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Dawn, whole no. 5, August 1949

Page 3

MAIL AT DAWN

Dear Lester, etc:
I have just browsed through Dawn number 4, and saw a few things I'd like to remark on. I come now to Russell Harold Woodman's letter. I see that Russell Harold Woodman is in the same old stupid groove. I've seen his magazine TRITON, as unparalled an example of dunder-headedness as has ever come my way. I've seen his letter in the current STARTLING (July '49). Without a tremendous effort expension, it would be impossible to find a more complete, well-rounded, ever-flowing fountain of fuggheadedness as we see in Russell Harold Woodman. I see his intellectual tolerance permits stars to be "glowing embers" or "glistening blobs of jelly" or "whatever." How about being just plain old stars such as the astronomers, whose job it is, tells us? Or is that concept foreign to the well-integrated mind of Russell Harold Woodman? "Something is on our side," he says. That Fortean stuff. He worships Fort, believes everything Fort says, it seems. Reminds me of fanatics I have known. Religious fanatics, mouthing phrases like "ascended Masters," "lamb of God," "washed in the blood of th e Lamb," "from Earth to Glory" and so on. Russell Harold Woodman is a religious fanatic one step removed. He has taken up Fort, the wild-eyed, and so far proves to be wilder of eye than Fort, though utterly without the amusing originality displayed by his God. "There is," says Russell Harold Woodman, "an essence of adventure and struggle in the world. I call it an essence of beauty." I agree, there is something abroad in the world. It may be a glowing ember or a glistening blob of jelly, but I call it Russell Harold Woodman.
Evan H. Appleman's idea for a Better Business Bureau for fandom is one of the starry-eyed projects that the Young in Fandom are wont to dream up. Why such elaborate set-up for perhaps 500 people? Who would bother to do all that work for no return? Who would have the time? Who would consider it worthwhile? And how could the NFFF run such a thing when it can not even run itself? FAPA is at present operating efficiently; it hasn't always. Why, that plan doesn't even look good on paper, which means it really must be a stinker.
Rick Sneary's brief history of the foul-up that is the NFFF is a lovely sample of how the NFFF has always operated and probably always will. Sure, it's easy to run down the NFFF. Such a feckless organization is a wonderful target for the bargs of people who dislike stupidity, fecklessness, and meaningless noises. A question: What does the NFFF do? Rick wonders if I would find it as easy to build up the NFFF as to make snide remarks about it. Answer, no, I would not. I took office in FAPA because I saw it falling into decay because of a series of inefficient, stupid, lazy officers whose God-and-mother complexes got in the way of their jobs. Laney and I helped rejuvenate FAPA. Rick knows this. He knows that in the two years since we took over, we have done FAPA a great deal of good. He wants to know why we didn't try this for NFFF. Sorry, Rick, I helped rejuvenate FAPA because I thought it was a worthwhile organization. I will not help because I don't believe the NFFF worthwhile. It doesn't do anything. It is not designed to do anything. Admit your own impotence if you wish, Rick, but do not expect me to help. What could my lone voice matter in a welter of fuggheadedness? I am not a champion of lost causes; I am no Cyrano de Bergerac; I am not God. I am not even Russell Harold Woodman.
I see Ed Cox chattering about the NFFF, too. I wonder what he means by the NFFF being "a valuable service to fans in fandom? I believe that NFFF has no purpose whatsoever. This may be why it fails to do anything--- it was not designed to do anything. In a sense, then, it is a tremendous success. Like the Fantasy Foundation, it is a do-nothing organization that scarcely deserves the term "Organization." 
Oh, I see that Sneary reports as progress in the NFFF: I. the writing of a budget. 2. Reforming the Wlcome Committee into two branch Public Relations Bureau.

Saving...

MAIL AT DAWN Dear Lester, etc: I have just browsed through Dawn number 4, and saw a few things I'd like to remark on. I come now to Russell Harold Woodman's letter. I see that Russell Harold Woodman is in the same old stupid groove. I've seen his magazine TRITON, as unparalled an example of dunder-headedness as has ever come my way. I've seen his letter in the current STARTLING (July '49). Without a tremendous effort expension, it would be impossible to find a more complete, well-rounded, ever-flowing fountain of fuggheadedness as we see in Russell Harold Woodman. I see his intellectual tolerance permits stars to be "glowing embers" or "glistening blobs of jelly" or "whatever." How about being just plain old stars such as the astronomers, whose job it is, tells us? Or is that concept foreign to the well-integrated mind of Russell Harold Woodman? "Something is on our side," he says. That Fortean stuff. He worships Fort, believes everything Fort says, it seems. Reminds me of fanatics I have known. Religious fanatics, mouthing phrases like "ascended Masters," "lamb of God," "washed in the blood of th e Lamb," "from Earth to Glory" and so on. Russell Harold Woodman is a religious fanatic one step removed. He has taken up Fort, the wild-eyed, and so far proves to be wilder of eye than Fort, though utterly without the amusing originality displayed by his God. "There is," says Russell Harold Woodman, "an essence of adventure and struggle in the world. I call it an essence of beauty." I agree, there is something abroad in the world. It may be a glowing ember or a glistening blob of jelly, but I call it Russell Harold Woodman. Evan H. Appleman's idea for a Better Business Bureau for fandom is one of the starry-eyed projects that the Young in Fandom are wont to dream up. Why such elaborate set-up for perhaps 500 people? Who would bother to do all that work for no return? Who would have the time? Who would consider it worthwhile? And how could the NFFF run such a thing when it can not even run itself? FAPA is at present operating efficiently; it hasn't always. Why, that plan doesn't even look good on paper, which means it really must be a stinker. Rick Sneary's brief history of the foul-up that is the NFFF is a lovely sample of how the NFFF has always operated and probably always will. Sure, it's easy to run down the NFFF. Such a feckless organization is a wonderful target for the bargs of people who dislike stupidity, fecklessness, and meaningless noises. A question: What does the NFFF do? Rick wonders if I would find it as easy to build up the NFFF as to make snide remarks about it. Answer, no, I would not. I took office in FAPA because I saw it falling into decay because of a series of inefficient, stupid, lazy officers whose God-and-mother complexes got in the way of their jobs. Laney and I helped rejuvenate FAPA. Rick knows this. He knows that in the two years since we took over, we have done FAPA a great deal of good. He wants to know why we didn't try this for NFFF. Sorry, Rick, I helped rejuvenate FAPA because I thought it was a worthwhile organization. I will not help because I don't believe the NFFF worthwhile. It doesn't do anything. It is not designed to do anything. Admit your own impotence if you wish, Rick, but do not expect me to help. What could my lone voice matter in a welter of fuggheadedness? I am not a champion of lost causes; I am no Cyrano de Bergerac; I am not God. I am not even Russell Harold Woodman. I see Ed Cox chattering about the NFFF, too. I wonder what he means by the NFFF being "a valuable service to fans in fandom? I believe that NFFF has no purpose whatsoever. This may be why it fails to do anything--- it was not designed to do anything. In a sense, then, it is a tremendous success. Like the Fantasy Foundation, it is a do-nothing organization that scarcely deserves the term "Organization." Oh, I see that Sneary reports as progress in the NFFF: I. the writing of a budget. 2. Reforming the Wlcome Committee into two branch Public Relations Bureau.