he next Worldcon may seem far away now as winter recedes from the land, but anyone interested in attending Noreascon Four should already be thinking about travel arrangements and other plans for the 2004 Labor Day weekend. That's when the 62nd World Science Fiction Convention will take place
in Boston. With guests of honor Terry Pratchett, William Tenn, Jack Speer and Peter Weston, it is sure to be an unforgettable event.
Noreascon's site is already packed with critical information that con-goers will want: data on hotels, contact addresses, volunteer opportunities, Hugo Awards info (a heads-up for those who are eligible to make Hugo nominations—the deadline is March 25), a con FAQ and publications from press releases to progress reports.
The site also highlights the events and programs that separate this particular Worldcon from those that have gone before. Noreascon Four will sponsor a Student Science Fiction and Fantasy Contest, for example, and is holding a Taste of Worldcon evening. Billed as an alternative activity for guests who don't wish to attend the opening ceremonies, this event comes complete with a parade and fair. Another innovation—for Worldcon sites, at least—is a weblog that is the natural first stop for reading up on late-breaking convention events.
This is one of those sites that will get progressively more interesting and useful as the summer progresses, so fans should be sure to check back frequently for updates.
— A.M. Dellamonica
Site of the Week—March 15, 2004
ne of the biggest revolutions in SF was spawned by—who else?—Robert Heinlein, when he created the notion of a "future history" in which he could set many of his stories. This notion—that individual tales could be envisioned as orderly elements of a common timeline—had the effect of lending Heinlein's works a majesty and power that scattered, unlinked stories could never achieve. The self-reference and interplay of shared characters, events and places—a feature that in comic books would come to be known as "continuity"—engendered in the reader an overwhelming sense of realism. These were not just fictions, but authentic snippets from some future textbook. Heinlein's graph of events, included with every volume of his future history, confirmed this radical notion.
Even earlier, of course, in the horror field, H.P. Lovecraft used similar techniques to lend his Cthulhu Mythos some of the same authoritative punch. Since the days when HPL and RAH first pioneered these methodologies, the science fiction, fantasy and horror genres have come to accept such "timelines" as de rigueur. And mainstream fiction benefits from such timelines as well: consider William Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha County, for one.
Now, Edgar Governo, Historian of Things That Never Were, has assembled a massive concordance of more than 300 online chronologies, making for an absolutely fascinating site. Divided into "Television," "Movies," "Books," "Games" and "Comics," Governo's links direct the visitor to such charts as those for Star Trek, Doctor Who, Star Wars, The Godfather, Dune, Discworld, Super Mario Brothers, Final Fantasy and the entire DC and Marvel universes. The timelines vary in quality and completeness, depending on the abilities of their fannish authors, but Governo gives fair and unbiased comments on their worth. I found only a few broken links, and in general was astonished at how well Governo has organized and maintained this information. Don't let more of your own future pass without visiting this site.
— Paul Di Filippo
Site of the Week—March 8, 2004
reated by scientists and writers like Isaac Asimov, Carl Sagan and James Randi, CSICOP has as its mission the stringent investigation of paranormal and fringe-science claims. This committee then publishes its findings far and wide, spreading the results of their research to the scientific community and the public alike. Well-known as the force behind the infamous magazine Skeptical Inquirer, this organization also maintains a informative and matter-of-fact Web site.
The CSICOP site maintains a calendar of "Events for Skeptics," an announcements e-list and a small gift shop of skeptic-themed novelty items. Feature sections like "Chain Letters Anonymous" and "Hoaxwatch" alert visitors to scam artists, bogus biohazards and emerging urban myths of a paranormal nature. For readers who cannot get enough scientific examination of unexplained phenomena, the annotated "SKEPTIC Bibliography" offers an extensive database of resources.
This Web page also provides an archive of selected articles from back issues of the Skeptical Inquirer, covering topics from anti-vaccination activism to the haunted house known as the Amityville Horror. Its columns have up-to-date commentary on current events—the
teaching of evolution in schools, spiritualists, firewalking and the Larry King Show's recent tendency to spotlight psychics.
With outstanding reading and a deep commitment to finding the truth, CSICOP offers Web surfers nothing less than a reality check—one that will never bounce.
— A.M. Dellamonica
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