Conference noted::sf

A trade  paperback titled MEDEA edited by Harlan Ellison was released within
about the last month. In the introduction to it, Ellison alludes to problems
which  have  prevented  him from writing and other activities. The book is a
collection  of  stories all set on a planet called Medea invented by a panel
of  noted  authors  at a Worldcon panel (ca 1975) moderated by Ellison. This
collection  of  stories  is  one  of  Ellison's  projects that had been long
delayed  and  its  appearance may signify that others will follow. I believe
the price for MEDEA is $8.95.

							Rod Burr

According to some things I've read, Ellison had some sort of chemical
imblance that was manifesting itself in all sorts of ways. This was the
primary cause of the writer's block he was suffering.

MEDEA was originally suppsoed to come out almost ten years ago, and be the
first appearance of all the stories contained therein. Because of Ellison's
difficulties and the resultant scheduling problems, all of the stories
have seen print elsewhere. The book is probably still worth getting, though,
because half of it is filled with transciptions of the seminars and notes
that detail the creation of the world Medea.

Incidentally, just the other week I received my copy of the limited edition
from Phantasia Press. There was one detail about it I had forgotten --- that
it was signed by all the contributors.

Including Theodore Sturgeon.

Seeing his name and "Ask the next question" symbol on the limitation page
was quite a shock.

--- jerry

Is MEDEA *really* out!!  Hot puppies, I've been waiting 10 years for that
book!  Who knows -- maybe there really will be a "Last Dangerous Visions".

					andrew

Hot puppies?  Last time I heard that phrase, I was eating in Chinatown...

:-)

Nothing so gross... it's the diminutive of HOT DOG!!!

					andrew

I've picked up Medea, thanks for the info. Don't know when I'm going to get
the chance to read it though, as I'm presently struggling through Richard
Adams' 1,100 page "prequel" to "SHARDIK," "MAIA." Then I've got Niven and
Pornelle's "FOOTFALL" to read. Is there a better feeling for an intensive
reader than having more books than time to read them?

Did notice in the Ellison's "MEDEA" bio that he is still announcing the,
"forth-coming LAST DANGEROUS VISIONS." Can't wait to see what publishable
form that albatross of a book is going to take if it ever makes it to
print. 11 years ago I read Ellison's author/content listing for "LDV" in
Richard Geis' "SCIENCE FICTION REVIEW" (nee' "THE ALIEN CRITIC"). With 11
years past, will Ellison go with the original group (memory fails, but two
extremely weird listings were the Firesign Theatre's script of "THE GIANT
RAT OF SUMATRA," and a sequel to "WILD IN THE STREETS."), or will he some-
how try to incorporate the bevy of new writers who are on the scene now?
It would seem to defeat the purpose of DV, if Ellison publishes stories that
are in essence over a decade old. Guees I'll have to keep on waiting and
hoping to find out ...

Finally, through the magic of VCR (and what a gift from the gods that's
been, I haven't been in a theatre for over a year), I finally watched "THE
TERMINATOR" last night. As the credits scrolled, I was surprised to see,
"The producers wish to express their acknowledgement of the works of Harlan
Ellison." Evidently they were referring to "SOLDIER," (title right?) which
has appeared as both an Outer Limits episode and as a short story. I guess
one could make a case that the plot of "THE TERMINATOR," was loosely
similar to that of "SOLDIER" (future warrior time-travels to past).

It'd be interesting to find out whether the writers/producers of "THE
TERMINATOR" are fans who wanted to acknowledge a master, or whether there
were legal reasons a la' the Ellison/"BRILLO" vs; ABC/"FUTURE COP" case.
My bet's on the latter.

Fred

Re .6 - Yep, I believe the original "Terminator" didn't acknowledge Ellison.
It still isn't clear if his story influenced the writers, but the similarity
was enough to cause the dedication. I *think* there was the suggestion of
legal action, but I don't know if it ever got that far... Jerry? Further
details?

-b

Re:  .7

Ellison did in fact sue;  the suite was settled out of court with Ellison
picking up $70K.

