WOSSNAME
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
SPECIAL EARLY EDITION: "CHOOSING TO DIE"
June 2011 (Volume 14, Issue 6, post 1)
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

INDEX:

01) EDITOR'S LETTER
02) TERRY PRATCHETT: CHOOSING TO DIE
03) NADWCON UPDATES
04) THE PTWITTER MYSTERY
05) CLOSE

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

01) LETTER FROM YOUR EDITOR

First, a couple of relevant quotes for this early edition:

"I treasure the unknown. It's the here and now that worries me. Oh,
my word. No, it's what people dread is the dying, not the death. And
that's why I think assisted dying comes in. It goes – it takes you
from the life to the death without the inconvenient bit in the
middle."

– Sir Terry Pratchett during his Australian tour, April 2011...


"If I knew that I could die at any time I wanted, then suddenly
every day would be as precious as a million pounds. If I knew that I
could die, I would live. My life, my death, my choice."

– ...and from his 2010 Dimbleby lecture


The new documentary "Terry Pratchett: Choosing to Die", with its
attendant storm of controversy, is about to hit the airwaves.
Although I have watched the painful but superb "Terry Pratchett:
Living with Alzheimer's", I willingly admit that I won't be watching
this companion programme. But this is not because I disapprove –
it is simply that I am, when it comes to observing the moment of
death in real life, a coward's coward. I've held the hand of the
still-warm corpse of a beloved relative, no problem there, but I
still find that being in the presence of that actual moment of
transition between life and no-existence terrifies me too much to
bear. Nonetheless, I admire and congratulate all those involved with
the making of this documentary. May it stir up yet more controversy,
as the subject is such an important one.

Below are more details about the programme, along with a few lighter
items that just couldn't wait...

– Annie Mac, Editor

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

02) TERRY PRATCHETT: CHOOSING TO DIE

After a special pre-broadcast premiere at Sheffield Doc/Fest today,
"Terry Pratchett : Choosing to Die" will be broadcast on Monday 13th
June at 9pm on BBC2. This will be followed by an in-depth interview
by Jeremy Paxman on Newsnight at 10pm, also on BBC2.

The BBC has also given permission for a select set of viewers in
North America – in this case, the NADWcon attendees – to watch
the programme during the course of the convention, if they so
choose.


2.1 "CHOOSING TO DIE" PREMIERE TODAY AT SHEFFIELD DOC/FEST

"It's a plotline he can't rewrite: Sir Terry Pratchett has
Alzheimer's. Faced with a failing brain, he is terrified that he
will no longer be able to write novels – he has 37 under his belt.
He can try, however, to control the ending..."

Tickets for the extended "Choosing to Die" Q&A session (with Sir
Pterry), which will be held on Saturday 11th June at 10am in the
Library Theatre are available to the general public. For more
information, go to:

http://sheffdocfest.com/events/view/1872


2.2 THE BBC PRESS RELEASE

In "Terry Pratchett: Choosing To Die", world-renowned author Sir
Terry Pratchett explores the realities of medically assisted death.
Diagnosed with a rare form of early onset Alzheimer's disease in
2008, Terry considers how he might choose to end his life as his
condition progresses. Terry meets men suffering from degenerative
conditions and is with a British motor neurone sufferer as he
carries out an assisted death at the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland.

Sir Terry says: "I am a firm believer in assisted death. I believe
everybody possessed of a debilitating and incurable disease should
be allowed to pick the hour of their death. And I wanted to know
more about Dignitas in case I ever wanted to go there myself."

Sir Terry has said that he would like to choose to end his own life
rather than succumb to his degenerative condition. However, he
acknowledges that there are a number of people who are against
assisted dying for religious, moral or practical reasons and at
present, assisted death is both an ethically contentious and illegal
act in the UK.

In a moving BBC Two documentary, Sir Terry meets those who, like
him, would like to control the way they die.

From across Europe he compares other countries' legal positions with
that of the UK and asks what the future is for assisted death in the
UK.

Charlotte Moore, Commissioning Editor for Documentaries, says:
"Assisted death is an important topic of debate in the UK, and this
is a chance for the BBC Two audience to follow Sir Terry as he
wrestles with the difficult issues that many across Britain are also
faced with. I hope this sparks a constructive debate that people
across the spectrum of opinion can engage in."

Terry Pratchett: Choosing To Die is an exploration of one of
society's most sensitive issues and reunites the best-selling author
with the award-winning team that made Terry Pratchett: Living With
Alzheimer's.

Craig Hunter, Executive Producer for KEO North: "This intensely
personal film, by one Britain's best loved authors, tackles a deeply
taboo subject with sensitivity and with Pratchett's idiosyncratic
humour. It's a valuable contribution to the increasingly urgent
debate as to who determines when and how we die."

Terry Pratchett: Choosing To Die (1x60-minutes) was commissioned by
Charlotte Moore and executive produced by Craig Hunter for Keo North
and Sam Anthony for the BBC.

http://tinyurl.com/5sed5hx


2.3 A VIEWER'S OPINION

Guardian columnist Zoe Williams, who attended a Press pre-screening
of the documentary, was deeply moved and very impressed, and her
piece on it is well worth reading:

"I had all the standard reservations about why you'd allow a hoard
of near-strangers at your death bed, but that was a failure of my
imagination... It is not the first time a death has been shown on
television – Emma Swain, acting controller of knowledge at the
BBC, says BBC1 has done it before, as has Sky and an Irish channel
– but nevertheless, I've now seen a man whom I didn't know die. I
don't see how this can be anything other than a Rubicon moment. I
don't necessarily mean that in a bad way.

"Pratchett is terribly affected by the experience, saying into the
camera that he doesn't know if he would be able to do it himself.
His dilemma as someone with Alzheimer's disease is a terrible one,
of course, since with Alzheimer's more than any other condition, the
decision to die has to be taken prematurely. By the time he's in
enough anguish to want death, nobody will listen to him. In
Pratchett's film, though, the process of chosen suicide looks human
and beautiful – to me, anyway. Not everybody at the screening
agreed though..."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/2011/jun/10/i-saw-a-stranger-die

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

03) NADWCON UPDATES

The second North American Discworld Convention is only a few weeks
away now! Here be some highlights from the Con's latest newsletter:

Good news! You no longer need to pack those heavy hardcovers! Due to
both consideration for Sir Terry's health and well-being and the
sheer number of Discworld fans who will be attending our amazing
convention, it has been arranged that in place of traditional
signing sessions, we will be hosting meet-and-greet sessions in
which each attendee will have the opportunity to receive a special
signed bookplate from The Man Himself. The bookplate that you will
receive personally from Sir Terry will be a limited edition made
just for our convention, and will indicate that the plate was signed
at the NADWCon2011!

Bookplate session tickets will be assigned randomly, and may be
swapped between attendees at a Friday swap meet session that will be
indicated on the program schedule. Please be aware that just like
with a traditional signing, you will need to bring your ticket to
the session to be admitted and receive your bookplate. More details
to come!

Please note: No flash photography will be permitted during these
sessions, nor will photography while at the front of the line be
permitted. Non-flash photography from the sidelines that does not
slow Sir Terry or the line will be allowed. We also request that out
of consideration for Sir Terry and out of fairness to all of the
attendees, you do not approach Sir Terry at any time with requests
for signatures. Approaching him with offers of a beer or interesting
topics of conversation, or just to say hello or have a chat is fine,
however!

But wait! There's more! There will be a special Monday signing
session where Sir Terry will personally sign a limited number of
books or other items.  This session will be open solely to those who
have won items in the Charity Auction that they would like signed,
and for the lucky folks who win a Signature From Sir Terry in the
Charity Auction. We will have 20 lots of one signature each
available for bidding.


Need a roommate, rideshare or just seeking a bargain?

Found out too late about the convention and can't afford the full
membership price? Need a roommate or a floor to sleep on? What about
a ride to and from Madison? Check out our webpages:

Membership Transfer: http://www.nadwcon.org/SaleMemberships.html

Hotel Roomshare: http://www.nadwcon.org/Roomates.html

Ride Share: http://www.nadwcon.org/RoadTrips.html


Banquet deadline set for July 1

Not sure if you're going to the July 10 Gala Banquet? Well, the July
1 deadline is looming! Even though spots at the guest tables are sold
out, a few tickets remain for the banquet. Get 'em now!

Banquet Information:

The great city of Quirm is undoubtedly the jewel of the Sto Plains.
We are the number-one vacation and retirement spot for the Ankh
Morpork elite. Our beautiful city is home to one of the finest
educational institutions on the Disc, and our breathtaking floral
clock is one of the wonders of the modern age, but the true glory of
Quirm comes, of course, from our world famous cheeses. The Duke and
Duchess of Quirm do hereby open their city to the travelers
attending the North American Discworld Convention, and invite you to
join them for an evening of dining and entertainment.

Tickets for the banquet are $67 and for more information on our
offerings, visit http://www.nadwcon.org/GalaBanquet.html

Announcing the North American Premiere of the New BBC Documentary
"Terry Pratchett: Choosing To Die":

http://nadwcon.livejournal.com/38473.html

The North American Discworld Convention 2011 is pleased to announce
that it will be hosting the North American premiere of Sir Terry
Pratchett's newly finished BBC documentary, "Terry Pratchett:
Choosing To Die." The program will be aired, with permission from
the BBC, during The North American Discworld Convention 2011 (taking
place at the Concourse Hotel in Madison, Wisconsin from July 8-11,
2011), and will feature an in-person introduction by Sir Terry
Pratchett and his assistant Rob Wilkins, as well as a post-airing
question and answer session by the same.

This documentary will premiere first in the UK at Sheffield Doc/fest
on June 11, 2011, and follows on the success of the Scottish BAFTA
Award-winning "Terry Pratchett: Living With Alzheimer's".

http://sheffdocfest.com/events/view/1872


A Note from The North American Discworld Convention 2011:

Please be aware that this film covers a controversial topic, and
that it features the assisted death of a man on screen. The North
American Discworld Convention neither endorses nor disagrees with
any occurrences or opinions contained within this documentary. The
purpose of this convention is to provide a weekend of programs and
events which focus on the life and works of Sir Terry Pratchett, and
as such, we are honored to have been given permission to include
this documentary in our program schedule.


A change of plans regarding one of our honored guests

Rod Brown, our friend and honored guest from Prime Focus
Productions, has sadly had to cancel his convention appearance due
to business obligations. He sends his apologies and hopes we all
have a fantastic time! Rod, we'll miss seeing you but wish you luck
with your business endeavors!

Got a question for our special guests?

We have many wonderful guests who will be spending the convention
weekend with us! Got a question regarding writing or Discworld for
Sir Terry? Maybe something about  what it's like to be on set of
Going Postal? Worry no more about whether you'll get to ask those
questions or not – instead, just e-mail questions@...!

We'll be collecting those questions to ask our guests during the
convention.

Going Postal movie props up on the auction block

We are pleased to announced that not one, not two, but a plethora of
movie props from Going Postal will be featured at our charity
auction during NADWCon2011, July 8-11! Among the items are Sergeant
Angua's City Watch costume, Moist Von Lipwig's prison "outfit" (no,
we don't know where the pants got to, but his shirt and vest are the
finest in Ankh-Morpork prison-wear!) and four newspapers featured in
the film! Not to mention all those lusciously pristine sheets of
uncut stamps! (Stop drooling, flatalists, and start stashing away
some cash for these beauties!)

In addition to this, we also have items donated from the UK
Discworld Convention, as well as foreign language Discworld books,
Discworld related games, items from guests and Discworld notables,
and more!

For more information about the props and an in-progress list of items
up for auction, visit: http://www.nadwcon.org/CharityAuction.html

Please Note: We are still very happy to accept donations for the
auction (please give us things for charity! Think of the monke---ow
ow ow ow ow THE ORANGUTANS!!) and if you have any items you wish to
donate to our auction, or if you have questions about our charity
auction, please contact us at auction@.... All proceeds from
this auction will go to The Orangutan Foundation and The Alzheimer's
Research Trust.

Shop early to ensure that you get your Discworld souvenirs!

Don't forget to check out our merchandise webpage at
http://www.nadwcon.org/Merchandise.html

There you'll find many  ways to help stimulate our economy and aid
our convention – be it a special brass pin, your very own cuddly
Death of Rats or even a t-shirt!

All convention merchandise is to be picked up by the customer upon
their arrival at the NADWCon 2011, and will not be mailed to the
customer prior to that time. Pre-ordering merchandise means you do
not have to worry about it being sold out at the convention. This
also helps the convention by providing it with earlier funds from
sales and helps us determine the popularity of a particular item. As
a thank you for helping the NADWCon 2011 in this way, we are making
a few items slightly cheaper when you pre-order.

Want to Volunteer? It's become even easier!

Thanks to our talented volunteers, you can now fill out a form to
volunteer for the convention! The form can be found here:

http://www.nadwcon.org/Volunteers.html

Why should you volunteer? Well, it's one of the easiest ways to get
to know your fellow Pratchett fans and also get into the thick of
things. It's also a great way to help our convention be the best
that it can be!

In addition to helping out with the day-to-day convention duties,
panelists are needed for the following panels:

The Family That Reads Together: Join us for a discussion of the
young adult and children's books by Pterry. We'll talk about what
they mean to us, what they teach our kids, what our young people
think about these books, and how we can get more of them into the
hands of teachers and librarians.

When Worlds Collide: Where Steampunk Meets the Discworld: It can be
argued that certain subtle elements of Steampunk can be found on the
Discworld, a place that has yet to discover steam power. How does
magic come into it? What about Hex? Is this convergence centered on
clothes (little boots!) or is there more to it? The intriguing mix
of history, sf, tech, folklore, modern culture, and fantasy is one
of the reasons why Terry Pratchett's books are so popular with a
wide-ranging audience, many of whom are also Steampunk fans. So
bring your corsets and your goggles and we'll see what's what.

http://www.terrypratchettbooks.com/

What To Read When You're Not Reading Pratchett:
What? You mean there are other books out there? Fans who share your
taste will guide you gently towards other worlds and authors.

If you'd like to volunteer for the panels, contact programming at
shewho13@...

Changes and Additions to the NADWCon Committee
http://nadwcon.livejournal.com/38698.html

As you may know, NADWCon recently lost some committee members in key
positions due to unforeseen circumstances. Certain volunteers have
stepped down recently due to Illnesses, financial difficulties or
the needs of family. Fortunately, Discworld fans are a wonderfully
helpful breed, and we have been able to quickly fill the gaps left
behind with more folks from Wisconsin, dedicated fans from all
around the country, and members from the ever-helpful Seamstresses'
Guild (Always happy to lend a hand). The North American Discworld
Convention is organized by Discworld fans, for Discworld fans, and
we are deeply grateful for everyone's help. We know that this is a
tribute to the affection and respect they feel for Terry as well as
their desire to provide a wonderful experience for those who share
their love of the Discworld books. Our first and only concern is
that the convention be worthy of the fans who are attending and that
guy in the black hat.

Among the committee members lost was our Chair, Joshua Goes, who had
to step down due to illness. After much deliberation and discussion,
and by mutual agreement, a few key positions have now been shifted
to make best use of the experience and expertise of our volunteer
staff.

* Emily Whitten (former Vice Chair, NADWCon 2009; Chair, The Guild
of Chelonavigators; and co-founder of the 2009 convention) will step
into the role of Chair of the committee (and continue in her role as
Guest Liaison Coordinator)

* Our former Vice Chair, Jon Lemerond, who has been working with
great dedication on this convention for two years will now be
serving as Assistant to the Chair, Co-Coordinator of Ambience, and
Con Webmaster.

* Marg Grady, coordinator of the excellent NADWCon2009 banquet and
convention decor, and a seasoned con-runner, is now serving as our
Vice Chair and Treasurer, along with her current duties as Volunteer
Coordinator.

* Denise Connell, Founder and Chair of the Seamstresses' Guild will
be serving as Assistant to the Vice Chair, along with her current
roles as Programming Director and Seamstresses' Guild Parties
Producer.

We would also like to welcome these experienced and talented folks
to our team:

David Barker (ConOps & Information Coordinator)
Barry Newton (At-Con Treasurer)
Erin Prindiville (Art Show Coordinator)
Fae Townsend (Costumers Dungeon Coordinator)
z! (Tech & Staging Coordinator; Charity Auction Co-Coordinator)

Our recent staffing changes are a positive and beneficial evolution
in the con planning process. The convention is on track, and NADWCon
will be a unique and very special experience for all our attendees
and guests.

Our committee will be working hard in this final month and we look
forward to seeing you all in Madison, and to having a great time
together!

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

04) THE MEETING THAT...WASN'T...?

It seems that quite a large number of Pratchett fans are also Doctor
Who fans (not really surprising). Here be an amusing sequence of
Pterry's (p)tweets on (P)twitter over the course of some hours the
other day, as reproduced from said Twitter page:

"A meeting of minds with gentlemen we cannot mention about a project
we cannot discuss. However, a good day all round."

"No! No! We absolutely 100% did not meet @steven_moffat today. But
now we've denied it..."

"We reiterate; we DID NOT meet or talk to or phone or Skype or send
letters or emails or carrier pigeons to @steven_moffat"

"Further more, our people are not talking to @steven_moffat people,
okay?? Seriously."

"We love this! Therefore it is our duty to inform you all that we
didn't meet the Queen of England either... err..."

"Again, for clarity; we are almost entirely sure that @steven_moffat
does not have clacks. Or receives smoke signals. Or Morse code."

"Oh, and doesn't have a tin can on the end of a looooooong piece of
string. Or shouts."

"NO! Not semaphore either..."

"Or telepathy..."

"We HAVE NOT met @steven_moffat – EVER. Oh, except when Rob met him
on the set of 'Silence in the Library'."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

05) CLOSE

Don't forget, if you're in Fourecks this month, to visit sunny
Adelaide and view Unseen Theatre's new production of Wyrd Sisters.
It premiered yesterday and the season continues until 25th June:

http://www.unseen.com.au/shows/wyrd-sisters

In other news, WOSSNAME congratulates the non-related Logans –
David (Half Sick of Shadows) and Michael (Apocalypse Cow), who are
not only not related but don't even come from the same country! –
for their shared win of the first "Anywhere But Here, Anywhen But
Now" Pratchett Prize. To read more about this, and to view a photo
of Pterry with the winners, go to:

http://tinyurl.com/3sxuav8

And that's it for the moment. We'll be back later this month with
all the rest of the news and features. Happy Solstice to all!

– Annie Mac

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

———————————————————————————————————
The End. If you have any questions or requests, write:
interact@...
———————————————————————————————————
Copyright (c) 2011 by Klatchian Foreign Legion

WOSSNAME
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
June 2011 (Volume 14, Issue 6, Post 2)
********************************************************************
WOSSNAME is a free publication for members of the worldwide
Klatchian Foreign Legion and its affiliates, including the North
American Discworld Society and other continental groups. Are you a
member? Yes, if you sent in your name, country and e-mail address.
Are there any dues? No! As a member of the Klatchian Foreign Legion,
you'd only forget them...
********************************************************************
Editor in Chief: Annie Mac
News Editor: Fiona (not Bruce) Bruce
Newshounds: Vera, Mogg, Sir J of Croydon Below, the Shadow
Staff Writers: Asti, Pitt the Elder, Steven D'Aprano
Convention Reporters: Mithtrethth Hania Ogg et al
Staff Technomancer: Jason Parlevliet
Book Reviews: Drusilla D'Afanguin
Puzzle Editor: Tiff
Bard in Residence: Weird Alice Lancrevic
DW Horoscope: Lady Anaemia Asterisk, Fernando Magnifico
Emergency Staff: Jason Parlevliet
World Membership Director: Steven D'Aprano (in his copious spare
time)
Copyright 2011 by Klatchian Foreign Legion

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

INDEX:

01) QUOTES OF THE MONTH
02) LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
03) PTERRY'S EDWARDS AWARD: ACCEPTANCE BY PROXY
04) "CHOOSING TO DIE": REACTIONS, PRAISE AND PROTEST
05) "SNUFF" NEWS
06) PTERRY INTERVIEWED BY A LIBRARIAN
07) DISCWORLD CONVENTION NEWS
08) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS
09) DISCWORLD GROUPS MEETING NEWS
10) IMAGES OF THE MONTH
11) WHERE THE MULTIVERSES MEET
12) DISCWORLD AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE
13) AROUND THE BU CAMPUS
14) LATE BREAKING NEWS
15) CLOSE

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

01) QUOTES OF THE MONTH

"If we have a right to life, surely we have a right to death."

– student blogger Samuel Watkin


"The film had a beautiful humanity about it, and Sir Terry's
commentary and thoughts were perfect in the context. He's a much
under-rated thinker. I admire the courage of all concerned in making
the film, particularly Sir Terry's assistant who clearly was
uncomfortable at several times. Assisted dying is a big subject and
an hour long programme can only hope to touch the surface. This film
certainly stirred things up and perhaps the UK debate will move
forward as a result."

– blogger 3dBloke

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

02) A LETTER FROM YOUR EDITOR

How did we miss this one?! The Skylark Award, that is. The New
England Science Fiction Association has been giving one of these out
for 45 years now, and the 2009 one went to Pterry, but I only found
out about it a few days ago. Blimey!

"The Edward E. Smith Memorial Award for Imaginative Fiction (the
Skylark) is presented annually by NESFA to some person, who, in the
opinion of the membership, has contributed significantly to science
fiction, both through work in the field and by exemplifying the
personal qualities which made the late 'Doc' Smith well-loved by
those who knew him. The award consists of a trophy with a large
lens. The winner of the award is chosen by vote of the Regular
members of the New England Science Fiction Association, Inc. It is
presented at Boskone, NESFA's annual convention."

As a lifelong reader who first fell in love with the ridiculous-but-
fun works of "Doc" Smith very early in my childhood, I'll add an
extra raised glass and huzzah to Sir Pterry for this award!

http://www.nesfa.org/awards/skylark.html
http://www.nesfa.org/boskone/

And here's an iconograph of Pterry's award:
http://www.nesfa.org/images/PTerry-skylark.jpg


Not long now to the start the second North American Discworld
Convention – a matter of not even three weeks now. Our thoughts go
out to the (very) hard-working Committee. May they and their guests
and attendees have every success!


"Nonetheless, I admire and congratulate all those involved with the
making of this documentary. May it stir up yet more controversy, as
the subject is such an important one." I said that in the editorial
for this month's early edition post, and oh my, stirring has
certainly taken place. Debate rages, kudos and brickbats fly, and
people are discussing this once-unmentionable subject – called
"the last taboo" by some – at all levels of society, from the
hallowed (yeah right) halls of government to the council-estate
kitchen tables of Sun readers. As your Editor, I've attempted to
track down a wide variety of links to articles, critiques, rants and
blogposts about "Terry Pratchett: Choosing to Die". And I have to
confess that it's been exhausting and not a little heartbreaking. I
think I'll dispense with my usual salutations of "enjoy" or "on with
the show", but I do hope, O Readers, that you find this issue of
WOSSNAME's reportage thought-provoking.

Read on...

– Annie Mac

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

03) PTERRY'S EDWARDS AWARD: ACCEPTANCE BY PROXY

As the 2011 Edwards Award winner, Pterry has a gong waiting for him.
Unfortunately he won't be able to collect it in person as he hoped:

"The 63-year-old Pratchett had originally planned to visit the
states from his home in Salisbury, England, but since his 2008
diagnosis with a rare form of early-onset Alzheimer's disease,
traveling 'is physically stressful for him and has lasting negative
effect,' says Kim Patton, president of the Young Adult Library
Services Association (YALSA), in a letter to those who purchased
tickets to the June 25 event. The award is administered by YALSA and
sponsored by School Library Journal. While Pratchett's overall
health is good, 'the trip is more than he can handle right now,'
Patton adds. 'No one is more disappointed about this than Terry
himself.'

"The Edwards luncheon will take place as scheduled, and Pratchett
will videotape an acceptance speech to be shown during the event.
Gail Carriger, an Alex Award winner and Pratchett fan, will
introduce the video and say a few words about the author..."

http://tinyurl.com/5sz8pyc

About the award:

http://tinyurl.com/5tnetdg

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

04) "CHOOSING TO DIE": REACTIONS, PRAISE AND PROTEST

So many articles, so many links. Here be a selection...

Pterry himself, talking to New Humanist Magazine for their article
on the documentary:

"A short time ago I had to insist to a not very youthful journalist
that during my early lifetime anyone who attempted to commit suicide
and failed would face a criminal charge and be locked up, presumably
to show them life was wonderful and thoroughly worth living.

"It would be nice to think that in the not too distant future
someone will be incredulous when told that a British citizen
stricken with a debilitating and ultimately fatal disease, and yet
nevertheless still quite compos mentis, would have to go all the way
to another country to die. They would ask for an explanation, and
I'd be damned if I could think of one. Three decent, sedate and
civilised European countries already allow physician-assisted
suicide and yet, despite the fact that every indication is that
British people understand and are in favour of assisted dying, if
properly conducted, the government consistently turns its back on
it. A year ago I was told by a cabinet minister that it would never
happen in Britain and I suggested that this was a strange thing to
say in a democracy and got a black look for my pains.

"Initially, I thought the opposition was largely due to a certain
amount of curdled Christianity. Despite the fact that there is no
scriptural objection, Christian opposition came about in the 14th
century when, because of religious wars and the Black Death, people
were committing suicide on the basis that, well, as this world was
now so dreadfully unpleasant, maybe it would be a good idea to make
an attempt on heaven. Authority objected otherwise. Who would milk
the cows? Who would fight the wars? People couldn't be allowed to
slope off like that. They had to stay and face their just punishment
for being born.

"Even now I detect some echoes of that frame of mind; that
affliction is somehow a penance for an unknown transgression. To
hell with that! Every time the question of assisted dying is
broached in this country there is a choreographed outcry, suggested
overtones of Nazism and, of course, the murder of grandmothers for
their money. And the perpetrators get away with it because the
British have a certain tradition of bullying from the top down. 'The
common people are stupid and we who know better must make the
decisions for them.'

"Well, the common people are not stupid. They might watch god-
awfully stupid reality TV and make a lot of noise in football
grounds and they don't understand, perhaps, the politics of Trident,
but they are very clever about the politics of blood and bone and
pain and suffering. They understand about compassion and, like my
father, they are nothing if not practical about these things. He was
incurably ill and saw no reason, given the absence of the hope of
any cure, why he shouldn't forgo any more suffering and head
straight for the door.

"And people also understand that, especially if you don't have much
money, long-term care in the UK can be somewhat problematical at
best. And yet the government sits there like an ancient Pope, hoping
that it will all go away."

To read this on the web, in the New Humanist blog article, go to:
http://tinyurl.com/66lo62t


Teacher, author and UK resident Kevin Yuill has some interesting
thoughts after viewing Choosing to Die:

"Death is only the absence of life. It is – at least for non-
believers like me and Discworld author and assisted-suicide
campaigner Terry Pratchett – not a 'journey' but the terminus, not
an experience but the end of all experiences... Terry Pratchett's
BBC TV show this week, Choosing to Die, reflected a variation on
this theme. It conveyed utterly understandable confusion and an
array of fairly unpalatable options. As Pratchett said, 'I have a
head full of questions and I want to get some answers'. After the
programme, most still remain unanswered... There are many points
that Pratchett gets right, not least his choice of Thomas Tallis as
his ultimate 'desert-island disc'. He is also right that anyone,
rich or poor, should be able to buy or make a deadly cocktail of
drugs without the paternalistic intervention of the state. But he
fails to explain why anyone else would assist a suicide. It is an
act that we can all accomplish – with a little forward planning
– unaided..."

http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/10607/


The programme brought back painful memories to BBC medical
correspondent Fergus Walsh:

"I was working late last night so watched the programme this
morning. The final 15 minutes made very difficult, emotional and
compelling viewing. For me, the documentary brought back memories of
Dr Anne Turner who ended her life in Zurich five years ago. She had
a progressive degenerative condition, supranuclear palsy. Dr Turner
invited the BBC to witness her last day in Switzerland. I travelled
with a camera crew to interview her on the morning of her death,
asking whether there was anything anyone could say to change her
mind. But like Peter Smedley she had a quiet determination and was
unmoveable. Her story was turned into a film, 'A Short Stay in
Switzerland', starring Julie Walters.

"There were clearly very uncomfortable moments for Sir Terry who
observed the cheery conversation between Mr Smedley, his wife and
the two Dignitas helpers... Like others who travel to Switzerland to
die, Dr Turner wanted the law changed to permit assisted suicide in
Britain. Many who have progressive disorders fear not being fit to
travel, so they go to Dignitas earlier than they would have wanted.
Sir Terry Pratchett, who has Alzheimer's disease, is an advocate for
assisted suicide in Britain, and said witnessing a death had not
changed his opinion..."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-13768354


A round-up of some early press reactions in The Week's The First
Post, covering The Independent, The Times, The Guardian, and The
Telegraph:

http://tinyurl.com/65t5jna


...and many news/opinion articles and blog posts. Here be some...

On the BBC websites:

"Sir Terry, who made the film to establish whether he would be able
to die at a time and in a way he wanted, said seeing what Dignitas
did had not changed his mind. 'I believe it should be possible for
someone stricken with a serious and ultimately fatal illness to
choose to die peacefully with medical help, rather than suffer,' he
told BBC's Newsnight. Asked about the sanctity of life, Sir Terry
responded: 'What about the dignity of life?' Lack of dignity would
be enough for some people to kill themselves, he said..."

