Forrest J. Ackerman, 1916 — 2008

12/7/2008 | 2 comments

“The fan who founded the future” has left us.

I have only met Forry once or twice. But he was every bit as gracious and amusing as the stories and obituaries describe him to be.

If you ever, EVER went to a sci-fi con… or wrote fanfic… or collected a poster… or built a model… or read a fanzine, or a prozine… you owe him.

In fact, if you’e ever done anything like that in mystery fandom, or romance fandom, you STILL owe him. Your fandoms took inspiration from the activities of sci-fi fandom… and they are, in no small measure, inspired by Forry.

Rest well, oh “Ackermonster”.

SPECIAL EVENT for Southern California readers

10/2/2008 | No comments

What:    ”The Phoenix Mission: NASA’s Martian Polar Expedition” 
When:   2:15 PM Saturday, 4 October 2008 
Where: Carson Public Library 
             151 E Carson St 
             Carson, CA 

Come hear what scientists are learning about Mars. Their operation of 
NASA’s Phoenix Lander have made them virtual explorers in the Martian 
Arctic. With a robotic arm they’ve dug into the frozen surface, then 
delivered the scrapings to a portable laboratory whose tests can tell 
whether life might survive there. They’ve seen what this bit of Mars is 
made from — down to soil particles scanned by an onboard microscope and 
up to panoramic vistas from stereoscopic cameras. With those same 
cameras and other sensors, scientists are keeping a Martian weather 
watch — useful information for planning actual human expeditions. 

Dr. Leslie Tamppari is the Phoenix Mission’s Project Scientist at NASA’s 
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). She is a graduate of the University of 
Arizona and received her PhD from UCLA. At JPL she previously worked as 
the Deputy Project Scientist for the Mars Science Laboratory (launches 
2009) and an Investigation Scientist for the Photoplarimeter / 
Radiometer (PPR) experiment on the Galileo mission to Jupiter. She 
decided to become a planetary scientist while working as a JPL intern 
during Voyager 2’s flyby of Neptune. 

For more information about OASIS, visit www.oasis-nss.org. 

Seven Years

9/11/2008 | No comments

And slowly, slowly, the war is being won, in the terrorists’ own neighborhoods.

Not as satisfying as a shiny public trial, perhaps, but Bin Laden doesn’t deserve to be a martyr.

THESE are martyrs.

The Islamarchist terrorists? They give no glory to God by their deeds. Hostes humani generis, and nothing more worthy.

Delenda sunt.

Desultory Denverite Questionnaire

8/11/2008 | 4 comments

Soooo…

If I was to contemplate coming out to Denver to teach another seminar for Roger Siggs and the Rocky Mountain Swordplay Guild, what with their new digs and all…

sometime in the next six months or so, perhaps…

when would be a good time for my Gentle Readers who live out there?

Roger?

David?

Bueller?

SPECIAL EVENT: 30 years and going strong!

7/18/2008 | No comments

The Los angeles chapter of the National Space Society, OASIS, is hosting a reception this Saturday, July 19, 2008 at 3:00 PM to mark the 30th Anniversary of the chapter. The reception will be at the 
Western Museum of Flight at Torrance Airport. 

Tickets are $25. Tickets can be purchased at the door, but we’d like a good count for the catering. 

Tickets may be ordered by mail by sending a check to: 

OASIS 
PO Box 1231 
Redondo Beach, CA 90278 

To make reservations and pay at the door, call the OASIS Hot Line at 
310-364-2290. 

What: OASIS 30th Anniversary Celebration 
Where: Western Museum of Flight 
           Torrance Airport 
           3315 Airport Drive, 
           Hanger Red Baron #3 
          Torrance, CA 90505 
When: Saturday July 19, 2008 at 3:00 PM 
Tickets: $25/person 

The timing of my recent trip didn’t allow me to make this event, but I hope that some of my Angeleno friends can make the trip; it would be another great way to celebrate Tranquility Day.