	Kevin

The August 1985 _Analog_ "Calendar" says Ellison will be one of the guests
of honor at ALBACON 84 (sic) on 19-22 July in Glasgow, Scotland.

If you happen to be in the neighborhood...


John B.

RE: .8 -- Yay Harlan! With $70k settlements, who needs to write?

Re:  .10

In that case, you would probably be interested in knowing that he earned $230K
in 1980.  (Or was it 1981?  Or was it $225K?  Anyway, you get the idea.)
Source:  ``On the Road with Ellison'' (LP of speech excerpts).

	Kevin

    	Why is this guy such a crybaby?!
    

    You don't think he should fight for what he believes is his?
    
    --- jerry

    Harlan writes a column in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.
    It's not there every month.  
    
    					August G. Reinig

    	Oh I do think he should, but I also think Ellison carries it
    way too far, to the point where he loses a lot of sympathy towards
    his cause.
    
    	Larry
    

    re:.15
    
    Interesting. I don't always agree with his feelings about what
    is "ripped off" from what else, but I've never lost sympathy
    for "his cause". His cause is to tell Hollywood (the monolithic
    entity) that stealing ideas is anti-social behavior. Hollywood
    seems to be under the impression that "originality" means "just
    different enough to not get sued". Ellison wants to move the
    boundry of what is "just different enough".
    
    --- jerry

    hope I'm not beating a dead horse, but have you noticed that Ellison
    is the Creative Consultant for the new Twilight Zone? ( I suppose
    "was" is the correct tense, and "new" should now be "defunct")
    
    I was shocked to see this, after I had heard him say that TV was
    EVIL and he would never NEVER work for that industry again.
    
    sm

    THE TWILIGHT ZONE is not yet defunct. It has been renewed for
    next season. As for Ellison working on it, yes he admitted that
    he "went back on his word", but it was because he felt that
    Phil DeGuere, the producer of TZ, was one of the few decent
    people in the industry. And he was promised that "management"
    would not interfere with the "creators". Unfortunately, it was
    just that that caused Ellison's resignation.
    
    Anyways, right now, Ellison is the host of an sf radio program
    in LA: MIKE HODEL'S HOUR 25, following the sickness and death
    of Mike Hodel, the creator and first host of the show.
    
    --- jerry

    A couple of months ago, I was shown a record album of Benny Goodman's
    concert in New York from last Fall (which was televised in March on
    PBS). I was asked to read the liner notes. Once I read the title,
    "He Speaks, and the Angels Sing", I knew that they were written
    by Ellison. A glance at the by-line confirmed this. You never know
    where Ellison's going to pop up.
    
    (I had forgotten to mention this before, but was reminded when I
    picked up the CD of this album this past weekend.)
    
    --- jerry

    Remember that this is "The World according to Ellison".  He is very
    opinionated and always seems to be able to "set the record straight".
    Read THE GLASS TEAT and STALKING THE NIGHTMARE.  He just does what
    he wants & the heck with everyone else.  This attitude, I'm sure,
    is a major contributing factor to his success as a writer.  He's
    sensitive about his height, also.  :-)                       
    
    						Don

    	In reference to some comments about harlan Ellison demanding
    credit for the film THE TERMINATOR, I recently read a very detailed
    plot synopsis about the Outer Limits story it was allegedly "stolen"
    from, "The Demon With the Glass Hand", and I for one do NOT agree
    at all that that is where the Terminator's creators stole the plot
    from.
    	Demon's basic similarity with Terminator is that a robot soldier
    goes back in time trying to escape some alien soldiers from a future
    Earth that was invaded by them.  The robot soldier was NOT going
    back in time to change the future, and as one looks at the plot
    closer, sees it essentially consists of chase sequences and the
    robot discovering it is a robot (I believe there are plot summaries
    earlier in this file).
    	The point I'm trying to make is, the Terminator creators "ripped
    off" Demon about as much as saying that anyone who writes about
    an FTL starship is ripping off Star Trek!  Sure, they may have gotten
    their inspiration from Demon, but they certainly didn't plagarize
    the story.
    
