SWIL TREK VI- BOLDLY GOING WHERE NO SWILNEWS HAS GONE BEFORE! (October 11, 1991) The Pterodactyl Hunt was last Friday and by all reports seems to have been a considerable success. Fun was had by all with no major problems. We'll do it again next year. Charles Danforth has agreed to run the next hunt so if you have idea for ways to improve the hunt, talk to him. He is eagerly awaiting suggestions. Coming up in just over a week is the imfamous SWIL reunion. There will be filking, video watching and gaming going on both Friday and Saturday evening. On Saturday afternoon there will be a SWAPA collation. (Don't know what SWAPA is? Show up at the meeting on Saturday and ask.) Suggestions for videos to be shown as well as other events are requested. There have been hints of a costume party, we'll see what happens about that. Most of all, show up and meet all these alums you keep hearing about but have never actually met. PhilCon is not for another 5 weeks, but there are a few things to keep in mind. (Especially since the next SWILnews will not be until after October Break, awwww!) The deadline for sending in membership fees in advance is November 1st. After that point all memberships are $30, get them at the door. If you know you want to go, send your money now. Also if you know you're going or are thinking about going, let me know so I can worry about transportation. We do have money to get the van if needed, but we'd have to reserve it soon. Review: _Earth_ by David Brin (review by Jeff Hildebrand) This was runner up for the Hugo this year, but this seems to have been a weak year. This massive book is a rather weird mix of hard science fiction and ecological sf. The result works on some levels and not on others. The future world described has some very sharp insights (especial with respect to the aging baby-boomers) and the basic plot device is enjoyable if rather silly pseudo-science. But about 100 pages before the end of the book, the plot suddenly veers off into a rather literal deus ex machina which causes the book to lurch to its conclusion is rather unbelievable form. Overall the book is certain readable, but perhaps somewhat disappointing. A whole mess of people can be dismembered if they show up to the meeting on Saturday. Since I'll be off at Villanova suffering through GREs, Josh "Official Understudy" Smith will get to do the honors. Attendance from the meeting 10/5/91: Nao "She lies, she lies, she LIES!" Parkhurst, Stephen and Roo "Hunt Master of SWILdom" Sample [As another person tries to rip off my title, accept no substitute, SMOS-brand presidency, tm.], Chris "Phiz-Bos in a Dickens reference" Cobb, Miss Ruff, Ruan "I'm too tired to come up with a quote right now" Bush, Neil "Someone play with Andrea - I think she's still lonely" Banas, Lauren "Scarambled Eggs & Ham" Arcuri, Kendra "monster bait" Eshleman, Jacob "I ran out of orc ears so I to start giving out my _real_ ears""Vincent Van Gogh" Mattison [this wins the tasteless signature of the week award], Cherry "I am a complete blank" Anderson, Andrea "my fingernails are still blue" Hall, Charles "I'm still looking for a name for my show that doesn't involve or stem from Pink Floyd" Danforth, Jen "Yes I finally made it here" Setlow, jere7my "They whom the gods would destroy, first they make mad" tho?rpe, 48 "16384.0283661 ->." SX, Peter "Why do I bother" Wong, David "Ain't got no ears... Ain't got no armor" R, Peter "Pity I'm not here" Wagner, Dan Levi (just a name), Luke "aches and pains" Hankins, Eric "oh yeah, isn't this fun?" Nute, Deb "Last on this page but not on this one" Holtzman, David "What animal has the eyes of a pig, tale of a rat, ears of a mule, and armored scales of an alligator?" Auer-madillo, Gloria "Arrc! Arrc!" - an orc from Boston: "What does not clean behind its ears?" "Me!!!" Wongkers, Deborah "Chocolate!!!" Sam, Josh "Bacon rind attacker" Burdick, Melissa "blood capsule uppers" Shaner, Joshua "Trapped in a peat bog for all eternity" Mackay-Smith, Dan "weretoad" Wells, Josh "killed again" Smith, Robert "They flee before me in droves" Richardson, Brad "Vertigonade!" Gabe, Andy "I died many times last night" Perry, Melissa "After the fact" or alternatively "I'm going to die many times tonight at the Death by Chocolate Coffeehouse!" or alternatively "AAAAAAUUUUGGGHHHH!!!!!!!", Sleepy Master of SWILdom