(includes a brief video extract from the Newsnight programme)

http://tinyurl.com/4xe7ubs


Charlie Russell, who directed "Choosing to Die" and its predecessor
"Terry Pratchett: Living with Alzheimer's", gives his thoughts:

"He is brilliant at wrestling with the moral conundrums that the
subject throws up – not least because he is genuinely considering
some form of assisted death for himself. But I was still surprised
at how emotional he found the experience of making this film. I had
never seen him cry until we went to Switzerland... Everyone involved
in the production, no matter what their views on legalising assisted
dying, has been profoundly affected by the experience..."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/tv/2011/06/choosing-to-die.shtml


"Author Sir Terry Pratchett has defended his BBC Two TV documentary
about assisted suicide, amid criticism from anti-euthanasia
groups..."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-13760933


In The Guardian:

"But Pratchett's film, which also focuses on the cases of two other
men facing similar choices, is likely to reopen the debate over the
legal and moral constraints on assisted dying. Pratchett, the author
of the Discworld series of fantasy novels, who was knighted in 2009,
will be glad if it does. He backs assisted death, he tells the
magazine [Radio Times], 'because if someone knows they can die when
they want to, they can treasure every day. They can think, "The
grandchildren are coming over tomorrow" or "It's nearly Christmas so
I'll leave it till the new year... it's a bit painful but we can
hang in there." So someone is doing an incredibly human thing,
something that no animal can ever do – actually controlling, if
not forestalling, their own death – and getting some pride out of
that, I suspect.'..."

http://tinyurl.com/63j59dn

Ben Dowell in The Observer, the Guardian's Sunday incarnation:

"Pratchett, the creator of the Discworld novels, who was 60 when he
was diagnosed three years ago, said his decision to start the formal
process did not necessarily mean that he was going to take his own
life. He claimed he remained unsure about whether to carry through
with his own death, saying that he changes his mind 'every two
minutes'. He added that his wife, who chose not to appear in the
film, did not want him to take his own life but that if he did
choose to die he would prefer to do so in England and in the
sunshine. Pratchett also revealed that he would not 'go to the
barricades' for people who wanted to die because they had grown
weary of living..."

http://tinyurl.com/3n3ryw5


The Guardian's TV critic, Sam Wollaston:

"Everything about this moving but not over-sentimental film really
makes me think assisted death for the terminally ill is not just a
good idea but a human right (more importantly Pratchett feels the
same and the news at the weekend was that he's signed up). But
there's a moment, when the poison takes its grip, when it's very
hard to watch..."

http://tinyurl.com/3lpeloz


Reporter Haroon Siddique on the criticism:

"Michael Nazir-Ali, the retired Bishop of Rochester condemned the
programme as 'science fiction', while Care not Killing (CNK)
described it as 'a recipe for elder abuse and also a threat to
vulnerable people'. Asked why he wanted to make the film, Pratchett
told BBC Breakfast: 'Because I was appalled at the current
situation. I know that assisted dying is practised in at least three
places in Europe and also in the United States. The government here
has always turned its back on it and I was ashamed that British
people had to drag themselves to Switzerland, at considerable cost,
in order to get the services that they were hoping for.'..."

http://tinyurl.com/6h7sflx


An opinion piece by the very opinionated Michael Wenham:

http://tinyurl.com/3jmxkka

...and another from a Kevin McKenna:

http://tinyurl.com/6c4b93h


...and a charming, intelligent and idiosyncratic view of living and
dying with dignity by the award-winning journalist Suzanne Moore:

"To be pro-choice on assisted dying means simply to me to be
entirely pro–life..."

http://tinyurl.com/6ftgo5v


In The Telegraph:

Ceri Radford in the Culture section:

"I doubt whether many people who watched a preview screening of the
film would recognise the view, put forward by anti-euthanasia
campaigners, that it 'glorifies' suicide. I found it almost
unbearably sad. Without television you can vaguely imagine Dignitas
as a place where people, terrified at the idea of suffering a
painful death, or simply fed up with life, go to be helped to die.
But you don't know what it looks like: a little blue house with a
garden on a mundane industrial estate. TV is an accessible and
visceral medium, allowing us to confront the indescribable reality
of a man, chatting and joking one moment, choosing the next to
swallow a glass of poison in one gulp rather than wait for his
illness to run its course. Whatever you think of the views of
Pratchett, who suffers from Alzheimer's and wants the UK to change
its laws on assisted death, this is a brave piece of television, not
a cheap polemic..."

http://tinyurl.com/3j6eoq5


Allison Pearson seems to be a bit undecided, or something:

"The BBC received 900 complaints about Choosing to Die. Barely a
murmur when you consider that 700 irate viewers rang in to protest
that extended motor racing was allowed to bump off Antiques
Roadshow. Anti-euthanasia campaigners said the Pratchett documentary
painted an idealised picture of assisted death rather than
contributing to an honest debate. That isn't so. It was a deeply
thoughtful and moving programme orchestrated by a 63-year-old word
wizard under the curse of Alzheimer's. Sir Terry is angry that
terminally ill Britons, like himself, have to go to Switzerland to
be put out of their misery. He fancies dying on his own sunlit lawn,
drinking the fatal draught while listening to Thomas Tallis.

"It's a seductive picture, isn't it? As seductive as those TV
commercials for Quietus, the over-the-counter suicide kit in
Children of Men. Set in the UK in 2027, P D James's dystopic novel
imagines a time when adults are encouraged to kill themselves with a
product which soothingly offers to take the choice out of your
hands. You can be sure, dear reader, that when the state-sanctioned
putting down of the sick, the disabled and the elderly comes, it
won't look like a factory run by Joseph Goebbels. It will look
like a lifestyle choice. Make that a deathstyle choice. That's
why, although Sir Terry, the lovely Smedleys and anyone in fear of a
prolonged, painful death have my deepest sympathy, I feel we have to
be vigilant and hold the line..."

http://tinyurl.com/3nqfpw5


Telly critic Catherine Gee gives a thorough and neutral review of
the programme:

"Pratchett's condition has reached a stage where he can no longer
type so, as we saw, is dictating his new novel Snuff to his
assistant, Rob Wilkins. It was through Wilkins that some of the
film's balance was found. He is clearly uncomfortable with the
idea of assisted death and, when they visited the Swiss euthanasia
group Dignitas, he decisively commented, 'It feels so wrong.'
However, this was Pratchett's film and the argument he put forward
here was that assisted suicide for the terminally ill should be
legal in the UK – a view that has naturally drawn criticism from
an anti-euthanasia group...

"Of course, for many terminally ill people, the warm, safe,
relatively pain-free death offered by Dignitas is not an option. It
costs around £10,000 and many could either not afford it or would
not wish their families to have to pay for it, though this issue was
skirted around in the film. The argument for such a facility to be
made available in the UK is certainly a powerful one – as are the
arguments against, such as the risk of overzealous doctors taking
advantage of bewildered elderly patients or that most religions
forbid all forms of suicide. ..."

http://tinyurl.com/68zaf5x


Andrew Hough reports on a number of UK cases where the deceased's
family or doctor could have been prosecuted under the current
British laws:

http://tinyurl.com/6jh37qw


In The Independent and the Irish Independent:

Robert Epstein reviews the programme:

"It was far from easy to watch, not least when, choking, Smedley
asked for water – a request that was denied. Which answers
complaints from some quarters that the programme made the process
seem too much of an 'easy' way out. What's more, the impact of
seeing a life drain away has been matched by the immediate impact
the documentary has had in pushing the issue of assisted death back
on to the national agenda. It has made us talk about something we
would rather not, and has done so without being mawkish or
strident..."

http://tinyurl.com/4xutpbr


Sherna Noah, reports on the post-broadcast storm:

"[The BBC's] commissioning editor for documentaries Charlotte Moore
said that she did not believe the 'carefully edited but unflinching'
scene could have been left out. When Peter decides he is ready, he
is seen drinking a liquid to prepare his stomach for what is to come
while sitting at the kitchen table. Then, sitting on a sofa with his
wife at his side gently rubbing his hand, he drinks a second liquid,
after which he falls into a deep sleep and dies. Ms Moore said: 'It
is an extremely powerful and challenging scene – raw yet moving –
but above all it is honest. Some people may question why we included
this scene in the final cut. But in my view I don't see how we could
omit it... To gloss over Peter's final moments would be to do a
disservice to Peter, to Terry and to the viewer...'"

http://tinyurl.com/3lg7sly


In The Mirror:

Reviewer Jane Simon:

"I can't imagine anyone wanting to witness a stranger's death
– on television or anywhere else – but in Sir Terry's own
words: 'What you are about to watch may not be easy, but I believe
it's important.' The BBC isn't the first broadcaster to go down
this route. Three years ago Sky showed the suicide of another motor
neurone sufferer at the same clinic. And this latest programme
follows the recent BBC documentary Inside The Human Body, which
showed an 84-year-old cancer patient take his dying breath. But for
Sir Terry, the trip might be a recce for a journey he will one day
be taking himself..."

http://tinyurl.com/6xcpkhe


In The Sun:

David Lowe speaks to actor Chris Larner, who accompanied his dying
wife to Dignitas last year, about his reactions to the programme:

"The heartbreaking scene, filmed at the Dignitas suicide clinic
outside Zurich, was difficult viewing for most people. But it hit
Chris especially hard – for only last November he was with his ex-
wife, Allyson Lee, when she died there aged 60.... While it brought
back painful memories for actor Chris – who starred as Clingfilm in
the 1990s ITV drama series London's Burning – he supports the
challenging and shocking documentary. Chris, 52, from Streatham
Hill, south London, says: 'As someone whose personal circumstances
have taken them to Dignitas, I was impressed by BBC2's handling of
the subject... Assisted suicide isn't nice or pretty and I think the
show recognised that. I can understand why people find it troubling
because, at the end of the day, none of us want to die. Allyson,
whose wellbeing was virtually nonexistent, was very clear it was her
right to do what she wanted with her life. Besides the fear of
eventually losing her sight, speech and ability to swallow, she was
devastated about being unable to walk and her loss of
independence...' ... Chris has been so deeply affected by his visit
to Dignitas that he has written a play, An Instinct For Kindness,
about the experience. He feels strongly that assisted suicide should
be legalised in the UK and says: 'I don't see why people like
Allyson should have to face a journey to Switzerland for a dignified
death when they could have one here...'"

http://tinyurl.com/692ddzy


In the Irish Times:

Bernice Harrison's review:

"In the stark way a well-made documentary can, it showed the reality
of going to Dignitas, a phrase that has become shorthand for
assisted suicide... 'People come in live and leave dead,' said
Pratchett, whose tone throughout was inquisitive and pragmatic.
Although he could understand Smedley's decision, he struggled with
Andrew Colgan's choice. The 42-year-old with multiple sclerosis, who
seemed disturbingly well, explained opting for Dignitas by saying
that his quality of life was becoming unbearable. He had attempted
suicide and failed and was afraid his illness would progress to the
point that he wouldn't be able to travel – so he took the decision
sooner, in Pratchett's opinion, than he needed to. It was a tragedy,
according to Pratchett: not the choice to die but the timing..."

http://tinyurl.com/3j2pfr6


Liz Murphy on the issues facing Irish law and assisted suicide, in
the wake of Choosing to Die debates:

"The existing law in Ireland states that it is illegal to assist a
suicide in any way. The maximum sentence is 14 years' imprisonment.
Even the act of buying a plane ticket for the person who intends to
die in Dignitas could be a crime, says Tom Curran, spokesman for
Exit International Ireland, an advocacy group for assisted suicide
and full-time carer for his partner, Marie, who has multiple
sclerosis. 'The only way that there will be any clarification on the
situation is when someone is prosecuted, but I certainly don't want
to be one of those people and neither does anyone else,' he says.
When asked if he is lobbying for a change in the law, Curran's
exhausted expression says it all. 'I don't have the energy,' he
replies. His primary role in Exit International is directing people
to information on assisted suicide. In May of this year, gardai
detained two women on the morning they intended to travel to
Dignitas. Curran says they were warned of the legal consequences of
assisted suicide and consequently did not make the journey. One of
the women had MS. Curran says at least six Irish people have
travelled to Dignitas to die. The debate is an emotive one and an
easy target for sensationalism in the media, which can skim over the
complexities of the issue. 'I think the more we put these matters
forward for informed discussion the better,' says Dr Tony O'Brien,
consultant physician in palliative medicine in Marymount Hospice and
Cork University Hospital..."

http://tinyurl.com/3hzqu3w


In the Herald Scotland, a selection of readers' letters:

http://tinyurl.com/3k682k6
http://tinyurl.com/3h5av6p
http://tinyurl.com/3ogjp82


In the Daily Mail:

A piece liberally scattered with screencaps from the programme, of
Peter Smedley's final moments and death... and one very significant
item at the very end of the text:

"Assisted death is not allowed in Britain but the Director of Public
Prosecutions recently revised rules stating it is illegal to help
anyone kill themselves. Keir Starmer said he would not prosecute if
the motivation of relatives and friends is shown to be purely
compassionate and there is no personal gain."

http://tinyurl.com/6cgq5k9

The view of Jan Moir:

"I can see that to be in control of one's death is particularly
important in the wake of a shattering diagnosis, the one blip of
comfort in a world that has become intolerable. Yet I have
reservations about it being a selfish decision, leaving devastated
wives, husbands, sons and daughters wondering why they weren't
enough to make their loved one want to live. Should we be allowed to
choose to die? It is one of the polarising questions of our age,
with ramifications not just for the individuals and their families,
but for everyone. However, watching Pratchett's rosy, unquestioning
documentary — an advertorial for death, with its lush music and
sweeping views of the Swiss countryside — made me very glad that
the UK remains resistant to euthanasia..."

http://tinyurl.com/3d44wer


In the Clitheroe Advertiser and Times:

"Liberal Democrat MEP Chris Davies spoke out as author Sir Terry
Pratchett, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2008, used a
controversial TV documentary on Monday to highlight procedures at
the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland. The MEP, whose North West
constituency includes Ribble Valley, argues that it is wrong that
British citizens suffering unendurably and with no hope of recovery
should have to travel to Switzerland to die at a time of their own
choosing. Mr Davies, who has made a study of procedures in Belgium
and the Netherlands where they are legal, says that less than 2% of
people who die in those countries seek help to do so. Almost all do
so at home, with their family around them. But he argues that the
availability of such assistance gives comfort and relief to many
more people who are fearful of a death without dignity. Mr Davies
said: 'This is a matter of human rights. While palliative care will
always be the choice for the great majority facing an otherwise
painful death, people for whom life has become intolerable should
not be forced to live against their will. Their wishes should be
respected and to deny them medical assistance to die is cruel and
barbarous.'..."

http://tinyurl.com/3fvnd57


Peter Goodspeed of Canada's National Post presents anti-views:

"Choosing to Die examines the debate raging around euthanasia and
assisted suicide. If abortion was a huge social issue in the last
half of the 20th century, as post-war baby boomers began to
reproduce, euthanasia and assisted suicide are poised to unleash
similar legal, medical and ethical debates across Europe and North
America as populations grow steadily older... But while advocates
like Mr. Pratchett tout assisted suicide and euthanasia as a
legitimate medical option for the terminally ill, their opponents
around the world dismiss the claim. They say death on demand
perverts the practice of medicine and opens the door for the
coercion of vulnerable and suffering people..."

http://tinyurl.com/3ps6crs


The New Statesman's round-up of "sharply divided fallout from the
author's provocative programme on euthanasia":

http://tinyurl.com/68fsogw


Wales Online gives many column inches to anti-assisted-death
campaigner Baroness Finlay of Llandaff:

"Baroness Finlay, a professor of palliative medicine, who is based
at Velindre Cancer Centre, Cardiff, was one of the main opponents of
Lord Joffe's Bill to make assisted suicide legal in the UK, which
was defeated in the House of Lords in 2006. Currently up to 20
people from the UK go to the Dignitas clinic to die. But if the UK
did allow assisted suicide, along the lines of the system in place
in Oregon in the USA, it has been estimated more than 1,000 people
could die in this way. Baroness Finlay said: 'A change in the law
would, for the first time in this country, legalise killing people.
When you change the law you don't just change it for a small number
of very clear-minded people but you remove protection for lots of
people who are very vulnerable who can easily be made to feel a
burden by their families and the care system...'"

http://tinyurl.com/632nb8c


A well-presented essay on the programme and the ethics of assisted
dying by sixth-form student Matthew Rallison, who is doing his work
experience at the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics:

"Campaigners for Care Not Killing argued that portrayal of suicide
would lead to further suicides. This assertion also has little
basis. Pratchett never endorses suicide, in poor health or
otherwise. The emphasis is upon personal autonomy as two mens'
journey to Dignitas (euthanasia clinic based in Zurich) is followed.
Pratchett offers equal respect to an individual's decision to live
with illness just as much as he respects those choosing to die; no
option is judged morally proper. Furthermore the process of using
Dignitas involves extensive health evaluations, tests of clarity of
thought, travelling to Switzerland and around £10,000. There is
nothing impulsive about the procedure and such a programme could not
'open the floodgates'. It is important to consider whether
euthanasia is morally correct in itself. For me, this argument is
overwhelmed via belief in one's autonomy, which extends to how one
dies. In theory rather than practice, euthanasia is a debate of
rights..."

http://tinyurl.com/6ddx9j5


...and not forgetting the relevant Twitter tag page:
http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23choosingtodie


...and to sum up, a thought-provoking piece by Edward Lawrence in
The Guardian that asks just how one defines "quality of life" in
terms of the issues in Choosing to Die:

"Now we all know what quality means. Likewise, we all know what life
means. But no one knows what "quality of life" means. There is no
arbiter to decide what "quality of life" means, nor is there a
quality of life control department. In fact if quality of life was a
product, perhaps it would be sold by the travelling medicine shows
of the Wild West... Quality of life is a nebulous concept, which
means all things to all people. It is useless to try and encapsulate
in a simple phrase what adds quality to a person's life. But it
doesn't stop the great and not so good as using it as if it were a
moral top trump card which negates every possible argument against
euthanasia..."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/jun/21/quality-of-life

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

05) SNUFF NEWS

5.1 THE FIRST LINE...

"The goblin experience of the world is the cult or perhaps religion
of Unggue. In short, it is a remarkably complex resurrection-based
religion founded on the sanctity of bodily secretions."

(as Ptweeted by Pterry on his Ptwitter page)

5.2 ... AND THE NEXT OFFICIAL TEASER

It's a footnote:

"It was all a mystery to Vimes, who was absolutely sure that it was
impossible to tell the difference between a chicken fart and a
turkey fart, but there were those who professed to be able to do so,
and he was glad that such people had chosen this outlet for their
puzzling inclinations rather than, for example, fill their sink with
human skulls, collected in the high street."

http://tinyurl.com/43avygx

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

06) PTERRY INTERVIEWED BY A LIBRARIAN

...though not a hairy orange one, we presume. Librarian and teacher
Jonathan Hunt interviewed our favourite author at length on behalf
of the School Library Journal, and a jolly good job of it he did,
too, tackling subjects such as humour in literature, whether or not
a "series book" should be considered as a standalone for awards,
working in a library, and much more:

"I had a letter from an American mum who said she found it very
harrowing to read The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents to
her little girl who was seven, and she noticed she was getting
rather more upset than her child was. The little girl patted her on
the hand and said, 'Don't worry, mum, it will all turn out right.'
And that showed, I think, that the little girl had grasped one of
the rules, which is that if you're writing for kids you can to a
certain extent drag them through this dark and fearful night and
that's perfectly OK if there's sunshine at the end...

"In those days, there was still just an idea that a child who went
into the adult library should be kept under some surveillance. And
indeed in one of the local libraries, children were not allowed in
the adult library until the librarian thought they should be
allowed. But since I was working in the library that meant that I
was de facto an adult and so I read, I think, the very best of
everything..."

http://tinyurl.com/6zjup48

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

07) DISCWORLD CONVENTION NEWS


7.1 NADWCON NEWS

Not quite the last minute for announcements, but getting there...

For those of you who might be able to make it to Madison for
NADWcon, there are still a few memberships available:

http://www.nadwcon.org/Registration.html

Also, some tables still going for the Gala Banquet:

http://www.nadwcon.org/GalaBanquet.html

Remember, the Gala Banquet proceeds all go to the Orangutan
Foundation and the Alzheimer's Research Trust!

http://www.orangutan.org.uk/

http://www.alzheimers-research.org.uk/


MRS PALM'S UPDATES

"As I write this, we've sold 856 memberships out of 1,000"

– NADWcon's Mrs Palm, 13 June 2011


"I did the math the other day and it turns out that I've known Terry
Pratchett for almost 18 years. I've spent some of that time at
various of his West Coast signings trying to a) feed him (why does
no one feed these people?) and b) finding ice for his hand when
it became swollen after he had cheerfully signed pretty much
anything for over four to six hours at a stretch. I'm happy to say
that I don't have to worry quite so much about ice at NADWCon
except, perhaps, to find some for his drinks. I'll still make sure
he eats. We're both a little older and our cinnamon bun and bear
claw days are well behind us in more ways than one. (In my case,
they went straight to my ... oh, never mind). It's healthy veggies
in the Green Room, now. Hummus, no doubt, will be involved. It's
hard to get as excited about mashed chickpeas as I would about, say,
a great bear claw. On the other hand, we both look *good*."

Shamble Making Class
A shamble is a handmade device used by Witches to detect or amplify
magic. A conversant Discworld Witch can assemble a shamble in a
matter of seconds using stuff like strings, twigs, leaves, feathers,
beads, coloured paper, an egg or even a beetle. The whole thing
looks like a "cat's cradle", or some sort of nest made of rubbish.

We will have materials and tokens available to add to your shamble
but you are welcome to bring some items of your own to add if you
wish. Now, I want to be verrra clear about this. A shamble, as you
lot know, usually contains a live object, like an egg or in certain
cases, a Feegle. Now then, (You! – yes, you there in the back I'm
talking to you) will be finishing your Shamble at home where you
can add the live elements yourself, and, let there be no mistake,
cats (You, in the back there, are you listening?) cats, as I said,
are not any part  of this. So take it home to finish, and clean up
any resultant mess yourself.

My thanks to everyone who came forward when I first posted the
request for panelists for some of our panels back in May. We are
now in great shape. I could use a few more costuming panelists for
these two panels:

Dress to Express:  
Identity is often defined by clothing in the Discworld novels – a
strategic rolled-up sock or a washerwoman's skirt in Monstrous
Regiment; a pointy hat in the witch and wizard books; or a badge, a
breastplate, and cheap boots in the Watch books. Come join us for
this examination of clothing choices and effects in the Discworld
and elsewhere. We'll discuss how to dress for Discworld and
related events like Steampunk and fantasy conventions. Whether your
character is high style or low comedy, we'll discuss budget
busting fun and cheap-but-looks-fab costuming effects. We'll
talk about what works and what has gone deeply, badly, horribly
wrong in our own attempts to get that perfect look.

Tools of the Trade: The Seamstress Guild's Guide To Using... Oh,
Let's Just Call Them Props

Get your minds out of the gutter, people; this panel is about
costume items we flaunt like fans, hats, jewelry and those little
boots that Terry Loves, as well as the essential but unseen, a.k.a.
Items of a Delicate Nature. (You, there in the back, stop
sniggering.)

Join our guild members as we go beyond the dress and corset and
discuss the elements of costuming that often get overlooked from the
wig down to the toe ring. This is a panel brimming with information
no good Seamstress should be without. Spectators are welcome, but
must keep their hands to themselves! otherwise, we're good to go. 

The Dark Clerks Come To NADWCon
Many of our attendees want to volunteer at the con – it's a great
way to make friends and honor Terry – but not everyone wants to be
on a panel, run a game or teach a class. Some people have a
different kind of skill set. They like to manage things behind the
scenes, quietly and with little bloodshed. If you see someone in a
dark coat, a bowler hat or a pinstripe corset then I urge you to
exercise both courtesy and caution for you may well be in the
presence a Dark Clerk. The members of this Discworld Guild; calm,
capable, stylish, and, quite possibly, armed, do far more than
shuffle paper. They bring order out of chaos. 

If you have a Dark Clerk in your soul, you will be happy to hear
that Millie Shapiro Baker and Co. are organizing a, first ever,
North American branch of the Dark Clerks Guild. She writes: 

"Do you like filing, organizing, paperwork, and, of course, working
for Lord Vetinari to make the city of Ankh-Morpork run smoothly?
Then by all means, grab your stationery, don your pinstripes, and
join on up!"

* Dark Clerks Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_126397457442325&ap=1

* Dark Clerks Yahoo group:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dcsnadwcon/

We have need of both Igors and Dark Clerks at NADWCon. The program
readth thusly, 

Igors & Dark Clerks Wanted

Have you already signed up to volunteer as an Igor or a Dark Clerk
during the Convention? If you haven't, would you like to? Attend
this session to find out details on what's expected of you or how
you can help, and maybe also a little info on the perks of being a
creative, inventive, and adaptable Igor or a Dark Clerk, one who
knows where all the bodies are buried... or will be.* 

* and who has the paperwork to prove it. 

We can use Igors and Dark Clerks with special skills or
qualifications. If you're one of those and would like to help out
(or have already offered your aid), showing up here would be the
first step in learning what we might need you to do. Can you spare
an hour or two to volunteer at NADWCon? Write to Margaret Grady, 
Volunteer Director & Vice Chair, at volunteer@.... 

Black Ribboner Morning Meet Up 
Not everyone will be quaffing at the Seamstress Guild parties. For
example, Mrs Palm will be there but she's not about to quaff, not in
that gown, so I've added in a program note for Discworld folks,
myself among them, who avoid z B-word.

NADWCon is one big party but not everyone wants to drink copious
amounts of alcohol, eat junk food or push themselves to the point of
exhaustion. This meet up is for folks who are trying to stay a
sane in the hustle and bustle of a busy con. It isn't a 12 Step
meeting or Rational Recovery or Spiral Steps although all those
folks are welcome. Nor is this a formal meeting of any kind. It is
simply a Meet Up of Early Birds who want a quiet, peaceful beginning
to the wonderful day ahead and a little support from like-minded
folks in order to get through it. Place and times to be announced
on The Boards That Are White. Ve vil not be having z little zing
zong, oh, no. Just z coffee. Lots and lots of coffee. 

The Jimkin Bearhuggers Whisky Talk
Thanks to a cunning fan, we are introducing yet another new
tradition at NADWCon with the first ever, semiannual Jimkin
Bearhuggers Whisky talk: Wherein we consider the definitions for
Whisky, Bourbon, and Scotch and, within Scotch, Blended, "Vatted",
Single-Malt and single-barrel types. We will also discuss the
specifics of wood/barrels, aging in general and age statements. We
will then look at a map of Scotland and cover the styles and flavors
by recognized regions and some specific distilleries across
Scotland. There are Irish and Japanese (and maybe other) Single Malt
Whiskeys which are "like" Scotch, but can't officially be called
"Scotch" if they're not produced in Scotland. If we have time, we
can talk about "beer" and the difference between grain and malt and
how a Maltster converts one into the other. Later on, we can test
what we've learned. Madison's best brew pub is 3 blocks away.

Hair Braiding Workshops at NADWCon
This makes my day... John Wardale, the gentleman giving our
Bearhugger Whisky Talk, is also teaching our hair braiding
workshops. Clearly, he is a man of many skills. It's BYOB (bring
your own brush). Enjoy. Our instructor will teach attendees how to
make ropes, 4-strand "round" braids, classic (3-strand) French and
(3-strand) Dutch (or inverted-French or underhand) as well as a
Crown braid (technically a horizontal modified (3-strand) French
braid) and other advanced ideas like 5 and 7-strand fingering
techniques; as well as shapes like hearts, spirals and a pullup-
weave. **Tailored to the desires and abilities of the audience.
Age 7 - 70.
Limited to: 20 attendees. Sign up sheet at front desk. First come,
first served.*

* We think this will be very popular so we may try and schedule two
of them. 

** I have no idea what any of this means but it sounds wonderful.  


"I'm glad that Sir Terry will not have the pressure of hundreds of
autographs to write on the spot... the book plates will make a
lovely keepsake, and he won't have the stress. I want Sir Terry to
enjoy this convention as much as we all will."

– Maribeth, on the NADWCon Facebook page  


Editor's note: all of the above, and much more, can be found at:
http://it-bodes.blogspot.com/



7.2 WADFEST 2011

It's the tenth anniversary of Wadfest, and that little gathering-
inna-field of Discworld fans has grown and matured (though blessedly
not, I'm told, too much of the latter). This year the theme is "The
Future and Beyond", with appropriate decorations on the Wadfest
website. There will be fun, games, food, filk, Feegles,
competitions, merchandise, and no doubt copious quantities of
exciting local beverages. A certain author has been known to drop
by...

When: 19th 20th 21st August 2011
Where: Trentfield Farm, Church Laneham, Retford, NOTTS.
Tickets: http://www.wadfest.co.uk/page12.html

http://www.wadfest.co.uk


7.3 CABBAGECON ICONOGRAPHS

Photographer and con attendee Tom gives his impressions of the first
Dutch Discworld convention:

http://www.gambatte-photography.com/?p=592

Some fun iconographs. There seemed to be a number of Pterry hats
and Pterry beards, and a video of the real hat and beard owner:

http://tinyurl.com/6hvn5on
http://pics.my-disc.de/cabbagecon2011/

...and possibly the best Twoflower ever:

http://tinyurl.com/3uo6e7d
http://tinyurl.com/3mtlz5v

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

08) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS


8.1 WYRD SISTERS IN PORTSMOUTH

Having had a great time last year with their production of Wyrd
Sisters, Collingwood RSC – that RSC stands for Random Salad
Company, apparently – will present Jingo, this year's Discworld
production, in July.

When: four shows only, Tue 12th-Fri 15th July 2011
Venue: New Theatre Royal, 20-24 Guildhall Walk, Portsmouth PO1 2DD
Time: 7.30pm all shows
Tickets: £8 Stall and Dress Circle (£6 concessions), £12 Upper
Circle (£10 concessions)
Box Office: 02392 649000 or book online at:
https://kiosk.iristickets.co.uk/k?trportsmouth&jingo

http://www.newtheatreroyal.com/


8.2 MASKERADE IN WALLINGFORD

The Sinodun Players present their production of Maskerade in July.