    	Larry
    

    re:.21
    
    Actually, though some elements of "Demon with a Glass Hand" are
    present in THE TERMINATOR, it's actually Ellison's *other* TOL
    script, "Soldier" that is what Ellison is claiming is the "source"
    for THE TERMINATOR.
    
    --- jerry

    	Since I have not read "Soldier", could you tell me about it -
     was it close to the Outer Limits episode - and just how much
    do you think it was similar to Terminator.
   
        Larry 

              <<< BISON::SYS$SYSDEVICE:[NOTES$LIBRARY]TV.NOTE;1 >>>
                              -< TV or not TV... >-
================================================================================
Note 70.0               Outer Limits and The Terminator                2 replies
NY1MM::SWEENEY                                        7 lines  28-DEC-1984 09:15
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I just read in a SF magazine that Harlan Ellison who wrote 2 Outer Limits
episodes "The Glass Hand" and "The Warrior" is talking to lawyers about the
plot similarities to "The Terminator".

Was the similarity coincidental or was this a plagarism?

Pat Sweeney
================================================================================
Note 70.1               Outer Limits and The Terminator                   1 of 2
AKOV68::BOYAJIAN                                     53 lines   4-JAN-1985 06:49
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

First of all, just to be picayune, the OUTER LIMITS episodes were "Demon with
a Glass Hand" and "Soldier".

The basic plots are as follows:

"Demon with a Glass Hand": In the near future, Earth is involved in a war with
	an alien race, the Kybans*\. The Kybans soon develop a method of sending
	themselves back in time, hoping to conquer us by taking over the more
	primitive present-day Earth. One person (played by Robert Culp), one of
	whose hands is made of glass (or glass-like plastic, more likely) and
	computer chips, is sent back to stop them.

"Soldier": During a battle in a future war, a time-warp is accidentally opened
	up and a soldier is sent back to present-day Earth. In his own time,
	soldiers aren't trained so much as bred to be aggressive, nasty, and
	deadly. During his stay in "our" time, he learns compassion.

THE TERMINATOR (I'll assume that you haven't seen it): In the near future, a
	super-computer develops intelligence and tries to take over the world
	by eradicating all human life. There is an organized resistance, though
	neither side seems to be making any headway. The Computer side develops
	a time-travel method and sends a lone robot "Terminator" back to the
	present to kill the woman who is destined to give birth to the man who
	will become the leader of the resistance. The good guys manage to break
	into the lab where the time machine is and send one of their own back
	to stop the Terminator.


Superficially, THE TERMINATOR seems to be a combination of the two Ellison-
written OUTER LIMITS episodes. But only superficially. On the same basis, one
could argue that Burroughs' TARZAN OF THE APES had the same basic plot as
Kipling's THE JUNGLE BOOK --- that of a feral child raised by animals. Ellison
doesn't have a monopoly on future war stories, or time-travel stories, or even
try-to-change-the-past-to-defeat-the-enemy stories. THE TERMINATOR is a fresh
treatment of the idea, and I think Ellison's in the wrong this time.
	I think he's just gotten cocky from winning the lawsuit against which-
ever studio and/or network it was that plaigerized his and Ben Bova's short
story "Brillo", making it into that robot-cop show with Ernest Borgnine (the
title of the show escapes me at the moment). In that instance, the plaigerism
was well-founded, as Ellison was able to present evidence that he submitted a
treatment to the studio/network for a possible tv-movie or series based on
"Brillo". The concept was rejected, but that above-mentioned show *did* show
up a year or so later.

Personally, I think there's been a little too many plaigerism suits being
tossed about.

--- jerry

*\ Incidentally, though "Demon with a Glass Hand" is not adapted from any
	previously written story, Ellison *has* written a number of short
	stories about the Earth-Kyba wars. They're in rather obscure places,
	though, and aren't easy to find.
================================================================================
Note 70.2               Outer Limits and The Terminator                   2 of 2
EDEN::KLAES "It's only a model!"                     10 lines   6-AUG-1986 16:14
                                  -< RE 70.1 >-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    	That Brillo rip-off was called FUTURE COP, and made in 1977.
    
