Date: Thu, 23 Sep 1993 17:17:28 -0100
To: _swat.org.swil @ cc.swarthmore.edu
From: jthorpe1 @ cc.swarthmore.edu
Subject: SWILnews #3 in C minor

        Greetings and salutations, all you wild and wooly SWILfolk out
there in e-mail land.  The time has come (the co-prez said) to write of
many things...

        First on our list is the scheduled-for-Sunday trip to the
Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire, which will happen at 9:00AM (gasp!) in a
big maroon (oops, sorry, garnet) van.  Your pilot will be the
ever-useful
Larry, and the trip will last until about 7:30PM.  Fee is $14.95, plus
any
donations for gasoline that we need.  Those of you who want to go MUST
let
Andrea know RSN (Real Soon Now) (e-mail ahall1), or we won't be able to
count how many spaces are left in the van.  ("Not a problem," you say.
Ah,
but have you ever tried to sit comfortably on Peter Wong's lap for an
hour
and a half?  Didn't think so.) 

        At the meeting past, there was bloodshed!  Both Larry Miller and
Colin Schatz were messily dismembered after coming to 3 meetings in a
row
and proving their sentience.  (Colin demonstrated to us, quite nicely,
that
having a spoon is better than not having a spoon, and thus he is
sentient. 
Or something like that.  [No, I didn't quite follow it either.]  Larry
told
bad jokes until we admitted his sentience, noting that only sentient
beings
are able to tell _bad_ jokes.  [As opposed to good jokes, which can be
told
by, say, Ronald Reagan, or one of the better bars of soap.])  This makes
two new non-members we've got in SWIL--the rest of youse freshlings had
better get on the ball!  (No more sleeping in, Elizabeth!)

        We need to begin thinking about the upcoming Pterodactyl Hunt,
which may be upcoming in just a few weeks.  This means a) Lesley should
come to Saturday's meeting, and b) we should all be thinking about what
we'd like to be for the Hunt and how we'd like to run it.  October seems
to
have snuckified up on us, so organizing rapidly is what I think we
should
be doing.

        No new news on: George, the Reunion, or Mike Jittlov.  Kendra
(keshlem1) still needs more helpers for the reunion, though...

        Feel free to come by ML4201 on Saturday at 1:15PM to watch the
next
episode of The Prisoner, the title of which temporarily eludes me.
We've
had about six people each week so far, but my room can hold many more... 
Plus, if you're very good, you might get a Twizzler.  I'd also like to
mention that, if anyone wishes to sometime rent some movie that SWIL
might
enjoy, or watch a videotape that I own, my room is often available for
viewing purposes (but let me know first!).  My door is always open,
except
when it's closed.  Or missing.

Hey, another review has arrived in my IN box, from great and furry
dinosaur Jed:

REVIEW by Jed Hartman: _Doomsday Book_ by Connie Willis
I'm a big fan of Connie Willis, and my usual rule of thumb is that any
book
that wins both the Hugo and the Nebula is worth reading.  In this
particular case,
though, I was disappointed.  The book starts out promisingly enough --
departmental politics mixed with a history student's time-travel jaunt
to
the year 1320 -- and I had a hard time putting it down for the last 200
pages.  Unfortunately, between the beginning and the end there are 300
pages of filler.  The characters, due to the author's meddling, take
nearly
the first 400 pages of the book to figure out what's gone wrong, though
it
was obvious to me around page 100.  (And that's only partly because I'd
already read "Fire Watch," the superb short story to which this is a
prequel; I think it would've been pretty obvious even without the
spoiler
in that story, and even without the spoiler in a blurb inside the front
cover of this new book.)  The level of detail about life in a small town
in
medieval England proves once again that Willis is capable of serious
historical research; but she's proved that before, and the lengths she
goes
to to prevent the characters from talking to the people they need to
talk
to get a little tiresome after a while.  The characters *are* believable
and sympathetic (except for the mandatory unredeemably scummy ones), and
the final third of the book is pure heartrending Willis; I just wish
she'd
cut the middle third, in order to get readers to the good parts sooner.
If
you're patient, read it; otherwise, find a copy of "Fire Watch."

        And now, of course, it's time for the Attendance List.  (pause) 
Um, it's time for the Attendance List?  Uh-oh.  (Grimace of
embarassment.) 
Well, it seems that our old pal Mr. Attendance List is not here right
now. 
Actually, I have no idea where he is.  He may be in Guam for all I know. 
What this means is, I'll either send it out next week or never,
depending
on whether I find it or not.  Sorry....  No members were present, so
nobody
will miss out on non-membership attendance requirements.

        That just about does it.  You'll hear from me again next week.
So long.

                                                ----Praefecti Quondam
                                                       Praefectique
Futuri