Dear Gentle Being, 26 August 2003

Welcome to the latest update for events occurring at the SF Discussion Group. We have lots of news.

It is good to be back after 15+ weeks on the road. This newsletter is a little bit early, but I'll be off on the 27th for Worldcon in Toronto.


News: The anthology Stars: Stories Based on the Lyrics of Janis Ian, hit bookstores in the US on August 5th. For more information, see http://www.janisian.com .

On Wednesday, 30 July 2003 we welcomed Laurence Howard, who joined us for dinner & a discussion & reading of his new book published in February by Creative Arts: The Identity of Diaconis Eprom. Good food, good company & great conversation summed up the evening.

On Wednesday, 20 August 2003 we welcomed Kristen Britain, who joined us for dinner & a discussion of & reading from her new book First Rider's Call due out in August 2003 and sequel to Green Rider.


On Wednesday, 10 September 2003 LASTSFA and Flights of Fantasy will present an evening with Ryk Spoor. We will be discussing his new book Digital Knight to be published by Baen and available in September 2003. For those interested, please join us for dinner with the author. We will meet at the store at 4:51 p.m. and return by 7:00 p.m. for the event.

Are you a Tolkien fan? The Fellowship of the Ring will gather on Sunday, 21 September 2003. What a fine day for a birthday party. J Care to read with us? If there are enough interested persons, we need at least 6 persons, we could spend a several hours on Sunday afternoons, beginning at 2:00 PM, reading tLotR aloud. It takes about 5 months. It is a lot of fun. Please contact me: Thain Peregrin II aka The Wombat; 518-456-5242 or wombat@sff.net . I hope to see some of you on 21 September at 2:00 PM.

On Saturday, 4 October 2003 LASTSFA and Flights of Fantasy will host Anne Bishop & Lynn Flewelling. They will be discussing their new books. For those interested, please join us for dinner with the author. We will meet at the store at 4:51 p.m. for dinner & return by 7:00 p.m. for the event.


There will be no meeting on Wednesday, 8 October 2003. ALBACON 03 will be only a day away. See you there!

*****Please note the change in venue for ALBACON 03. Please drop by the ALBACON 03 web site for particulars: http://www.albacon.org *****

On Wednesday, 12 November 2003 LASTSFA and Flights of Fantasy will host Steve Sawicki. He will speak about & read from his current writing. For those interested, please join us for dinner, probably Chinese, with the author. We will meet at the store at 4:51 p.m. for dinner & return by 7:00 p.m. for the event.

For signings at the Flights of Fantasy Bookstore, 488 Albany Shaker Rd, Loudonville, NY 12211; +1-800-300-READ; fof@nycap.rr.com & http://www.fof.net . Also check: http://www.lastsfa.org/lastsfa_calendar.html


Please drop by the LASTSFA web site at http://www.lastsfa.org . It has lots of good stuff on it, including a number of neat links & a calendar of events. Please join LASTSFA and help support our efforts to bring in speakers. Your financial support helps make these speakers possible. Talk to us! Send us money! Don't just sit there! Make it happen! Full Membership - $10; Student - $5; Family - $25. Send name, address, and check or money order to LASTSFA, P.O. Box 2085, Albany, NY 12220-0085, USA.


Drop by the ALBACON web site. http://www.albacon.org . You can see some pictures taken at ALBACON 97, 98, 99, Y2K, 01 & 02. Get a look at the great happenings that went on. SF cons are not a spectator sport. Participate in one of the best cons running. Have you joined ALBACON 03? If not, why not? You can go to our web site http://www.albacon.org and register there. DO IT TODAY!!! ALBACON 03 can't succeed without your involvement. ALBACON 03 registration is currently only $35 thru 13 SEP 03. After this date registration is $45 & only available at the door. Such a deal! Get a friend to come with you! If you are going to a con, bring the ALBACON 03 registration form with you and get someone to join.

Are you a gamer? Well, join us and help with the gaming portion of ALBACON. Contact Walter Wedenbine at tyger@nycap.rr.com . You can join ALBACON 03 for a reduced rate if all you wish to do is game.

Prydonians of Princeton, meet in Lawrenceville, NJ. For more info contact the Pydonians at prydonians@aol.com or call 609-448-9062.


Middle-earth Travel Alert: Dear Hobbits, Elves & Wizards, This is a Middle-earth Travel Alert: Janet Coyle of Pacific Pathways Tours, www.pacificpathways.com , & a native New Zealander, is arranging a tour of Peter Jackson's New Zealand over 7-25 January 2004. Michael Stanton will be the tour scholar. He is Professor Emeritus of English at the University of Vermont. Among the courses he taught was one on "The Lord of the Rings." He is the author of "Hobbits, Elves & Wizards" from Palgrave/Macmillan. [This service brought to you by the Numenorean Travel Agency. Please reference NTA when booking your reservations. Thank you. Yours sincerely, Numenorean Travel Agency, ATTN: Thain Peregrin Took II, 1 Minas Tirith Blvd., Osgiliath, C.o.t.S. 100002, Gondor, R.K.]


Nota Bene: In order to save some costs I need your help. If you are getting this via snail mail, please let me know if you have an eddress. I will send updates to you via the net. On the other hand if you don't wish to receive this at all, please let me know.

Looking forward to seeing you at the meetings.

Ciao & teggeddizzi! May the Ghreat Wombat smile on you!

Yours sincerely,

jan howard finder, 164 Williamsburg Court, Albany, NY 12203-5506, USA; +1-518-456-5242; wombat@sff.net

ALBACON 03, 10-12 October 2003, Lake George, NY, USA; committee@albacon.org The SF Con!

Save the Wombat! http://www.yaminon.org [Listen to the music, see the pics!]

When the Information Superhighway slows to a crawl or stops, you are experiencing "BYTELOCK!" I coined BYTELOCK on 17 July 1997. Please use BYTELOCK but DO cite the source. I would like to get into the dictionary.

If you are interested, you can find a summary of my travels in Australia from 16 AUG 1999 to 4 FEB 2000 at http://www.lastsfa.org/finder/wombats_wanderings.html