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From: Blanche on 20 May 2010 00:45 Patrick Scheible <kkt(a)zipcon.net> wrote: >Joe Pfeiffer <pfeiffer(a)cs.nmsu.edu> writes: > >> Walter Bushell <proto(a)panix.com> writes: >> >> > "Charlie Gibbs" <cgibbs(a)kltpzyxm.invalid> wrote: >> > >> >> In article >> >> michelle(a)michelle.org (Michelle Steiner) writes: >> >> >> >> > "Charlie Gibbs" <cgibbs(a)kltpzyxm.invalid> wrote: >> >> > >> >> >>>>>> That's pretty good, considering that he will probably die before >> >> >>>>>> Cochrane will be born. Time travel, anyone? >> >> >>>>> >> >> >>>>> Maybe he is friends with the Doctor. >> >> >>>> >> >> >>>> Doctor Who? >> >> >>> >> >> >>> Of course. >> >> >> >> >> >> No, he's on first. >> >> > >> >> > Who's on first? >> >> >> >> That's right. >> > >> > No Wright's on third. >> >> No, I Don't Know is on third. > >I don't give a darn. Because the Center Fielder threw to the Shortstop, I Don't Give a Darn.
From: DMcCunney on 20 May 2010 14:01 * Michelle Steiner: > In article <tph-451ED1.16470203052010(a)localhost>, > Tom Harrington <tph(a)pcisys.no.spam.dammit.net> wrote: > >> Visible light is part of the electromagnetic spectrum. I can see it. >> >> I'm guessing that's not what happens in the book, though. > > In the story, his senses get mixed up so that he hears colors, sees sounds, > tastes metal, etc. > > And it's not all that science fictiony, at least not now, although it might > have been when the book was written. > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synesthesia> It wasn't. AFAIK, Synesthesia had been documented before then. Alfie was something of a polymath, and would have encountered the references. It got used elsewhere, as well. Freed Pohl told a story about the time in the '50's when he was simultaneously a writer collaborating with Cyril M. Kornbluth, an agent representing half the field, and an editor for the Ballantine Star SF original paperback anthology series. H. L. Gold, the editor of Galaxy magazine, sent Fred a story for submission to Star. Kornbluth dropped by Fred's office for a visit and said "I hear Horace sent you a story for Star." "Yep." "Gonna buy it?" "Yep." "I'd really like to *edit* a Gold story.", said Cyril. "I'd get a dozen sharp pencils..." Gold was a brilliant editor with a maddening habit. He could not leave a story alone. God could submit the perfect SF story, and Gold would feel compelled to change something. Fred handed Cyril money and told him to buy a bottle of scotch, and had his secretary type another copy of the manuscript. Cyril returned with the scotch, they poured drinks, and settled down to edit Gold's story. The changed everything. People changed names and sexes. Places changed. Actions changed. The marked up manuscript became a patchwork quilt of editorial revisions and comments. Fred then "accidentally" included the manuscript in a bundle he was sending to Horace in his capacity as agent for submission to Galaxy. About five minutes after the messenger delivered the package to Gold, Fred's phone rang. "Fred, it's Horace. You know me, Fred. I'm a pro. I understand the necessity to make changes on manuscripts. But *geez*, Fred!" The only surviving original line was the last: "Hey! What smells purple?" ______ Dennis`
From: Charlie Gibbs on 21 May 2010 11:35 In article <ht3tek$t1g$1(a)speranza.aioe.org>, plugh(a)xyzzy.com (DMcCunney) writes: > Gold was a brilliant editor with a maddening habit. He could not > leave a story alone. God could submit the perfect SF story, and > Gold would feel compelled to change something. "Once he pees in it, he likes the flavor better, and he buys it." -- Heinlein (It's a line from "Stranger in a Strange Land". I don't know whether he was necessarily thinking about Gold in particular...) -- /~\ cgibbs(a)kltpzyxm.invalid (Charlie Gibbs) \ / I'm really at ac.dekanfrus if you read it the right way. X Top-posted messages will probably be ignored. See RFC1855. / \ HTML will DEFINITELY be ignored. Join the ASCII ribbon campaign!
From: DMcCunney on 21 May 2010 11:01 * Joe Pfeiffer: > There's a "really hard SF" school that calls for nothing in the story > to violate the laws of physics. Members of that school will regard FTL > as fantasy. The only member of that school I knew was the late L. Sprague De Camp, who decided midway through his career that FTL was in fact impossible, and stopped using it. The usual rule of thumb for hard SF is that you are free to postulate what you like about what we *don't* know, but you have to get what we *do* know right. FTL isn't possible based on what we know *now*. Stories that use FTL all assume we'll make discoveries that will make it possible. These days, FTL has become part of the wallpaper, and is largely assumed. Back when, authors all felt the need to provide *some* explanation, even if it was hand waving and talking fast. My favorite was a Brian Aldiss story, where the narrator say "FTL? Oh, yes. Had it for decades! I'd be happy to explain how it works, but the printer refeuses to typeset the three pages of equations necessary to *give* the explanation, so let's just take my word for it and carry on, shall we?" ______ Dennis
From: DMcCunney on 21 May 2010 11:31
* Charlie Gibbs: > In article <ht3tek$t1g$1(a)speranza.aioe.org>, plugh(a)xyzzy.com (DMcCunney) > writes: > >> Gold was a brilliant editor with a maddening habit. He could not >> leave a story alone. God could submit the perfect SF story, and >> Gold would feel compelled to change something. > > "Once he pees in it, he likes the flavor better, and he buys it." > -- Heinlein > > (It's a line from "Stranger in a Strange Land". I don't know > whether he was necessarily thinking about Gold in particular...) He was probably thinking about John W. Campbell. His relationship with Campbell soured in later years, and there is correspondence from him complaining about some of Campbell's wishes. His deal with Campbell was "I submit it. If you like it, you buy it. You don't change it." The only RAH piece I'm aware of that appeared in Galaxy was a serialization of _I Will Fear No Evil_, because RAH had enough of Campbell and would not submit to him, but that was during the period in the 70's when UPD was publishing the magazine and Eljer Jakobsson was editor. It produced a strange effect: before that serial ran, there were two back to back Robert Silverberg novels serialized, plus Silverberg novelettes that became a third. I asked Silverberg about the "All Silverberg, all the time" state, and he explained that they were supposed to buy another novel to run between his serials. IWFNE became available, but had to be serialized *before* the hardcover publication hit the stands, so they had no choice but to bunch up Bob's work to fit the scheduling. The late Jack Gaughan was Art Director for Galaxy/Worlds of If during that period, and was the sole illustrator. I asked him about the possibility of seeing other artist's works in the books, and he replied that he'd love to, but there was no time to arrange it. As it was, he'd travel to Jakobsson's home, stay for the weekend, and paint both covers and do all the interior illos for both books to meet the production schedule. Jack had enough different styles that he *could* do it and keep the books varied and interesting. I can't think of another illustrator in the field at the time who could have managed it. But I do wonder what Jack might have produced had he been able to commission art from other artists, too. ______ Dennis |