    	I agree that Ellison had no right to sue for credit in the
    Terminator; I saw one novel about ten years back about a man sent
    back in time to kill the mother of the leader of a fanatical
    religious/political group before he was born - Ellison does NOT
    have a monopoly on such stories.
    
    	Larry
    

    Due to a discussion in LANDO::COMICS, it occurred to me to mention
    this here.
    
    (1) Ellison's collection FROM THE LAND OF FEAR (currently out of
    print) contains both "Soldier from Tomorrow" (the original short
    story) and "Soldier" (the OUTER LIMITS teleplay). If you (in general,
    but also specificly Larry) want to read the story, it's worth
    hunting down the book.
    
    (2) "Demon With a Glass Hand" has just been published as a "graphic
    novel" by DC Comics. Those of you who are enlightened enough to
    not believe that comics are only for children and sub-literates
    are urged to stop in a comic shop to pick up a copy (Walden Books
    will most likely also carry them starting in a couple of weeks).
    
    --- jerry

    
    "A Boy and His Dog" will be shown on Saturday, July 11, on channel
    38 (Boston). 8 PM.

    Just finished reading Eliison's script of I,ROBOT.
    
    It knocked my socks off. Of course it is a little hard to 
    read a script and imagine but if you follow Ellison's film
    history and imagaine-
    
    Unfortunately-the odds are it will never be produced.Now if
    I only had the money.
    

    	See SF Topic 526.
    
    	Larry
    

    Harlan Ellison is supposed to be coming out with a new collection of
    short stories sometime this summer entitled 'Angry Candy'. 

    No one seems to have mentioned a relatively recent collection entitled
    _An_Edge_in_My_Voice_, which collects the 59 columns of the same
    name that were originally published in _future_life_,
    _comics_<something>_, and _The_L.A._Weekly_.          
    
    The columns are typical Ellison commentary on just about everything.
    There is frequent reference to the "I, Robot" screenplay, the ERA
    movement, Gun Control, "Lou Grant", and Brian DiPalma.
    Interesting to note is that Tom Snyder wrote the introduction.
    
    I got it in the "trade paperback" version, I've not seen it in "normal"
    paperback.
                                                   
                  /
                 (  ___
                  ) ///
                 /
    

A non-noter is trying to remember where he read the following short story.  
He's pretty sure it was written by Harlan Ellison and thought it was part 
of the "Strange Wine" collection but it isn't.  Does anyone recognize it,
and if so, know which anthology it's in?  Thanks.

Synopsis:
An American soldier in Saigon is told by his Vietnamese girlfriend, just
before she dies, about the existence of a physical embodiment of true love.
He has the name of a person and through this person he begins a search for
the object that represents true love.  It requires him to conjure up a
minor demon from the underworld for part of the puzzle.  It turns out that
the object has existed throughout time and has been sought by many powerful
people. 

    re .31:
    
    That is definitely Ellison, he read it at one of his "lectures"
    at MIT a few years ago. I cannot remember the title, but it might
    be in _Shatterday_ (I think that was published after _Strange_Wine_)
    
                                                   
                  /
                 (  ___
                  ) ///
                 /
    

    re .31:
    
    Well I finally got around to actually looking it up.
    
    The story is "Grail" and it was collected in _Stalking_the_Nightmare_.
                           
                                                   
                  /
                 (  ___
                  ) ///
                 /
    

    I just started reading Ellison's new book "Angry Candy".  It is a
    collection of short stories, many of which have appeared in various
    magazines.  As he points out in the introduction, all of his
    collections have a theme running through them; something he feels
    occurs somewhat accidentally. 
    
    The theme this time is death, and was brought about by the loss of many
    of his friends and peers between 1985 and 1987.  He has some
    interesting comments about some of these people in the introduction (he
    thinks L.Ron Hubbard never really took Dianetics seriously and has some
    pretty harsh words for Scientologists).  He even includes excerpts from
    eulogies he wrote, including one for Theodore Sturgeon. 
    