Director Paul Cleverley, a Pratchett fan and Alzheimer's research
advocate, says, "We're raising funds via the Just Giving website,
justgiving.com/maskerade, where you can join a team led by Granny
Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, Agnes Nitt or the Phantom him (or her!) self.
The team with the most donations wins and the winner will be
announced on the gala evening of Friday, July 15."

When: Mon 11th July to Sat 16th July 2011, with a Gala Evening on
Fri 15th July
Venue: Corn Exchange, Market Place, Wallingford, Oxfordshire,
England OX10 0EG
Time: 7.30pm all shows
Tickets: £10 (discount night £7.50 on Monday 11th), available from
the box office 7pm-8pm every evening and 10am-1pm Fridays and
Saturdays

For more details, go to:
www.sinodunplayers.org.uk
www.cornexchange.org.uk


8.3 MORT IN MINNESOTA

The Historic Mounds Theatre in St. Paul, Minnesota, will be
presenting their first-ever Discworld play, Mort, in July and
August.

When: Friday and Saturday nights, 22nd and 23rd July, 29th and 30th
July, 5th and 6th August
Venue: Historic Mounds Theatre, 1029 Hudson Road, St Paul, MN
55106. Phone (651) 772 2253
Time: 7.30pm all shows
Tickets: adults $15, children under 12  and seniors $10
To book online, go to http://tinyurl.com/4yuqkhv


For more information, go to:
http://www.moundstheatre.org/AmDram.html

You can follow the company's production diary on Facebook:
http://tinyurl.com/3w8t76c


8.4 REMINDER: THE TRUTH IN ICKENHAM

The Purple Theatre Company present their production of The Truth in
June and July:

"Purple make a triumphant and hilarious return to Discworld with
Terry Pratchett's The Truth, adapted by Stephen Briggs. With the
help of some dwarves and a printing-press, William de Worde is about
to invent Discworld's first newspaper. But filling his pages with
reports of pub meetings and pictures of humorously-shaped vegetables
will quickly become tiresome. However, dark forces are plotting to
overthrow the city's ruler with charges of embezzlement and
attempted murder. This will lead William, with the help of fellow
reporter Sacharissa Cripslock, to investigate the charges and
uncover a conspiracy that could unbalance the whole of Discworld and
make a great front-page headline! Parents are advised that the show
contains implied (but not actual) bad language."

When: Wednesday 29th June to Saturday 2nd July 2011
Venue: Compass Theatre, Glebe Avenue, Ickenham, Hillingdon UB10 8PD
Time: 7.30pm all shows
Tickets : Wed £10.50, Thu £12.50/£10.50 concessions, Fri & Sat
£12.50 (no concessions)
To book tickets, go to http://tinyurl.com/4xkpue4 or call the
Compass Theatre direct on 01895 673200

http://www.purpletheatre.org.uk/
http://www.compasstheatre.org.uk/


8.5 REVIEWS: WYRD SISTERS IN ADELAIDE

By Ilona Bartsch, a WOSSNAME exclusive

The most recent rendition of a Discworld novel by Pamela Munt and
the Unseen Theatre Company is a pleasant, entertaining and funny
night out. The production is true to the story and carries through
much of the humour and many of the characters that make Discworld
so popular.

The staging is simple but the use of more complex sets would
probably detract from the action: I think that when staging a
Discworld play one has to either go to the extreme of expensive
special effects or keep it as simple as possible. By using a bare
minimum of props and set the stage allows the audience to recreate
Lancre in their heads, much like when reading the books. A lighter
touch with the smoke machine would have been welcome though.

Most of the characters were true to form and seeing them onstage
after reading the books for so long is like meeting old friends.
Hugh O'Connor had the voice and stride of Death JUST RIGHT; and
Lucy Haas-Hennessy's Magrat was suitably whimsical, squinty and
exasperated in turns. Duke Felmet, as played by James Loader, gets
visibly crazier as the play progresses, aided admirably in his
descent by Samm Blackmore's Duchess.

On the negative side, many of the scene changes were clunky and
jarring, although the ones that did work worked very well. There
were a few issues with pacing and delivery, especially on funny
lines where the cast clearly expected a laugh. This is not
pantomime, and when there is a pause in the dialogue whilst waiting
for laughter it can spoil otherwise engaging work. I have to again
mention the overuse of the smoke machine; some of the effects
created by it were quite atmospheric but by the end of the night I
had sore eyes and the air was thick with smoke.

The highlight of the show, for me, was the final play within a play
scene. The chaos of an opening night was captured perfectly, and
Death's cameo was rather fun. Marlon Dance-Hooi as the Fool was
excellent throughout, and he brought an innocence and intelligence
to the character that contributed greatly to the story and the play
as a whole. In some ways the Fool is the most important part in this
production: he is the one that speaks about the power of words and,
in the end, the wisest character of all.

I recommend this production to anyone who likes the Discworld,
Shakespeare, or laughing. Three and a half stars.


...and a review by Stephen Davenport in The Australian Stage:

"The fun begins even before the show commences. In the foyer, just
in front of the stocks, Cut-Me-Own-Throat-Dibbler is giving away
free programmes with every gold coin donation. He's hamming it up
with promises of rat-on-a-stick (cocktail sausages) during the
interval. The full-house is enthusiastic... As per usual, director
Pamela Munt and her fine ensemble provide ample entertainment value,
with cleverly drawn characters, using minimalist sets... The entire
cast is clearly having a ball on the stage and delivering the
cutting lines of this script – an adaptation by Stephen Briggs and
reworked by Pamela Munt. These high-jinks render themselves to the
appreciative audience. Yet the ensemble is smart about a lot of
things, including the vital importance of at times underplaying
their parts. This ensures Wyrd Sisters is seriously funny..."

http://tinyurl.com/3jnss3p


Wyrd Sisters (original adaptation by Stephen Briggs, reworked for
Unseen Theatre Company by Pamela Munt) continues through 25th June
at the Bakehouse Theatre, 255 Angas Street, Adelaide South
Australia.
Bookings: www.bakehousetheatre.com (no booking fee)
or 82270505 ($2 per ticket booking fee applies)

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

09) DISCWORLD GROUPS MEETING NEWS

The City of Small Gods Terry Pratchett Fan Club meets on the last
Thursday of the month from 6.30pm at the Ed Castle, 233 Currie St,
Adelaide (South Australia). The next meeting will be on Thursday
30th June. Details, discussions and organisation of extra events
(such as play outings) are held on their email mailing list, so do
sign up at

https://groups.google.com/group/adelaide-discworld-fans

Anyone for Werewolf? Then Adelaide is the place, and tCoSGTPFC is
the organisation! tCoSGTPFC's Danny explains:

Werewolf isn't specifically a Discworld game, but it's something
we've picked up from the various conventions. It's a story-telling
game in the vein (pun intended) of Mafia.

Players are either Villagers or Werewolfs (identity kept secret) and
a narrator controls the story. Each night (players close their
eyes), the werewolves choose a victim. Come morning, (players open
their eyes), the victim is revealed (and is dead), and the remaining
players (villagers & secret werewolves alike) start throwing
accusations around at each other. A vote is held to see who the
majority of players think is a werewolf, and that person is then
lynched by the town (not literally, btw). So generally, two players
"die" for each "day" of play. Obviously, the villagers want to kill
all the werewolves, and the werewolves want to outnumber the
villagers. There are special villager cards which can be used too.
The Seer/Fortune Teller, who has the power to (once per night)
select a player and the narrator tells them (silently) whether the
player is a villager or a werewolf. The Hunter, who can take someone
else out with them when they are killed. Cupid, who picks two people
to be lovers at the start of the game – and when one lover dies, the
other must commit suicide in the most tragic and melodramatic way
possible. There are others, but those are my favourites.

Some more info here: http://eblong.com/zarf/werewolf.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mafia_%28party_game%29
and the official site for the card set that I've bought:
http://lesloupsgarous.free.fr/index.htm


*

The next meeting of the Broken Drummers will be on Monday 4th July
at the Monkey Puzzle, 30 Southwick Street, London W2 1JQ.

http://www.steeljam.co.uk/brokendrummers/


*

Drummers Downunder meet on the first Monday of every month in Sydney
at Maloneys, corner of Pitt & Goulburn Streets, at 7pm. The next
meeting will be on the 4th of July. For more information, contact
Sue (aka Granny Weatherwax) on kenworthys@...


*

Perth Drummers meet on the traditional of first Monday of the month.
The next meeting will be on the evening of Monday 4th July at The
Vic Hotel, 226 Hay St, Subiaco.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

10) IMAGES OF THE MONTH

The Pratchett Prize logo:
http://tinyurl.com/3j4aat3

The Discworld Reading Order Guide:
http://tinyurl.com/b7sksk

Totally awesom-, erm, hard-rocking Lego HEX with wizardly operator:
http://tinyurl.com/5rnj4qp

...and some moving images!

An orangutan in Vienna who has learned how to take photographs:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8423067.stm

...and another orangutan in Dublin, rescuing a drowning bird:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLT6Tpa9jcs

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

11) WHERE THE MULTIVERSES MEET...?

11.1 A RATHER LANCRASTIAN PASTIME

Reader Sami Mikhail writes:

"I've read, I believe, most everything PTerry has written. I recall
reading loads on Morris Dancing, but do not believe I've ready
anything about Dwile Flonking. Question: Have I just missed it, or
are there limits to the ridiculousness that PTerry will report/write
on? Just seems like something that would show up in the Ramtops..."

How right you are, Sami! According to Wikipedia, dwile flonking may
have been invented by the Great Goon Bentine some time between 1960
and 1966, but there are those who claim a much earlier provenance.
At any rate, it's a wonderfully daft-sounding game:

"The pastime of Dwile Flonking involves two teams, each taking a
turn to dance around the other while attempting to avoid a beer-
soaked dwile (cloth) thrown by the non-dancing team... Appropriate
and seasonal dress is important... A 'dull witted person' is chosen
as the referee or 'jobanowl' and the two teams decide who flonks
first by tossing a sugar beet. The game begins when the jobanowl
shouts 'Here y'go t'gither!' The non-flonking team joins hands and
dances in a circle around a member of the flonking team, a practice
known as 'girting'. The flonker dips his dwile-tipped 'driveller' (a
pole 2–3 ft long and made from hazel or yew) into a bucket of
beer, then spins around in the opposite direction to the girters and
flonks his dwile at them. If the dwile misses completely it is known
as a 'swadger' or a 'swage'. When this happens the flonker must
drink the contents of an ale-filled 'gazunder' before the wet dwile
has passed from hand to hand along the line of now non-girting
girters chanting the ancient ceremonial mantra of 'pot pot pot'.

"A full game comprises four 'snurds', each snurd being one team
taking a turn at girting. The jobanowl adds interest and difficulty
to the game by randomly switching the direction of rotation, and
will levy drinking penalties on any player found not taking the game
seriously enough... the team with the most number of points wins,
and will be awarded a ceremonial pewter gazunder..."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwile_Flonking

Here be some iconographs of dwile flonking (or in this case, dwyle
flunking; spelling seems to be as random and optional as the other
rules) in progress:

http://www.lewesarms.org.uk/history.asp#DwyleFlunking


11.2 OPERATION PRATCHETT

An article with the headline of "Crackdown on begging in Derby City
centre" gives one the impression that the local police include at
least one Discworld fan, who's familiar with the Canting Crew:

"Police in Derby are cracking down on beggars in a bid to cleanup
the city. The operation called Pratchett, involves undercover
officers patrolling the city in the evenings, targeting hot spots
and known offenders. Sergeant Nick Allgood, from Derby City Centre
Safer Neighbourhood Team, said: "Some beggars can be quite
aggressive. 'It is sometimes not far off robbery in some cases, with
people feeling intimidated into handing over money to make them go
away. It also gives a negative impression of the city.'...
'professiona'l[sic!] beggar Darren Walker who is said to have been
making up to £250 a day on Derby streets... was banned from asking
for money in England and Wales for five years..."

http://tinyurl.com/3crehny

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

12) DISCWORLD AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE

Blogger Becky Levine on Tiffany Aching as a muse:

"So where does the writing lesson come in? Here: To really use these
thoughts, to really see past all the illusion and even all the
things she'd like to believe, Tiffany has to be still. She has to,
as another witch tells her early in the book, 'open your eyes... and
then open your eyes again.' She has to look..."

http://tinyurl.com/6hcg7mh


Blogger p0serge3k does some deep thinking about Good Omens:

"What with the rapture coming and going more or less unnoticed (see,
I didn't want to go to heaven on Saturday–I'd have missed Doctor
Who), I've been thinking a lot about what a funny thing an
apocalypse is. If you ask me, contradictions are more or less
inherent in its nature. The foremost of which is best represented by
a rather blasphemous opinion I hold: heaven sounds painfully boring.
I quite like earth, thank you very much, despite–no, because of
all its flaws. What's the point of life (or afterlife as the case
may be) if there are no problems to solve, no conflicts to resolve,
no goals to work for or improvements to be made? What fun is any of
it if it's all perfect? That's what I think Good Omens is about.
It's about the pros and cons of life on earth, about the balance of
power in a world which may be a giant chess board, or a complex
Solitaire spread, or a disc riding on the backs of four elephants
standing on the back of a turtle. Alright, probably not that last
one. Good Omens is about right and wrong as opposed to Right and
Wrong. It's about prejudices realised and destinies averted. It's
about free will and whether free will was ever really all that free
to begin with. It's about mad old women who weren't mad at all when
you got right down to it, and it's about very astute ducks..."

http://tinyurl.com/3dut7d2


Blogger and student bookwormz4 reviews Maskerade, as read by
candlelight in the wake of the recent Alabama tornadoes:

"Maskerade by Terry Pratchett is a take off The Phantom of the
Opera. The main character is Agnes Nitt, an incredibly fat girl with
a skinny person named Perdita X hidden inside. She's (sorta) in
training to be a witch, but doesn't like it so she runs away to
Ankh-Morpork... Needless to say, much hilarity ensues. But at the
same time, Terry Pratchett makes a really good point about the masks
we wear in our lives. Oh, why can't we study books like this in
school..."

http://bookwormz4.wordpress.com/2011/05/27/maskerade/


Blogger Mary on the "Pratchett experience":

"At the beginning of 2011, one of my New Year's Resolutions was to
finally plunge myself into the Discworld of Terry Pratchett. For
years, I'd heard about his work and knew that I'd love his style,
but I was intimidated by the breadth of his work and wasn't sure
where exactly to plunge... Shortly after I made this New Year's
Resolution and had definitely decided to pursue it, a very nice guy
who worked in the same office where I worked on my college campus
came in with a large paper bag of books to get rid of. The majority
of these books were by Terry Pratchett... I'm constantly in awe of
how well Pratchett has created this world. When I read these books,
I feel that Ankh-Morpork is a real place and I suppose that's how
you're supposed to feel..."

http://tinyurl.com/43qev6d


Blogger L.S. Engler reviews Mort:

"It's impossible for me to not enjoy a Discworld book, but I really
did like Mort, with a handful of the usual little quirks of
Pratchett's writing that I'm sometimes not fond of. When he writes,
he has a tendency to be opaque in a way that makes you wonder if
you're missing something, but, no, he brings it around to en
explanation eventually and I wonder if I should have caught it
earlier... I can only have the utmost respect for the man who wrote
a line like the following: 'Like a reluctant cork from a bottle,
like a dollop of fiery ketchup from the upturned sauce bottle of
Infinity, Death landed in the octogram and swore.' He just had such
a clever and exceptionally creative way to turn a phrase and twist a
metaphor that it's absolutely no surprise that his works continue to
delight and entertain me..."

http://lsengler.com/2011/05/31/the-100-books-project-mort/


An unidentified blogger on a site called msbplbooks reviews Only You
Can Save Mankind:

"In this allegory Pratchett juxtaposes the violent nature of video
games and the Gulf War (but really any war for that matter). Though
not heavy handed in my estimation, there is a clear moral to this
story, that violence should only be a last resort after we have
listened well and tried every other alternative. This isn't the best
science fiction I've ever read, but it is very good. It has a plot
and conflict that youths will relate to, and a while they won't be
looking for it they should find the moral in this tale..."

http://tinyurl.com/3gqyjam


Blogger Cheryl Mahoney, who's read and loved a number of Discworld
books, finally got around to reading tCoM:

"The Colour of Magic begins in the ancient and cheerfully corrupt
city of Ankh-Morpork, where Twoflower has come as the Disc's first
tourist, thrilled by the quaint bars and eager to meet heroes and
see real Ankh-Morporkian brawls.  Rincewind the not-very-good wizard
ends up roped in as his guide, and they embark on a perilous and
hysterical adventure around the Disc. It sounds almost reasonable,
until I mention that Twoflower is followed everywhere by an animate
trunk with hundreds of legs known as The Luggage, Death shows up
every so often and is rather put out that Rincewind keeps stubbornly
not dying, and at one point they encounter imaginary dragons who
live inside a giant inverted mountain. And that, of course, is only
the half of it. If you're having a gloomy, depressing day, read a
Discworld novel. It will brighten everything.  Pratchett's books
are gritty but hilarious, have a grown-up feel but aren't really
inappropriate for young adults either..."

http://tinyurl.com/3jq22qj


The self-inflated and semi-incoherent J. Holsworth Stevenson again,
this month reviewing Thief of Time:

"It might not be the funniest thing he's ever written, but neither
is it boring, and was written before he began to run out of ideas.
The plot is genuine fantasy adventure material, and feels something
like a collaboration between Douglas Adams and Philip K. Dick. Thief
of Time certainly ranks with Small Gods and Thud! in terms of fresh
and new characters and creatures being introduced (though of course
old favourites surface here and there) and equals Small Gods for
making the reader sit up and think. It is deeply refreshing to find
an author so keenly dedicated to dreaming up fantastic ideas, but
then sticking with them and building them into autonomous creatures
that grow and breed naturally and organically. All sorts of
philosophical questions are raised, as well as Pratchett's own
delightful brand of pseudoscience, pseudoanatomy, pseudomathematics
and such..."

http://tinyurl.com/3bqdh3o


Blogger Bug Girl reviews TAMAHER:

"Pratchett is a genius at creating personalities – his mice and
the cat have truer voices than the majority of the human characters
I read in books. One of the things that makes Pratchett's books so
very enjoyable is that his characters inhabit a universe in which
they are all basically good, even the crooks. They are true to
themselves in a way that makes us like and care about Maurice, even
though he has the moral compass of Gordon Gekko. Rather than spoil
the ending, I'll just tell you that there are many far larger themes
being explored in this book. The rats construct a religion around
Mr. Bunnsy, a rabbit in a waistcoat from a children's book–and are
then confronted with the truth that their theology is based on
fiction. A young rat learns what it means to be a leader. There are
scary bits, heroic sacrifices, and a lot more widdling. It's all
done without any of the ickle-sweetness that could so very easily be
part of a book about talking animals and making ethical choices.  In
fact, that's part of what Pratchett is poking fun at. I finished the
book, happy that all's well that ends well. And suddenly, I was
crying..."

http://tinyurl.com/3czxv9o


Blogger Perdita digs deep in her review of Feet of Clay:

"Each character in a Pratchett novel represents a sociological issue
on earth, and Pratchett himself has often described the Disc as a
`world and mirror of worlds'. In his earliest books the
metaphors were ill-formed, if they existed at all, but by the middle
of the series the characters are all well-developed while not being
completely in-your-face annoying. Feet of Clay is one of the better
ones in terms of such themes, because the smallest opportunities for
social commentary are seized without drawing undue attention to
themselves. Several re-readings are possible for the humour and the
insight without becoming tedious. The amount of research Pratchett
puts into one of his books is all the more amazing given how
prolific he is. Feet of Clay demonstrates his level of comfort with
subjects as diverse as Napoleon's exile and death, medieval
heraldry and Hebrew mythology. It's open to debate exactly whose
feet are of clay. It could be Lord Vetinari, whose impenetrable and
extremely clever safeguards are breached. It could be Sam Vimes, who
finds that his identification with the poor and downtrodden isn't
enough to prevent him from wanting the upper-class status symbol of
a coat of arms. Without giving away the plot it's difficult to
provide details, but nearly every major character and more than a
few minor ones are shown to have a crucial weakness that affects
their role in the story and the continuity between this and
subsequent books in the series. As with most of Pratchett, it's
difficult to say in retrospect whether this is a happy accident
(with the book's title originally selected only for the golems who
are made of clay) or subtle intent..."

http://tinyurl.com/6bhbodf

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

13) AROUND THE BU CAMPUS

13.1 TEATIME WITH COOL HAND LUKE

Asti:
It looks like Marc Warren will be playing Cool Hand Luke in the west
end: http://tinyurl.com/5w924lo

Vera:
What we have here is a failure to assassinate? Or maybe 'truth,
justice  and one whole helluva lot of boiled eggs...' :D

Martinus:
As long as he isn't carrying a paving slab around with him.


13.2 "CHOOSING TO DIE" REACTIONS

Steven:
I've just finished watching Terry Pratchett's documentary. What an
extremely moving experience. While there was no pretence at
"balance", nor was it entirely one sided. PTerry himself is in two
minds – not about whether people should be permitted to die with
dignity at the time of their choosing, but whether he himself would
be able to choose to die early enough, before the Alzheimer's takes
away his ability to make that choice – or to communicate that
choice to others. It also gave a few hints that he and Rob are in
disagreement about the issue of assisted dying, and was explicit
that he and his wife do not agree.

I've read a few blog posts and opinion pieces that talk about
watching somebody die on screen, in real life. But I hadn't seen
anyone talk about the fact that the were two deaths, one off-
screen. The off-screen  death was a fellow my age. I must say he
took it very well, quite cheerfully.

Having watched the peace and serenity of Peter Smedley and Andrew
Colgan once they had decided to die, and the happy-sadness (there
ought to be a better word for that emotion) of Hugo Claus' widow, I
am more sure than ever that Dylan Thomas was wrong about raging
against the good night, and Ecclesiastes was right.

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die
[Ecclesiastes 3:1-2]

Now, dammit, I seem to have a bit of dust or grit in my eye...

Sir Jase:
What does it mean when an atheist quotes the bible in reference to
choosing to die? And what does it mean when a follower of the
relevant carpenter agrees with him? (i.e. Steven and I respectively)
I'm grey on the idea of assisted suicide, in terms of timing – what
is the line between letting go of someone who is beyond having any
real life, and prematurely ending someone who is not entirely
finished in the world. Certainly my wife and I have a pull the plug
quickly policy on place in case of pointlessly extended life
support. If God wants me alive my heart will take over when you
unplug me, if God doesn't, let me go then, you are depriving someone
else of a perfectly good heart and lungs and a well used liver.

In the absence of a God or any meaning at all beyond death, then it
doesn't matter. Top yourself anytime, who gives? But whether it's
for spiritual reasons, or the sense of duty and care to your loved
ones, or the simple desire to leave a meaningful legacy to the
world, I guess it's a difficult question.

There is a time for everything.

Steven:
"What does it mean when an atheist quotes the bible in reference to
choosing to die? And what does it mean when a follower of the
relevant carpenter agrees with him?" It means that it's not
necessary to believe in supernatural beings to recognize a well-
written, or at least iconic, truth about the human condition.

I think you've just answered your own question about who cares –
your loved ones, your friends, those who depend on you... and of
course yourself. (To say nothing of your enemies – just because
they care doesn't necessarily tell you which way they care.) If
there is a god, there's no guarantee that he is one of them who
cares.

Lady G:
I have been present at the transition (as we like to call it) for
most of my elder family members. We 'send' them off...it has been
very ... peaceful. Most chose to refuse all medical assistance and
food for the last week/s. All but one were at home. Most were also
interestingly enough, within days of a family birth. Several of
which were also at home. Go figure.

Compared with the stories of heroic events, the tumult and such
involved, I am thankful to have had these examples.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

14) LATE BREAKING NEWS

English Literature Today is taking submissions for an interesting
new piece of academia:

CFP: Chapter Proposals for Multidisciplinary Book on Pratchett's
Discworld Series

Noticing the Slanty Bits: Converging on Discworld (tentative
title)

This volume will provide a variety of scholarly perspectives on
Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. Ideally, it will include
essays that approach Pratchett's Discworld series, and its
adaptations, from a range of fields, such as language and
linguistics, literary criticism, political science and law,
geography, visual and performance art, popular culture, etc.

We are currently seeking original submissions in the following
areas:

Linguistics (Critical Discourse Analysis, translation theory, corpus
studies)
Literary studies (Genre analysis, fictional geographies, narrative
and metanarrative)
Pop culture (text/fan conventions, marketing)
Adaptations (visual semiotics, performance studies)
Political science (Vetinari/Vimes, satire)
Folklore/Mythology

Please send 500- to 750-word abstracts to alton1ah@..., along
with brief author bio, by 15 August 2011. We hope to finalize
decisions in Sept. 2011. Completed draft manuscripts will be due by
15 March 2012.

http://tinyurl.com/3bo4h6w

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

15) CLOSE

And that's all for now. Given how mentally and physically exhausting
it was for me to put together this issue, I can only salute the
determination of Sir Pterry, Rob Wilkins and the BBC crew for
putting so much of themselves into the making of "Terry Pratchett:
Choosing to Die".

Wishing you all the best of the season – summer solstice or winter
solstice, depending on where in Roundworld you are. See you next
month, or possibly sooner!

– Annie Mac

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

———————————————————————————————————
The End. If you have any questions or requests, write:
interact@...
———————————————————————————————————
Copyright (c) 2011 by Klatchian Foreign Legion

WOSSNAME
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
June 2011 (Volume 14, Issue 6, Post 3)
*****************************************************************

1) YOUR DISCWORLD HOROSCOPE FOR JUNE
2) LATE BREAKING NEWS

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

1) THE NEW DISCWORLD HOROSCOPE
by Fernando Magnifico

Hallo my friends, it is I, Fernando Magnifico! The Lady Asterisk is
currently unable to write the horoscopes after mistakenly eating a
packet of dried frog pills, but do not worry, for Fernando shall
meet all your astrological needs this month!

My friends, this month Fernando wishes to talk about the crimes and
laws. Ankh-Morpork is Fernando's most beloved city outside of
Brindisi, but you must understand that this is the city of the many
old, strange and bizarre laws, such as the law about eating peas
with honey without a licence. Some may not have been prosecuted for
tens or hundreds of years, or even ever, but remember my friends, if
you annoy the Watch sufficiently, there's always a first time! It
has been said by some that, even sitting quietly in your basement
with the lights off, you could be breaking seven different laws. So
it is for you that Fernando has spent the many hours wrestling over
the horny[1] legal problems with the most helpful paralegal from Mr
Slant's office! With Fernando's help, and the most excellente advice
of the stars, you will be informed of the crimes you should most
avoid.

Ciao bella!


[1] Fernando is assured by native Morporkian speakers that this is
how to describe a thing with horns

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Adamant Hedgehog  21 Mar - 20 Apr

Hoggers, listen carefully to Fernando's good advice, for your crime
to avoid is the persistent failure to make a new pot of tea after
drinking the last cup. This law was originally placed "on the books"
in the aftermath of the infamous Nanna Murders following the first
shipments of tea from Bhangbhangduc. Although Fernando knows that in
these modern times people are rarely murdered over the pot of tea,
it is still a terrible faux pas and still illegal. The stars warn
that you almost certainly work or live with somebody who will "rat
you out to the Sammies" (in the colourful lingo of the criminal
classes), and under Ankh-Morpork's three strikes law, on the third
such failure to make the tea, you can be sentenced to 18 months hard
labour in the stocks. Fernando has spent the many hours in the
stocks, and it was the hardest he has ever experienced, trust
Fernando on this.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Half-Eaten Sandwich  21 Apr - 21 May

Munchers, your crime of serving the sweet wine with the fish was
first made illegal by King Chunder the Distended, in the Year of the
Sleeping Giraffe. Although this law was repealed 20 years ago, let
Fernando tell you that while it might be true that this is no longer
against the law, it is still the crime to be serving the sweet wine
with fish! Listen to Fernando, for he has the knowledge of these
things, you want the good, dry Brindisian white with fish, or an
Ephebian white if you must. Just make sure you avoid the Quirmian
rubbish, unless you need to thin the paints or keep the cats out of
the garden.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Herne the Hunted  22 May - 21 Jun

Hernians, your crime to avoid is one of the older laws in Ankh-
Morpork: picking your teeth with a knife greater than two inches
long in the presence of a lady while within seven feet of a dinner
table. (Fernando cannot help but notice just how *precise* the old
Morporkian laws are.) Last enforced in the Year of the Elongated
Weasel, when Sir Edmund Darkworme was sentenced to 80 lashes, to be
hung, drawn and quartered, stitched back together, broken on the
wheel, sealed in a barrel of tar, and catapulted out of the city at
dawn. As Sir Edmund was a gentleman, his dogsbody Balteus was
permitted to serve the sentence in his place. My friends, unless you
have the dogsbody, the stars recommend you avoid this law.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Wizard's Staff and Knob  22 Jun - 22 Jul

Staffies, the stars say you must take care to avoid the crime of
weasel-baiting. In the more uncivilized times, before Ankh-Morpork
became the gentiale and polite city it is now, rough and unpleasant
men enjoyed the many cruel sports. One such is weasel-baiting, where
the weasel (or sometimes the stoat) is chained to a post and worried
by specially trained attack-hamsters. Fernando is sad to say that
even today, in some of the more backward corners of Brindisi, there
are those who bet on such sport. Fernando is the very pleased that
it is illegal here in Ankh-Morpork, for Fernando loves the animals
(although not in *that* way, except once, when he was very drunk,
and besides the dolphin would not take no for an answer).

