Echoes

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Lloyd Penney
1706-24 Eva Rd.
Etobicoke, ON
CANADA M9C 2B2

November 28, 2011

Dear Petréa:

Many thanks for the link to Picofarad #26. Always something good to see within it, and so let's have a look, and make a few comments where I can.

The site selection for 2014 is coming up next year, and that is the only reason we have a supporting membership for Chicon 7. Because we definitely want to be in London in 2014, we are skipping attending Chicon 7 and LoneStarCon 3 to make sure of it. Sounds like a drastic measure, but I can't see us affording a Worldcon every year any more. I would definitely be in favour of radio drama at the convention, and also the opportunity to see it performed, and perhaps take part in the performance. At SFContario 2 in Toronto a couple of weekends ago, I took part in performing some original radio plays, and had a great time.

The newest movie I've seen is Hugo. A great story turned into a great movie, directed by Martin Scorsese, and it stars Sir Ben Kingsley, Jude Law and Sacha Baron Cohen. I thought it was a little steampunk from the trailer, but once you get into it, it is a moving tribute to the beginnings of motion picture making, and one French movie maker we all know very well. Enjoyed so much, I want the DVD when it comes out, and Yvonne may very well get me the Brian Selznick book for Christmas.

My loc... managing to stay retired? Never retired, I guess, but no more committees for us. However, if someone needs a break from the reg desk, or needs a quick gopher, we don't mind. That's an investment or an hour or so. Committees mean commitments of years, and we're not willing any more. I helped to stage a display of past and present Aurora Awards for the Canadian National Convention at SFContario 2, and there was a lot of appreciation there. That, I didn't mind, either. However, there is some appreciation paid to us, I'd like to think... Yvonne and I will be the Fan GoHs at Loscon 39 next year. I still need to find out more details about who the other guests are.

I am surprised about the cancellation of the Nova Albion Steampunk Exhibition... I thought this was a convention that was doing relatively well. I should send you a list I have of my own to help flesh out the central Canada part of your own list.

I think I am done for the moment. I will send it to you as soon as I get home tonight. Have a great Christmas and New Year's!

Yours, Lloyd Penney.

I didn't go to Hugo (as you can see from what's included here) because all the positive comments I've seen emphasize the nods to early filmmaking. If anyone's still wondering why it failed to become a blockbuster hit, it's because all the publicity it got came with warnings to the general public that it was full of in-jokes we weren't going to get.

Not that I'm saying it's not going to win the Hugo Award because fandom is lowbrow. No, it's simply going to have the bad luck to be going up against Source Code and Game of Thrones and get steamrolled by one or the other.

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