    From what I've read so far, this is good stuff.  The imagery, language,
    and plot twists are pure Ellison.  He really knows how to hit the
    emotions of the reader. 

    re: .-1

    [Harlan Ellison has some]    
    >interesting comments about some of these people in the introduction (he
    >thinks L.Ron Hubbard never really took Dianetics seriously and has some
    >pretty harsh words for Scientologists).  He even includes excerpts from

    This attitude is understandable, given that he quotes LRH as saying:
    "...the only way to make any money in this world is to start a new
    kind of psychotherapy or a new religion." before he started
    Scientology.
    				- HBM

    re .35:  Ellison did make a comment to the effect that it was a way for
    LRH to make money. 

    Is this hardback or paperback?
    

    RE: .37
    
    I assume you're referring to "Angry Candy." It's only in hardcover
    at this time -- since it's just been released that will probably
    be its status for some time. It's $18.95. Publisher is
    Houghton-Mifflin. 
    
    Fred

    Well-just finished "ANGRY CANDY". It is a good collection 
    and its main theme is --
    <ff>
    Death.
    It is a bit too much to read in one sitting even for me as a devote
    of Ellison. Very dark and bleak. But good.
    

    	I'm afraid your <FF> didn't work.
    

         I last saw Ellison on television last night, in a commercial,
    selling cars.  I wonder who, what or how much it took for him to
    agree to represent the cars.
    
    ASP

    Not _the_ Harlan Ellison, really?  He hates (well, he hates everything,
    near as I can tell, but anyway) television and the commercial world
    more than anyone in the known universe....
    
    Willie

    re: .42
    
         Yes.  The Harlan Ellison.  He is given the title "Harlan Ellison
    noted futurist" in the commercial.  I was surprised that no one else
    has seen the commercial.  I saw it again last night before one of the
    two Wonder Years shown last night.
    
    ASP

    What car?
    
    Ellison said in this months column that the ten year drought had
    been due to Epstein-Barr virus.
    

        Harlan is speaking for the Geo line of Japanese cars being sold
    by Chevrolet (or Chrysler).
    
    ASP

    	What is Epstein-Barr virus?
    

>    	What is Epstein-Barr virus?
    
The alleged cause of chronic fatigue and related symptons - kind
of like a permanent flu with less respiratory complications.
Recent research has called the existence of the syndrome into question,
however.

    re .46, .47:
    
    Epstein-Barr virus is the source of "mononucleosis", aka "mono".
    
    There is a chronic condition similar to "mono" in later life that
    had been attributed to Epstein-Barr (called for a time "Chronic
    Epstein-Barr Syndrome), but recent research has proven that once
    you've had E-B (mono) you are permanantly immune. The cause of the
    chronic condition is unknown and has been renamed Chronic Fatigue
    Syndrome.
    
                                                   
                  /
                 (  ___
                  ) ///
                 /
    

    Selling cars, eh?  Sounds like Chronic Writer-Block Syndrome to me.
    Maybe this will finally force him to assemble Last Dangerous Visions
    and get it out.
    /jlr

    I actually saw one of these while I was in SF (heh heh -- I mean
    San Francisco, of course) last week. Bee-zar.
    
    In fact, Ellison spoke in Palo Alto on Friday. I didn't get down
    there, and I forgot to ask the couple of folks I know who did get
    there whether anyone asked him why he was pimping for cars.
    
    --- jerry

    Ellison selling cars is unreal! I hope someone eventually gets to
    ask him about it.
    

    re: .50
    
    Jerry,
    
    Strike one - You visited the area without letting area noters meet
                 you, a noting legend.
    
    Strike two - You didn't advertize Ellison's speaking engagement.
    
    One more left sir!
    
    ASP

    re:.52
    
    (1) I plead guilty.
    
    (2) I plead not guilty (I didn't know about it until a few days
    	before it happened, and I had no access to a terminal).
    
    --- jerry

    Re: <various>
    
    [Harlan Ellison is promoting Geo automobiles: who is Geo?]
    