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Bilious, God of Hangovers  23 Jul - 23 Aug

Bilians, like many people you have probably received the c-mail
messages claiming that the duck's quack does not echo, that there is
a talking dog in Ankh-Morpork, and that if you forward the c-mail to
eight other people, Lord Vetinari will pay you $1000 dollars. Trust
Fernando on this for he knows that it is so, there is no doubt that
these stories are complete nonsense... except for one story. It
actually is true that Ankh-Morpork has the law against leaving a
crocodile tied to a post outside of a cafe or bar. Fernando is as
surprised as you are, and can only wonder that the was ever a time
where the city had such a problem with people taking crocodiles to
town that they needed such a law.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

My Uncle's Nose  24 Aug - 23 Sept

Nosers, your crime to avoid is not an old one but it is the very
much current. All of Ankh-Morpork remembers last year's invasion of
the Nac MacFeegle, when the dozens of bars were drained of every
drop of drink, the valuables went missing from houses all over the
city with nary a care for whether the householder was paid up with
the Thieves' Guild or not, and the brass statue of a sheep in
Knitters Lane was pried up from its stand and discovered five blocks
away. (Although in truth Fernando is unsure whether that last one
was done by the Feegles or by the dreaded Pigsty Hill Mob.) As a
direct result of these events, especially those of Daft Wullie
MacFeegle and his accomplice Horace, the stars say that Nosers'
crime to avoid is the city's newest law: consorting with cheese.
Though do not be too afeared my friends, for if you are quick enough
and have the strong enough stomach, you can always eat the evidence.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Small Boring Group of Faint Stars  24 Sept - 23 Oct

Boring'uns, the stars smile upon you. Not for you are the exciting
crimes, like robbery, treason, or performing mime within the city
limits. Your crime has never actually been illegal, and as such, let
Fernando reassure you that you cannot commit it, even by accident.
300 years ago, King Wiffleford the Short-Lived attempted to
introduce the law prohibiting the loud breathing in his presence,
but before it passed into law, Wiffleford was deposed by a rebellion
of nobles lead by Lord Alestair Earl of Hubborough-on-the-Ankh
(later King Alestair the Asthmatic). So feel free to breathe as
loudly as you like, cara mia.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Androgyna Majestis  24 Oct - 22 Nov

Andies, the stars warn that you should beware of the old law against
persistent egregious misquoting of public figures. Did the great
Agatean philosopher Ly Tin Wheedle not say, "That which does not
kill us, is worth two in the bush"? No, Fernando assures you that he
did not, and there is a special department at the Ankh-Morpork
Bureau of Measures that checks this kind of thing. Claiming that
Lord Vetinari, in a recent court case, said, "I do believe it is
pineapple, and that's cutting my own throat" can buy you a world of
trouble, my friends, for it is not only Mr de Worde and his staff
who have to be very sure they get their quotes right! The stars also
say you must avoid breaking a lesser but still serious law against
persistent egregious mixing of adages, such as "a chain is only as
strong as its spots", "a rising tide gathers no moss", or "those who
live in glass houses laugh longest". When the Bureau revokes a
poetic licence it's no laughing matter. Trust Fernando on this, for
it is so!

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Spoons, a.k.a. the Greater and Lesser Spoons, 23 Nov - 21 Dec

Spooners, your crime is one which was passed by accident: hitting
the nail on the head! Due to an unfortunately poor choice of words,
the Ankh-Morpork legal system considers hitting a nail on the head
to be assault and battery. Under Mad Lord Snapcase's rule, 317
carpenters were sent to the Tanty using this rule. Lord Vetinari had
them all freed (except for Raving Ronny Ramsgate the notorious plumb
bob murderer) but the law has never been formally repealed, so watch
out my friends, for Vetinari cannot live forever. Unless that c-mail
Fernando received yesterday is right and he is a vampire...

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Hoki the Jokester  22 Dec - 20 Jan

Some crimes are forgiveable, such as the stealing of the bread when
you are starving. Some are understandable, such as the crimes of
passione. But some crimes are senseless. The fig is the most useful
of fruits, good for eating straight from the tree, or for making
jam, and the leaves are the most handy if you should find yourself
out on the street without the pants, as happened to Fernando last
week. So Fernando is shocked that in Ankh-Morpork history, there
have been no less than three cases of people being convicted of
destruction of property for using the fatal curse on an fig tree,
which subsequently withered and died. Hokians, the stars warn, don't
you be one of them!

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Big Chicken  21 Jan - 18 Feb

Squawkers, the crime the stars tell Fernando you must avoid is the
purchase of spices for nefarious uses. Here in Ankh-Morpork it is
illegal to purchase more than 3oz of spices (pure or mixed) for lewd
or immoral purposes, without a licence from the Seamstresses' Guild.
While this was once a little used law, the publication of "The Joye
of Snacks, by A Lancre Witch" a few years ago. This rustic cookery
book was banned, but not before the several hundred persons had
broken the "Spice Law" with the spectacular and they say, comical
results. (Fernando has sampled some of the recipes from this book
and can assure you, cara mia, that they are very pleasant, but he
understands that these might be viewed as threatening to the
established order of A-M society by the peoples who are more, how do
you say, tightly locked in the underclothings.) The stars say that
if you simply must obtain more than the legal allotment of spices, a
series of purchases in different parts of the city would be a wise
idea.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Lesser Umbrage   19 Feb - 20 Mar

Umbragians, your crime to avoid is the crime of corruption of a
mynah. Fernando does not judge, but this is a shameful crime and you
will find no mercy from either the courts or the common criminals.
But do not be afeared my friends, for you may be the molto lucky –
Fernando knows that there has not be a prosecution for this for 90
years, not since the retired pirate captain Victor Bamboosa was
convicted for teaching a mynah to say "Show us yer drawers". The
fact that he was by then a cabinetmaker was not considered to be the
extenuating circumstance.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

2) LATE BREAKING NEWS


2.1 NADWCON UPDATES

The final ones! At least for this month...

Mrs Palm announces more panels and a wonderful special visit
offer:

"Witches, Wives, Seamstresses and Soldiers: The Women of Discworld"

Our panel will discuss the lively lives of women on the Disc. Friend
of the con, Kathryn Hoppe, as agreed to be on this one, along with
some members of the Seamstress Guild and the Monstrous Regiment*.
Yours Truly will moderate. This coven, sorry, panel, should be a
very spirited one, to say the least.

* A proud nickname for a core group of hardy women volunteers who
worked all over the con in 2009 and are back at it, again.  You may
have seen our ribbons.

6/ 28/  Update & Correction:  Due to a scheduling conflict,  Dr.
Jan Clarke will not be able to join us on this panel.


"The Discworld Beastiary"

In a nice moment of serendipity, Esther Friesner* and I both came up
with this idea for a panel at NADWCon. She has agreed to be on the
panel. This is one our animal lovers won't want to miss... A
discussion – both serious and un – of hares, ravens, rats,
orangutans, dragons and other animals, both mythic and real, on the
Discworld and in the world of folklore.**

* A funny, witty woman and one of our author Guests of Honor, Ms.
Friesner is highly skilled in the fine art of Cheeblemancy.

** Including but not limited to: cats, dogs, dragons, elephants,
hares, horses, kangaroos, magpies, orangutans, pumas, rats, ravens,
sheep, and, of course, a giant turtle and a small tortoise of
particular note. 


"Meet the Librarian: Special NADWCon Access at the Orangutan
Pavillion"

Jon Lemerond, one of our Wisconsin hosts, has arranged a very
special treat for NADWCon attendees: Zoo Keeper, Mary Schmidt, will
speak with our group about the Orangutans at the Henry Vilas Zoo.
They will close the Orangutan facility to the public so the group
will have exclusive access to the building during this time.

Meet the Librarian – A Trip to the Henry Vilas Zoo

We've arranged for a special presentation for our attendees on
Orangutans to be held at the Zoo.The hotel will bus 24 people to the
zoo. Sign up sheets are at the desk. We encourage others who would
like to go to drive there (It is 5 to 10 minute drive from the con
hotel). The zoo is free.

Where: Henry Vilas Zoo
Zoo Open: 9:30 - 5 PM Daily
How: Bus or car. A bus will be sent from the zoo which can hold up
to 24 people. The rest can meet us there.
Sign Up Sheets required for Bus. First come, first served.
Time: 3:00 - 3:45 PM
Board shuttle at hotel: 2:30 

http://www.vilaszoo.org/

To view these in their original setting on the web, go to:
http://it-bodes.blogspot.com/


And now, some last-minute updates from the NADWcon Committee:

At-Con News and Communications:

Want to keep up with all the news as it happens during the
convention itself? We will have several ways to keep you informed
and alerted to where the fun is, was, or will be happening! Here's
the latest:

1) At the convention, we'd love to see people share the great time
they are having via Twitter, Facebook, their blogs, and more! We
encourage you to:

a. Tweet about your fun adventures, using the #nadwcon hashtag!

b. Post to your favorite place to blog, post photos, post videos,
etc. and share those posts by sending a link
to:conroundup@.... After the con, we will post links to all
of the con reports we receive.

c. We are working on creating an official Youtube channel, so keep
your eyes open for the NADWCon channel broadcasting videos from the
convention!

2) We will also have several committee members tweeting from the
@nadwcon account. Each of us will sign tweets with our initials so
you can see who's having fun where. Here are some of the folks
you'll see sharing their experiences:

Vivian Obarski (VO)
Emily Whitten (ESW)
Missy Hayes (MH)
Denise Connell (DC)
Pat Harkin (PH)

2) We will be putting together and providing a short at-con
newsletter each day, reporting on the con and providing any
programming updates and announcements. These will be available each
day on a special page of the con website, and also provided in
limited hard copies each day at the Registration Desk.

For budding reporters seeking to submit news to the Ankh-Morpork
Times, submissions must be received by 9 p.m. for publication in the
next day's newsletter.

PLEASE NOTE: We are looking for several intrepid reporters to submit
a daily article and/or photo reporting on whatever fun convention
activity they choose, to be included in the daily newsletter.
Please email worde@... to volunteer for this.

Others may feel free to submit something as well if they'd like, by
emailing it to worde@..., or dropping it off in Con Ops, c/o
Vivian Obarski.

3) Seeking news about the convention? There will be a PDF of the
newsletter available at the nadwcon.org ( http://nadwcon.org/ )
website as well as news posted at our LJ account, Facebook, Forums
and Twitter.

Pre-Con Help Is Welcome:

Arriving early and looking for a way to help out? If you want to
volunteer to help with the set up, arrive on July 7 before noon on
the second floor

Sheathe Those Swords and Leave Your Brass Knuckles at Home!

We are all about authenticity in costuming, but before you pack up
your collapsible scythe, please read our weapons policy, as listed
here: http://nadwcon.org/Policies.html

The Watch will be out in force to ensure that our convention follows
the policies set forth there, so please ensure that you are aware of
them, and help us to keep everyone unharmed and having a good time
by following the rules at the con!

Maskerade info now online!

Planning on entering our lovely little maskerade? Got a Rincewind
costume that would make David Jason jealous and want to entire it? Be
sure to read our maskerade rules, as listed here:
http://nadwcon.org/Maskerade.html

Program listings now online!

Want to know about the science of Discworld? Curious about Stephen
Player's art and technique? Or maybe you want to match wits against
Granny Weatherwax? All that information can be found on our
programming page, http://www.nadwcon.org/Programs.html

Be sure to keep an eye on that page also, because there will be a
pocket PDF guide available there for people to download and enjoy at
the convention. For those of you with smartphones, we're planning on
having an app available also.

Snowgum Films seeks help for Cohen short film!

Snowgum Films would like to remind all con attendees that there is
now less than two week of opportunity to go, in being involved in
the largest independent Discworld film ever made: Troll Bridge!

A huge thank you goes out to all project backers who have infused
themselves into this project thus far; you're making history!

Please visit the site below for your last chance to nab some
exclusive Troll Bridge merchandise and be involved in the most
epicest short film ever made! http://tinyurl.com/5vbz6j8


Staying in the Madtown a bit longer? There's more than just the
Discworld convention to be found in Madison. If you're lucky enough
to linger around, you'll find that there's plenty to see and do in
town. Check out our travel guide, http://nadwcon.org/Travel.html
for more information.

Sad news regarding Elizabeth Moon: due to family health problems,
Elizabeth Moon will not be attending NADWCon. We wish her and her
family the best during this time.


Equipment and Supply requests! Help a con out!

If you're local to the Madison area, your Committee begs your
indulgence and assistance. Anything we can beg, borrow or (ahem)
steal from you in the way of supplies for the convention will
relieve us of having to buy or rent those items, freeing up funds
for worthy causes.

We're particularly interested in the following sorts of things:
computers, video projectors, and cables to connect those items.
These could be used in all areas of the con. Sewing machines, fabric
(ladies, anything you donate will just make room for more!),
findings, lace, thread, and all useful items for the Costume
Dungeon. A nice big coffee urn or two. A cash register, cash boxes
and zippered money pouches. And any sort of office supplies--paper,
binder clips, sharpies, scissors, stapler, rubber bands, post-its,
and whatever else you might think useful in your office. Oh yeah,
and we could really use your leftover clean plastic grocery bags!
Let us re-use them for you!

If you can lend or donate any of these things, please let us know at
info@...


2.2 DISCWORLD GAMES NEWS

GUARDS! GUARDS!

David Brashaw of Backspindle Games tells us:

"I just thought I would update you on developments with Guards!
Guards! A Discworld boardgame. It was very warmly received at
Cabbagecon. You can see a review at:

http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/660616/my-review-of-guards-guards

"We then took two prototypes to the UK Games Expo were everyone
really enjoyed it and it was shortlisted in the best new board game
category. Last weekend we had two games running at the Lisburn
Gaming Club. Both Discworld & non-Discworld fans had a great
evening. This weekend from Friday to Sunday we are at Q-Con
www.q-con.org.uk and will also be asked about the game's development
on a designers' panel.

"We are delighted that twenty years after Leonard [Boyd] pulled
together his original version of the game, it has now been developed
and will shortly be available for Discworld fans to enjoy. It's
ironic that its being made in China... (20 year anniversary and all
that). A great outline of the game can be found at:

http://tinyurl.com/5re7c6q

"At the time of writing the game is off to print. We are hoping
advanced copies will be available at NADWCon for fans to buy. The
game's illustrator Stephen Player is attending as a guest of honour
We have also designed a live (run around the Convention building)
version of the game for fans to enjoy.

"Officially we are hoping for a US release on 4 Augustat Gen-Con
www.gencon.com and a more likely release in the UK around 15 August.
Once dates are confirmed, games and a collectible Bookmark will be
available on pre-order at www.guardsguards.com

More information and the occasional competition can be found on:

www.facebook.com/guardsguards
www.twitter.com/guardsguards

"At this time it's looking like we'll be selling through our website
to Australia & New Zealand so there'll be a bit of postage to pay,
sorry. However you do get the unique character Bookmarks buying it
this way. We're not doing them for Amazon or Play.com."

For further enquiries:

David Brashaw & Leonard Boyd
Backspindle Games Ltd
Tel: 07760 337578
www.guardsguards.com


ANKH-MORPORK

Treefrog Games' new Discworld board game will make its premiere at
NADWcon!

A pre-release review at Wired:

"Treefrog Games' upcoming Ankh-Morpork, designed by Martin Wallace
(Age of Industry, London), scratched every Discworld-related gaming
itch I had, and then a few I didn't. I was lucky enough to get a
prototype in the mail and when my gaming group gathered around the
table to give it a go, all of us went away happy. Even those who had
never even heard of Discworld.

"My friend Matt called the game 'a twisted mix of Munchkin and
Settlers of Catan,' and I think that fits it pretty well. The game
includes a map of the titular city and each player has a secret
objective: accumulate wealth, take control over a certain number of
neighborhoods, or just cause massive amounts of trouble. Because
everyone has their own unique and hidden winning condition, you get
the suspicion and finger-pointing typically seen in a game of Mafia
or Werewolf. Combine that with the tactical element of moving your
minions around on the city map, and the hilarious and beautifully
illustrated cards full of the characters and places that Discworld
fans know and love, and you have a very well-rounded experience..."

http://tinyurl.com/5sn9bz3

Treefrog's site:

http://www.treefroggames.com/ankh-morpork

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

———————————————————————————————————
If you have any questions or requests, write:
interact@...
———————————————————————————————————
Copyright (c) 2011 by Klatchian Foreign Legion

WOSSNAME
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
July 2011 (Volume 14, Issue 7, Post 1)
********************************************************************
WOSSNAME is a free publication for members of the worldwide
Klatchian Foreign Legion and its affiliates, including the North
American Discworld Society and other continental groups. Are you a
member? Yes, if you sent in your name, country and e-mail address.
Are there any dues? No! As a member of the Klatchian Foreign Legion,
you'd only forget them...
********************************************************************
Editor in Chief: Annie Mac
News Editor: Fiona (not Bruce) Bruce
Newshounds: Vera, Mogg, Sir J of Croydon Below, the Shadow
Staff Writers: Asti, Pitt the Elder, Steven D'Aprano
Convention Reporters: Mithtrethth Hania Ogg et al
Staff Technomancer: Jason Parlevliet
Book Reviews: Drusilla D'Afanguin
Puzzle Editor: Tiff
Bard in Residence: Weird Alice Lancrevic
DW Horoscope: Lady Anaemia Asterisk, Fernando Magnifico
Emergency Staff: Jason Parlevliet
World Membership Director: Steven D'Aprano (in his copious spare
time)
Copyright 2011 by Klatchian Foreign Legion

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

INDEX:

01) QUOTES OF THE MONTH
02) LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
03) "SNUFF" NEWS
04) GOING POSTAL USA DVD NEWS
05) DISCWORLD GAMES NEWS
06) PTERRY AND ALZHEIMER'S NEWS
07) ANATOMY OF A SUPERFAN
08) DISCWORLD CONVENTION NEWS
09) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS
10) DISCWORLD GROUPS MEETING NEWS
11) DISCUSSION: "FORGOTTEN" DISCWORLD CHARACTERS
12) REVIEW: I SHALL WEAR MIDNIGHT
13) REVIEWS: THE SCIENCE OF DISCWORLD, WEE FREE MEN
14) MORRIS DANCING FOR THE WIN!
15) IMAGES OF THE MONTH
16) WHERE THE MULTIVERSES MEET
17) DISCWORLD AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE
18) DISCWORLD ARTS AND CRAFTS NEWS
19) CLOSE

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

01) QUOTES OF THE MONTH

"Discworld is like drugs, 'cause when you can't go get coke you're
gonna get good old cannabis, and when you can't get cannabis you'll
lick the outside of a dead rhinoceros. So any Discworld is better
than no Discworld."

– Pterry's deadpan (but invisibly grinning) comment in Melbourne,
April 2011, in response to a question about which characters/arcs
are the fans' favourites


"It was all smoke and mirrors, but when the smoke blew away, the
mirrors were still there."

– from the same session, on his skills as a journalist

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

02) A LETTER FROM YOUR EDITOR: WATCH THIS!

Back in April, I wailed long and loudly upon discovering that Pterry
had been booked for one of his Australian "Imagination, Not
Intelligence, Made Us Human" lecture/Q&A gigs just down the road
from us (at the Wheeler Centre, Storey Hall), and I'd somehow missed
hearing about it until all the tickets were long gone. However,
since his Sydney Opera House gig was made available on the internet
(as featured in the May issue of WOSSNAME), I consoled myself with
at least being able to watch that one. But now, the Wheeler Centre
has made the Melbourne video available, and I have to say that for
all the excellence of the Sydney appearance, the Melbourne one
knocks enough spots off it to change an entire leopard.

The compere-interviewer is one Michael Williams, a Melbourne-based
writer/editor/broadcaster who currently is  head of programming at
Melbourne's Centre for Books, Writing and Ideas, and he does a
superb job of it. The atmosphere feels far more intimate and
relaxed, and less formal and performance-y, than of the Sydney
video, and The Author is on absolutely cracking form as he fields
questions from Williams and members of the audience, shares
reminiscences and childhood anecdotes, and gets passionate about,
well, many things.

I've been housebound with illness lately (more than usual, that is),
and was finding it hard to feel cheerful or positive about anything
much, but watching the Wheeler Centre video was a great tonic. So
here you go – click on the link below and enjoy!

http://tinyurl.com/4222438

And now, back to our regular programme...

– Annie Mac

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

03) SNUFF NEWS

3.1 SNUFF: A REVIEW...OR NO, JUST AN UNOFFICIAL TEASER...

Oh, Sam! Ohhhh, Sam! Oh oh oh Sam and Sam! Oh oh oh Sybil! Oooh,
Willikins! Ohh, Havelock! Oh, Ronnie! Oh, Fred! Oh oh oh Sammies, oh
village green, oh chickens oh posh nobs oh egalitarians oh
sociopaths oh snuff oh me oh my!

I laughed, I cried, I cheered, I Vimesed. I'm fairly sure you will,
too.

Just saying...

(Proper review follows when it's closer to release time.)


3.2 ...AND THE OFFICIAL TEASER FOR JULY

On Pterry's Facebook page this month, Lynsey writes:

"Wednesday 13th July, only three months from publication of SNUFF we
can exclusively reveal that the first five characters to grace its
pages are:

1. Lord Vetinari
2. Drumknott
3. Commander Sir Samuel Vimes
4. Sergeant Cheery Littlebottom
5. Captain Carrot"

http://www.facebook.com/pratchett


Remember, Snuff will be out on 13th October!

Signed copies available for pre-order from August 2011 from PJSM
Prints:

http://www.paulkidby.com/news/index.html
http://www.paulkidby.com/books/index.html

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

04) GOING POSTAL USA DVD RELEASE

According to Acorn Media, both the DVD and the Blu-Ray of Going
Postal are now available in the USA! Each is priced at US$39.99.

DVD extras include:

Terry Pratchett video introduction
Director Jon Jones audio commentary
Bonus disc with cast interviews, featurettes, deleted scenes,
blooper reel, and image gallery

The site also offers Going Postal in download form. The complete
miniseries is priced at US$31.99, or it can be purchased in the form
of two episodes, priced at US$17.99 each.

For more information, and to order, go to:

http://tinyurl.com/3trmjwl

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

05) ONCE AGAIN WITH GAME-NOTES: NEW DISCWORLD BOARDGAMES

Exciting enough news to repeat: this was in last month's late
breaking news; now with extra added updates...

5.1 GUARDS! GUARDS!

David Brashaw of Backspindle Games said:

"We are delighted that twenty years after Leonard [Boyd] pulled
together his original version of the game, it has now been developed
and will shortly be available for Discworld fans to enjoy. It's
ironic that its being made in China... (20 year anniversary and all
that). A great outline of the game can be found at:

http://tinyurl.com/5re7c6q

"At the time of writing the game is off to print... Officially we
are hoping for a US release on 4 August at Gen-Con, www.gencon.com
and a more likely release in the UK around 15 August. Once dates
are confirmed, games and a collectible Bookmark will be available on
pre-order at www.guardsguards.com

More information and the occasional competition can be found on:

www.facebook.com/guardsguards
www.twitter.com/guardsguards

"At this time it's looking like we'll be selling through our website
to Australia & New Zealand so there'll be a bit of postage to pay,
sorry. However you do get the unique character Bookmarks buying it
this way. We're not doing them for Amazon or Play.com."

For further enquiries:

David Brashaw & Leonard Boyd
Backspindle Games Ltd
Tel: 07760 337578
www.guardsguards.com


Two pages of iconographs at Boardgame Geek, showing some of G!G!'s
pre-release activities:

http://tinyurl.com/3hlhlwa
http://tinyurl.com/423yxa5


Extracts from a long, detailed review of the game, by gaming
podcasters/bloggers Little Metal Dog:

"Guards! Guards!, at first appearance, is a reasonably
straightforward game to play. You move around the board
collecting/pressganging various volunteers (taken from the books)
all of whom have various attributes. These can either be charmed
into joining your ragtag band – screw that up and you can always
resort to good old bribery to get them onto your team. Once you've
moved to a space on the board that shows one of the spells you need
to collect, you declare that you're about to head on a Spell Run –
in other words, you're going to try and get the spell home. The
board is split into four quadrants and you declare which ones you'll
be passing through in order to get back to your start space...

"The game captures the chaos of the Discworld well – you'd hope
so, of course, as anything that comes out bearing Terry Pratchett's
name needs to be cleared as worthy by the man himself. The artwork
throughout the whole game is provided by regular Pratchett
contributor Steven Player, and his gloriously grotesque style really
gives the game a distinctive flourish. Each volunteer card also has
a quote lifted directly from one of the books – as mentioned
above, this is definitely a labour of love. It's a game where you
need to be watching what everyone else is doing and taking your
chances at the optimal time – or just figure that you'll have as
much of a laugh by kicking opponents when they're down. Where many
licensed games fall down on the actual content, the guys from
Backspindle have created an entertaining (if challenging) title that
well deserves a look. Fans of the series will appreciate the detail
that has gone into its creation, while those not into the Discworld
will find a solid game that could well spark a new interest..."

http://tinyurl.com/4xazjt9


5.2 ANKH-MORPORK

This exciting new Discworld board game will be out in September,
with a launch party at leading UK games specialist Eclectic Games.
Here be the press release, verbatim:

Ankh Morpork needs you! Lord Vetinarii is dead, or missing, or
possibly on holiday. Regardless, there's a chance for the power-
hungry to take control of the city, or complete the plans his
Lordship has been so inconsiderately standing in the way of. Players
take on a hidden role with differing ways to win, and play cards to
place minions, build buildings, control areas, assasinate
inconveniences (other players' minions), gain (or lose!) money and
do whatever is necessary to accomplish their goals.

On Saturday 3rd September, eclectic games in Reading will be hosting
a Launch Party for Martin Wallace's latest boardgame, Ankh Morpork.
Dripping with Discworld flavour, boasting gorgeous artwork and fun,
compelling gameplay, Ankh Morpork more than lives up to the high
standards associated with both Discworld and Treefrog Games. Martin
Wallace will be here all day to demonstrate the game, explain the
finer points of what the differences between the Thieves Guild,
Fools Guild and Seamstress Guild cards mean from a design point of
view, and will probably deface your copy of the game with his
signature if you ask him politely. There will be cake, a small prize
for the best Discworld fancy dress, and of course, the game will be
available to purchase.

Eclectic Games is open from 10am to 6pm, and is located at 36,
Market Place, Reading, RG1 2DE. Telephone 0118 959 8250. Our website
is www.eclecticgames.co.uk and we can be reached by email via
shop@...

http://tinyurl.com/3ugwm4e

http://www.eclecticgames.co.uk/events.irs


For more information about how to play, the collector's edition, and
so forth, go to:

http://www.treefroggames.com/ankh-morpork

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

06) PTERRY AND ALZHEIMER'S NEWS

6.1 PRATCHETT NAMED "HEALTH CHAMPION"

"Award-winning author and Alzheimer's Society supporter, Sir Terry
Pratchett, has been named Health Champion of the Year by the UK's
leading health experts and journalists. The award, presented at the
Medical Journalists' Association (MJA) Summer Awards, acknowledges
Sir Terry's tireless campaigning and awareness-raising of dementia-
related issues. Sir Terry, who has a rare form of dementia called
Posterior Cortical Atrophy (PCA), said of his award: 'I am, of
course, very pleased to have won this award but must point out that
all I had to do, some years ago, was find out that I had this
wretched disease. It took no courage to freely talk about it in
public, indeed, it would have taken more courage to do nothing.'

"In addition to Sir Terry's award, Alzheimer's Society's national
media team beat off strong competition to be presented with the
'Health Charity of the Year' award..."

http://tinyurl.com/3wvzsre


6.2 ...AND LAUDED FOR SHOWING THE WAY

Oxford University neuroscientist Baroness Greenfield, on a recent
visit to Australia, praised Sir Pterry's efforts on behalf of
Alzheimer's awareness and research and said the world needs more
like him:

"She said Sir Terence Pratchett, a best-selling British novelist who
has chronicled his experience with Alzheimer's disease, deserved
accolades for his efforts. 'I think we need more people like him who
have suffered and are willing to talk about it,' Baroness Greenfield
said... 'Without appropriate funding for dementia research, too many
parents and grandparents will be lost to a condition for which more
effective answers can be found. We can beat dementia. Governments
are just not trying hard enough'..."

http://tinyurl.com/3of8fss


6.3 FUNDING "BREAKTHROUGH"

As reported in This is Somerset:

"Care Services Minister Paul Burstow yesterday announced a multi-
million pound boost in funding for the fight against dementia after
a high profile campaign led by West author, Sir Terry Pratchett. The
cash will be used for research into the condition that will affect
more than a million Britons within 10 years, including more than
100,000 in the South West. Mr Burstow launched a 'route map for
dementia research' which pledges up to £20 million over five years
for four new biomedical research units. It also commits the Medical
Research Council to increase funding for neurodegeneration research
by 10 per cent to £150 million by 2015..."

http://tinyurl.com/3qbqrk8

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

07) ANATOMY OF A SUPERFAN?

