Welcome to the September Issue

Hello, and welcome back to the by now wildly overdue Irish SF News newsletter. Between being in the advanced stages of organising P-CON, the SF convention in three weeks with which I’m involved, as well as simply trying to get on with Real Life, I’m running a bit behind on some things. There’s a fair bit of news after backing up, so I’ll get to it fairly sharpish…

P-Con looms..........

With only three weeks to go to P-CON, all is going largely according to plan! Unfortunately, one of the guests, Ian Watson, has had to pull out of the con, due to various other commitments, including being chair of his own local convention a week after P-CON.

We’ll miss his presence, as he’s a lively and witty speaker, but there are lots of other fabulous guests going to be in attendance. We will have various other things going on at the con besides the panel discussions and talks, with a sword demonstration from Peter Morwood, a belly-dancing workshop, and some improvisational comedy from Crazy Dog Audio Theatre, as well as other things.

We also have lots of dealers with all sorts of interesting stuff, with one dealer having just signed up, who is bringing,

"Lord of the Rings bookmarks, miniature sword replicas, magnets, snow globes, greeting cards, jewellery, mousepads, postcards; Buffy greeting cards, CD cases, mousepads, photos, autographs, soundtracks, artwork, postcards"

as well as much more. It’s not too late to sign up at the current rate of €30 for the weekend, before it goes up to €35 on the door. It’s going to be lots of fun, and you should be there!

UPDATE: More info on P-Con I .......see here for more!

P-Con 2 for 2004 Update!

We are well advanced in plans for P-CON 2, the follow-up to the above-mentioned convention. It is to take place in the Ashling Hotel on Parkgate Street in Dublin on the ~~16th & 17th of October 2004~~.

UPDATE: New dates for P-CON II.......see here for details!

We have no confirmed Guest of Honour as yet, but we have had some interesting murmurings from some well-known names.

We will have flyers out for this as soon as possible, and will start taking memberships at P-CON. The starting price will be, unfortunately, rising to €25, largely due to the high cost of hiring hotel space in Dublin. More will be revealed as soon as possible.

James White Award Table Quiz

James Bacon informs me that he is organising a table quiz to raise funds for the James White Award, a short story competition held annually to celebrate the memory of James White, a great Irish SF writer, and a truly lovely man. The details of the quiz are as follows:
What: James White Award Table Quiz
Where: Exchequer Bar, Exchequer Street, Dublin 2
When: Thursday 11th September 2003 at 8 PM
How much: €20 for Tables of 4

I realise this is next Thursday, and apologise to James for not getting this out sooner. More information about the awards on the James White Award website

There will be another table quiz two months after this, on Thursday the 13th of November, this one being the 3rd Irish SF News Table Quiz, with questions set by my good self. I hope to see some of you at both events.

And now a word from Bobby

Bobby MacLaughlin is an old friend, and she has long been involved with various APAs (amateur press alliance), so when she asked for a little publicity for this one, I was more than happy to oblige.

"PAPA wants YOU!!!"

PAPA is a zine for people that want to write --- preferably SF. It is published by photocopying (thanks Read's) every two months. We are up to issue No. 118 but we've hit a snag. We need more writers --- alien/human/male/female/normal/weird (preferred).

Part of the deal is to comment on the writings in the previous issue. The flipside is that you get comments back. We'd like to get our membership back up to 25, as the APA works best when there is a waiting list.>"

Interested??

Contact Bobby MacLaughlin at bobby at catalase.com

Irish SF News in Antipodean Twinning Ceremony

Gary-Peter Dalrymple reports from Australia:

"The Australian readership of the Irish SF News met on the evening of June 20, 2003 during the monthly Sydney Futurians SF discussion meeting and celebrated the first anniversary of this widely respected newsletter and journal of public record.

Those attending wondered when a 'Southern Hemisphere' edition of the Irish SF News would be necessary given the anticipated double digit growth in Australian subscribers.