    Geo is a joint venture between Suzuki (yep, those folks who brought
    us the Samurai) and Chrysler Canada (yep, that guy who brought us
    exploding Pintos).
    
    Ellison was on the Alex Bennett show (an early-morning radio show).
    He was much more entertaining that the commercials... he managed
    to slam Scientology yet again (yay). Ellison was kinda upset that
    people thought he "sold out" to make these commercials... which
    is an interesting attitude to take, from him.
    				- HBM

    Geo - Chevrolet's name for the line of Suzuki vehicles they are
    	  selling.
    
    Pinto - a FORD.

    re .55
    
    Ah, but Lee Iococca was the *man* that brought you the Ford Pinto!
    Read the note.

    re .56:
    
    old Lee also brought us the Mustang. But what does he have to do
    with GEO?
                                                   
                  /
                 (  ___
                  ) ///
                 /
    

    ...and if Geo is being marketed by Chevrolet, there seems to be
    little connection betewwn it and the head of Chrysler Corporation.
                                    
    					andrew

    But, But....  Lee Ioccocca was with Ford when the Pinto and the
    Mustang came out!

	I think we understand about the Iacocca part. What still doesn't
	make sense is why Chevy is selling a Chrysler.

Larry

    
    to set the record straight -
    
    Geo is GM's newest division, it does/will consist of all imports
    sold by GM.  All imports will ONLY be sold by Geo.  So if you by
    a Geo something from a pontiac dealer you just bought an import.
    
    Geo is also the new name for the old chevy sprint (3 cylinder, high
    mileage, city terrorist car.)
    
    Geo cars are not part of ChryCo, nor are they exclusivly suzuki
    (which is opening up direct sales in this country, they have 3 models
    out currently.)
    
    for further discussion of this, I'll meet you in carbuffs.
    (ACCARS::CARBUFFS)
    
    grins,
    
    clark.

    Looks like old Harlan's got a new book out called "Harlan Ellison's
    Watching". I spent maybe 5 seconds looking at it but it looks like a
    bunch of essays about the movie industry. 
    
    I'll read it when my local library gets a  copy.
    
    
     Domenic Ciccone
    

    re:.62
    
    It's been out a while. It's a collection of his movie review-and-
    commentary columns for THE MAGAZINE OF FANTASY & SCIENCE FICTION
    and other places.
    
    --- jerry

    
    Any comments on "Angry Candy"?
    
    'gail
    

    re:.64
    
    Only that it's another great collection of stories.
    
    --- jerry

    re .64
    
    And also to say "Why is this the first comment on this great book since
    it came out over a year ago?"

    
    Well, I've only just seen it here in Forbidden Planet - but then,
    this is the UK. And I don't go in there that often - my chequebook
    can't stand it.....
    
    Has anyone out there read it?
    
    At first glance my impression was: nice cover artwork, good binding,
    a little on the expensive side, and the typesetting is unusual in
    some stories - in one story half the page is written as usual and the
    other half is written across the page (turn book through 90 degrees
    to read it)...
    
    'gail
      
    
    

�    Any comments on "Angry Candy"?
    
    'gail,
    
    See 209.34 and a few of the replies after that.

    
    	A search of this topic shows no mention of Ellison's contribution
    	to SCARE CARE, the anthology edited by Graham Masterson.  Harlan's
    	story was entitled THE AVENGER OF DEATH, and was quite good,
    	I thought.
    
    	The anthology is very good, also, though it's horror, so I won't
    	discuss it here.  The copyright notice for HE's story says '89.
    
    	-rick

    re:.69
    
    Discussion of horror stories is not prohibited here. I don't think
    the majority of readers of this conference would be especially
    happy if discussion of horror fiction dominated the conference,
    but as far as I'm concerned, as a reader and as a co-moderator,
    the name "SF" is merely shorthand for Fantastic Literature of all
    stripes.
    
    --- jerry

>>    and the typesetting is unusual in
    some stories - in one story half the page is written as usual and the
    other half is written across the page (turn book through 90 degrees
    to read it)...
  