...otherwise known as the semi-legendary Pat Harkin, gentleman,
scholar and aficionado of all things Pterry (and very nice man, as
your Editor can confirm) – and also one of the subjects of a
Guardian article on, well, superfans:

"One could inventory the shelves and surfaces and cabinets that fill
his house in Leeds and never quite be certain there was method in
them. Examples: a souvenir potato shrivelled with desiccating gel; a
fibreglass facsimile of a medieval trunk; a box of fake teeth; a
real and rather sharp scythe (with a blunt replacement "party
blade", part of a Death costume, which had to be imported from
America); a murky jar reputedly containing an onion grown and
pickled by Sir Terry Pratchett; a photograph of Sir Terry,
shirtless, signing books; a shell casing fired by Sir Terry; a
knighthood certificate bestowed by Sir Terry; a convention lanyard
worn by Sir Terry... Ah yes. A theme is beginning to emerge... What
it grew into was a life inside one of the world's most active fan
communities. Now Harkin visits multiple conventions, in many
countries, several times a year, often acting as their compere and
auctioneer..."

http://tinyurl.com/5s7wxdc

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

08) DISCWORLD CONVENTION NEWS

8.1 NADWCON NEWS: PRE-AND POST-MORTEMS

8.1a Pterry's pre-NADWcon phone interview with Madison, Wisconsin
journalist Jeanne Kolker, in which we learn that Madison is
important for geological reasons and that it was also the scene of
one of Pterry's first book signings, attended by a tiny handful of
fans:

"It took a long time coming because, way back when I started, my
American publishers were not particularly good and didn't really
know how to sell me. The upturn began when my agent, the late Ralph
Vicinanza – he was Stephen King's agent – worked out how many UK
copies of my hardcovers were being sold as imports in the United
States. And then two publishers merged and out of the merger I got a
new publisher who knew my name – always a good thing – and a new
publicist who had read my book – always a good thing – and that's
when the thermometer started to rise. And pretty soon I was doing
signing tours, and in fact one of the first ones I did was in
Madison... I think I had about 26 people..."

http://tinyurl.com/3hz9hdc


8.1b NADWcon videos, iconographs, and blogs

Lots and lots of NADWcon videos on YouTube! The extensive forestcats
collection:
http://www.youtube.com/user/forestcats

In which Pterry and Rob burst into song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_fe0BaPVo8

The Luggage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHXk3o_xt9U

Librarian quilt auction:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhHipzy75Hg

Pterry and Neil Gaiman:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ubx0FYTcYRA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PP9ZyKRmpMY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjLGyU1lAjU

The NADWcon blog on LiveJournal:
http://nadwcon.livejournal.com/

NADWcon on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/#!/nadwcon

A very happy-looking author at the end of the con:
http://twitpic.com/5orfwj

The huge floral clock from the gala banquet:
http://yfrog.com/kf4zibj

Some photos of Pterry and Neil enjoying themselves during their
talk:
http://yfrog.com/kgsgfzrj

Lovely detail from the Librarian Quilt:
http://twitpic.com/5o48wz


A summing-up of NADWcon 2, by chair Emily Whitten:

"It's been a privilege to work with Terry, our other amazing guests,
and all of the wonderful and talented people who have been a part of
making each of the NADWCon events happen, and to witness such
amazing contributions, dedication, and hard work from the Honored
Guests, convention committees, staff, program participants, and
volunteers. I am honored by the confidence that was placed in me and
the other fans by Sir Terry and all who attended the conventions,
throughout the process of putting these events on in proper
Discworld style; and touched by the support and goodwill that has
been extended towards myself and the rest of the convention
organizers over the years. I am also very honored to have received
such a high public accolade as that of being made a Dame of
Discworld, and will try to do the title proud (and only show off my
bloomers on very special occasions!)..."

http://foresthouse.livejournal.com/583636.html


...who also gets her (ever-articulate and enthusiastic, and indeed
why not!) say in "Mrs Palm's" post-mortem:

http://it-bodes.blogspot.com/2011/07/note-from-our-chair.html


from blogger Judith or Not:
http://tinyurl.com/3wrco6h

from blogger madgeniusclub:
http://madgeniusclub.com/2011/07/14/come-to-quirm-we-have-cheese/

For trainee librarian Jen Moore, NADWcon was her first-ever fan
convention, and she loved it:
http://jenemoore.wordpress.com/2011/07/11/i-atent-dead/


8.2 WADFEST 2011

Barely a month now until the the tenth anniversary Wadfest!

When: 19th 20th 21st August 2011
Where: Trentfield Farm, Church Laneham, Retford, NOTTS.
Tickets: http://www.wadfest.co.uk/page12.html

Some details of the goings-on-to-be, provided by Rob Lupine via the
Esteemed Competition:

The Murder Mystery is looking for suspects. Details and how to
apply can be found here:
http://www.citywatch.info/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=528

Saturday Night Talent Show, details here:
http://www.citywatch.info/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=531

Followed by the Light Parade:
http://www.citywatch.info/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=529

And the All Day Walk Around Masquerade as usual:
http://www.citywatch.info/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=530

http://www.wadfest.co.uk

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

09) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS

9.1 WYRD SISTERS IN BRISBANE, FOURECKS

The Nash Theatre, who are commendably big on orangutans, are
currently presenting their production of Wyrd Sisters:

"Terry Pratchett is a longtime supporter of The Orangutan
Foundation, which works to protect the forest habitat of these
intelligent creatures – after all, as Pratchett lovers will know,
the librarian is an orangutan! In fact, all performing rights for
Terry Pratchett's plays are paid directly to The Orangutan
Foundation in the UK. Nash Theatre is also supporting The Australian
Orangutan Project. Paul Kidby, the official illustrator of Terry
Pratchett's books has given us permission to use his original
illustration of the Wyrd Sisters & in return we shall be making a
donation & holding a raffle during the run of the show to raise
money for the Australian Orangutan Project. So when you come to see
the play you will have the opportunity to do something for the
planet as well as enjoying a fantastic (in every sense of the word)
production!"

When: July 28, 29 & 30
Venue: Nash Theatre, Merthyr Uniting Church, 52 Merthyr Rd, New
Farm, Queensland
Time: 7:30pm
Tickets: Adult $20, Concession $15, Members/School Students $12
Bookings: Phone 3379 4775 or email nashtheatre4@...

http://www.nashtheatre.com

www.paulkidby.net
www.orangutan.org.au


9.2 REMINDER: MORT IN MINNESOTA

Mort, presented by the Historic Mounds Theatre in St. Paul,
Minnesota, continues its run through the first week of August.

When: Friday and Saturday nights, 29th/30th July, 5th/6th August
Venue: Historic Mounds Theatre, 1029 Hudson Road, St Paul, MN
55106. Phone (651) 772 2253
Time: 7.30pm all shows
Tickets: adults $15, children under 12 and seniors $10
To book online, go to http://tinyurl.com/4yuqkhv

For more information, go to:
http://www.moundstheatre.org/AmDram.html


9.3 TAMAHER: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO PERFORM IT!

WOSSNAME recently reported on the world premiere of the musical
version of The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents. Now, with
the advent of The Complete Performance Pack of The Amazing Maurice
and his Educated Rodents, everyone can do the musical Maurice!

"Sir Terry Pratchett's ingeniously upended tale of the Pied Piper,
has a roving band of highly intelligent rats as its heroic
protagonists. Matthew Holmes' script and songs capture the plot in a
captivating musical for children to perform and everyone to
enjoy.Perfect for upper primary school performances. The complete
performance pack with its photocopiable script and piano vocal score
includes everything you need for rehearsing and presenting the final
show, plus there's full audio support on CD so you don't need to
read a note of music..."

The Complete Performance Pack of TAMAHER will be available from mid
August. For more information, go to:

www.acblack.com

Originally posted on the web at:
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150245058313674



9.4 REVIEW: THE TRUTH IN ICKENHAM

A review of Purple Theatre's production of The Truth by American
visitor jschnei:

"Now, this was community theater so elaborate scenery and costumes
couldn't really be expected but the cast did such a great job with
their parts that it almost didnt matter. The dark light effect was
really quite good though I don't know if you hadn't read the
book if you would understand what was going on. There were some
stumbling and awkward or rushed transitions but that is to be
expected with the first performance. Sometimes they went so quickly
through the story it was like watching the high school cliffs notes
performance of your favorite book. Part of me understand that
because it is a long book and was a very long play but I missed many
key parts I love from the book.

"On a side note, the theater put together an amazing program
(available for two pounds but totally worth it) that was made to
look like a newspaper complete with want ads and character profiles.
It was full of great Terry Pratchett jokes that made me smile..."

http://tinyurl.com/43lofnv


9.5 SNUFF IN ABINGDON...OR MAYBE NOT YET

A few months ago (March issue), WOSSNAME published an item about the
upcoming world stage premiere of Snuff:

"Stephen Briggs and Studio Theatre Club are planning to stage the
first official performance of Briggs' adaptation of Snuff on 15 to
19 November at the Unicorn Theatre, Abingdon (UK). Tickets will go
on sale on 10 September. Tickets will go *very* quickly, so mark the
September date in your calendars!"

At the time, this information appeared to be current and correct.
However, things appear to have changed:

"DISCWORLD PLANS? It's still a little way off but we're planning to
stage Terry Pratchett's 'SNUFF' in 2012."

http://www.studiotheatreclub.com/CurrentPlans.html

A case of Watch This Space, perhaps...

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

10) DISCWORLD GROUPS MEETING NEWS

The City of Small Gods Terry Pratchett Fan Club meets on the last
Thursday of the month from 6.30pm at the Ed Castle, 233 Currie St,
Adelaide (South Australia). The next meeting will be on Thursday
28th July. Details, discussions and organisation of extra events
(such as play outings) are held on their email mailing list, so do
sign up at

https://groups.google.com/group/adelaide-discworld-fans


*

The next meeting of the Broken Drummers will be on Monday 8th August
at the Monkey Puzzle, 30 Southwick Street, London W2 1JQ.

http://www.steeljam.co.uk/brokendrummers/


*

Drummers Downunder meet on the first Monday of every month in Sydney
at Maloneys, corner of Pitt & Goulburn Streets, at 7pm. The next
meeting will be on Monday 1st August. For more information, contact
Sue (aka Granny Weatherwax) on kenworthys@...


*

Perth Drummers meet on the traditional of first Monday of the month.
The next meeting will be on the evening of Monday 1st August at The
Vic Hotel, 226 Hay St, Subiaco.


EDITOR'S NOTE: the above meeting dates for August are correct to the
best of my knowledge, but as the UK Drummers, who traditionally meet
on the first Monday of each month, are gathering on the second
Monday this month, it's worth contacting the relevant organisers for
Sydney and Perth Drummers to check the August date.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

11) DISCUSSION: "FORGOTTEN" DISCWORLD CHARACTERS

In "L(J) Space", the leading Discworld community on LiveJournal,
charliesmum wrote:
  
"As depressing as this is to contemplate, I get the distinct
impression that with each new book Pterry is writing, he's wrapping
up loose ends and saying goodbye. I know in Unseen Academicals he
threw a couple nods to older books, and in I Shall Wear Midnight we
got the reappearance of Esk, a one-off character from one of his
earlier works, and there are other examples. My question is this.
Which minor or one-off character or characters would you like to see
make an appearance before Discworld ends forever (hopefully several
years from now) I'd love to see Victor and Ginger again. What about
you?"

niamh_sage:
They're not minor characters, but Pteppic and Ptraci (especially
because of the whole Pterry thing).

rhiannon_s:
Seconding Pteppic. I'd also like to see what Maurice has been up to.
My own private theory is he's managed to get a group of young girls
to dress up in silly costumes to fight crime and give daft speeches.
And he'll live the cushy life while giving them some fake advice,
and stay back home at nights. By 'eck there could be a fanfic in
this.

crassy:
Not minor, but I really hope he writes the next instalment with
Moist.

blueholocaust:
Agnes. (I would love for her to interact with Tiffany!) And also,
though this isn't what you asked, I'd like to see a really troll-
centric book. There have been quite a lot of dwarfy ones, but the
closest look we got at troll society was Thud! and that made me want
to know a lot more. Something about the other races we barely see –
gnolls, kvetch, various undead – would also make me a very happy
girl :D

blind_odin:
I'd love to see a troll book as well. I love Detritus.

blueholocaust:
Detritus is awesome. He's been in the series since what, book one?
He's grown so much. *adds Ruby to the Characters I Want To See Again
List*

microwave_jenny:
Brick! I want to see how he is now that Detritus and Ruby are his
foster (adoptive?) parents.

linpixiedragon:
Esk was the one I'd really wished to see again, and she has appeared
already. To be honest, I think I'd like to see what kind of girl
little Esme will become.

ursula_lear:
I want the Carrot as King issue resolved (although not really).

mr_squeaky:
I want to read about Carrots puppies. Will they play with Sam Jr ?

jesskat:
I'd like to see more of William de Worde and his crew. I was happy
for his brief appearance in "Unseen Academicals", it would be nice
to see another book where he played a bigger part.

anearthquake:
tonker and lofty

atalantapendrag:
And Maladict, because Maladict has style.

anearthquake:
i would love to see mal, but i kind of feel like it's unlikely that
terry will return to Borogravia. whereas tonker and lofty are
outside Borogravia post-book. i think. so there's some hope!

whitepawn_alice:
I'd kinda like to know what Susan's been up to, considering her last
boyfriend just kinda... disappeared. Also I love the idea of Moist
as the next Patrician, but I don't think I want to see it happen.
...I know it's not likely, but I'd like for Death to have company or
otherwise be happy. It breaks my heart whenever I think about how
lonely he is.

roruna:
I guess, the one character that I really want to get to know better
is Young Sam but I get the feeling my wish will come true with
Snuff.

[It certainly will! – Ed.]


wazira_sharira:
I've always wanted to know what happened in Klatch after Jingo. It'd
be cool to see Prince Khufurah and 71-Hour Ahmed again.

silverinkblot:
There seems to have been a pattern in the last few books – Tiffany,
Lipwig, Watch, Tiffany, Lipwig, wizards, Tiffany, Watch (in
October). That leaves the Witches and Death – neither arc has had a
new book in over a decade. Personally, I'd like to see what Death
has been up to. I honestly never liked the stand-alone much

blind_odin:
Brutha. I know he wasn't a minor character, but Small Gods is my
favorite one-shot, and I find him... restful.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

12) REVIEW: I SHALL WEAR MIDNIGHT

In The Guardian's children's books section ("by kids, for kids"),
young reviewer Charlie writes:

"Within the Discworld series there are different stories but my
favourite is the Tiffany Aching series with the fourth book I Shall
Wear Midnight as the latest installation. The previous instalment's
being The Wee Free Men, A Hat Full of Sky and The Wintersmith. These
are primarily aimed at children, however I am 17 and I find them
simply hilarious... This is a fabulously witty book which had me
laughing out loud on multiple occasions (all of course due to the
slightly crazy faeries) and I recommend it to children over the age
of 10 years as it touches on the death of a baby. Never-the-less it
is a fast paced, magical adventure and I read them over and over
again..."

http://tinyurl.com/4x33ll5

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

13) REVIEWS: THE SCIENCE OF DISCWORLD; THE WEE FREE MEN

13.1 THE SCIENCE OF DISCWORLD

by Daniel Orner

The Science of Discworld is an interesting experiment. Here we have
Terry Pratchett, noted fantasy author extraordinaire, and Jack
Stewart and Ian Cohen, two highly educated scientists, teaming up
for a book. The book consists of alternating chapters: one chapter
tells a story, the next talks about the science hinted in it. The
science chapters are about twice or three times as long as the
story ones, though, so what you have is a book on science
illustrated with wizards.

The story isn't much of one – it's more of an extended skit
revolving around the wizards of Unseen University and a hastily
promoted Rincewind. An accident with a thaumic reactor requires a
high-powered project to drain excess magic power. Ponder Stibbons
thinks this is the perfect time to look into the Roundworld Project
- a pocket universe in which, oddly enough, there is no magic, no
gods, and no discworlds. Instead, there seems to be a lot of space,
ice, big balls of fire, big  balls of rock, and no turtles
*anywhere*. In short, Ponder has created our own universe.

The story is more compact than usual but no less hysterical – Terry
has molded the wizards into an extended Monty Python sketch and he
knows exactly what to do with them. He introduces the reader to
notions expounded on by the science chapters by having the wizards
interact with the Roundworld Project – and their intriguingly
bumbling reactions to it are designed to keep your interest while
the scientists have their go.

The science itself is remarkably specific. Although it touches on
biology, chemistry, physics and astronomy, the main theme is
*history* – the history of the universe, the solar system, the
planet and the beings on it. There are a few digressions – such as
the nature of coincidences, or the inspired term "lies-to-children"
to demonstrate that a simpler, less accurate understanding is often
required before a more realistic one can be reached – but this
topic is the basis for the book.

Funnily enough, though, scientific history is one of the *least*
well understood areas of science, perhaps second only to
neuroscience in the number of ways it keeps contradicting itself.
The fact that a second edition of the book was released a scant few
years later indicates just how fast people are changing their minds
about what happened long ago and what happens far away. It's like
reconstructing a novel given only the bones of two of the main
characters.

Cohen and Stewart also have no hesitation telling us just how
depressing our universe is. Scientific history is measured in
millions or billions of years; the few tens of thousands which
humans have been around for is a drop in the bucket, unnoticeable
and easily swept away. There is no room for art or spirituality in
this yawning abyss – the authors acknowledge their existence but
make no bones about their unimportance when compared to science.

The level of discourse is a bit rocky – sometimes the authors go a
bit too fast with introducing new concepts or don't adequately
explain them in a way a layman might understand. Other times the
prose can get droning or tedious, as when they start discussing
specific time periods and exactly what happened where. As
scientists and not authors, they don't make any real effort to
captivate the audience; they simply state what is. It's not quite
as bad as reading a textbook, but it's miles away from a good yarn.

The Science of Discworld can be a hard book to read fully. You may
find yourself skimming bits of the science chapters, and no wonder.
The Pratchettian ones are delightful if lightweight, and the one
thing the other chapters – at times ponderous and unwieldy – will
certainly do is give you a much, much larger perspective on the
world around us.

Note: This book is out of print in North America; trying to find it
is an effort in futility. Do what I did, and order it from Amazon
UK – even with shipping it's a reasonable price, especially if you
buy all three Science of Discworld books at once, as I did.


13.2 REVIEW: THE WEE FREE MEN

by Daniel Orner

The Wee Free Men is marketed towards young adults, but really
there's little to differentiate it from the normal Discworld canon
except that the protagonist, Tiffany Aching, is only nine years
old. Living down on the Chalk, on a farm that specializes in sheep
(as most do on the Chalk), Tiffany is very unlike most of her peers
and equally unlike the sort of plucky young leads that tend to
populate young adults' books.

Tiffany's world has no schools, little education, and lots of hard
work. Her age is never even considered as an excuse to run around
and play – she makes cheese, and does it well. Tiffany is,
amazingly, bookish and intelligent (one of the only books their
family owns is a dictionary, and she read it cover to cover – no
one told her she shouldn't). She's also courageous to a fault, and
has a tendency to observe rather than  take part. In short, she's
everything that a budding young witch should be.

Tiffany's encounter with Miss Tick, a shrewd but somewhat pathetic
older witch, touches off her journey of discovery. Starting with
her encounter with Jenny Green-Teeth, a water monster, she soon
finds herself overrun  with Nac mac Feegles, tiny blue
fairies^Hpictsies who wear kilts, enjoy drinking, fighting, and
stealing, and are nigh-unkillable. Although uncomfortable with
their cheerful audacity, she soon must enlist their help in
rescuing her rather sticky baby brother from the clutches of the
sinister Queen of the Elves.

While we first saw the Feegles in Carpe Jugulum, they're a little
more understandable and a little more personable this time round.
And by far, they're one of the funniest things Terry's ever
written. I don't know  what it is about a Scottish accent, even a
written one, that makes everything in it sound hilarious. Probably
the same thing about an Indian and Yiddish accent, I suppose, but
the cross between farce, slapstick and juxtaposition of the crass
and the high-brow make them a  goldmine of comedy.

Interestingly enough, Tiffany herself does not make a giant leap of
personality in the course of the book (or, indeed, all of her
books). I've always found it faintly difficult to believe the sheer
distance between teenage protagonists at the beginning of their
books (brash, foolish, stupid) and at the end (world-weary,
intelligent, kind). Tiffany has a little ways to go, but not much;
and she has no one to teach her but herself. As a character says
near the end of the book, with witchery, first you take the exam,
then you find out how you passed it.

Tiffany is resolutely and constantly down to earth. She's arguably
further along than even Magrat in Wyrd Sisters and Witches Abroad,
whose rather damp, hopeful views of witchcraft tended towards mystic
sigils, complex spells and sabbats. Tiffany must use her eyes and
ears, but more importantly her instinctive knowledge of the the way
things are and how they must be.

What really makes this book stand out, though, is not necessarily
the journey or the characters, but the history and geography. Terry
paints the Chalk with a steady hand, showing us a hard-working land
with little time for magic and even less time for those who take
advantage of their fellows. Tiffany's narrative is often
interrupted by memories of Granny Aching, an almost mythical figure
to many, but simply her grandmother to  her. These vignettes give a
broader view of the place and the people in it, and the solid
grounding that led to the creation of such a unique protagonist.

The Wee Free Men is vintage Pratchett – aged to perfection and
distilled to a concoction that warms the soul. By turns funny,
contemplative, harrowing, and thought-provoking, it's a narrative
that sucks you in and puts you in a larger context, with great
humanity. It's an excellent read no matter how old you think you
are.


Both reviews were originally posted at alt.books.pratchett

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

14) ROUNDWORLD TALES: THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING MORRIS'D

It seems that Morris dancing is undergoing an enormous resurgence,
thanks in no small part to the Discworld novels and their millions
of fans. Traditional troupes, less traditional troupes (the videos
of black-clad dancers doing the Border Morris would bring an
appreciative tear to Nanny Ogg's eye), testosterone-raddled teenage
male Morris troupes, troupes of Morris *women*, and at least one
troupe of Morris women, the Belles of London, who are known to dance
in corsetry...everything's coming up Morris, it seems!

An article about the Belles of London:
http://tinyurl.com/279wxmo

...and video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoX57yKWIjo


Border Morris by the Witchmen and the Wicket Brood:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yjkzmW-Waw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOm3G-cm1oQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=my-VF91pGzg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUssEsPOaYY

A nicely brooding one, danced to drums instead of squeezeboxes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0zBWHk_LXE

...and one by a troupe called Wayzgoose!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6JsOpw7zKI

...and Hunters Moon:
http://watervole.dreamwidth.org/451614.html

...oh, and cardboard Stormtroopers with familiar hankies:
http://tinyurl.com/3efamqv


And where would be be, Morris-wise, without our FAQ from
Roundworld's own "Lancre Morris Men"?

"Morris Dancing as we know it today can safely be said to be as
English as tea and crumpets. The widely held belief is that the
dance originated from North Africa and was introduced to Europe via
Spain during the 15-16th centuries by the Moors. Many of these
people converted to Christianity during this period and were called
'Mourrisco' by their fellow countrymen. The term for their lively
dance style was taken as far north as Paris where the style was
described as 'mourris (Moorish) dance'. It does not take much
imagination to see how the dance was brought home to the then major
port of Bristol by sailors and gained popularity in the surrounding
area of the Cotswolds where it is still mainly concentrated. The
name being anglicised as Morris dance. Probably thanks to their
African origin, the dances were carried out by the men of the tribe
and this seems to have survived through the ages..."

"Morris dances can be performed with sticks, handkerchiefs or bare
hands and each is specific to a tune and dance. What you may have
been told is that there are lots of traditional styles each
originating from separate areas or villages. These variations or
traditions mean any dancer who is in a large gathering will know
exactly what he is going to do when the squire announces...'Constant
Billy in the Bledington tradition'. The dance will be performed,
using long sticks, to the tune and steps of that region. This means
in theory, no-one should be doing any extra steps or movements or be
carrying their handkerchiefs. There are around 20 major traditions
practiced today and around 200 popular dances so you can see the
possibility of 4000 or so entirely different..."

http://www.lancre-morris-men.co.uk/plussite/faq.html


Also, a little musical bonus, aka Roundworld's own version of All
the Little Angels:

http://www.lancre-morris-men.co.uk/plussite/disc-songs.html

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

14) IMAGES OF THE MONTH

NADWCON plushies Death of Rats and Librarian playing the new
Discworld board game "Guards! Guards!":

http://tinyurl.com/3s4ow2s

Banananana art:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/donnad/this-art-is-bananas

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

15) WHERE THE MULTIVERSES MEET

15.1 ANTHILL INSIDE!

"Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has developed a
framework for decentralized coordination based on the eusocial
behaviors seen in ant colonies... The primary purpose of the Ant-
Based Cyber Defense is to reduce the level of required human
involvement in problem detection and resolution while retaining the
human ability to intervene as desired. The second purpose is to
enable separate enclaves to cooperate in their cyber defense while
maintaining their privacy and proprietary data. A hierarchy is
needed to give the humans at the top a single point of access to
enclave-wide security information, but the monitoring and resolution
are decentralized, bringing the sensor to the data rather than vice-
versa... Currently, development is underway in to use the digital
ant approach as a security mechanism.."

http://i4.pnnl.gov/news/digitalants.stm


15.2 SOMETHING EERIE...

"Monday's keynote was given by MIT professor Robert Langer, a
brilliant biotechnologist and entertaining speaker, who provided an
inspiring review of his work developing drug delivery systems and
other treatment technologies that combine biology, chemistry, and
electronics. His current work involves cartilage tissue engineering,
including the remarkable accomplishment of growing an ear-shaped
structure on a rabbit, and also the re-growth of spinal tissues in
animals. He encouraged the audience to persevere, noting that in his
early days of work, 'no one believed in what I was doing,' and
predicted that ALD will become a mainstream technology with wide
applicability..."

http://tinyurl.com/6hb7oy7


Thanks go to several readers including mailinutile for these items!
– Ed.


15.3 WOT, NO S.W.A.L.K? LOOKS LIKE A JOB FOR MOIST, GROAT, AND
STANLEY...

Duncan of BU wrote to say:

"Sounds like the USPS could use a reformer... Or at least hire Moist
to deliver a letter:

"'A love letter written to a Pennsylvania college student and
proclaiming "love forever" was finally delivered – 53 years late.
But the tender note written in 1958 still waits forlornly in the
mailroom at California University of Pennsylvania as officials
search for its intended recipient, Clark Moore, now about 70 years
old and living near Indianapolis, according to university
spokeswoman Christine Kindl. The letter, sent from Pittsburgh and
postmarked February 20, 1958, arrived in the mailroom last week,
Kindl said. 'No one here has any idea why it was delayed,' she said.
The letter had been addressed to Mr. Clark C. Moore, then a junior
at the university, which was known at the time as California State
Teachers College, she said. It included a return address, but little
other information about the sender, who signed the letter, 'Love
Forever, Vonnie'."

http://cl.ly/8Sqo

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

16) DISCWORLD AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE

Blogger Transremaxculver has posted a fine essay on the Discworld
series and the meaning of Discworld:

"It seems to me that the Discworld takes one step to the side of the
world as we know it. In this sense the Discworld is our world, but
liberated from the restrictions of having to fiddle about getting
every little geographical and historical detail absolutely right. As
well as this it seems that because, it is one step to the side, it
is able to offer up things that most people really know about
Roundworld anyway, as 'realities' of the Discworld, without the
reader feeling the need to argue any political points. Because of
this Sir Terry is able to litter the landscape of the Disc not just
with fantastical creations, and fascinating characters, but also
with truisms..."

http://tinyurl.com/3nsjgam

Also, here be another essay by the same blogger – "Sir Terry
Pratchett. What he means to me.":

"I don't think there is a single published story of his that I have
not read at least once, though naturally some stick in my mind more
than others. I was introduced to the Discworld by a friend, who's
main advice was to read every footnote. At the time I didn't really
understand what she meant, but now I do. There sometimes seems as if
there is enough inspiration in just one of Sir Terry's footnotes to
write an entire new novel..."

http://tinyurl.com/3b3gcsg

...and a third, a pleasant ramble about Discworld witches and
headology that leads into musings about the Milgram Experiment:

"I tried in an earlier article to describe what I think the
Discworld is, though I wasn't particularly successful: but given
that Sir Terry Pratchett: the author of books concerning said
circular flat planet rotating atop the backs of four great elephants
standing on the carapace of a 12,000 mile long turtle, says he
doesn't know what it is any more, I am I suppose in good company.
I wondered if a better way to go would be to think about the
characters on the Discworld, and what better place to start than my
favourite Discworld character Granny Weatherwax..."

http://transremaxculver.wordpress.com/2011/07/18/1193/


Blogger Incurable Bluestocking reviews Witches Abroad:

"Fairy tales emphasize, as few things do, the power that a story
has. And when it comes to that point, no-one, but no-one, hits the
nail quite so firmly on the head as Terry Pratchett. I'm so
grateful to him for giving me the phrase 'theory of narrative
causality'. It explains so much of what I believe about stories
and about life (and about how little difference there is between the
two, sometimes — and how much)... I love this book. Next to Lords
and Ladies, it's my favourite of the Discworld Witches series,
because it mixes together so many things that are just wonderful
treats for me — fairy tales, folklore, the power of stories, the
ambiance of New Orleans, the family dynamics. It's also just so
much fun. I love when you can tell that an author must have just had
a blast writing a book, and that gleeful sensation permeates Witches
Abroad. It's a wonderful book that gets better each time I revisit
it, because I'm always noticing something new. As with the whole
of this series, I heartily recommend it — particularly if you'd
like to have some deep thoughts and ponder some meaningful things
without having to read a particularly dense book to get there..."

http://tinyurl.com/3lwuafa


Blogger Shuggie reviews Carpe Jugulum:

"Carpe Jugulum is certainly a lot of fun. It has some interesting
things to say about Faith. I'm not sure there was anything
radically new in it. As I've said by this stage, book 23, we've
touched on most of Pratchett's favourite subjects before, so
there's a lot of familiar ground. But these are characters I enjoy
spending time with. I liked the vampires, I like Agnes and I still
like Nanny and Granny – though her black-and-white belief in her
own rightness pushed me on that..."

http://tinyurl.com/3dd8jkd


A shortish review of ISWM by blogger The Crimson Scar:

"Unlike most of Pratchett's novels, which hit the ground running,
I Shall Wear Midnight starts out rather slowly and gathers steam as
it progresses. Is it worth the wait? Most definitely. If you read
the other Tiffany Aching novels, then you'll be glad to take
another journey down the path to adulthood with Tiffany – the
nine-year-old girl who read the dictionary for fun (because no one
told her not to) is slowly but surely coming into her own; if
you've never read another Discworld book in your life, you'll
still be delighted by the twists and turns of this coming-of-age
tale. One thing I've always enjoyed about [Pratchett's] writing is
his ability to delve straight into the human condition, the human
psyche, with such grace and ease and humor that readers can fool
themselves into believing they're only reading a fantasy novel..."

http://tinyurl.com/3jh9qkr


A loving, detailed and good-humoured review of Soul Music by The
Labyrinth Librarian:

"This book can be seen as a companion to the earlier Moving Pictures
as an examination of and homage to popular culture. By transplanting
it to the Discworld, Pratchett is able to look at rock music from
the point of view of people who've never even thought about such a
thing before, and who can more easily see the magic of it. And of
course, it's his big chance to make as many music jokes, puns and
references as humanly possible... It's a sort of love letter to rock
and roll and all that it has brought us. From teenyboppers to punk
to the horrible misuses of leather and spandex, it holds a mirror up
to the way that rock music has influenced our modern culture. But it
does not mock, oh no. It shows great attention to and reverence for
this young art form that has done so much to change the world. To
list all the references made in this book would be nearly
impossible, but the amount of work and thought that went into making
it is quite clear. More importantly, though, the book addresses some
questions that are a little deeper than the simple rock and roll
jokes...."

http://thelablib.org/2011/06/23/review-128-soul-music/


A longish, well-intentioned though ultimately rather incompetent
analysis-cum-review of Sourcery by Sarah of Skells. Worth reading in
a how-not-to-do-it way, perhaps:

http://bookofskells.wordpress.com/2011/06/30/book-review-sourcery/


Musings on the wisdom of Pratchett by thesilverhorde:

http://tinyurl.com/3kmqey3


...and to finish, a short, surprised-thumbs-up review of TAMAHER by
blogger Jay:

http://tinyurl.com/3wpq2gh

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

18) DISCWORLD ARTS AND CRAFTS NEWS

From PJSM Prints come four rather amazing-looking Paul Kidby prints,
all well known to Discworld fans. All prints are hand-signed by Sir
Pterry in silver pen (see below) and mounted; each print is 420mm X
297mm and is from an exclusive limited edition of 950.