Celebrations continued into the weekend, as during the Sydney Science Fiction Weekend, Winter Solstice weekend (June 21&22) the convenor / convention chairman / maximum leader etc. distributed even more copies of the Irish SF News and it was revealed that in honour of the anniversary, all convention name badges had all been printed on a special vivid green cardboard.

On Saturday and Sunday there were sessions of 'The Martian Academy of Archaeology', a role playing event, which Garry explained were to be considered 'external' program items of the Conclave, Limerick gaming convention.

As single day "Sydney Freecon" SF conventions may be held during late 2003/early 2004 and in mid/late 2004 Irish guests and suggestions of Irish SF writers to be featured or any other 'twinning' opportunities Irish SF events are most eagerly sought.”

I don’t make this stuff up, you know! Anyone wishing to contact Gary should let me know, and I’ll put them in touch. I have to say, I was deeply touched by all this, and it’s good to have friends in far-off places, even if they obviously are completely barking mad…

John Vaughan Lives!

John Vaughan, the main man behind ‘Longshadow Films,’ and director of the short film ‘The Boogieman,’ is getting set to get behind the cameras again. He writes: "In case Irish SF News is interested, I would like to inform you and your readers that having raised the funds, I have just gone into pre-production on my new short film, a 14 minute science fiction epic called "Thinkers." If everything goes to plan (fingers crossed) it will be ready early next year. I cannot reveal the plot line at this time but I can give you a hint with the misleading but strangely accurate tagline 'A tale of booze, bullets and Paddington Bear.'"

News from the DMZ

I got a few pieces of news from those lovely people at DMZ, who are organising the big Buffy event over the Halloween weekend here in Dublin. Firstly, there’s this:

"DMZ Events is proud to announce (sorry for the wait) our second guest for PROPHECY: The world premier convention appearance of Principal Robin Wood, DB Woodside. This will be the FIRST EVER convention DB has ever been at!! DB is currently filming on the set of "24" in LA and will be taking a break in October to come to Prophecy and is really looking forward to it."

Also, on a slightly more technical note, they tell me that Brian Herlihy will be leaving DMZ Events as its Webmaster, and will be replaced by Aisling Francis, who is probably already known to many attendees at their events, as she takes the money on the door! Ashling has created a new website for DMZ, which is at www.dmzevents.net.

This is to become the permanent site for DMZ, replacing their dot com site. Update your records now! However, the changeover may cause some problems with the forums, which remains to be seen. Check the site for more details.

The Ring

I realise I reported this before, but I wanted it in one of the regular NLs, to have it for the record. So…

I got this from Diane Duane on the 30th of August: "

OK, I think we can make this public now... Peter Morwood and Diane Duane have turned in their four-hour live-action miniseries The Ring, a retelling of the Nibelungenlied, to Tandem Communications in Munich.

The miniseries starts principal photography in mid-September 2003 in South Africa, with Uli Edel directing. A shorter theatrical version of the miniseries will be released in the UK in early 2004. (The present title will probably be changed to avoid confusion with a recent horror flick.)"

One Small Step for a Man

I hear from the Irish Astronomical Society that Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, is coming to Dublin. Sounds good, but, as it says in the last line, he’s not doing any signing.

Perhaps Steve Aylett was right after all, in his short story “If Armstrong Was Interesting,” which you can read here.

Neil Armstrong will be at the National Concert Hall, Dublin, 8 pm, Monday 17 Nov, in the series Face to Face. Members of the audience will have the opportunity to ask questions. Tickets start €40.00.

Online orders can be placed with the National Concert Hall at their website.

Tel. orders to: (01) 4170000. There will be NO AUTOGRAPHS."

SciFi Club Meetings

After a fairly quiet meeting in September, James Shields has announced the topics for the next three SciFiClub meetings.

