emarkably public for a covert organization, the Secret Masters of Fandom have been compiling information of interest to other SF fans since 1998. For the past six years that data has been available on the Web, providing useful resources to anyone interested in SF and fantasy fan activity.
Convention listings are very much the heart of the SMOF page. The site is home to several different directories, sorted into a variety of categories--cons for gamers, Star Trek fans, convention committees bidding to host the World Science Fiction convention and other areas of interest. They are also sorted by year and geographical area. Most of these listings are maintained by individual fans with an interest in the sub-genre of cons they research. As a result, the listings are detailed and include plenty of information on guests, as well as links to each convention's home page which allow browsers to investigate the event for themselves.
Other great convention-related resources on this page include on-line content from the now-defunct fanzine Conrunner, a 'zine specifically for fans who are organizing conventions; an index of frequently-filked songs and their composers; and contact information for a large number of fan organizations.
The SMOF site is very simply designed and less than stunningly indexed, leaving visitors to search carefully for particular pieces of convention information. Even so, it is always worthwhile to dig through the large body of data gathered here. Visitors will find this site a treasure, whether they plan their entire summer around the convention season or just want to get out for a weekend and mingle with other fans.
-- A.M. Dellamonica
Site of the Week -- March 26, 2001
F readers who have wondered what Walter Jon Williams--currently nominated for two Nebula Awards--looks like, can not only see him on this Web page, but see him in scuba gear! Maintained by the author himself, this site contains information on Williams--coming appearances, recent publications, an FAQ and lots and lots of data on his books and stories. A bibliography, excerpts, shots of covers--everything you want to know about Williams' fiction can definitely be learned here.
Equally engrossing are the short biographical essays, which offer insight into the commercial aspects of the writer's life. One discusses the reasons why The Rift was issued under the author name Walter J. Williams instead of the more usual Walter Jon. Another discusses the work progressing on the film version of the novella Broadway Johnny. Surfers who want to read something longer may enjoy the interviews or an account of Williams' struggle to maintain control over the trademark title of his novel Hardwired.
This page also features a meticulous array of links which connect surfers to online Williams publications, organizations that have given him awards, his dojo (the American Kenpo Karate Academy), listings of fellow writers from New Mexico, the Andromeda TV series--for which he has written an episode--and a good deal else.
One of this writer's most delightful aspects is his chameleon flexibility, the extent to which his stories work beautifully in such a wide range of voices and settings. As a result, the great benefit of the Walter Jon Williams site to readers is that it gives them a chance to sample extensively, to check out all the dazzling colors of his growing body of work.
-- A.M. Dellamonica
Site of the Week -- March 19, 2001
uried deep in NASA's network of Web sites is a page that proves a picture's worth not only a thousand words, but millions of dollars as well. Astronomy Picture of the Day highlights a new stunning piece of stellar photography every day, accompanying each image with a short description describing the phenomenon.
The features cover a variety of subjects, from deep space shots of galaxies to the backyard beauty of Earth's own moon. Current space events are chronicled as well--the site goes out of its way to explain major happenings like the landing of the NEAR Shoemaker probe on the asteroid Eros. Supplementing the daily picture is an extensive archive, a glossary of space terms and space education links.
The site is the creation of the folks at NASA's Laboratory for High-Energy Physics at Goddard Space Flight Center. Authors Robert Nemiroff and Jerry Bonnell do an excellent job of picking pictures that dazzle the eye, while supplying text that feeds the brain. The late Carl Sagan, who urged scientists to share with the public their passion about their work, would have been proud.
-- Kenneth Newquist
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