The prints are: a worldscape of the Disc, with elephants, tiny sun
and of course Great A'Tuin, as seen from space; a portrait of Death
resting his chin on his steepled fingerbones; another of Death, with
kitten; and the iconic Greebo "Something wicked this way comes"
portrait.

Price for each print is £30.00

For more information, and to order, go to:

http://www.pjsmprints.com/colourprints/large.html


About that silver pen: Pterry ptweeted on his Ptwitter account,
"Just signed mounts with silver pen... it looks like brandy removes
Sharpie ink from fingers. Well, that's my excuse."

[It's worth noting that the Great A'Tuin print is apparently already
sold out, but as the "NOW SOLD OUT" image doesn't feature Pterry's
signature, it's worth checking anyway – Ed.]

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

14) CLOSE

And now it's back to bed for me. We'll see you soon with your July
horoscope and any late-breaking news...

– Annie Mac

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

———————————————————————————————————
The End. If you have any questions or requests, write:
interact@...
———————————————————————————————————
Copyright (c) 2011 by Klatchian Foreign Legion

WOSSNAME
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
July 2011 (Volume 14, Issue 6, Post 2)
*****************************************************************

1) YOUR DISCWORLD HOROSCOPE FOR JULY
2) CLOSE

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

1) THE NEW DISCWORLD HOROSCOPE
by Fernando Magnifico

Buongiorno, it is I, Fernando Magnifico, and I shall be your
astrologer this month for the Lady Asterisk has been called away for
an unexpected prognostication emergency in Sto Kerrig.

My friends, Fernando has received the clacks from one of his dearest
fans, "5ux-2BU" who asks:

"Deer Furnadno,

I want 2B teh D4rk L0rd like Evil Harry Bread. Wat shud i do?"

My dear friend 5ux, the first thing the stars say is that to be a
successful Dark Lord, you need to plan ahead. Fernando is sadnessed
to say that you have not got the good start here, for you neglected
to mention what your star sign is! But do not be afeared my friend,
for Fernando is prepared to "bend over the backwards to help" as
they say, and so this month Fernando will be writing about the Dark
Lords for everybody! For there are the very many different kinds of
Dark Lord, and now with Fernando's help, and the wisdom of the
stars, you will know which Dark Lord is best for you.

Ciao bella!

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Adamant Hedgehog  21 Mar - 20 Apr

Hoggers, of all the types of Dark Lord, the stars say you are the
most suited for the Glorious Leader, and have your very own
Bananananananana Republic. My friends, you can learn much from
Brindisi, for it is famous for the quality and number of our
Glorious Leaders. Fernando remembers the last such Glorious Leader,
when Fernando was the small boy, the Generalissimo Beni Il Ducke. If
only you could have seen Il Ducke, strutting in his finest uniform,
with the medals and the gold braid and the feathers and the more
medals, what a magnificent sight it was to see – not quite as
magnificent as Fernando, even at the tender age of seven, but still
the molto magnificent! But of course you could not have seen Il
Ducke, for he had Morporkians shot on sight (he *was* a Dark Lord,
and they will have their hobbies). Il Ducke was overthrown by the
Peoples Revolutionary Committee For Revolution. Ah, such exciting
times. If not for the terror and the horror, Fernando would miss
them.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Half-Eaten Sandwich  21 Apr - 21 May

Munchers, this one is for the ladies, for the stars tell Fernando
that your Dark Lord is, in fact, the Ice Queen. Not to be mistaken
for the Ice Maiden, or the Ice Cream, or the Dairy Queen (easy
mistakes to make, Fernando knows), you will be best suited for
ruling from a castle made of ice up near the Hub. The stars warn
that it is not easy to be the successful Ice Queen – if it were
easy, there would be the Ice Kings too. You rule over a country in
permanent winter, which makes it difficult to feed your soldiers.
And while other Dark Lords can rely on their fearsome reputation to
frighten away at least some heroes, your reputation will only lead
to a constant stream of heroes seeking to "warm you up", if you get
Fernando's meaning. At least you will be amused by where they get
the frost-bite.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Herne the Hunted  22 May - 21 Jun

Hernians, the stars tell Fernando that your favoured Dark Lord is
the hardest one to do well: the Thud Meister. While other Dark Lords
are raising armies and dispatching assassins, you will conquer by
brains, not force of arms, using your two weapons of cunning, and
trickery, and alliances with others. Your *three* weapons of
cunning, trickery, alliances with others, and betrayal. And the
ability to think twelve moves ahead. My friends, listen to the
advice of the stars: as the Thud Meister, you will find it easy to
manipulate your enemies so that while they *believe* they are trying
to overthrow you, they are in fact working *for* you to defeat your
rivals and consolidate your power. Your only weakness is a tendency
to over-confidence. If you ever find yourself crying
"Inconceivable!" when your plans start to go awry, it's time to
gather all the gold you can lift and retire to the Slakki Islands.

[Editor's note: The Editor would like to take great pains to assure
readers that, despite his preference for wearing black, and his
well-known skill at Thud, neither Fernando nor this publication mean
to imply that Lord Vetinari is a Dark Lord of any form. Unless he
would like to be, in which case we are sure he would be very good at
it.]

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Wizard's Staff and Knob  22 Jun - 22 Jul

Staffies, as the most magical of the signs, you will be aware of the
strict hierarchy of magic users: at the very bottom are
thaumaturgists, followed by conjurers, magicians, foreign wizards
who haven't attended Unseen University, proper wizards of UU, and
finally Sourcerers (may we never see their like again!). Fernando
notes that neither witches nor warlocks are included in this
hierarchy. But listen carefully to Fernando as he tells you a little
known fact which the wizards would prefer be forgotten: there is
another grade of magic user, outranking all but Sourcerers: the
Witch-king. My friends, the stars tell Fernando that the Dark Lord
you are best suited for is the Witch-king, ruling from a lonely
fortress overlooking a desolate and wind-swept moor. Listen to the
stars on this, my friends, and beware of short people with furry
feet and cross-dressing women carrying shields. Trust Fernando on
this!

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Bilious, God of Hangovers  23 Jul - 23 Aug

Bilians, most Dark Lords are sober, serious individuals, focused on
their ultimate aim of executing the hero, conquering the
neighbouring nations, or just staying alive for a thousand years.
But then there are the other sort, who have the unfortunate troubles
with the vino, to say nothing of the harder substances. My friends,
you don't need Fernando to tell you which sort you will be... but
Fernando will do so anyway, for he is conscientious. The stars warn
that as a Dark Lord, your Bilian tendency to over-doing the vino
does not change, and quite likely will be worse. So do not be
surprised if you find yourself appointing your favourite pet shark
as Minister For The Arts, heading off on an invasion of Klatch at
two in the morning in search of a good curry, or declaring war on
the Sugar Plum Fairies living in your underwear drawer.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

My Uncle's Nose  24 Aug - 23 Sept

Nosers, Fernando knows that while all Dark Lords are wicked, some
are so terribly wicked, so moltissimo wicked, that nobody dares use
their names lest doing so summons them in accordance with the
demonic law. (Fernando does not judge – if we were all good,
heroes would have nobody to fight to prove they were heroic.) For
this reason, such Dark Lords are usually called "He Who Must Not Be
Named", "She Who Must Be Obeyed", or "Whatzizname No Don't Tell Me,
It's Right On The Tip Of My Tongue, I'll Get It In A Moment". But be
warned, my friends, for Fernando knows that there is always some
hero who isn't frightened to call such Dark Lords by their real
name, and it is them that you must beware of, for they are either
absolutely fearless, or incredibly stupid, and either way it will be
the molto difficult to defeat them. Especially if they are the
somewhat fearless, not always stupid, and were brought up in a
cupboard under the stairs.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Small Boring Group of Faint Stars  24 Sept - 23 Oct

Many people think that Boring'uns will be the especially unsuited
for the career as Dark Lord, but do not be fooled my friends, under
the timid exterior of the Boring'un often beats the heat of the
monstrous Dark Lord. A very timid Dark Lord, it is true, best suited
for lounging around eating the peeled grapes and stroking the white
cat, but still a Dark Lord. While other Dark Lords are out
slaughtering their enemies, you are more likely to ignore them in
the hope that they will get bored and go away – the tactic which
works surprisingly often, in the case of the molto egotistical
heroes who are in it just for the attention. Sadly though, you will
be unlikely to inspire your followers by either force of personality
or fear, and so you can expect them to abandon or betray you at the
first sign of trouble. In fact, the stars recommend that you start
transferring your riches into a secret Ankh-Morpork bank account
immediately you gain power: don't wait for your lieutenant to come
knocking at your bed chamber at 3am with a squad of hand-picked
guards and extremely sharp swords.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Androgyna Majestis  24 Oct - 22 Nov

Fernando knows that to be the successful Dark Lord, you need to have
single-minded focus on your aim, whether it is to rule the Disc,
kidnap the princess, or simply to build the extension on the Shed Of
Doom. For Andies, who often have the two distinct sides, it is often
hard to focus on just the *one* thing instead of the many-tasking.
But do not be afeared my friends, for while this would be the
disadvantage for other Dark Lords, you will be able to make it work
to your benefit. While your enemies are working hard to disrupt your
operations in Borogravia, you will be destabilising the economy of
Muntab. By the time they realise what you are doing, and move to
stop you, you will be taking over the Agatean Slab trade. And so it
goes, you'll always have more plans underway than your enemies can
possibly guess. Your only weakness is the regrettable tendency to
have so many plans on the go that some of them clash and cancel each
other out. Listen carefully to Fernando's advice: use a notebook.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Spoons, a.k.a. the Greater and Lesser Spoons, 23 Nov - 21 Dec

Spooners, thanks to the conjunction of the Greater and Lesser Spoons
with the constellation of Kzw-Twqdcxsg the Thing From the Dungeon
Dimensions, your Dark Lord of choice is to be the Chief Servant of
the Eldritch Horror. You will have the opportunity to lord over the
lesser servants, and you will probably be granted the dread
supernatural powers, and best of all, there are very few heroes who
are prepared to tackle the Eldritch Horrors. Fernando has to warn
you though, there is a downside of being the human face to an
Eldritch Horror from a nightmare dimension. Eldritch Horrors care
little for riches and will not give you much opportunity to get
wealthy. Also, they are sure to eventually eat you alive. What can
Fernando say? It is one of those things... fish must swim, Feegles
must steal, and Eldritch Horrors must eat their servants alive.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Hoki the Jokester  22 Dec - 20 Jan

Hokians, when they are not playing the practical jokes, are often
very good at staying out of people's attention. The stars tell
Fernando that this trait is very useful for your preferred type of
Dark Lord: the Immense Grease, or the Man Behind The Man. Not for
you is the risk and danger of sitting on the throne in the Dark
Castle, of fighting off the many assassination attempts from your
trusted lieutenants and the challenges from every passing hero. No,
let Fernando tell you that it is the much safer to be the man
whispering the advice into the ear of some hapless Dark Lord who
foolishly thinks that just because he has got the enchanted sword,
he knows what is going on. If you play your cards right (as they say
on the Vieux River boats), you can be trusted or at least feared by
*all* of the lieutenants, so no matter who wins, your position will
still be safe.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Big Chicken  21 Jan - 18 Feb

Squawkers, the stars tell Fernando that you have the tendency to
follow the hierarchies and "pecking orders". This personality does
not fit well with those of the tradizionale Dark Lords, where every
Dark Lord thinks of himself as the equal to every other Dark Lord.
As the saying goes, "A Dark Lord's Shed of Doom is his Evil Empire".
But do not be discouraged my friends, for although Dark Lords are
notoriously egalitarian there is one Dark Lord that all agree is of
the higher rank: the Evil Overlord. Of course there is the much
competition for position of Evil Overlord. But look at the bright
side, my friends. You will never be bothered by heroes trying to
overthrow you and destroy your throne – they won't be able to get
within *miles* of your castle, not with all the Dark Lords queued up
to overthrow you and take your throne!

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Lesser Umbrage   19 Feb - 20 Mar

Umbragians, there are Dark Lords, there are Evil Overlords, and
there are Chief Evil Overlords, or CEOs. Why stop at Dark Lord when
you can be CEO? Fernando knows that there are the many advantages.
Instead of being shunned, you will have the friends in all the right
places. Bankers, governments, kings and high-priests will be
queueing up to come to your parties, and you will be invited to all
the best smoke-filled back rooms to discuss politics with the
shadowy figures. While other Dark Lords are spending their time
fighting off the heroes and rebels on their own penny, you will have
the local government to do your dirty work for you, and it won't
cost you a brass farthing. Truly the stars have smiled upon you this
month, cara mia.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

2) CLOSE: CLIMBING CORI CELESTI

Otherwise known as "support a yeti hunter and help save the House
of Hex": long-serving Discworld fan Asti, who happens to be the
granddaughter of WOSSNAME's founder Joe Schaumburger and whose
iconograph in assorted Discworld costume has been featured here on
several occasions over the years, is heading off on the 16th of
August to climb Mount Everest! What's the occasion? Well, it's a
celebration of a milestone birthday (a lady never says *which*
milestone) and also a means to call attention to the plight of
Bletchley Park. And of course, to check if any yetis or History
Monks have sneaked across to Roundworld through a tear in the
interdimensional rubber sheet.

Asti will be wearing the official UU scarf at Base Camp. She
informed Pterry of this; his reply was: "@MsAsti if you are serious
about Everest, please take a photo for us! Oh, and good luck."

To read Asti's blog about the projec-, mad schem-, erm, challenge
and how it turns out, go to:

http://abc-ebc.blogspot.com/

There's also a JustGiving link there, for all Hex lovers who want to
support the Bletchley Park appeal! Contributions have increased
significantly in the past day or so, but there's a long way to go to
protect this historic site. Ponder Stibbons would approve... and so
does Her Majesty, who visited Bletchley earlier this month to unveil
a memorial to the Enigma Code breakers:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14164529


Meanwhile, your Editor and family continue to battle the Dread
Lurgi, but things are looking up; I had an entire day out of bed
yesterday, hurrah! And now it's back to bed again, however. See you
next month!

– Annie Mac

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

———————————————————————————————————
If you have any questions or requests, write:
interact@...
———————————————————————————————————
Copyright (c) 2011 by Klatchian Foreign Legion

WOSSNAME
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
SPECIAL EARLY EXTRA
August 2011 (Volume 14, Issue 8, post 1)
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

INDEX:

01) EDITOR'S LETTER
02) GOING, GOING, FOR A GOOD CAUSE: SNUFF SIGNED BOUND PROOF AUCTION
ONLINE *RIGHT NOW*

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

01) A SHORT LETTER FROM YOUR EDITOR...

This one came through just a few hours too late to make the last
July post!

One likes to think that no Pratchett aficionados *anywhere* have
more money than sense, but it's a cert that some WOSSNAME readers
might just have more money than they need at the moment – and if
so, we invite you to bid on something very special on eBay. Read on
for details...

– Annie Mac, Editor

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

02) BUY A BOOK AND SAVE A BADGER, A SWAN, OR...

Remember Secret World, the wildlife rescuers that Pterry donated to
(as featured in the March issue of WOSSNAME) when they were trying
to catch a serial swan killer? One of their ongoing projects,
timelier than ever now, is the protection of UK badgers. Now this is
your opportunity to contribute to Secret World by being the winning
bidder in the current Snuff signed bound proof auction!

The bidding has just started and already is up to £255, with nearly
a week left to go (6 days, 20 hours left as of right now). All
proceeds of the auction will go to Secret World.

Snuff is a very, very good book. Trust me on this...

To go directly to the auction page:

http://tinyurl.com/432gem8


To see an enlarged image of the cover, plus a bonus iconograph of
Sir Pterry, Chief Mouser Patch, and the prize book, go to:

http://www.pjsmprints.com/news/

(You can also access the auction page by clicking on either image there)


Secret World's homepage:

http://www.secretworld.org/


Happy bidding!

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

———————————————————————————————————
The End. If you have any questions or requests, write:
interact@...
———————————————————————————————————
Copyright (c) 2011 by Klatchian Foreign Legion

WOSSNAME
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
August 2011 (Volume 14, Issue 8, Post 2)
********************************************************************
WOSSNAME is a free publication for members of the worldwide
Klatchian Foreign Legion and its affiliates, including the North
American Discworld Society and other continental groups. Are you a
member? Yes, if you sent in your name, country and e-mail address.
Are there any dues? No! As a member of the Klatchian Foreign Legion,
you'd only forget them...
********************************************************************
Editor in Chief: Annie Mac
News Editor: Fiona (not Bruce) Bruce
Newshounds: Vera, Mogg, Sir J of Croydon Below, the Shadow
Staff Writers: Asti, Pitt the Elder, Steven D'Aprano
Convention Reporters: Mithtrethth Hania Ogg et al
Staff Technomancer: Jason Parlevliet
Book Reviews: Drusilla D'Afanguin
Puzzle Editor: Tiff
Bard in Residence: Weird Alice Lancrevic
DW Horoscope: Lady Anaemia Asterisk, Fernando Magnifico
Emergency Staff: Jason Parlevliet
World Membership Director: Steven D'Aprano (in his copious spare
time)
Copyright 2011 by Klatchian Foreign Legion

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

INDEX:

01) QUOTES OF THE MONTH
02) LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
03) "SNUFF" NEWS
04) PTERRY'S NEW SCOUT BADGE
05) DISCWORLD STARS IN ANIMAL RESCUE
06) PTERRY JUDGES DOG (BUT NOT PONY) SHOW
07) THE BEST DISCWORLD PUB IN ROUNDWORLD
08) DISCWORLD GAMES NEWS
09) DISCWORLD CONVENTION NEWS
10) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS
11) DISCWORLD GROUPS MEETING NEWS
12) DISCWORLD ARTS AND CRAFTS NEWS
13) REVIEW: ISWM
14) ACTION REPLAY: BANANANA DAIQUIRIS
15) THE INESCAPABLE AGNESSNESS OF AGNES NITT
16) IMAGES OF THE MONTH
17) FROM THE FANS: SNUFF TEASER THOUGHTS
18) DISCWORLD AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE
19) DISCWORLD DIARIES ROUND-UP
20) CLOSE

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

01) QUOTES OF THE MONTH

"Um. The Nac Mac Feegle are not Scottish. There is no Scotland on
Discworld. They may, in subtle ways, suggest some aspects of the
Scottish character as filtered through the media, but that's because
of quantum."

– Terry Pratchett

"Terry Pratchett taught me you can say far more with a dragon and a
magic sword than you can with a human alone. Before I got into his
Discworld series I left sci-fi and fantasy alone, thinking it had
nothing much for anyone over the age of 16. Now most of my favourite
books have a little bit of magic in them somewhere!"

– Dani Solomon, Australian bookseller

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

02) A LETTER FROM YOUR EDITOR

Book covers: often controversial things that can make or break a
potential first-time reader's interest. Over the years I keep coming
across people who either were first drawn to try a Discworld novel
because they were so taken by Josh Kirby's cover art, and people who
found the Kirby covers so repellent that they refused to so much as
consider what might be between them. I've always made it clear that
I was (and remain) in the second category, even though I find most
of Kirby's *non*-Discworld work fantastically appealing. In some of
the posts featured in this issue's Discworld Around the Blogosphere
section, as it happens, you'll find Pratchett fans on both sides of
the Kirby covers divide. I'm sure that goes to show something, but
I'm hedgehogged if I know what...

I do have to admit that I'm quite taken with the "black cover"
reissues of Discworld (and other Pratchett) novels, but then this is
no great surprise; whenever I buy or am given a book, one of the
first things I do is remove its dust jacket and consign it to the
recycling bin (or in the case of each Paul Kidby Discworld cover,
store it safely for occasional viewing delight). I like my book
covers to be as plain as possible. My Dearly Beloved and I have been
at quiet war over this for many years, since he's the sort of book
owner who not only keeps dust covers but also mummifies them in
protective plastic (I tend to make sarcastic comments about these
being the pleasure-killing equivalent of wearing several, well,
let's say the word 'sonky' enters the conversation now and again).
Anyway... earlier this week I came across an image of the old (Josh
Kirby) and new (black cover) Colour of Magic covers side by side,
which I present here:

http://tinyurl.com/3et25y7

I'm not trying to convert you to my own tastes, O Readers, but
seriously, can you say "less is more", eh?

Now if I could only find someone who can explain the mystery of why
the USA cover art for Unseen Academicals has what looks rather like
a basketball surrounded by reaching hands rather than reaching
feet...


– Annie Mac

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

03) SNUFF NEWS

3.1 OFFICIAL SPOILAGE FOR YOUR READING PLEASURE

Have some Snuff! The opening pages are August's official teaser:

http://www.terrypratchett.co.uk/snuff/


3.2 SNUFF AUCTION RESULTS

The recent charity auction of a signed bound proof of Snuff (as
featured in this month's early edition on 1st August) raised nearly
a thousand pounds for wildlife rescue organisation Secret World! The
winning bid of £920.00 was entered by Dr Per Stalby of Sweden.

PJSM Prints say:
"Commiserations to everyone else, but at least you still have a
signed copy to look forward to!"

http://www.paulkidby.com/news/index.html


Remember, Snuff will be out on 13th October, but you can pre-order
now. Signed copies are now available for pre-order from PJSM Prints:

http://www.paulkidby.com/news/index.html
http://www.paulkidby.com/books/index.html

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

04) DIB DIB DISC, OR PTERRY'S NEW SCOUT BADGE

Here's a different sort of award for our favourite author:

"Actress Emma Watson, British funnyman Stephen Fry and beloved
author Sir Terry Pratchett have been honoured by the British Scout
Association for their inspirational charity work. The trio was among
the group of heroes who received special Scout badges as the
traditional boys' organisation celebrated its 104th birthday..."

http://tinyurl.com/3njllhl

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

05) DISCWORLD STARS IN ANIMAL RESCUE

No, not Pterry and company, but some other familiar names we all
know and love:

"A five week old abandoned otter cub is receiving comfort from two
orphaned kittens at the Secret World Wildlife Rescue Centre near
Highbridge. The cub, which has been called Otto Chriek, is lucky to
be alive after he and another baby otter were found abandoned in
Lincolnshire. Secret World founder Pauline Kidner said both tiny
animals were in a very cold and dehydrated state and Otto's sibling
died within a few hours. 'Then four tiny kittens found near their
dead mother in long grass in Cossington were brought in so we put
two of them in with Otto for the mutual warmth and comfort so
desperately needed by orphans in the early stages of their lives,'
she said.

"Pauline said the kittens will remain with Otto for the next week
and then go to new homes. The kittens: Lily Weatherwax, Cheery
Littlebottom, Adora Belle Dearheart and Lord Haverlock [sic]
Vetinari and the otter Otto Chriek have all been named after
characters from Sir Terry Pratchett's Discworld book series. This is
to show thanks for the support that Sir Terry Pratchett has shown
the charity this year.

"Visitors will be able to view the otter cub on a webcam when Secret
World holds its Bank Holiday Animal Bonanza Open Weekend at New
House Farm, East Huntspill on August 27,28 and 29 between 10am and
4pm."

http://tinyurl.com/3jtzeaw


Also, here be a wonderful iconograph – the cover of Secret World's
latest online newsletter features Pterry, with a lovely owl, taken
(the photo, not the owl!) during his recent visit to the rescuers:

http://tinyurl.com/3zettma

[Do read the 'zine while you're there! – Ed.]


Oh, and according to Secret World's Twitter page, Pterry now has
some new garden residents:

"Sara went to see Terry Pratchett today and took some hedgehogs for
their garden. Wonderful wildlife gardens and surrounding area."

"The hedgehogs are doing fine – thank you – but we feel it's time to
name them. There's two boys and two girls..."

"And as @lizzieloubi suggested it, one of the girls is Loubi."

"Spikey Norris is too good to miss and so he's a definite for one of
the boys."

http://twitter.com/#!/terryandrob

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

06) PTERRY JUDGES DOG (BUT NOT PONY) SHOW

From the Salisbury Journal:

"With 700 entries in the dog show, a famous guest, £7,000 raised
for charity and more than 1,500 visitors, Broad Chalke flower show
and fete on Saturday can rightly be described as a resounding
success... The first Broad Chalke dog show was also held with 11 fun
classes. There was stiff competition for the Best in Show class
which was judged by local resident author Sir Terry Pratchett. After
much deliberation, this was awarded to Joyce Jones and her Sheltie,
Holly. All the money from the dog show, and half the profits from
the flower show and fete, will go to Salisbury Hospice, with the
other half going to local charities and clubs."

http://tinyurl.com/3oreyae

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

07) THE BEST DISCWORLD PUB IN ROUNDWORLD

The Bear in Wincanton, long the mainstay of Discworld events, has
come first in a nationwide "best pubs" poll!

In This is Somerset:

"A 300-year-old pub in Wincanton has been added to a list of 100
famous British inns and given a commemorative plaque to put on
display. The Bear in Market Place is one of the oldest pubs in the
area, dating back to the early 18th century and has been placed on
the list by sponsors Famous Grouse. The top 100 pubs were picked out
for their history and quirkiness in a celebration of unique drinking
dens across the country.

"Landlord Ian Wainwright said: 'The low beams and original features
make this a special place to come for a drink in Wincanton and I
think this plaque has recognised that. It will be going up behind
the bar. We have had customers from America and Europe come and stay
and they love the history of the building. The great fire of
Wincanton that destroyed much of the town was said to have started
in this pub and it was also an important stop off for travellers on
their way to Cornwall from London... The history of this pub is
great but it is the customers that make it such a special place,'
said Mr Wainwright. 'It is very welcoming here and the open fire
certainly helps attract people in for a drink in winter. They can
walk in and feel comfortable and we have customers visit us from all
over the world for the Discworld conventions, they love it...'"

http://tinyurl.com/3ftd4sy

http://www.thebearwincanton.co.uk/

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

08) DISCWORLD GAMES NEWS

8.1 GUARDS! GUARDS! NEWS

Game designers David Brashaw and Leonard Boyd discuss the
genesis of the Guards! Guards! game in a BBC video:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-14390034

http://www.guardsguards.com/about-guards-guards.aspx


News of the Guards! Guards! launch next month:

"Belfast digital agency, Gravity has joined forces with the world's
leading fantasy novelist Sir Terry Pratchett and Backspindle Games
to devise an e-commerce platform and social media strategy for the
release of a board game based on one of his best-loved novels.
Gravity, based in the Cathedral Quarter, will ensure fans throughout
the US and Europe are able to buy the board game based on Sir
Terry's novel, Guards!Guards!, from his popular and long running
Discworld series.

"Gravity is the digital partner for Backspindle Games which has
designed the new game. Gravity Director Draven McConville said: 'We
are very excited about this. All of us are great fans of Sir Terry
and are looking forward to doing our part to get this game out to
the thousands of Discworld devotees throughout the US and Europe.'
It is also developing a mobile app so that fans can enjoy strategy
tips and background on the Guards!Guards! game at any time, check
out the Guards! Guards! App! page for more information..."

