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blakes7-d Digest Volume 99 : Issue 335
Today's Topics:
[B7L] Re: Avon ATA
Re: [B7L] Re: ALert! "Avona" is actually going to DEFEND Tarrant.
Re: [B7L] Realities of combat
Re: [B7L] Re: Avon:ATA
[B7L] Re: Sarcophagus
Avon
Re: [B7L] Re: Avon ATA
Re: [B7L] Re: ALert! "Avona" is actually going to DEFEND Tarrant.
Re: [B7L] Re: ALert! "Avona" is actually going to DEFEND Tarrant.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 30 Nov 1999 21:49:25 -0700
From: Helen Krummenacker <avona@jps.net>
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: [B7L] Re: Avon ATA
Message-ID: <3844A8D5.772A@jps.net>
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> Oops, I'll just take my foot out my mouth then. Sorry if I've mentioned an
> 'unmentionable'. I have to admit it has been a few years since I last read
> my copy and I do tend to remember anything to do with Avon with rose-tinted
> specs - he's my absolute favourite character. :-)
>
Well, Kayleigh, I thought that there was a lively pace to the book, and
I've forgiven it the horrid astronomy errors, having be maybe four feet
away from Paul as he smiled and said in a slightly enbarrassed way that
the editor's wouldn't let him alter the errors (having looked up the
facts for his *final* draft), saying they thought it was good enough,
set up the proofs. He said they told him the fans wouldn't notice
(showing they know nothing about SF fans!). Well, maybe he was fudging,
but he was so charming I immediately forgave the book more than it's
share of flaws.
It may also help that, since I'm a fairly good writer, many acqaintances
who aspire to write bring me their drafts to read. BELIEVE ME, Paul
Darrow did better than the average. :^/
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 1 Dec 1999 06:52:34 EST
From: Mac4781@aol.com
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Re: [B7L] Re: ALert! "Avona" is actually going to DEFEND Tarrant.
Message-ID: <0.879f2bc4.25766602@aol.com>
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Avona wrote:
> "Deflector sheilds up. The Tarrant Nostra recruiters are coming!"
Not to worry, we're really very gentle. Thanks for a splendid post to start
my morning.
Note to Joanne: LOL!
You've won the TN Humor Award of the month. Your prize, a set of virtual
rain gear guaranteed to offer full protection from all cyber drool, should
be arriving soon. I hope you like the color I chose for you: blue to match
Tarrant's sparkling sapphire eyes. Ooops, just got it a bit wet.... :)
Carol Mc
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 1 Dec 1999 18:13:45 -0000
From: "Neil Faulkner" <N.Faulkner@tesco.net>
To: "b7" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] Realities of combat
Message-ID: <001101bf3c27$e259f2c0$24428cd4@default>
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Mistral wrote:
>Neil Faulkner wrote:
>
>> In a real life-or-death situation
>> armed with a Ray Gun (TM), you would surely still shoot to hit and assess
>> the consequences afterwards.
>
>A prescription for disaster if I ever heard one. Even if the bullet/ray
>kills, the target doesn't drop immediately; that's a TV fiction.
There's enough live footage and stills from actual combat to show that a
target can drop instantly when hit. But it can't be relied on. A single
slug from an AK-47 can kill outright. There are cases of people taking two
or three such slugs and remaining on their feet. There are just too many
variables.
>You *have* to think about the consequences before you shoot;
>and preferably, before you pick up the gun. Not doing so will
>get you killed.
But if you've got a gun in your hand, and the other guy (or girl, let's be
PC about this) has got a gun in his/er hand, and s/he is pointing it at you
with trigger finger whitening at the knuckle, stopping to think is probably
not a very good idea.
Thinking on how you might avoid getting into such a situation in the first
place, however, strikes me as eminently sensible. Recommendations for good
avoidance practice:
- Don't be a rebel.
- Don't do anything Blake suggests (unless it seems reasonably safe, like
doing a stock check of Liberator's light bulbs).
- Don't visit anything guarded by Federation troopers (or anyone else known
to carry guns).
- In fact, don't ever set foot on the Liberator at all.
- If Blake or any of his crew are known to be anywhere in the vicinity, find
some pressingly urgent task to attend to, like ascertaining illumination
levels in broom cupboards.
Just don't expect any sizable fan following, or memorable lines, or your
name in the end credits.
