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Fantasite, v. 2, issue 4, November-December 1942

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Fan Scratchings
By GORDON DICKSON

FAN SCRATCHINGS has appeared in the MFS Bulletin twice before this column was written, but since this is the first time it has appeared in Fantasite, I intend to take advantage of the opportunity to get a few things straight right from the start. In the first place, I don't write the column, we do, if you catch my drift, and I never discuss what we choose to write. I prefer this to working under a pseudonym. Furthermore, we have our little privileges with regard to spelling and grammar and intend to exercise them to their fullest extent. We reserve the right to be prejudiced and refuse to treat with confidence or discretion anything addressed to us. If there is something you have been aching to tell fandom, but have been afraid of stepping on someone's toes, send us the news. We'll print it -- with our own comments. We're not afraid of popular opinion and we're not afraid of you. If you sign your letters with your real name, or if we can possibly find out your real name, we'll print that if we feel like it, too. Now to work.

To begin with, we have been told that Arden Benson's nickname is spelled B-u-n-s (short for Bunsen burner). We, however, have always thought of it as Bunce, since that is the way it is pronounced. After thinking it over we have decided we prefer Bunce and shall continue to spell it that way henceforward in this column. We do not like Raymond Washington ever since he presumed to doubt my identity and even worse, stated openly that I was a pseudonym for Gergne. Since R. W. has never seen fit to retract his statement he may consider himself at open warfare with us.

 Speaking of Gergen reminds us that we have heard that he buys back numbers of Astoundings and never reads them. Too bad we can't remember the name of our informant. We consider the last meeting of the MFS at Sam Russell's house a brawl. The next meeting is at the Y and it better be purely sciencefictional. It seems to us that the MFS and fandom in genral all over the country is throwing itself around in a burst of feverish activity -- moments of great enthusiasm alternating with moments of complete disgust -- like a candle sputtering before going out altogether. In the name of Cyrano de Bergerac's first rocket belt, why can't fandom cut down to a war basis instead of trying to make history with new organizations and reorganizations of old organizations at a time when there's too much history being made already. If this keeps up, we foresee a complete extinction soon of fandom as it is now and the old fans coming back after the war to a new and different fandom to which all the old members are strangers and vice versa.

[Image of a man holding money in his left hand, staring at an extinguished candle, with a question mark over his head.]

But we wander. To get back to the present, we are thoroughly enraged at all members who complain that they haven't got TIME to do this or that. We wish to point out that this is a disease exclusively confined to members of a year or more's standing. New, uncorrupted members never spout the phrase. Look at Sheldon Araas, our newest addition. Shel works eight hours out of twenty-four on the graveyard shift and carries twenty credits in engineering at the U. In addition to this he manages to read all the pro mags and since becoming a member has caught up with nearly all the fan mags in the files of various members. Moreover he makes the meetings and a good share of the informal fangabs in between meetings. Shel has never, to our knowledge been known to tell anyone that he hadn't time to do this or that. Object lesson No. 1 to fans in general. (Next page)

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Fan Scratchings By GORDON DICKSON FAN SCRATCHINGS has appeared in the MFS Bulletin twice before this column was written, but since this is the first time it has appeared in Fantasite, I intend to take advantage of the opportunity to get a few things straight right from the start. In the first place, I don't write the column, we do, if you catch my drift, and I never discuss what we choose to write. I prefer this to working under a pseudonym. Furthermore, we have our little privileges with regard to spelling and grammar and intend to exercise them to their fullest extent. We reserve the right to be prejudiced and refuse to treat with confidence or discretion anything addressed to us. If there is something you have been aching to tell fandom, but have been afraid of stepping on someone's toes, send us the news. We'll print it -- with our own comments. We're not afraid of popular opinion and we're not afraid of you. If you sign your letters with your real name, or if we can possibly find out your real name, we'll print that if we feel like it, too. Now to work. To begin with, we have been told that Arden Benson's nickname is spelled B-u-n-s (short for Bunsen burner). We, however, have always thought of it as Bunce, since that is the way it is pronounced. After thinking it over we have decided we prefer Bunce and shall continue to spell it that way henceforward in this column. We do not like Raymond Washington ever since he presumed to doubt my identity and even worse, stated openly that I was a pseudonym for Gergne. Since R. W. has never seen fit to retract his statement he may consider himself at open warfare with us. Speaking of Gergen reminds us that we have heard that he buys back numbers of Astoundings and never reads them. Too bad we can't remember the name of our informant. We consider the last meeting of the MFS at Sam Russell's house a brawl. The next meeting is at the Y and it better be purely sciencefictional. It seems to us that the MFS and fandom in genral all over the country is throwing itself around in a burst of feverish activity -- moments of great enthusiasm alternating with moments of complete disgust -- like a candle sputtering before going out altogether. In the name of Cyrano de Bergerac's first rocket belt, why can't fandom cut down to a war basis instead of trying to make history with new organizations and reorganizations of old organizations at a time when there's too much history being made already. If this keeps up, we foresee a complete extinction soon of fandom as it is now and the old fans coming back after the war to a new and different fandom to which all the old members are strangers and vice versa. [Image of a man holding money in his left hand, staring at an extinguished candle, with a question mark over his head.] But we wander. To get back to the present, we are thoroughly enraged at all members who complain that they haven't got TIME to do this or that. We wish to point out that this is a disease exclusively confined to members of a year or more's standing. New, uncorrupted members never spout the phrase. Look at Sheldon Araas, our newest addition. Shel works eight hours out of twenty-four on the graveyard shift and carries twenty credits in engineering at the U. In addition to this he manages to read all the pro mags and since becoming a member has caught up with nearly all the fan mags in the files of various members. Moreover he makes the meetings and a good share of the informal fangabs in between meetings. Shel has never, to our knowledge been known to tell anyone that he hadn't time to do this or that. Object lesson No. 1 to fans in general. (Next page)