The October meeting will feature Paul Cotrulia, who is a film director working on a number of projects, which he will be talking about. More about him at the Solar Multimedia website. The November meeting will be on the subject of The Matrix, so remember to bring your long leather coat, and December is a Lord of the Rings night. Presumably there will also be a Christmas party around then, but this remains to be announced. Perhaps I should go in and book the room for that…

As ever, the meeting are on the first Tuesday of the month, in the upstairs bar of Bowe’s Pub in Fleet Street, Dublin 2, and there is no cover charge, although a raffle is held to raise funds.

Culture by the Bucket

For those of you seeking something of a more traditionally cultural nature, you could do worse than go look at the People’s Art Exhibition, which takes place on the railings around Stephen’s Green in Dublin over the weekend of 19-20-21 September, and is always worth a look.

Also, you could go look at the Bailey’s Cow Parade, which is a large number of cows painted by various artists, and dotted around the city. Originally these were all to be outdoors, but serious vandalisation by some of the city’s drunken thugs caused a rethink, and most of them are now in the various shopping centres in Dublin, like the Stephen’s green centre, and the Jervis Centre. Also well worth a look.

Finally, we are at the beginning of European Heritage Week, which runs from the 5th to the 14th of September, and which means a lot of heritage sites you usually have to pay into are free on some of the days. Annoyingly, they haven’t as yet posted a list of what’s free yet, but a hopefully a list will appear soon.

Quizlet

It has been quite some time since we had a quiz, so here goes. In the last quiz, which I see to my embarrassment was back in May, I asked who the best selling Irish author is. The answer I was looking for was Bram Stoker.

Of the two answers I received, Bob Neilson’s name came out of the hat. He gets a Hulk action figure, kindly donated by The 3rd Place. I know he’ll get hours of pleasure out of it!

This time around, and to coincide with the publication of Robert Rankin’s 26th novel, "The Witches of Chiswick," I have a copy of the aforementioned book to give away. The dedication of the book is to all the people involved in SproutLore, the Robert Rankin Fanclub, which was founded by my good self ten years ago now.

Robert refers to me as "the now legendary Pádraig Ó Méalóid," and quite right too!

Anyway, to win the book, all you have to do is tell me the name of the convention being held in Dundalk in October to mark the 10th anniversary of SproutLore. The competition is open to all, so have a try at it. You can mail your answers to irishsfnews at yahoo.co.uk or use the Feedback form.

Speaking of Bram Stoker leads me neatly to this next bit.

Bram Stoker Dracula Experience opens in Dublin

I got a mail from the people involved with "The Bram Stoker Dracula Experience," who tell me it’s finally open, after being advertised for the last two years, in the West Wood Club, Clontarf Rd, Dublin 3.

They go on to say:

"The Bram Stoker Dracula Experience cost over €2m to set up and covers an area of 10,000 square feet over two levels. The unique experience was created by a team of technical and artistic experts using the very latest in animatronic models and props from the US. Over 6 miles of control cable and 100 gallons of imitation blood were used in the construction of the venue, which boasts the very latest in technology, sound and audiovisual equipment as well as the latest touch screen technology.

The new venue will offer the visitor a thrilling and spine-chilling experience, featuring many aspects from both Bram Stoker’s life and from Dracula. Visitors begin their blood-curdling tour with a journey through the "Time Tunnel to Transylvania." This leads them into the various grim and gruesome caverns of "Castle Dracula", including: the Blood Laboratory, Renfield’s Lunatic Asylum and into Dracula’s Lair where the Great Vampire lies in stately robes and coffin. Visitors can also learn about the author’s life and his various literary achievements."

It will be open to the public from 12 noon 10 pm on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Admission costs €7 for adults, €5 for students and €4 for children.

I’m hoping to go along at some stage, and may yet attempt to organise a group outing. Any takers?

And Finally......

I’ve just heard about the Astro Expo 2003, which is to place in The Hub, DCU Glasnevin, Dublin 9 on Saturday 15th & Sunday 16th November, from 12 PM to 6 PM, and is being run by Astronomy Ireland. The cost of admission is €5 for the exhibition, with the lectures being extra. More information from their website.

