve looks back (without anger) at the previous year’s columns, and hopes you found reading them worthwhile. And now: To Infinity—And Beyond! as someone once said!
MY PAL, JERRY SOHL!
Steve reminisces about a writer he used to know. Maybe you know some of the things he’s done: meet Jerry Sohl!
MOSCON MEMORIES (Misty watercolour ones…?)
MosCon was a Northwest Fannish Legend (perhaps in its own mind), and Steve takes you back to those “thrilling days of yesteryear,” as The Lone Ranger used to say.
FAREWELL TO ANOTHER FRIEND, FANNISH MEMORIES… and STORYBUNDLES!
Another friend gone; Steve mourns Debbie Miller; also New Venture and MosCon reminiscences. And both fiction and non-fiction StoryBundles! Go get ’em!
FREAKS OF NATURE film review, plus POLAR BOREALIS—a new semiprozine!
This week, Steve reviews the 2015 Horror-humour film “Freaks of Nature” and finds it rather flat, then alerts the media (us!) about a new semi-pro Canadian SF/F e-magazine!
BOOK REVIEW: Stephen King’s Mr. Mercedes
Steve examines Stephen King’s new–and unique!–novel, Mr. Mercedes.
MY YEAR IN REVIEW—Looking Backward and Forward!
Steve celebrates his first year of blogging for Amazing Stories online.
A Fan’s History — Fanzines, Continued….
Fanzines, continued: Okay, Mr. Smartypants, what’s a “sercon” zine? Actually, I’m glad you asked that question. It’s another of those annoying (well, to an outsider) fannish neologisms and acronyms. In this case, we have “serious” […]
About Author
Steve has been an active fan since the 1970s, when he founded the Palouse Empire Science Fiction Association (PESFA) and the more-or-less late MosCon in Pullman, WA and Moscow, ID, though he started reading SF/F in the early-to-mid 1950s, when he was just a sprat. He moved to Canada in 1985 and quickly became involved with chairing or helping run Canadian cons, including ConText (’89 and ’81) and VCON. As a fan, he’s published a Hugo-nominated (one nomination) fanzine, New Venture, and he’s founded two writing groups (Writers’ Bloc and Writers of the Lost, Ink). He’s emceed and auctioned art at many West Coast and Northwest conventions including one Westercon. As a writer, he’s published a couple of books and a number of short stories (including one in Compostella [Tesseracts 20], and has collaborated with his two-time Aurora-winning wife Lynne Taylor Fahnestalk on a number of art projects. As of this writing he’s the proofreader for R. Graeme Cameron’s Polar Borealis and Rhea Rose’s Polar Starlight publications. He’s been writing for Amazing Stories off and on since the early 1980s. His column can be found on Amazing Stories most Fridays.
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