For more information on Gravity, visit www.creategravity.com.

from http://www.guardsguards.com/blog/5-guards-guards-launch.aspx


"Gravity's three directors are brand strategy expert Draven
McConville, web developer Terry Kernan and software engineer Kevin
Lewis. All three are highly respected in the digital media field and
have brought existing customers with them to their new enterprise."

http://www.creategravity.com/a-gravity-fantasy-275


Guards! Guards! will be released at Titancon in September:

http://www.titancon.com/


In the Belfast Telegraph:

"Northern Ireland firms are bringing fantasy land Discworld to life
with a board game version of one of cult novelist Sir Terry
Pratchett's novels... David Bradshaw and Leonard Boyd of Backspindle
Games Ltd took almost 20 years to bring 'Guards! Guards!' to market.
They've now teamed up with a Belfast digital agency to sell the
product – based on the eighth Discworld book – which is proving
a hit at big gaming conventions all over the world... Keeping local
links, Belfast firm Gravity was selected to run a website, online
shop and smartphone app for the game. The site will market and sell
the board game to the US and Europe and will also sell related
promotional material such as T-shirts and bookmarks. Gravity will
also carry out a social media strategy to use sites such as Twitter,
Facebook, blogs, podcasts and online forums to market the game...
'Guards! Guards!' was premiered at a Discworld convention in
Madison, Wisconsin, three weeks ago and is expected to get a UK
launch at Belfast's own TitanCon in September. 'It's been a long
road but we are so glad it is finally coming to life and it has
Terry's blessing,' said Leonard..."

http://tinyurl.com/3n5eybs


More information can be found on:

www.facebook.com/guardsguards
www.twitter.com/guardsguards
www.guardsguards.com



8.2 ANKH-MORPORK NEWS

Deluxe Edition update, looking good:

"We've had a number of folks asking about the pieces for the
deluxe version of Ankh-Morpork. Ideally I would have shots of the
final pieces, but they are still being cast. Here is a shot of the
original sculptures that the resin pieces will be cast from. Note
that that means the final pieces will be coloured."

http://www.treefroggames.com/deluxe-edition

http://www.treefroggames.com/ankh-morpork


Remember, the UK launch will be on Saturday 3rd September at
Eclectic Games in Reading:

"Dripping with Discworld flavour, boasting gorgeous artwork and fun,
compelling gameplay, Ankh Morpork more than lives up to the high
standards associated with both Discworld and Treefrog Games. Martin
Wallace will be here all day to demonstrate the game, explain the
finer points of what the differences between the Thieves Guild,
Fools Guild and Seamstress Guild cards mean from a design point of
view, and will probably deface your copy of the game with his
signature if you ask him politely. There will be cake, a small prize
for the best Discworld fancy dress, and of course, the game will be
available to purchase."

http://tinyurl.com/3ugwm4e

http://www.eclecticgames.co.uk/events.irs


8.3 AND IN THE OLD SCHOOL CORNER...

Discworld 2: Missing, Presumed...

Seraph writes:

"The first Discworld game was a rough adaptation of the events of
the book Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett, but replacing the
protagonist Sam Vimes with the 'Wizzard' Rincewind, probably the
most recognisable figure in the Discworld books due to the sheer
number of books based on him. Rincewind (voiced in both games by the
brilliant Eric Idle) was faced with the task of dealing with a
rather large dragon that was terrorising the city of Ankh-Morpork.
While many people praised the story-telling and acting, the game was
criticised for technical issues. Discworld 2 is a direct sequel to
the first game... I started playing Discworld 2 when I was 11.
Determined to beat it without cheating, I completed the game a mere
9 years later at the age of 20. How many games these days can boast
9 years of gameplay? I'll be amazed if the next Call of Duty
offers 9 minutes..."

"The script is perfect, distilled Pratchett throughout, and the
games get across the atmosphere of the books extremely well. The 2D
animated looks crisp and smooth even today, in a time when everyone
was trying very hard to make 3D games that weren't ugly pieces of
crap. While Discworld 2 is hard to find, and even harder to play
unless you have an old PC or Playstation lying around (Alas, it was
never really popular enough to warrant a PSN re-release), if you can
find it, and if you're a fan of Terry Pratchett, you cannot go
wrong..."

http://tinyurl.com/3d7kzdj


8.4 DISCWORLD GURPS: BACK IN THE GAME

Gamethyme writes:

"It should come as no surprise to many of you that I am a huge fan
of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series of novels. I was really
disappointed a few years back when Steve Jackson Games published
GURPS Discworld. But it's grown on me. Not a lot, mind you, because
I'm not a fan of GURPS. I have a number of their sourcebooks and
the (3rd Edition) core books. Since it was first released, I've been
trying to find a better system for the series.

"I occasionally make the mistake of mentioning this to people. They
inevitably ask me, 'Why don't you use Toon?' The answer to this
question is surprisingly simple: Because Toon is for wacky games.
The Disc is comical, but it's not wacky. The characters on the Disc
sometimes seem to be aware of the fact that they are characters.
What they're not aware of is that they are in a comedy..."

http://www.gamethyme.com/2011/06/discworld.html


But it seems the game is currently under scaffolding and undergoing
renovations...

"Sir Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels have become classics in
their own time. Their influence on modern fantasy has been profound;
they have entire conventions dedicated to them, and they've
inspired spin-off media that include art books, TV adaptations, and
games. One of those was the Discworld Roleplaying Game, for GURPS
Third Edition. The time has come to update it to GURPS Fourth
Edition!

"For over a year, Phil Masters has been hard at work doing exactly
that. He has merged the Discworld Roleplaying Game with GURPS
Discworld Also. He has expanded that content to cover Sir Terry's
writings over the decade since we released those books. And he has
updated all of the rules to GURPS Fourth Edition. The result? A
manuscript for a 400-page standalone RPG..."

http://roleplayerschronicle.com/?p=11414


Sean Punch says:

"I am reviewing the first draft of a new edition of the Discworld
Roleplaying Game. Phil Masters took the original, folded in GURPS
Discworld Also, updated everything to take into account Terry
Pratchett's tireless efforts since the previous edition (for
instance, Going Postal, Thud!, and Unseen Academicals), and switched
the rules over to GURPS Fourth Edition. As a result of all this
folding in, updating, and switching over, the first draft is large.
We're aiming for 400 pages, and as is customary in the RPG
business, the first draft is considerably beefier than the target
length. Thus, the review alone is going to take me a while! So
that's where I've been. I cannot give out more details on dates
right now. I must finish the review, and then Phil will want to make
whatever changes he feels should be made before the playtest..."

http://www.sjgames.com/ill/a/2011-07-05


The playtest (20-25 preselected testers) has already begun and will
run from 19th August to 30th September 2011.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

09) DISCWORLD CONVENTION NEWS

9.1 SOUTH AFRICAN DISCWORLD: THE EVENT BEFORE THE CONVENTION

For the first time ever, South Africa is going to get its own
Discworld Convention! But long before SADWcon comes SADWE: the South
African Discworld Event. Organiser Laura (Kitty-Cat) Shortridge, aka
The Kitten of Discworld, writes:

"With bright ideas and cunning plans September 10th 2011 should see
a gathering of Pratchett Appreciators and Discworld Aficionados
come-together to celebrate these works in a day-long convention-type
event, besides celebrating there will be a small presentation on how
to come together to start planning a full-blown Discworld Convention
2012..."

http://sadwcon.org/


"Do you know what a Discworld Convention is? It's an entire weekend
dedicated to all things Discworld and Pratchett, and it tends to
happen in far off countries like Australia, lucky bastards that they
are. Sir Terry himself is usually there, not to mention hundreds of
Discworld fans, and, as fans go, Discworld fans are the most awesome
types of fans in the world. True story... South Africans are about
to become those lucky bastards that get to go to Discworld
conventions... As it is, I'm one of the people setting up the event
and, I've gotta say, it's going to be bloody brilliant..."

For more details:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=195098337208793


"I discovered Pratchett's books at the not-so-tender age of
thirteen. It was during the tail end of a holiday with my parents to
America and England. At the time, I was just old enough to be filled
with teenage angst and not nearly old enough to see the joke that is
a thirteen year old girl wearing a ridiculously furry and huge black
coat, glaring all the way through an overseas trip due to the
embarrassment of actually having parents..."

http://kittenofdiscord.blogspot.com/2011/08/squee.html


Laura also sent further word to WOSSNAME:

"The very first South African Discworld Event will take place on
September 10, 2011 at The Bistro Garden Restaurant in Milnerton,
Cape Town. If you're an SA fan who loves Pratchett, you want to be
at this. Besides the screening of Going Postal, the reading from the
unpublished Snuff, free gifts and amazing Discworld collectors
items, this event offers the opportunity to be on the committee to
organize our first ever SA Discworld Convention, which, by all
appearances, Sir Terry will be at, or at least really wants to.

"Bring an appetite to eat food inspired by CMOT Dibbler and Nanny
Ogg, an outfit for the costume parade, all your Discworld knowledge
for the quiz and spending money for books and merchandise."

SADWcon on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/#!/sadwcon


9.2. GERMAN DISCWORLD CONVENTION 3

It's only a month and a bit until Scheibenwelt 3, the 2011 German
Discworld Convention, which runs from 30th September to 3rd October
at Castle Bilstein.

For ticket prices and to order:

http://www.scheibenwelt-convention.de/viewpage.php?page_id=6:

Get your Assassins' Keep or Igor t-shirt:

http://shop.discworld-convention.de/ (page 2-3)


http://www.scheibenwelt-convention.de



9.3. IRISH DISCWORLD CONVENTION 2

"In November 2011 we will be hosting the Irish Discworld Convention
(IDWCon for short) at the Falls Hotel, Ennistymon, Co. Clare. This
will be the second Irish Discworld Convention (as some of you will
know, having been at the first one!) and we're hereby promising to
make this one bigger and better than the first! We have the
committee wrangled, the guests are currently being notified of their
guest status, and the programme is being assembled, the art work is
being worked and the bar is being stocked... with drinks of every
colour! There will be talks, interviews, panels discussing anything
you would like (send in your suggestions now!), as well as games and
quizzes, a chιilν, a maskerade and disco and of course the Oswald
Awards and Posh Dinner on the Sunday night, followed by dancing..."

Apparently, this year's theme will be a package holiday to the Disc.
Expected Guests of Honour so far include Professor Sir Pterry, Rob
Wilkins, Colin Smythe, Jack Cohen, Ian Stewart, Bernard Pearson, and
Jacqueline Simpson.

http://www.idwcon.org/


9.4 NADWCON 2: MORE REPORTS

Sarah the Mad Crafter took several weeks to make her blogpost about
this year's NADWcon, but it's very comprehensive and full of
pictures and thus worth the wait:

"The convention was fantastic.  It pretty much had to be.  You put a
thousand other Discworld fans in one hotel, and then run into
friends you haven't seen in five years (we knew we were all going to
be there, but I had no idea how we'd find each other, and then we
find each other before we'd even registered) and wander around and
talk to people and admire costumes and discover you can buy a tin
labeled Dried Frog Pills, and that there are people trading stamps
for countries that don't exist (the stamps are pretty awesome), and
listen to authors talk about books – Patrick Rothfuss was there –
and listen to bits of the newest Pratchett book being read, and hear
Sir Terry tell funny stories, and talk to other fans, and go to
panels, and discover what Morris Dancing is, and, well..."

http://tinyurl.com/3sze9ps


Here be blogpost by mega-talented dollmaker Judy Skeel, who attended
the con and went to the Maskerade as Sybil Vimes, along with her
sword-collecting son Shawn and her wonderful Errol the Swamp Dragon
doll. Includes iconographs:

"Shawn helped me char up my apron for Lady Sybil Vimes, who is an
Aristocrat but thinks that's hogwash and would rather raise swamp
dragons, which she does and lets the estate get over grown. My hair
is a mess, I have charcoal rubbed all over my clothes and face and
the apron is burned and torn. There is actual blood splattered on
the apron from where I had cut myself in the hotel room so I flicked
blood all over it when the bleeding wouldn't stop. This added not
only color but nice character since swamp dragons are notorious for
periodically blowing themselves up when they hiccup and such. We won
an award for workmanship, and were quite thrilled since it was our
first con...

"I took a group of dolls to NADWCON made by different artists from
members of DOLL STREET representing characters from any of the 40
books in the series and 1,000 attendees voted for peoples choice.
There were some fabulous representations there. I felt quite honored
when my Errol got the most votes. Needless to say getting that and
the masquerade award helped me to enjoy NADWCON even more, but it
was awesome all by itself. I suggest that you check out the books if
you like humor and don't mind a parallel universe that may include
wizards, witches, trolls, werewolves, vampires, and other human
variations. It's a great way to talk about things such as racism
when the group for dwarves is called the "league for equal heights."
No one is offended and yet the point gets across to all the readers
clearly...."

http://skeelhaven.blogspot.com/2011/07/discworld-was-divine.html

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

10) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS

10.1 WYRD SISTERS IN GATA, COSTA BLANCA: AUDITION TIME!

Long-serving Spanish theatre company Javea Players, now in their
35th year, will be presenting their first-ever Discworld play in
November and December this year. The play will be directed by
Christyn Nossell. Auditions are to be held on the 1st of September
at the company's new Studio Theatre (which as far as your Editor can
determine is an adjunct of the Union Musical Theatre in Gata):

"There are 37 characters in the piece as Blackadder meets Brothers
Grimm for the production set to open on Monday 28th November.
However, auditions are scheduled to start at the Javea Players
Studio Theatre on Thursday 1st September at 7.30pm, a date for the
diaries of anyone interested in getting involved.

"Christyn said: 'This is an extremely funny, fast moving play with
many scenes – there are 23 in all! In addition to the main parts
there are many smaller ones which represent an ideal opportunity for
anyone to make a first appearance on stage. I am therefore inviting
non-members, experienced or beginners, to audition without
obligation to become members.'"

Interested parties who wish to read for a part or become involved as
a backstage or front of house crew person should contact Lynne on 96
64 3024 or 616 692 103, or Christyn on 96 579 3593

Contact email: styn11@... or info@...

http://tinyurl.com/4x75bbn

http://www.javeaplayers.com/forthcoming_productions.html


Tickets will be €10 and can be pre-ordered at:

http://www.javeaplayers.com/order.html



10.2 MORT, THE MUSICAL: A FEW SAMPLE BITS

Have a listen! It's certainly musical theatre. Very traditional
musical theatre, in fact. And at least as good as a rather more
publicised Discworld musical of recent times... Your Editor's
favourites are "Beautiful" and "I Feel Alive"; also "Dear Son, Dear
Mum", and there's even a fine, cheerful rendition of the Hedgehog
Song:

http://www.acompletelossforwords.com/mort.html

(the page also features a number of photographs of the superb Death
puppet, as played by Derek the Skeleton)

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

11) DISCWORLD GROUPS MEETING NEWS

The City of Small Gods Terry Pratchett Fan Club meets on the last
Thursday of the month from 6.30pm at the Ed Castle, 233 Currie St,
Adelaide (South Australia). The next meeting will be on Thursday
25th August. Details, discussions and organisation of extra events
(such as play outings) are held on their email mailing list, so do
sign up at

https://groups.google.com/group/adelaide-discworld-fans

*

The next meeting of the Broken Drummers, London's original Discworld
meeting group, will be from 7pm on Monday 5th September at the
Monkey Puzzle, 30 Southwick Street, London W2 1JQ.

http://www.steeljam.co.uk/brokendrummers/

*

Drummers Downunder meet on the first Monday of every month in Sydney
at Maloneys, corner of Pitt & Goulburn Streets, at 6.30pm. The next
meeting will be on Monday 5th September. For more information, contact
Sue (aka Granny Weatherwax) on kenworthys@...

*

Perth Drummers meet on the traditional of first Monday of the month.
The next meeting will be from 6pm on Monday 5th September at The
Vic Hotel, 226 Hay St, Subiaco. For more information contact:
Daniel Hatton at daniel_j_hatton@...

EDITOR'S NOTE: start times have now changed for most of these
groups.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

12) DISCWORLD ARTS AND CRAFTS NEWS

For once, not an item from PJSM Prints or the Cunning Artificer, but
hey, your Editor likes this one anyway! From the geek clothing
company Spread Shirt comes a raglan long-sleeved t-shirt with the
text "DEAR TERRY PRATCHETT, YOU HELP US TO SEE OUR WORLD THROUGH
OCTARINE COLOURED GLASSES". Each shirt is priced at £17.90 plus
shipping, is available in black and white, navy and white, or red
and white, and comes in sizes M through XL.

The design is also available on a plain white t-shirt (£10.90),
raglan short-sleeved tee (£13.90), or sleeveless hoodie (£30.90).

For more information, and to order:

http://tinyurl.com/3wtmquf


But fear not, there are some excellent goodies in the usual place!
Starting with the 2012 Discworld calendar, "an inspired collection
of paintings by Paul Kidby", signed by The Author and now available
to order! Priced at £15.00, this one looks like one of the great
years. And here be a teaser – Paul Kidby's "Greebo as a man",
painted exclusively for the calendar:

http://tinyurl.com/3m5swjg

I'm definitely ordering one for the WOSSNAME cubbyhole!


Another excellent household item: the Mended Drum Tea Towel,
featuring artwork by the one and only Stephen Briggs. Each towel is
100% cotton, measures 82cm wide x 48cm high, and is priced at
£6.95. In addition to the usual architectural Disc-ness, there's
text: "Purveyors of the Fynest Ales, Wines, Spyrits and Genuine
Lancre Scuble Good Food Available at Some House of the Day and
Night. Comfortable Accomodation at Reasonable Rates", it says.


And not forgetting the official – in Roundworld, at any rate –
Unseen University scarf. "100% Saxony wool – these scarves measure
10" x 72" and are striped in navy, crimson, yellow and purple. The
UU crest is embroidered in colour at one end. Made in the UK by the
leading Oxbridge scarf maker," according to the page.

At £34.95 each, they're a bit pricey, but still...


To view all three items, for further information, and to order:

http://www.paulkidby.com/books/index.html

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

13) REVIEW: ISWM

In South African newspaper The Citizen, Bruce Dennill writes:

"Terry Pratchett continues to amaze. Dozens of books into his
career, he maintains his phenomenal creativity (he specialises in
fantasy, remember – his subjects aren't available for study at
the local library) and considered approach. There can be a handful
of references in a single sentence – and Pratchett is handling all
of this while suffering from Alzheimer's Disease.

"I Shall Wear Midnight sees the development of the character of
Tiffany Aching, the teenage witch from The Wee Free Men. She's a
brilliant protagonist, feisty but possessed of doubts; incredibly
capable but slandered by many. As you read about her day-to-day
schedule, you realise that in Pratchett's world, witches are not
disfigured hags, but rather nurses, counsellors and holders of
collected wisdom..."

http://tinyurl.com/3llzf96

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

14) ACTION REPLAY: BANANANA DAIQUIRIS

From the millennienniennium year, a lovely interview, "A
Conversation With Terry Pratchett", by Claire E. White in Writers
Write. It includes a photo of Pterry from back when his beard was
still dark, and of course the (in)famous banananana daiquiri story:

"Let me tell you about banana daiquiris. Years and years ago, there
was a world science fiction convention in New Orleans. It had been a
really hard day. I'd driven all the way from Pensacola and was quite
tired. The hotel had done the usual: "Sorry, sir, we have no record
of your reservation at this time." When I showed them the fax
confirming my reservation, they denied the existence of the fax.
Finally, after being ever so unpleasantly English about it, I got a
very, very nice room on the top floor. An American friend said, 'I
know. I shall take you out to the All-Night Frozen Daiquiri Shop on
Bourbon Street!' By that time, I wouldn't have known if we were
heading to the All-Night Bourbon Shop on Daiquiri Street. I didn't
know that there was alcohol in a daiquiri. I thought it was a
pleasant fruit drink. So I had the liter size. I thought, 'It's been
a long day, and I need a refreshing pick me up.' I will say this for
the Americans: In England, if you'd ordered a drink that was twice
the normal size, they'd water it down. But in New Orleans, a liter
daiquiri has twice as much alcohol as a half liter daiquiri. It was
so delicious that I had another one. Then I thought I'd try a liter
of the peach daiquiri, and I had about half of that one. In the
1950s comic books, sometimes a character would have a nuclear
reactor fall on him. Then he'd become 'Mr. Atomic'. I drank so much
banana daiquiri that night that I think every cell in my body was
full of banana daiquiri. I became Dr. Daiquiri. I think that's the
only way I survived. I couldn't feel my upper lip for quite awhile
after that, though. The point is, if you make a real daiquiri,
according to a real recipe, you don't feel well again until tea time
the next day. If you make it with real cream and the two types of
rum and all that, it is seriously bad for your head. The Bourbon
Street daiquiris were a lot of fun. But when I'm in Australia I
drink beer, because if you are in Australia and you don't drink beer
you are prosecuted."

The full interview:

http://www.writerswrite.com/journal/apr00/pratchett.htm

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

15) THE INESCAPABLE AGNESSNESS OF AGNES NITT

Once upon a time, discovering a Discworld reference anywhere outside
of the Pratchett fan community was cause for comment, but in recent
years Brand Pratchett has become so well-known around the world that
there's no longer anything unusual about seeing or hearing Discworld
references quoted in op-ed (and even hard news) articles or spoken
by scientists, shamans and politicians. However, every once in a
while such references can crop up in unexpected places – such as
this one, from a column about horoscopes in a Pensacola, Florida
online newspaper:

"My best friend and I discovered Agnes through Terry Pratchett,
author of the popular Discworld series. Agnes, a budding witch, is
reluctantly dependable and sensible... To paraphrase Montrachet,
there are the girls who faint and those who fetch the water. Agnes
fetches the water. But inside? Inside she is Perdita, a bold and
confident creature. Willful. Flirtatious. Nary a thought of water
fetching.

"My BFF and I identified with Agnes immediately. Just as quickly, we
used the name as a code. Doing your work plus someone else's? Agnes.
Going out of your way to help scores of delicate Perditas? Oh,
Agnes. Just recently, I was whining about my house mate's tendency
to abandon her tiny laundry scraps in the dryer. BFF asked if I'd
tossed the wee delicates to the floor, as a warning. 'No ...' I
began, guiltily. 'But I did fold them for her.' 'Agnes, Agnes,
Agnes,' my friend sighed..."

http://tinyurl.com/4yng2xf

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

16) IMAGES OF THE MONTH

Does he index books too? Orangutan Azy is one clever ape:

http://tinyurl.com/3b5h45g


Several of Tom Steyer's official German Discworld covers:

Mort (Alles Sense):

http://tinyurl.com/3v7lxkb

Moving Pictures (Voll im Bilde):

http://tinyurl.com/3lcubyf

I Shall Wear Midnight (Das Mitternachtskleid):

http://tinyurl.com/3gac2b7

This last one is my personal favourite. Even though Paul Kidby and
Stephen Player remain *the* Discworld artists for me, I do love the
way Steyer captures the delicate, playful-yet-severe sensuality of
That Dress.

To view more of Steyer's work, go to:

http://www.tomsteyer.com/


...and last up, an interesting piece of fanart from Jamelia –
Nobby Nobbs working undercover in the Shades. Scroll down below the
initial sketch to see the finished piece:

http://tinyurl.com/3zmpmy2

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

17) SNUFF TEASER THOUGHTS

From alt.books.pratchett:

The opening scenes of Snuff are now available here:
http://www.terrypratchett.co.uk/snuff/

There's also a rather longer section including this section
available as a  booklet from Waterstones.

– Dave


I hope the copy'n'paste was better in the Waterstones edition...
Thanks for posting the link!

– Jaimie


Thanks for posting that. I think I'm going to like Snuff – unlike
UA. The first time I started reading UA I got to page 80 then gave
up; the second time I got to page 96.

– John E


I've read UA through twice and there are things I do like about the
book, but it is my least favorite of all the Discworld series.

– Lewis


Although I know where you are going with that sentiment, I am not of
the  same opinion.  It is different to many of the others and its
humour is  more laconic (I think that's the word I want) I has its
good points and  improves on re-read(s) once you know where it is
going*.  In contrast I  find TAMAHER and Eric! less rewarding as is
TLC (a YARB)** compared to  S! or IT. YMMV etc!

*I often find that at the first read Terry's books are hard for me
as I  don't know what is the plot and what is the furniture.

**Yet Another Rincewind Book

– Reader in Invisible Writings


"I hope the copy'n'paste was better in the Waterstones edition..."

Looked almost like it was taken from some sort of a not finalised
version – where, for example, the decision hasn't been made
whether to use "Vimes tore" or "He opened"

I'm sure some of our literary bods will let me know if this sort of
document floats around in the pre-printing process.

– robcraine


...and from L(J) Space, Livejournal's leading Discworld community:

plottwist13:
So for those of you who aren't fans of Pterry on the facebooks, they
posted an extract out of the beginning of Snuff today! Yay! My
feelings: COLOR ME AMBIGUOUS. :/

aallinyte:
I'm excited for Vimes again

janestarz:
The Patrician talking uncharacteristically to himself was rather
unexpected. Usually, it's Vimes' inner dialog that gives background
info about the story. The spelling errors and typo's irked me. But
other than that, I can't wait to buy the book! (Gotta catch 'em
all!)

honorh:
So excited to see this! Looks like a bit of a follow-up to Unseen
Academicals as well as a City Watch book. It's always good to see
Vimes & Co., not to mention our favorite despot and his dedicated
secretary.

trobadora:
Oh, I've missed them!

hauntermooneyes:
I can't read it because the formatting is weird and it's difficult
for me to read things without proper paragraph breaks/indents, but
WHATEVER, it's a new Vimes book and I am so happy. Also I've liked
his last few new books (apart from Making Money)* tremendously, so I
trust this one to be excellent.

*Yes, even Thud and Unseen Academicals which, as I understand it,
some people weren't fond of. Phhhhbth.

putri_nih:
*high fives* I love Unseen Academicals. After a long line of dark,
serious Discworld stories (not that I don't enjoy it) Unseen
Academicals is like a breath of fresh air. I think of reading Unseen
Academicals as the literary version of drinking a hot mug of cocoa.

hauntermooneyes:
Exactly! Although I like that he's tackled darker themes than usual
lately, because it matches my current mood. There were darker themes
in Unseen Academicals too, but mostly it seemed to me like a happy
callback to everywhere we've been and everyone we've met so far.

putri_nih:
Exactly! I've missed Ridcully and the wizard's antics since The Last
Continent and to have a character who isn't Rincewind (poor guy has
been through a lot) to act as a plot device to visit them again?
YEAY :D

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

18) DISCWORLD AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE

An excellent essay by author and blogger Karen Miller lauding the
women of Pratchett (erm, shouldn't that be "females"?):

"Much has been said and written about the inclusion, or exclusion,
of female characters in speculative fiction. A common observation
made is that, so often, too often, women in fantasy, science fiction
and horror fiction are reduced to objects of desire, sexual adjuncts
to men, rendered pathetically helpless so they can be rescued, or
are killed off as soon as possible in order to provide motive for
the male hero's journey, or pretty much airbushed out of the
narrative altogether. Unfortunately there is merit in these
criticisms of the genre, but one thing I can say without hesitation:
you simply cannot point that particular finger at Terry Pratchett.
Throughout the course of his Discworld novels, Pratchett has created
some of the most fantastic, three-dimensional and iconic female
characters to be found in the realms of speculative fiction... Some
writers of fantastic fiction fail to create even one memorable
female character. Pratchett has created nine, at least, and many
others in a secondary or one-off guest starring role. So, what is
this wonderful writer's secret? For me, I think the key is that he
never writes women characters as women..."

http://www.orbitbooks.net/2011/08/19/pratchett%E2%80%99s-women-2/


In the Books on First blog, Carolyn Chin discusses Making Money and
how the Glooper could have shown in advance the USA credit crises:

"Making Money was first published on 1 October 2008. That means he
must have written it at least one year before, at least six months
before the cracks in the world economic system began to show
(although predicted by contrarians skeptical of the "new
paradigm")... [Moist] learns all about the Royal Bank of Ankh-
Morpork and the Royal Mint – how it costs more than a penny to make
a penny, how everyone believes gold is the basis of the Ankh-Morpork
currency and is what keeps the Banks honest, how most people rather
put their money in a sock under the mattress rather than trust the
Banks, how almost anything, say potatoes, could be more valuable
than gold, and how Topsy's nephew Hubert is close to perfecting the
Balance of Payments system or affectionately, "the Glooper," an
apparatus of water, glass pipes, valves and tipping buckets which
can be used to predict possible economic futures, given scenarios.

"Hubert demonstrates with the Glooper what would happen if people
lost all confidence in banks – the flow of money moving out of
banks and into the Old Sock Under the Mattress, resulting in banks
ceasing to lend money out and business expansion slowing,
foreclosures, job losses, and ultimately, the economy at a total
standstill, with people with no or insufficient savings going
hungry, farms reverting to wilderness and trolls rampaging down from
the mountain. Sound familiar? This is the scenario that TARP
(Troubled Asset Relief Program) and QE II (The United States Federal
Bank's Second Quantitative Easing) are meant to avoid, but the banks
are not cooperating – that is, not doing what banks by definition
do, giving savers no reason to put their money in the banks and
seeing no reason expose themselves to risk by lending to businesses
when they can earn more income garnering interest on Treasury bills
and charging fees to each other and to consumers. The Royal Bank of
Ankh-Morpork also was not taking in deposits or lending out money
when Moist arrives on the scene. He quickly changes all that..."

http://blog.booksonfirst.com/2011/06/making-money.html


In Review Haven, Adam Bourke talks about Pratchett in general and
Night Watch in particular, giving it (or perhaps the entire series)
ten out of ten:

"It's read by Tony Robinson, and although it's abridged, I would
recommend listening to it. Robinson's voice perfectly fits the
spirit of Discworld... I would recommend nearly every one of Terry
Pratchett's books to anyone who likes fantasy. He's the only Humour
Author I've ever really enjoyed, and has an almost unique way of
making people laugh..."

http://tinyurl.com/3lygtj4


Blogger Charlie aka CC grumbles a bit about Unseen Academicals:

"I've been a big fan of Terry Pratchett ever since I was introduced
to his works back in 1990... Over the years, I've noticed that the
tone of Sir Pratchett's writing has changed considerably; no longer
is he simply the ribald uncle telling hillarious tales to his
rolling nieces and nephews; instead he has become the kindly
grandfather, who uses sublety and wit to convey his points while
still entertaining. Wry chuckles take the place of outright guffaws.
The audience has grown older and wiser, and so has the storyteller.