Neil
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 30 Nov 1999 20:42:52 -0000
From: "Neil Faulkner" <N.Faulkner@tesco.net>
To: "b7" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] Re: Avon:ATA
Message-ID: <000f01bf3c27$e0d96d40$24428cd4@default>
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Mistral wrote:
>Interestingly, I read somewhere recently that a study had been
>done that showed that pessimists actually have a more accurate
>view of reality than optimists do.
But does this mean they're more likely to be right because they're
miserable, or more likely to be miserable because they're right?
Neil, who's a right grumpy bugger so you'd better pay heed in future
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 30 Nov 1999 22:53:41 -0700
From: "Ellynne G." <rilliara@juno.com>
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: [B7L] Re: Sarcophagus
Message-ID: <19991201.085940.10014.0.Rilliara@juno.com>
The spat reminds me, there are a lot of details left our about Tarrant's
background and we've just finished a long discussion on desertion in the
Federation, but I've had my questions about Tarrant's standing in
Federation law enforcement eyes before he joined the Liberator.
He may have deserted a little more tidily than some parties (who were
only being framed by Servalan) and not had anyone after him at that time
(faked death, MIA, maybe some obscure, military protocol that gives
anyone the right to jump ship if they're trying to avoid a blind date
with a female military commander with only one name [which is how poor
Jarrierre got stuck on Freedom City]). At the time of the war, his help
seemed to be accepted quickly enough (although, anyone who could prove
they weren't a shape-changing alien or a black market organ seller was
probably welcome). I may have completely misunderstood (I do that,
sometimes), but I had the impression he was given the Federation uniform
under battle conditions, in which case the insignia may have also been
given him (a sort of 'field commission' acknowledgement of a mercenary
ally's rank when his own clothes had an accident. I understand some
military's would allow this when combining efforts with outside fighting
units that would temporarily bring them into each other's chain of
command [but my knowledge is spotty at best, anyone know the facts?]).
His actions only fell into illegal range when he arrived on Liberator and
_impersonated_ an officer (under the circumstances, dealing with a murder
prone, goon patrol who might have considered him to be impersonating an
officer anyway [they seemed a touch paranoid], understandable). He may,
originally, only have seen himself as being in a temporary alliance
(normal for a mercenary), underestimating how quickly the Federation
would recover and take an interest in him (not to mention killing his
brother and making it personal).
Anyhow, that meant he arrived on the Liberator after a fairly successful
carreer, promptly outsmarted Avon (who was suffering from head injuries,
battle fatigue, and sleep deprivation [so what else is new?]) and (in his
version of events) saved his bacon. The success thing wasn't entirely
without basis. Although he obviously hadn't read Avon's resume.
Ellynne
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------------------------------
Date: Wed, 1 Dec 1999 13:06:45 -0800
From: "Kinkade, Carol A" <Carol.Kinkade@West.Boeing.com>
To: blakes7-d@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Avon
Message-ID: <B12052866F7AD211BE530008C7A4C64B0170DEB3@xch-hbc-04.co.bna.boeing.com>
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This is the third time I've tried to send this so I hope it isn't being
received three times. I'm back in Russia right now and the server here
isn't very friendly to outgoing mail. :(
<< Ellynne wrote:
> Large project or not, it seems strange they hadn't met before _if_ Avon >
was telling the truth-something he's _so_ well known for. >>
There's a wonderful passage in Pat Fenech's story "Under a Dark Star Sail"
in RITES OF PASSAGE that offers a fabulous explanation/insight into this
question. She paints an imaginative picture of life in the Federation
domes, and of Avon and Blake before the London. It flows so smoothly into
"The Way Back" and "Spacefall", that I've adopted this story as my
"canonical" history for B7. :)
The whole zine is fabulous, BTW!! I brought it with me to Russia in the
hope it would help keep me entertained on these long, boring, winter nights.
It's succeeding admirably. ;)
<< Mistral wrote:
?? That's not a bit strange. Not every Boeing engineer knows every other
Boeing engineer, even when they work in the same plant, and Boeing has
facilities all over the world. >>
Heehee...I love the Boeing reference. Makes me feel at home.
Hello Kayleigh!! I wholeheartedly agree with you. Avon is fabulous.
Hi Sarah! Thanks for the new zine list. I thought I had managed to get all
the new zines but (thanks to your list) I've discovered there are a couple I
don't have.
Would "Never Glad Confident Morning" by Judith Seaman and "A Breath of Earth
and Destiny" by Patricia Vernon be new novels for 1999?