	I remember when that story first appeared in Galaxy (I was in
    college -- can it be 20 yrs. ago ?!?). The weird layout and Gaughan
    art caused quite a stir; the letters page was full of this for months.
    I loved it, as I recall, though I remember very little about it now.
    "The Region Between" (?) I believe?     
    	Eljer Jakkobsen (sp) edited the mag at this time, and was trying a 
    lot of interesting things. I believe this was the last good period in
    Galaxy's distinguished career. (Lots of Silverberg novels that are now
    reprinted at $3.95 -- and I paid $1.25 an issue)

						Brent

    Half way thru "Harlan Ellison's Watching" . The book in mostly reprints
    of movie reviews with a few essays on the moivie industry and writting
    screenplays. The reviews pack the usual Ellison punch and I'm having
    a great time reading this comments on Sci-fi movies like Dune, Star
    Wars and Star Trek I.
    
    I read "Angry Candy" about a year and a half ago. Can't remember
    anything about it though..... 
    
    
    
    		Domenic

    
    	Dear Mr. Secretary,
    
    	I slump corrected.  The story was not discussed, but if you've
    	read it you might agree it is a bit of a cross-over.  As one
    	might expect from the author...
    
    	-rick

	has "Last Dangerous Visions" come out yet?
								bh

    re:.74
    
    Of course not. The Apocalypse hasn't arrived yet. :-)
    
    --- jerry

Could someone with a copy of "THE GLASS TEAT" please post
a very quick summary of what its about ?


(I think the book I read years ago was this one.. but just
checking)

Re: .76

THE GLASS TEAT and THE OTHER GLASS TEAT reprint a bunch of
Ellison newspaper columns from the 60s.  Entirely nonfiction.
Much less self-indulgent and far more interesting than what
he writes nowadays for F&SF.

				Andrew

    The "Glass Teat" columns were more-or-less about TV.
    
    Ray

Old news, but BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES, 1993 includes a story by
Harlan Ellison.

Sorry, don't recall the story's title; it was one of Ellison's signature
l-o-n-g titles. Something like "The Man Who Rowed Columbus Ashore."

	-doug

    
    Also recently ( last year ) came out with a novella-short story 
    ( seperate book, 'bout 100 pages or so ) Mephisto's mumble-mumble - I
    can't believe I don't remember the title.  Cover work by Frank Miller.
    Story concerns a telepath and a serial killer.  Great story, btw
    
    					- Jim
    

I believe it was called Mephisto in Onyx.  It's still only in Hardcover as far
as I know.

Shane

    A friend related an interview (I think) recently with Harlan on the
    Sci-Fi Channel about his recent earthquake experiences. Seems he was
    knocked down a flight of stairs and cracked his head badly. He almost
    died. Most of his book collection was destroyed, and his Hugo 
    (you know - the rocket shaped one?) was found imbedded in the 
    screen of his Mac. He's recovering nicely (although I wouldn't be if
    most of MY book collection was gone!)
    
    - Russ

How does one lose his book collection in an earthquake?
One obvious way would be if it (the earthquake) caused a fire and burned
his house down, but then one would say "He lost his house and all his books"
and that doesn't seem to be the case (especially if they could find his Mac 
and his Hugo in their deadly embrace).

- tom]

Water damage from broken pipes (water and sewage?)

    I assume it was from fire/water/building-material-falling-on-them. 
    I didn't get much more detail from my source. 
    
    -russ

    tres bummer - glad to hear he's okay, though -
    
    	Mephisto in Onyx is indeed the title - Thanks!
    
    					- Jim
    

JMS, the creator of Babylon 5, where Harlan is now the creative consultant
and will have some episodes to his credit latter in the season, reported
after the quake that Harlan had broken his nose, as he was climbing a 
staircase in his house when the quake hit.  Didn't mention anything
about it being life threatening.

PeterT

    Things weren't destroyed, according to Ed Bryant, who spent two days
    there, cleaning up.
    
    							Ann B.