Something odd happened today. Something that hasn’t happened in at least 20 years, if not longer. I was reading through the B9 robot builder’s list, and someone mentioned Starlog.
Starlog used to be the focus of media SF fandom. Put out a fanzine, start a catalog, make some props or moidel kits, and you were obligated to advertise them in Starlog’s classified ad section. Without Starlog, there would have been no LISFAN. Starlog’s classified ad section was my sole advertising venue.
Things chugged along for quite a few years. And then something odd happened: the classified ads stopped pulling. Fans gravitated away from Starlog, in search of better advertising venues. The culprit was simple enough: the internet killed Starlog’s advertising base. Why bother with a classified ad in Starlog when you could put up a web page for free?
Starlog’s classified ad space kept shrinking and shrinking, until it disappeared entirely. The magazine continued to publish, thoiugh I really can’t say exactly who was reading it. I didn’t know anyone who read Starlog. As I said, I hadn’t bought a copy in 20 years. On occasion I would look at copies at the newsstand. I was never tempted to buy a copy; nothing in it ever interested me.
Starlog was sort of like second tier celebrities, such as anyone who appeared on The Brady Bunch: you assumed it was still around, you never heard about it or saw it, but you assumed it was still chugging along.
At any event, I looked up Starlog on the internet. And I soon came upon the following (you can read the original article here: http://cheap-magazine-subscriptions.blogspot.com/)
Starlog has ceased publication. Starlog was a magazine for developments in the field of science fiction, and included interviews with writers and actors in the science fiction field. Starlog has not announced what current subscribers will receive as a replacement magazine, if any.
What is interesting is that on Starlog’s website (http://www.starlog.com) nothing is mentioned about this; they are still selling subscriptions. Nice bunch of folks.
I remember Starlog in its heyday. They claimed to have a million readers. Yet when they mentioed the amount of copies they printed, it was far less than a million. In magazine publication there is something called a pass on ratio: that is, if you buy a magazine and let 5 friends read it too, and that was typical of that magazine, then it was said to have a 5:1 pass on ratio. Mind you, I would think tht paid circulation is all that should matter, but I suppose that when you’re publishing a magazine you want to present as large a set of numbers as possible.
My main argument with Starlog started some years ago. Now let us have a couple of hypothetical situations:
Fan A decided that he wants to make some unlicensed copies of Star Trek props. He vacuforms them, and sells them in Starlog. Paramount pictures contacts Starlog, asking them to stop accepting ads from that fan.
Fan B decided to make bootlegged copies of my fanzine, LISFAN, and sells them in Starlog. I contact Starlog and ask them to stop accepting ads from that fan.
OK, what did Starlog do?
Did they:
A) Refuse ads from both fans. Right is right and wrong is wrong, and it doesn’t matter who makes a claim.
B) Decide that freedom of speech is what this nation is founded on, and allow both fans to keep selling their wares, or
C) Stop accepting ads from the fan bootlegging Star Trek models, and respond to me with a non answer “This fan is not a subscriber.” And do nothing about the fan bootlegging my fanzine.
Oh hell you know what happened: they went with C. They had one of three decisions to make. Two would have been just and moral. The third was simply a sign of their love of money. Now if I could have legally changed my name to Paramount Pictures, then they might have listened to me.
So, goodbye Starlog. And yes, good riddance. You won’t be missed.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Bill Dale Marcinko Remembered
I was doing what I do most every day: using Google to look up whatever surfaced into my mind. I had just looked up a fellow zine publisher from the 1980s, to find out that he’s now a graphic artist. Good deal! And then I looked up Bill-Dale Marcinko, who I found out died last December in a house fire.
I never met Bill-Dale. I knew him through spotty correspondence and some of his fanzines (AFTA and later CROW). I found his writing, as well as his sense of humor, amusing in a minor way. In my opinion, what he wrote bordered on the childish, rather than the childlike.
I admit that I just don’t get it. For instance, one fan named Clifford Meth mourned Bill Dale’s passing. Well, that’s interesting: I remember receiving a fanzine (published around the time AFTA was a going concern) from Clifford Meth, with instructions written on its cover to turn to a certain page. On that page was an article by Meth, blasting Marcinko for his homosexuality. The article ended with the immortal words “My god, I’m only 17!”
I don’t know. Either Meth was trying to make up for previous attacks, or the whole thing was a joke all along, with Meth playing the role of the offended teenager. Certainly, from the tone of Meth’s memorial article, I must assume the latter. You can see the article here.
I remember wanting to correspond with Bill-Dale about something or another. When he didn’t reply to a letter, I figured the matter was settled, and I wouldn’t be hearing from him again.
I later got what turned out to be a form letter from Bill-Dale, in a SASE I had sent him a year before. I remember the words on it: “I get desperate in times of crisis. So I am turning to you.” What a way to make a guy feel special.
I have no idea if I responded to that form letter or not. I do remember that several years later I received a copy of CROW, a gay oriented fanzine. The one thing I remember about CROW is an article that said something to the effect that “You shouldn’t have sex with house cats, as cats sometimes have an AIDS like virus.” This might be a part of Bill-Dale’s sense of humor; I don’t know. I remember being offended: never mind that you could injure or kill the cat. The only thing to worry about is catching something.
I tore the magazine into 1” square pieces and wrote to Bill-Dale, telling him that “To say the least, :CROW will not be a part of my permanent fanzine collection.”
And that was the last I heard of Bill-Dale. It turns out that was the last zine he ever put out.
The years passed. I did several fanzines of my own, and started a successful mail order business. All of this collapsed when the internet became prominent. Why bother paying for fanzines when you can go on the internet and read a million different opinions for free?