Exhibitors include NASA and the European Space Agency. I’m hoping to take a table myself, to advertise both this newsletter and P-CON 2. More on this as I get it.

Stop Press #1: An Teachtaire

This is the third Irish language graphic novel from Cló Mhaigh Eo, and written by Colmán Ó Raghallaigh. It’s the follow up to his earlier work, An Sclábhaí, and is the second half of the story of Saint Patrick. It’s on the shelves of the Dublin comic shops, and I bought my copy in Forbidden Planet earlier today, and look forward to getting the time to read it! More information from Cló Mhaigh Eó’s website.

Stop Press #2: Oops!

A thousand apologies to all those wonderful people at Dublin’s Forbidden Planet, for forgetting to mention that they donated the copy of Robert Rankin’s new novel, The Witches of Chiswick, which is the prize for this month’s quiz. The question for the quiz is above.

Stop Press #3: More P-Con News

Regretfully, Ian McDonald is unable to attend P-CON, due to being involved in filming a feature for Channel 4 that weekend. He sends his apologies and best wishes for the con.

More information on the P-Con website.

I’m *still* forgetting something, no doubt...

Stop Press #4: Even more P-Con news

This one will be brief for two reasons: The con is only 5 days away, and there's all sorts of last minute things to do; and the PC here at home decided to irretrievably break down just over a week ago, making it very difficult for me to access my work for the con, or indeed to get any sort of proper internet access.

Anyway, here's a last minute shout-out about P-CON:

The Phoenix Convention, or P-CON, the Dublin SF convention, takes place next weekend. It's on in the Ashling Hotel in Parkgate Street, which is along the River Liffey, directly opposite the Guinness Brewery. You can get there from Dublin City centre by bus, as almost anything that goes along the quays goes near it, or, if you're coming in from Dublin Airport, you can get the 747 feeder bus, which goes to Heuston Station, which is just across the river from the hotel too.

The programme for the con is online, and you can see it by going to the con site, which is at www.slovobooks.com/phoenix/

The cost will be €35 for the weekend, or €20 for a one-day membership. We will be happy to take memberships on the door!

I had previously announced dates for P-CON 2, to be held next year. Two weeks after I did, I was informed that Octocon had announced the exact same weekend for their con next year, and at that in a hotel not more than ten minutes walk away from the Ashling, which is where I was intending to hold P-CON 2. Apparently they couldn't find another date or venue, so were forging ahead regardless. It makes absolutely no sense to hold two events which are vying for the same audience, as well as the same potential guests, on the same weekend, so I've moved P-CON 2 into November, over the weekend of the 13th & 14th, thereby giving a clear gap of five weekes between the two events.

At the time I announced the dates originally, I was certain that there was no prospect of the Octocon people going ahead next year, as they had posted nothing on their website or via their mailing list since October last year, and I had made a certain amount of inquiries which led me to believe there had been no activity on their part. I apologise for any incovenience this causes to anyone who has already undertaken to travel next year. I'll write further on this later, when I have proper access back, and will list the guests signed up so far, as well as the rates listings. Sorry for the change, but it seems to be for the best.

On the subject of Octocon, though more past than current, I see that the Royal Marine Hotel is not taking any bookings for events beyond the middle of next year, as there is a distinct possibility of the premises being redeveloped into apartments. I spent a lot of happy times in that hotel, at cons as well as at many other things over the past twenty five years and more, as I grew up in Dun Laoghaire, and it would have been one of the very first places I had a drink, back in my late teenage years. I've given up the drink since, mind you, but I always had a place in my heart for the RMH, and was at all the Octocons that were held there, a boast few enough people can make. I'll miss the place if it goes.

Obviously when I said brief there at the top, I meant brief for *me*! Normal service WILL be resumed shortly, once we have our PC back, and once I get P-CON over me. I look forward to seeing those of you who will be there over the weekend. This is a good year to decide to go to a con for the first time!

Best wishes,
Padraig O Mealoid
(Annoyingly, I can't get the fadas on to my name as easily as I used to...)