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Observations, issue 3, 1940's?

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for us inner circle boys to discover some fandom that similarly cut adrift from us a decade ago and has been pursuing its own paths ever since, without awareness of the rest of the fan world. Laney&s record hunting experiences are enjoyed. It's just as well that I don't live in a large town; as it is, I usually waste a couple hours each month in Hagerstown trying to track down classical discs that I think might exist in the effects of someone who has died or in some antique shop at the edge of town. In a big city, I'd probably waste half my spare time at this occupation.

Phanteur Estivator: Alvin A. Laney's poem is hardly superb, but it contains little to annoy me, surprisingly enough, since I'm not in sympathy with the basic idea. At least AAL shows himself equipped to write decent imitations of Tennyson, which is better than nothing.

Ego-Beast: Does Palmer have a wife and children? It's news to me. One objection to the mailing comments in Ego-Beast, which are otherwise among the best in the mailing: they suffer from a fault to which I am also subject, and that is cryptic references to this or that which can't be understood without actually digging out the last mailing. I'm trying to avoid it in my own stuff, and I know how easy to fall into the habit. Some of the comments are unnecessarily brief as well: I doubt, for instance, that Cox knows any more than he did before you explained: "Speer's humbers refer to the Decimal Classification". Not having read Spengler, I'd hardly be the one to speculate learnedly on the effects of a coming return to religion. I might ask, however, why so many people assume that that would be a return to a sort of fundamental Christianity. If that religious revival does come, couldn't it represent a more enlightened kind of religion, maybe something along the lines traced in Last and First Men? I doubt that the Fundamentalists will ever become strong enough to kill space travel by crying out against an unsuccessful first expedition. And I hope devoutly that the pessimism running through editorial comments in this Ego-Beast is just a temporary mood with Don. For pity's sake, don't burn your bridges behind you; if fandom palls, let things slide for a week or a month or a half-year, but don't "resign from fandom," issue proclamations on your disgust, and do all the other foolish things that fans have done in the past. It makes things so tough when said fans decide they want to resume activity.

Ad Interruption: A sad decline. I hope that Woofford isn't Wilimczyk, who once had the ability to turn out first-rate material.

 Stfanatic: What is the reason for articles like "Why Fandom?" It's just about equivalent to the way church papers print proofs of the goodness of God. Their readers are convinced of it already, and the articles have a superfluous aspect unless they're printed where they will catch the attention of non-believers. If "The Time Machine" is a book that you don't often see, I'd hate to read a review of one that is familiar.

Ah Sweet Idiocy: Read simply as a chronicle of fan events in a large town, this is some of the most fascinating stuff I have encountered. Ackerman and the other LASFS members may not believe me, but I am sincere when I say that nothing in this entire publication has caused me to see the fans in Los Angeles in a different light: I had pieced together enough correspondence, fanzine articles, and personal observations to see them just about as Laney does. Read as an indictment of fandom; as Laney apparently intended, the production fails somewhat short of its mark. The LASFS as described herein doesn't seem to be composed of individuals any more neurotic, more poorly adjusted, and more eccentric than the families who live on Bryan Place, the people who work at my office, or a large proportion of my more distant relatives. Homosexuality isn't rampant among the three groups mentioned, but that is the only respect in which they differ, and I think Laney is sadly mistaken in implying that people in general are more "normal" than the LASFS. Don't consider this a defense of the club, by any means. My fan activities for the last ten years have been guided by my belief that fanning is a lot more fun when done through correspondence and fanzines, not through personal encounters, and the Laney memoirs are a good substantiation of that belief.

Moonshine: The material is gradually improving, and I'd enjoy the publication very much if Lan would omit the drawings and sketches. Art work makes a magazine look better when it's decently done. I omit it in Horizons because

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for us inner circle boys to discover some fandom that similarly cut adrift from us a decade ago and has been pursuing its own paths ever since, without awareness of the rest of the fan world. Laney&s record hunting experiences are enjoyed. It's just as well that I don't live in a large town; as it is, I usually waste a couple hours each month in Hagerstown trying to track down classical discs that I think might exist in the effects of someone who has died or in some antique shop at the edge of town. In a big city, I'd probably waste half my spare time at this occupation. Phanteur Estivator: Alvin A. Laney's poem is hardly superb, but it contains little to annoy me, surprisingly enough, since I'm not in sympathy with the basic idea. At least AAL shows himself equipped to write decent imitations of Tennyson, which is better than nothing. Ego-Beast: Does Palmer have a wife and children? It's news to me. One objection to the mailing comments in Ego-Beast, which are otherwise among the best in the mailing: they suffer from a fault to which I am also subject, and that is cryptic references to this or that which can't be understood without actually digging out the last mailing. I'm trying to avoid it in my own stuff, and I know how easy to fall into the habit. Some of the comments are unnecessarily brief as well: I doubt, for instance, that Cox knows any more than he did before you explained: "Speer's humbers refer to the Decimal Classification". Not having read Spengler, I'd hardly be the one to speculate learnedly on the effects of a coming return to religion. I might ask, however, why so many people assume that that would be a return to a sort of fundamental Christianity. If that religious revival does come, couldn't it represent a more enlightened kind of religion, maybe something along the lines traced in Last and First Men? I doubt that the Fundamentalists will ever become strong enough to kill space travel by crying out against an unsuccessful first expedition. And I hope devoutly that the pessimism running through editorial comments in this Ego-Beast is just a temporary mood with Don. For pity's sake, don't burn your bridges behind you; if fandom palls, let things slide for a week or a month or a half-year, but don't "resign from fandom," issue proclamations on your disgust, and do all the other foolish things that fans have done in the past. It makes things so tough when said fans decide they want to resume activity. Ad Interruption: A sad decline. I hope that Woofford isn't Wilimczyk, who once had the ability to turn out first-rate material. Stfanatic: What is the reason for articles like "Why Fandom?" It's just about equivalent to the way church papers print proofs of the goodness of God. Their readers are convinced of it already, and the articles have a superfluous aspect unless they're printed where they will catch the attention of non-believers. If "The Time Machine" is a book that you don't often see, I'd hate to read a review of one that is familiar. Ah Sweet Idiocy: Read simply as a chronicle of fan events in a large town, this is some of the most fascinating stuff I have encountered. Ackerman and the other LASFS members may not believe me, but I am sincere when I say that nothing in this entire publication has caused me to see the fans in Los Angeles in a different light: I had pieced together enough correspondence, fanzine articles, and personal observations to see them just about as Laney does. Read as an indictment of fandom; as Laney apparently intended, the production fails somewhat short of its mark. The LASFS as described herein doesn't seem to be composed of individuals any more neurotic, more poorly adjusted, and more eccentric than the families who live on Bryan Place, the people who work at my office, or a large proportion of my more distant relatives. Homosexuality isn't rampant among the three groups mentioned, but that is the only respect in which they differ, and I think Laney is sadly mistaken in implying that people in general are more "normal" than the LASFS. Don't consider this a defense of the club, by any means. My fan activities for the last ten years have been guided by my belief that fanning is a lot more fun when done through correspondence and fanzines, not through personal encounters, and the Laney memoirs are a good substantiation of that belief. Moonshine: The material is gradually improving, and I'd enjoy the publication very much if Lan would omit the drawings and sketches. Art work makes a magazine look better when it's decently done. I omit it in Horizons because