The great thing about the internet is that anyone can, with no money, get their opinions heard. The bad thing about the internet is that anyone can, with no money, can get their opinions heard. When you have to shell out hundreds of dollars for printing and postage, you tend to put a lot more time and thought into what you say.
I do find it o=ironic that all of Bill-Dale’s friends lament his life decisions. Bill-Dale stopped publishing zines and made a living on ebay selling collectibles from his home. This both sustained him and probably hastened his death: firefighters found it difficult to get inside of his house because of all of the cardboard boxes full of junk, er, collectibles.
But still, Bill-Dale found his niche in life. He made a living off of ebay, which is no mean feat in and of itself. I think all of these fans that are mourning his passing should ask themselves why he decided to stop writing. Perhaps he realized that all of the positive zine reviews in the world don’t do a thing about paying utility bills.
I never met Bill-Dale. I knew him through spotty correspondence and some of his fanzines (AFTA and later CROW). I found his writing, as well as his sense of humor, amusing in a minor way. In my opinion, what he wrote bordered on the childish, rather than the childlike.
I admit that I just don’t get it. For instance, one fan named Clifford Meth mourned Bill Dale’s passing. Well, that’s interesting: I remember receiving a fanzine (published around the time AFTA was a going concern) from Clifford Meth, with instructions written on its cover to turn to a certain page. On that page was an article by Meth, blasting Marcinko for his homosexuality. The article ended with the immortal words “My god, I’m only 17!”
I don’t know. Either Meth was trying to make up for previous attacks, or the whole thing was a joke all along, with Meth playing the role of the offended teenager. Certainly, from the tone of Meth’s memorial article, I must assume the latter. You can see the article here.
I remember wanting to correspond with Bill-Dale about something or another. When he didn’t reply to a letter, I figured the matter was settled, and I wouldn’t be hearing from him again.
I later got what turned out to be a form letter from Bill-Dale, in a SASE I had sent him a year before. I remember the words on it: “I get desperate in times of crisis. So I am turning to you.” What a way to make a guy feel special.
I have no idea if I responded to that form letter or not. I do remember that several years later I received a copy of CROW, a gay oriented fanzine. The one thing I remember about CROW is an article that said something to the effect that “You shouldn’t have sex with house cats, as cats sometimes have an AIDS like virus.” This might be a part of Bill-Dale’s sense of humor; I don’t know. I remember being offended: never mind that you could injure or kill the cat. The only thing to worry about is catching something.
I tore the magazine into 1” square pieces and wrote to Bill-Dale, telling him that “To say the least, :CROW will not be a part of my permanent fanzine collection.”
And that was the last I heard of Bill-Dale. It turns out that was the last zine he ever put out.
The years passed. I did several fanzines of my own, and started a successful mail order business. All of this collapsed when the internet became prominent. Why bother paying for fanzines when you can go on the internet and read a million different opinions for free?
The great thing about the internet is that anyone can, with no money, get their opinions heard. The bad thing about the internet is that anyone can, with no money, can get their opinions heard. When you have to shell out hundreds of dollars for printing and postage, you tend to put a lot more time and thought into what you say.
I do find it o=ironic that all of Bill-Dale’s friends lament his life decisions. Bill-Dale stopped publishing zines and made a living on ebay selling collectibles from his home. This both sustained him and probably hastened his death: firefighters found it difficult to get inside of his house because of all of the cardboard boxes full of junk, er, collectibles.
But still, Bill-Dale found his niche in life. He made a living off of ebay, which is no mean feat in and of itself. I think all of these fans that are mourning his passing should ask themselves why he decided to stop writing. Perhaps he realized that all of the positive zine reviews in the world don’t do a thing about paying utility bills.
Saturday, March 25, 2006
OK, so I decided to start a real blog
I've been doing bits and pieces about myself all over the net. Usually when the mood struck me, I'd start up a single subject web page, usually on http://www.webspawner.com. At this point, I have decided to integrate all of those pages into one whole-- sort of a way of integrating my personality together at the same time too.
At this point in my life, things can be said to be a stable mediocre. Day to day life consists of the same rituals.
The fourth edition of my book, "You Can Build the Lost in Space Robot" was officially released a month ago. Reaction has been enthusiastic. It's an odd thing: I derive a great deal of satisfaction from writing, laying out and editing books. If there was no money involved at all I think I'd still do it.
You know, I have never been happy with any photos that have been taken of me (I tend to avoid cameras when I can). The photo accompanying this blog is no exception. It's a self taken photo, and as such it looks a little odder than most photos of me. I have a decent photo of myself in a suit, but that most certainly isn't the real me. What is here will have to suffice.
I must confess something too: I don't like looking at myselfd on video. Mike Clark video'd me for a sequence in his tape "Robot Memories Act 2," several years ago. I still haven't had the courage to watch it.
But enough of that for now. I'll swipe text from my other websites and flesh this out to a proper blog.
At this point in my life, things can be said to be a stable mediocre. Day to day life consists of the same rituals.
The fourth edition of my book, "You Can Build the Lost in Space Robot" was officially released a month ago. Reaction has been enthusiastic. It's an odd thing: I derive a great deal of satisfaction from writing, laying out and editing books. If there was no money involved at all I think I'd still do it.
You know, I have never been happy with any photos that have been taken of me (I tend to avoid cameras when I can). The photo accompanying this blog is no exception. It's a self taken photo, and as such it looks a little odder than most photos of me. I have a decent photo of myself in a suit, but that most certainly isn't the real me. What is here will have to suffice.
I must confess something too: I don't like looking at myselfd on video. Mike Clark video'd me for a sequence in his tape "Robot Memories Act 2," several years ago. I still haven't had the courage to watch it.
But enough of that for now. I'll swipe text from my other websites and flesh this out to a proper blog.
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