Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

"Contrary to popular opinion, the cornerstone of a free society lies not with the freedoms enumerated in the First Amendment. They're important, but much more important is what very well could be considered to be the lynchpin of a free society -- the right of habeas corpus -- a right that is guaranteed within the original Constitution itself." -- Jacob G. Hornberger

A quick note about National Protection From Pornography Week (no, no, I'm not making this up -- our president actually declared it). An idea shamelessly stolen from someone else (though I've lost track of whom because Windows crashed a few times and I lost the browser window containing the page I was going to point to):

For everyone who wants to be protected from pornography this week, I'm joining the pool of people offering to hold your porn for you. I'll assume the risk so that you can be protected. (I am well versed in safe porn-handling procedures.) And remember, the better-written it is, the more dangerous it is! So you especially want to send me the porn with actual plots, witty dialogue, poetic imagery, effective pacing, imaginitive settings, and so on. Trust me, that's the most dangerous kind -- how explicit it is, how "hardcore", whether particular kinks are present or not, whether it's a tabloid or a glossy or a photocopy or a video or an 8mm movie or an audio recording or a stack of photos or paintings ... all of those details are secondary. If you're unsure which of your porn is dangerous, send it all to me and let me figure it out.

I read the President's statement and agree that people need to be protected from porn, so I'm doing my patriotic duty, stepping up to the plate, and offering to help protect my fellow citizens from porn by isolating it in my bedroom where it cannot hurt the rest of you.

When Protection From Pornography Week is over, if you no longer wish to be protected, I'll return your porn., but, uh, can somebody lend me some money for a Kinko's run first?

Backaway Backaway Backaway
You have violated an area protected by
A security system
Backaway Backaway Backaway
WeeooWeeooWeeooWeeoo

Fortunately it doesn't go off as often as it used to, and the last few times have been in the afternoon instead of the wee hours of the night. A year or so ago there was a spell where it went off nearly every night and rang from about 01:00 to 03:00.

Oh! It just stopped. Lemme go look outside and see if the police came.

I just heard there's another glob of sunstuff on its way to Earth. I just looked out the window and saw blue sky for a change. Anybody with a more reliable car than mine feel like dragging me far enough from Baltimore to try seeing aurora? (Too bad I don't have colour film for the 4x5 camera ... but I can shoot it on 35mm and 120 if any are visible near here.)

High school science teacher, science fiction author, science fiction fan, and generally nice guy (based on my few brief conversations with him and what many of my friends have said), Harry Stubbs, better known as Hal Clement, died yesterday. A familiar face from East-Coast science fiction conventions is, alas, gone. To me he was an acquaintance and a respected member of my community (both as a member of fandom and as one of the big names among "hard science" SF writers); I know that to some of my friends he was also a personal friend.

He was someone I'd wanted to get to know better, but there usually seemed to be too much competition for his time. And an even bigger obstacle was something Bruce Adelsohn wrote in rec.music.filk:

I was always too afraid I'd come off the ardent fanboy, and I was too stinkin' proud to show that face to one of the classiest acts around.

Harold Feld wrote a song, noting the timing of the current solar flare/solar storm, which I'll be asking for permission to repost here. But I'm sure I can get away with one verse in any case:

Science, he taught, is not lifeless and dry.
He wrote tales of wonder; he painted the sky.
He served country in war; he taught children in peace.
Small wonder the Heavens now mark his release

Cribbed from the SFWA obituary page: Clement's first story was published in 1942, his first novel in 1949.

I said I'd ask Harold Feld if he'd give me permission to repost the song for Hal Clement that he posted to rec.music.filk. I did. He did. Here 'tis.

An SF Author Passes

By Harold Feld,
to the tune of: An Astrolger's Song by Kippling/Fish

To the Heavens above us oh look and behold!
The Sun in her anguish sheds tears of pure gold.
All stars and all planets join Terra in grief.
For one of her brightest souls sadly must leave.

The cosmos bears witness when great ones expire!
The Northern Lights dance as a funeral pyre!
The Sun and the Earth weave celestial shrouds,
As Terra is covered in ionic clouds.

Hal Clement we called him, though Stubbs was his name.
His smile won him friends while his pen won him fame.
A teacher, a mentor, an artist, and more,
The Sun feels his passing and shakes to her core.

Science, he taught, is not lifeless and dry.
He wrote tales of wonder; he painted the sky.
He served country in war; he taught children in peace.
Small wonder the Heavens now mark his release

The Sun flares in agony sending forth storms,
The new moon is sickly, the atmosphere warms,
All stars and all planets join Terra in grief
For one of her brightest souls sadly must leave