I just read them both and they're fabulous! "Never Glad Confident Morning"
is a PGP with a premise "I" haven't seen before. I loved it. (and not a
bit of Blake bashing) :)
"A Breath of Earth and Destiny" is fascinating. It takes place at a resort
hotel and reads like an Agatha Christi murder mystery.
Carol K
(AVON RULES!!!!)
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 1 Dec 1999 18:35:02 +0000
From: Julia Jones <julia.lysator@jajones.demon.co.uk>
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Cc: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Re: [B7L] Re: Avon ATA
Message-ID: <OCtD1EAWpWR4EwQu@jajones.demon.co.uk>
In message <3844A8D5.772A@jps.net>, Helen Krummenacker <avona@jps.net>
writes
>It may also help that, since I'm a fairly good writer, many acqaintances
>who aspire to write bring me their drafts to read. BELIEVE ME, Paul
>Darrow did better than the average. :^/
Whereas this novice fanzine editor has yet to see a submission as bad as
the published version of A:ATA. Other editors assure me that I just have
to give it time...
It's not just the astronomy booboos, there are other physics howlers
that made it impossible for me to read the thing with a straight face.
The lack of anything resembling continuity with the actual show doesn't
help matters. I don't regard putting something resembling a possible PGP
Avon into a pre Way Back story as a particularly good effort at
continuity, nor does the histrionic addict of the novel bear much
resemblance to the top Federation spy of _Rumours_.
What is most annoying is that there are faint signs in there that the
man could write something readable if he picked a genre he actually
knows something about.
--
Julia Jones
"Don't philosophise with me, you electronic moron!"
The Turing test - as interpreted by Kerr Avon.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 02 Dec 1999 09:19:20 EST
From: "Joanne MacQueen" <j_macqueen@hotmail.com>
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Re: [B7L] Re: ALert! "Avona" is actually going to DEFEND Tarrant.
Message-ID: <19991201221920.76208.qmail@hotmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed
>From: Mac4781@aol.com
>>You've won the TN Humor Award of the month. Your prize, a set of virtual
>rain gear guaranteed to offer full protection from all cyber drool, should
>be arriving soon. I hope you like the color I chose for you: blue to match
>Tarrant's sparkling sapphire eyes. Ooops, just got it a bit wet.... :)
Should prove its worth, in that case! Though I am suitably grateful, just a
favour, though: can I exchange it for dark red, a colour I like more?
Unfortunately, that would mean it's more likely to match Vila's eyes (after
a night on the grog) or, possibly, Avon's after yet another argument with
Tarrant.
Regards
Joanne
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------------------------------
Date: Wed, 01 Dec 1999 23:54:26 PST
From: "Sally Manton" <smanton@hotmail.com>
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Re: [B7L] Re: ALert! "Avona" is actually going to DEFEND Tarrant.
Message-ID: <19991202075426.60065.qmail@hotmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed
Re Avona's reply to my email -
I'm not (heaven forbid!) saying that Tarrant is a failure. What
I'm puzzled about is his statement, not that "I *was* a success,
you were a failure," but "I *am* a winner, you *are* a failure.
As of right now." What has either of them to show for their past careers,
more than the other? It can't be all those skills you
mention - Avon is as skilled in his own area (probably moreso
by canonical evidence). It can't be his military high-flyer glory
- as I said, it was tainted and he threw it away anyway.
Yes, Avon got caught and Tarrant didn't (lucky for him too - they exile
embezzlers, they probably shoot deserters, slowly and painfully.) That
doesn't precisely make him a winner unless he
has something to *show* for his mercenary career - which he
doesn't any more.
By my reading, Avon *was* a failure (the bank fraud) but at least
his attempt was on a grand scale, and he made up for it by
being (okay, reluctantly) a member of one of the most successful resistance
groups against the Federation (though the only part
*Avon* would have seen as success was the fact that he helped
keep himself, Blake and the others alive and the Liberator in
one piece). Tarrant hasn't failed, but he hasn't succeeded at
much either - not anything more than Avon (or Dayna, or Vila, or...)that
*has lasted*.
Back to the above. What he *should* have said was "I've been a success. I've
*done* this, even if I've bugger-all to show for
it now <g>. Just like you have, Avon." (And I wish he had said something
like this, because - by virtue of being the truth - it
would have annoyed Snarly even more than the flagrant silliness
of what he *did* say...)
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End of blakes7-d Digest V99 Issue #335
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