"I read 'Unseen Academicals' with mixed feelings... whereas before
the author had displayed a rather deft hand at preventing epic plots
from collapsing in on themselves, there is something about this
storyline – involving a football (or soccer, depending on where
you are from) game – that feels both less than epic and
overwhelmed towards the end..."

http://ccbeans.wordpress.com/2011/08/10/unseen-alchemicals/


More Disc poetry! "Dawn on the Disc", by Geektastic Pentameter:

Yolk pricked out from a half-done egg,
yellow morning creeps across a white sea,

rolls like a stroll along a still river
where the daylight isn't pitched enough
to strike the other bank,

hangs like bitumen in the longest experiment
while the world waits for the fall,
without enough elephants
to shoulder it all.

http://geektasticpentameter.com/2011/08/08/dawn-on-the-disc/

[Editor's note: you may remember the previous featured Discworld
poetry, the sonnet "Pan Narrans" by Jim Tait, at
http://prairiepagan.wordpress.com/2011/03/13/pan-narrans/ – as
featured in this section in our March 2011 issue.]


Pyramids, reviewed by blogger The Ink Slinger:

"Having steeped myself in several volumes of rather bleak fiction
(ala Lord of the Flies), I felt I needed a break. I wanted a funny
book, one that didn't take itself so seriously. Somehow or other,
Terry Pratchett's name appeared on my list of to-be-read-authors.
I did a bit of research, dropped by the library, and borrowed
Pyramids. It fit the bill perfectly...

"Who should read Pyramids? Everyone... over a certain age, that is.
While most of the humor is quite clean, there are several instances
of sexual innuendo/suggestive dialogue..."

http://tinyurl.com/3fwx2re


An interesting forum thread about UK and USA editions of Discworld
novels, started by user Burkshifter:

"One strange thing I've noticed with discworld books – along with
a lot of other books by non-American authors is that the editions
published in the author's country tend to read better. Being
American, I started reading discworld with the American books, but
then when I was on a trip to London I picked up a few UK editions.
The ones with the Josh Kidby covers. The difference is huge.
Something about Americanizing the spelling, punctuations, and
colloquialisms really takes a lot out of the books. I couldn't
imagine if, say, Tolkien or Lewis or Dickens were Americanized. Has
anybody else noticed this? Does this stand true for other authors?"

One long, thoughtful answer was from user Jan van Quirm:

"As I got CoM and LF around 1983 so when they were first out, there
was nothing around like Josh Kirby's coverwork and they really did
match the spirit of Terry's writing at a time when SF&F was still
v.influenced by heavy duty fantasy. So Discworld needed something as
different and innovative as the 'fun' art that Josh was brilliant at
– and Terry loved his work anyway and for that reason.

"But times change and I can see the attraction of the black covers
'cos they're beautifully photographed but they don't 'match' the
tone of Terry's writing that well, although they're visually
attractive and look slick on a rack. Terry's work is slick but it's
also and more importantly multi-layered and rich in texture of all
sorts with the humour threading through – the lovely sea-chest
with the coins on top may say a bit about the Luggage and Twoflower
with all his dosh, but says nothing about the chaos and naked greed
of the Broken Drum burning down or the adventures at Wyrmberg or in
the Temple of Belshamaroth. Kirby's illustration of the riot at the
Drum caught the spirit of that mayhem and playfulness and because,
at the time, it looked fun as well as different and new for that
genre, it did the writing justice.

"In the US the market is different perhaps so different cover art is
needed and that's evidenced by the reaction of some people over here
to Unseen Academicals for instance. As 'soccer's' a minority sport
over in the States the nuance and beauty of Paul Kidby's cover is
completely lost on most US fans so you get the truly naff (to UK
eyes) US version with the arms in the air and the round ball
(thankfully they got that right!) which perhaps doesn't do much for
them either but at least says something about the content even if
not particularly accurate of the gameplay.

"Horses for courses and times change but for fans who've been there
from the start Josh's covers are inextricably linked to the pleasure
we all felt when we first discovered Discworld and for that reason
he'll always be my favourite Pratchett illustrator."

To read the entire thread:

http://tinyurl.com/3tta7on
http://tinyurl.com/3zzof2d


A long and relatively extensive overview of (most of) the Discworld
novels by mathematician and blogger Florian Kaferbock, covering
(most of) the novels with a description of and brief opinion on
each:

"Having been one of Britain's foremost top-selling authors for
decades Pratchett has written more than 30 novels of his famous
series of books which for want of a better word must be described as
satiric fantasy literature. I am proud owner of 23 of them and have
read many others rented from libraries, so I think I am qualified in
judging them. In the few cases where I don't know a book well
enough to warrant an opinion I clearly say so...."

Kaferbock has some odd opinions, but at least he took the time to
commit them to the pages...

Part 1: http://tinyurl.com/3bp86bt

Part 2: http://tinyurl.com/44tpggv

Part 3: http://tinyurl.com/42ru2gc


...and another Discworld series overview, this one by self-described
"opinionated Scotsman" Chris, who lists Discworld as his favourite
book series:

"The real draw of Discworld, however, is the characters. Populating
this land are some of the finest fictional characters, fun and
cartoonish and larger than life yet complex and compelling...
Pratchett embues the stories with a rich vein of references to fairy
tales, modern culture, classic literature and more. Such
proliferation could easily have overbalanced the stories, yet
Pratchett somehow strikes the right note, allowing for the stories
to be enjoyed on a shallow level whilst more diligent readers get a
reward for their effort. If this sounds all very intimidating, it
shouldn't..."

http://ty-real.blogspot.com/2011/06/series-overview-discworld.html


...and a third, from blogger Pili, with explanatory diagrams:

"You might be thinking that a series comprised of so many books can
be too daunting to even try to start, or that it would get boring
and dragging for so many books, but I can assure you nothing is
further from the truth! ...they are not the kind of books you need
to read one after the other, they're actually divided into different
story arcs, so they can be grouped into smaller series if you may,
and even so, each book can be read as a story on its own, though of
course, there are references to previous novels here and there...
chock full of references to world history & events, fantasy books,
superstitions, fairy tales, and even Shakespeare! They're the kinda
books that make you giggle and laugh out loud..."

http://tinyurl.com/3hbltft


Blogger Shaun M. Coates, already a Discworld fan, was delighted to
discover The Wee Free Men:

"Pratchett does a brilliant job balancing the main character's youth
and 'at times' innocence with the 'Stealin', Fightin', Drinkin''
ways of the Feegles. In fact, I can't imagine the book being as
successful, if it was just one or the other. The Feegle's language
takes a bit of getting used to. Having lived in England for three
years and hearing very different dialects from the American English
dialects, you would think I would have been prepared. I was not. By
the end of the book though, 'Ye begin tae kin whit they ur
sayin''!... I really enjoyed this book. In fact probably my fav of
the Discworld so far. Moving forward I hope to see the Nac Mac
Feegles ability to jump between dimensions explored further. I would
also like to see Tiffany eventually leave Chalk and explore the
Discworld at large. I think that I will stick with this series
moving forward (I believe there are presently 4 books). I am curious
to see exactly what Tiffany's true powers are. If nothing else, she
is definitely one sharp cookie..."

http://tinyurl.com/3kolg72


Blogger David Hebblethwaite couldn't give Wintersmith his total
adoration. And he doesn't think the Nac mac Feegle are funny:

"My experience of the later Discworld novels has tended to be that
they're OK, but don't match up to the best of the series – not in
terms of their humour, conception, or the incisiveness with which
they treat their themes. Wintersmith continues that trend...
Pratchett has a story literally affecting the lives and the world in
the way that Tiffany has become caught up in the story of the
Wintersmith and the Summer Lady; but the theme is also there in the
way that, although witchcraft is shown to be more about things like
observation than magic per se, it's important for witches to
cultivate an air of mystique, because that's what the people need
their witches to have... it doesn't have the spark of his best
work. And the disparate elements of Wintersmith don't seem to me
to come together into a successful whole. The Nac Mac Feegle (the
warrior-like fairy folk who have become Tiffany's 'protectors'
over the course of the series) feel rather awkwardly inserted into
the story; and, despite being the main comic-cut characters, don't
raise much more than the odd smile..."

http://tinyurl.com/3l6ndah


Blogger Just Jill read tCoM and just didn't get it. Although quite
how someone can say that whilst claiming in the same post that the
book made her laugh out loud repeatedly is, um, a lovely example of
our species' penchant for cognitive dissonance...

"I expected to give this book a rather dismal review. And while I'm
not about to give it a glowing one, it's going to be better than it
originally would have been... I have to say, I laughed out loud
multiple times while reading this book. It's definitely funny at
times. There are some eye-rolling puns, but you can't help but smile
at them and the way Pratchett delivers them. My problem with this
book was that it never really took a hold of me... The main
character is a wizard called Rincewind. And I have to say, I find
him altogether rather unlikeable. He's not terrible, but he's a
bit of a whiner. All he wants to do is not be in whatever situation
he's in... I get the feeling he'll be a recurring Discworld
character, so hopefully I don't find him too annoying should he make
an appearance in whichever book I pick next..."

http://justjillsblog.wordpress.com/2011/07/31/the-color-of-magic/


Blogger Tophat has fallen for Moist von Lipwig in a big way:

"I came to the party a bit too late here. By the time I was browsing
Pratchett's work for the first time, most of his books were
sporting a mark that said 'Celebrating 25 extraordinary years of
Discworld!' on them... Today, I'm amassing quite the collection of
Pratchett's work.  If I had to pick a favorite, Going Postal would
take the top spot by a landslide... The city exists on the knife's
edge between fantasy and technology. A lot of the things that we
take for granted in our world are huge developments in Discworld.
On the other hand, we don't often have to worry if the vampire
across the room is a black ribbon wearer who has sworn off blood or
not, or if the guy who is employing an Igor is insane, dangerous or
simply overly rich. Some things stay the same, however... Enter
Moist von Lipwig. He's just exiting, really. We're introduced
to Moist as he's awaiting his execution in an Ankh-Morpork prison
under the assumed name of Albert Spangler for doing a large variety
of Bad Things. To call Moist a petty thief is like calling the Pope
slightly religious... This is my favorite Pratchett novel so far,
mainly because it contains Moist von Lipwig at his finest..."

http://tinyurl.com/3kqa5m7


In a long, analytical essay, blogger Incurable Bluestocking (who
gave Witches Abroad 4.5 stars in last month's review) goes all the
way to five for Lords and Ladies:

"This isn't just my favourite Pratchett book; this is one of my all
-time favourite books. One of the books that will make the list if
someone asks me for my Top Five... This book treats the Fae
properly. Which is to say, as terrifying creatures who are the
reason iron horseshoes are considered lucky, because we once needed
it to protect us; as hypnotizing, merciless, pitiless, and
unfeeling; as dangerous and carelessly destructive, thieves of
children, slayers of cattle, ruiners of crops, who steal everything
and leave nothing and take and take and take; as the dark truths
behind a hundred nursery rhymes where, as Pratchett puts it,
protective charms and cautionary warnings are passed down 'from
grandmother to grandchild in little bits of nonsense they won't
bother to forget.' In a way, the book is a nice satire of the
transformation the Fae have undergone in the last two hundred years
or so... All these disparate pieces weave together so beautifully
that you hardly notice until they've collided into each other in
perfect orchestration. Lords and Ladies is, apart from hitting so
many of my favourite buttons, one of the more beautifully
constructed books I've ever read — mostly because you don't even
think about how beautifully constructed it is unless you really
pause to step back from it and consider..."

http://tinyurl.com/3psnjha


Blogger Randomize Me reviews ISWM:

"And so we reach the end... the last book in the YA fantasy series,
and I just didn't want it to end – I really strung out reading
this one as long as I could. Now, I'm one of those people who delete
all the books after I've read them on my Kindle (since all the
books are in the Archive anyway), but this one? I'm keeping it (for
sentimental reasons). I just felt this sense of complete
satisfaction after I'd read it –  felt so good and happy inside,
and even though I was sad to say goodbye to Tiffany and the Nac Mac
Feegles, I was also content at where Tiffany and her friends were at
when I reached the last page (and that's a sentiment that I usually
don't feel about many series' finales that I've read!)... There are
so many things to love about I Shall Wear Midnight – the always
irreverent Nac Mac Feegles, the castle guard Preston (a funny new
character who will totally grow on you the way he did on Tiffany –
I kept on wondering when Tiffany would get over Roland and just see
that more interesting boys were around!), and to up the
sentimentality quotient, so many of my favorite characters showed up
here too – Commander Vimes, Captain Carrot, Granny Weatherwax,
Nanny Ogg, etc etc. Tiffany's brief visit to Ankh-Morpork actually
made me home-sick for it – and I suddenly felt this urge to re-
read my entire collection of Discworld books..."

http://tinyurl.com/3p2ckp6


Blogger Kate Shrewsday discusses Discworld "science" as it could be
applied to the current Roundworld cinema craze for ever more
"dimensions":

"Pratchett is one of the great geniuses of my formative years. To
me, he is simply superlative. No-one will ever take his place. His
perfect sense of irony means that even in this semi-mediaeval flat
world, devices exist to do many of the jobs our electronic gismos
achieve in our world: but through means magical or mythical. Much of
the technology from Twoflower's neck of the woods – watches,
razors, eventually even movie cameras – is imp-powered... Imagine,
then, the possibilities for fourth dimensional thinking. We could
sit in the auditorium while imps wafted us with fixed-leaf fans or
held half-full colanders over our heads to simulate downpours. They
could wheel in tiny imp-proportioned portable kitchens and create
sumptuous baking smells, and pelt us with mini-missiles during
warfare scenarios. The possibilities are endless..."

http://kateshrewsday.com/2011/08/12/dimension-the-fourth/


Blogger mymumsanenglishteacher makes a short observation about the
delights of Pratchett addiction:

"Any fan of the Discworld series will know what it's like to be
addicted to Terry Pratchett's writing. I only recently discovered
it, (even though his writing has been around for over 20 years) and
I think it is absolutely brilliant... Pratchett's humourous style
makes you want to read more, along with his wordplay and outstanding
characters. He has succeeded in creating a well rounded universe
which makes you feel as if you are actually there. Pratchett is one
of those authors who really make you wonder where they got their
inspiration from. It defies all cliches in the most admirable
fashion..."

http://tinyurl.com/3og2ve3

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

19) DISCWORLD DIARIES: A ROUND-UP

On the "Lego and Discworld blog and fansite" Bricks and Books (now
there's an unusual combination...), RJH writes about the 1998-2008
Discworld Diaries, with images, descriptions, and typical prices at
which these change hands:

"The first diary was published in 1998 and called the Unseen
University Diary, to get this one it will set you back around £110,
as all diaries were printed with a limited run so finding good
copies are rare and the series has become one of the most
collectable...."

http://bricksandbooks.co.uk/2011/discworld-diaries/

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

20) CLOSE

And that's it for the moment. Your monthly Discworld horoscope, plus
any late breaking news, follows later in the month. But just before
I close, let me leave you with a link to a lovely Discworld-themed
image as sent in by roving reporter Llin Thomas:

http://img.blog22.co.uk/2011/13301931159003_29bb.jpeg

Happy harvest to all, or happy almost-spring to our readers in
Fourecks and the Land of Fog!

– Annie Mac

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

———————————————————————————————————
The End. If you have any questions or requests, write:
interact@...
———————————————————————————————————
Copyright (c) 2011 by Klatchian Foreign Legion

WOSSNAME
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
August 2011 (Volume 14, Issue 8, Post 3)
*****************************************************************

1) YOUR DISCWORLD HOROSCOPE FOR AUGUST
2) CLOSE

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

1) THE NEW DISCWORLD HOROSCOPE
by Fernando Magnifico

Buongiorno my friends, it is I, Fernando! The Lady Asterisk is
unavailable, as she is suffering from a severe attack of kumquats,
but do not be afeared, for I, Fernando Magnifico, shall provide for
all your astrological needs this month!

My friends, none of us are perfect, not even Fernando. And so we all
have the vices that we know are not good, but we indulge in them
anyway. In Fernando's case, his vice is excessive humility and
modesty. If Fernando were not so humble and self-effacing, the
enormosity of his magnificence would be unbearable. My friends, you
should be thankful that the gods have smiled upon you by giving
Fernando this one flaw. And so Fernando has consulted with the
stars, and will tell you which vices are particularly to be avoided.

Ciao bella!

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Adamant Hedgehog  21 Mar - 20 Apr

There are times when Fernando, like all men, has the urge to strip
down and oil himself up and pit his muscle against that of another
in a one-on-one engagement, two hot and sweaty consenting
individuals locked into the primal ballet of pure manliness,
pounding each other until one man can no longer bear to continue.
This is perfectly natural, and nothing to be ashamed of. But listen
carefully my friends, for Fernando knows that when you take the
fighting out of the boxing ring and into the streets, what was the
harmless sport becomes the vice. Hoggers, the stars warn that your
vice to avoid is the excessive fighting and violence. It is the one
thing to be taking part in the noble art of fisticuffs with the
Marquis of Fantailler rules, it is the completely other kettle of
tea to take the fighting out into the streets, the shops and
people's homes... except at the Mended Drum, where you can win
prizes for the Most Imaginative Assault With Furniture.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Half-Eaten Sandwich  21 Apr - 21 May

Fernando knows that many Munchers have been "bitten by the gambling
bug", as they say. It is true, for the stars say that Munchers' vice
to beware of is the gambling. This can often start as early as the
young childrens betting their lunch on the poo-stick races. For some
childrens in the Shades, having the good eye for the hydrodynamic
properties of a well-formed poo makes the difference between going
hungry and eating Fatty Smith's sandwiches. Soon you are betting on
the dog races, or the horse fights, and from there it is only a
matter of time before you are betting on whose dinner the fly will
land on first. But beware, my Muncher friends, for unless The Lady
smiles upon you – which, Fernando is afraid, she rarely does – you
will lose much more than you will win. You know that you have hit
rock bottom when even Brokelads the Bookie turns you away because
you can't pay, and your answer is "Wanna bet?".

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Herne the Hunted  22 May - 21 Jun

Hernians, your vice to beware of is sloth, especially as it results
in uncleanliness. My friends, one of the reasons why Fernando is so
successful in the jousts of love is that he is the scrupulously
clean: you will not find any flies on Fernando, except that one time
with the signorina from Genua with the fish-paste fixation. Ah,
happy memories. Fernando bathes at least once a week, more in
summer, and always after getting the hot and sweaty if you know what
I mean. So usually five times a day. I say this not to boast, my
friends, because for Fernando this is nothing to boast about, but
only so that you too can aspire to be like Fernando. Perhaps not
like Fernando five times a day, for after all there is only one
Fernando and you are not he, but at least once or twice a month.
With luck and the generous serving of alcohol.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Wizard's Staff and Knob  22 Jun - 22 Jul

Wizardry, it is said, comes in fashions. Sometimes it is the
cadaverous wizards, with that lean and hungry look that comes from
spending all day trying to get past your immediate superior's
magical defences, and sometimes it is the larger sort of wizards
with the more rounded look that comes from spending all day helping
yourself to the desert trolley. And so it is with Staffies, who by
the influence of the stars often follow the same fashions as
wizardry. Trust Fernando on this, for he knows this is so. At the
moment, wizardry is closer to the second look than the first, and so
your vice to beware is gluttony. Listen carefully to Fernando's
advice: never have an intimate dinner for two unless you invite
another person, and most importantly, never eat more than you can
lift.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Bilious, God of Hangovers  23 Jul - 23 Aug

My friends, everybody thinks that Bilians' vice is the heavy
drinking, but it is not. The drinking for the Bilians is hardly the
vice, it is practically the virtue! (Somebody has to keep the
brewers from starving.) Listen to Fernando, for he knows that this
is so. Bilians, your vice is smoking: whether you are smoking the
tobacco (also known as "pipe weed" or "old man's pot") or the other
substances, or merely lighting the incense at every opportunity,
beware of this vice. For the tobacco smokers in particular, your
breath and clothes will stink, you can develop the wracking cough,
and your fingers will be dyed yellow from the nicotine. But on the
plus side, people will think you are mean and turf if you have the
cigarette dangling from your lips, and if you ever want to start a
fight (a vice often held by Hoggers, but sometimes Bilians as well),
you can always blow smoke in somebody's face.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

My Uncle's Nose  24 Aug - 23 Sept

Nosers, the stars say that your vice is to be the bad neighbour,
like the man who came around to Fernando's rooms at 3am this
morning, shouting and banging on the door. Fortunately Fernando was
already up learning to play the drums. (Ha ha my friends, Fernando
is making the little joke!) But there are the very many bad
neighbours: the ones who have the loud arguments and rows at one in
the morning, those who keep the thirty-five barking dogs in the
yard, the ones who sweep up the leaves and rubbish and throw it over
the fence into your backyard, or the ones making the foul stench
when they cook. Fernando is reminded of his second cousin twice
removed Peppino who lives next door to a family of Quirmians who are
always cooking their avec with the garlic. Of course Peppino is
always eating the garlic too, but these grossolano Quirmians are
using the wrong sort of garlic!!!

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Small Boring Group of Faint Stars  24 Sept - 23 Oct

My friends, never let it be said that Fernando is disrespectful to
the religion. Where would we be if not for the priests? True, we
would probably be happier and richer without having to pay all those
tithes, and the gods would fade away and be powerless without us,
but think of what we would lose! No more Vestigial Virgins! And we
would miss out on such beautiful music! When Fernando was a young
boy, he used to love to visit old Father Renaldo, who would play
with his mighty organ for hours for Fernando's entertainment. The
things Father Renaldo could do with his organ, it would bring the
tears to Fernando's eyes. And afterwards, the old man would always
invite Fernando to come over and bang away on the organ until it was
time to go home. So do not think that Fernando is against religion!
But, it is possible to have the bad religion, and the stars tell
Fernando that this is your vice, Boring'uns! So if you find yourself
breaking into people's homes to give them the good news about Om, or
chasing law-abiding Black Ribboners down the street to beat them
with the Holy Egg Whisp of Anoia, or committing human sacrifice
without a licence from *both* High Priest Ridcully and the
Patrician, you may have "crossed the line" as they say in
Morporkian.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Androgyna Majestis  24 Oct - 22 Nov

Andies, the stars tell Fernando that the will to believe is one of
the strongest forces in the Disc. Belief can drive a man or woman to
the greatest feats of heroism and bravery. But it can also drive
people to the lowest crimes of passione, like the Winkle Street
Strangler last month, who was drivened to murder by the deepest
belief that he wouldn't be caught. And so it is that the virtue of
belief becomes the vice of gullibility. Fernando knows that all
peoples are capable of following themselves into believing what they
want to be true, instead of what is true, but Andies are especially
at risk. My friends, listen to Fernando as he tells you the wisdom
of the stars, and avoid being gullible like those who read the
Inquirer. The Patrican is not the vampire, even if he does wear
black. Gnolls will not break into your house to steal your dirty
socks, at least not if you keep the door locked. The famous "talking
dog of Ankh-Morpork" is the urban legend. If something seems too
good to be true, it probably is, especially if it is one of CMOT
Dibbler's extra special sausages inna bun made from named meat and
the seven secret herbs and spices (Fernando has learned that at
least three of them are wood shavings). And most importantly, my
friends, you can trust Fernando on this when he says that the
leopard-skin print velvet smoking jacket will never go out of style.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Spoons, a.k.a. the Greater and Lesser Spoons, 23 Nov - 21 Dec

Spooners, Fernando understands that not everybody has the stamina,
skill and interest in the making of the love like Fernando does.
Some people are happy with the life of chastity and abstinence, and
Fernando respects that, even if it makes him saddened. It would be a
funny world if we were all alike, would it not? But there is nothing
that cannot be a vice. As they say, "moderation is all very well,
but don't over-do it". And so it is with Spooners and abstinence,
for this is your vice. If you find yourself approaching the
strangers in the street and proudly announcing that it is eighteen
months, three weeks and two days since you last made the rumpy-
pumpy, then let Fernando tell you that you have let this become your
vice. Fernando is sure you are proud of this fact, but you don't
need to accost the strangers and tell them. Do what everyone else
does, and get a Clog, and "chirp" about it.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Hoki the Jokester  22 Dec - 20 Jan

Fernando knows that it is perfectly natural for people to be
fascinated with Fernando and his every action. Fernando is used to
be followed by crowds calling his name whenever he goes out in the
street. This is only to be expected. But there are those who take
this too far, like the person Fernando caught rummaging around in
Fernando's garbage looking for the trinkets and keep-sakes. This was
especially disturbing to Fernando, because the garbage was still in
the bin inside Fernando's rooms at the time! My friends, it is a
wonderful thing to attach yourself to greatness by being the fan,
but it is possible to take this too far. Hokians, the stars tell
Fernando that your vice is to be the obsessed fan. It may be all fun
and games now, but wait until somebody is kidnapped and dragged off
into a cabin in the forest and kept chained to the bed... trust
Fernando on this, after a couple of weeks this gets very tiresome.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Big Chicken  21 Jan - 18 Feb

Squawkers, the stars tell Fernando that your vice is gossip. My
friends, some people think that it is only the womens who gossip,
but let Fernando tell you that this is not the case! Many mens
gossip too, although often they gossip about different things:
womens gossip about whom is doing the rumpy-pumpy with who (if you
excuse Fernando's Quirmian, but we are all adults here, yes, except
for Kevin who keeps trying to take over Fernando's job, don't think
I haven't noticed you Kevin!), who owes who money, and the dastardly
crimes of passione; while the mens gossip about who they would like
to do the rumpy-pumpy with, the sport, and the dastardly crimes of
passione. And Fernando – everyone gossips about Fernando,
especially the stronzi mentire at the Inquirer who keep making up
the stories about Fernando, don't believe anything you read in that
rag my friends, especially not the one about Fernando and the yak.
Fernando has never even been to Mad Stoat!

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Lesser Umbrage   19 Feb - 20 Mar

Umbragians, the stars tell Fernando that your vice to beware of is
thrill-seeking. Believe me, my friends, Fernando understands the
thrill of having the thrill. Who is not the molto excited by the
secret, and *quiet*, liaison with your lover just out of sight of
their parents or chaperones? Fernando too is the man of action, and
while he does not condone it, he understands the rush you feel from
stealing the ink-wells from the Post Office right under Miss
Maccalariat's nose, or streaking through the finals of the
Morporkian Women's Association's Sausage Competition with a sack
over your head. (Don't forget to cut the eyeholes in the sack. Trust
Fernando on this, for he knows this is important.) But some thrills
are dangerous and foolish, and should be avoided, such as sneaking
into the Assassins Guild at midnight to replace Lord Downey's mint
humbugs with licorice all-sorts, or performing mime outside the
Patrician's Palace in broad daylight.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

2) CLOSE

Still ate'nt dead. Still mostly in bed. Have re-read a *lot* of
Discworld novels. See you next month...

– Annie Mac

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

———————————————————————————————————
If you have any questions or requests, write:
interact@...
———————————————————————————————————
Copyright (c) 2011 by Klatchian Foreign Legion

WOSSNAME
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
EARLY EDITION
September 2011 (Volume 14, Issue 9, post 1)
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

INDEX:

01) EDITOR'S LETTER
02) PTERRY ON PTOUR: TICKETS NOW AVAILABLE
03) GUARDS!GUARDS! GAME LAUNCH
04) A LONDONMEET

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

01) A SHORT LETTER FROM YOUR EDITOR...

Only a month to go until the official publication of Snuff! And in
the meantime, some other Pterry and Discworld goodies for you...

– Annie Mac, Editor

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

02) PTERRY ON PTOUR 2011

Getchyer tix now! or at least some of them: some promotional Snuff
tour dates have been announced for October:

11th October – Seattle
13th October – New York
14th October – Washington DC
18th October – London

(Note that, as it says on the terryandrob Twitter page, "Please note
that none of the October Snuff events are signings.")

Tickets are now available for the Washington DC and London
appearances.

Washington DC: "Terry Pratchett at the National Press Club"

When: Friday, October 14, 2011
Venue: National Press Club, 529 14th St NW (13th Floor), Washington
20045
Time: 7:00 PM (ET)
Tickets: $15.00

For tickets and further info:
http://www.eventbrite.com/event/2109683119


London: "An Evening With Terry Pratchett"

When: Tuesday 18th October 2011
Venue: Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Catherine St, London
Time: 8pm (doors open 7.30pm)
Tickets: prices are £35-£45 and include a copy of Snuff - or so it
says at The Londonist:

http://tinyurl.com/6gozrnp

For tickets and further info:
http://tinyurl.com/6gxw4sl

http://www.paulkidby.com/news/index.html
http://twitter.com/#!/terryandrob

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

03) GUARDS!GUARDS! GAME LAUNCH AND NEWS

"We are delighted to tell you that a 'free' App for Guards! Guards!
is now available on iPhone and Android. It's got a bit of
History, different strategies you can use when playing the game and
the top volunteers to recruit in categories such as Loyalty,
Streetwise, Dollars etc. This may give some of you 'an advantage'
when playing; so keep it to yourself..."

iPhone link:
http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/guardsguards/id454974767?mt=8

"We'd also like to let you know that the Official Release of our
game will take place at www.titancon.com  on Saturday 24 September
2011... We will have games to play on the day, games to buy and a
very special competition..."

There will be an additional competition, to be announced on:
www.facebook.com/guardsguards

http://www.guardsguards.com/blog.aspx

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

04) LONDON SEPTEMBERMEET THIS WEEK

In ABP, The Countertony says:

It's that time of year again – the seventh September Meet I've
organized will be at the Pembury Tavern in Hackney (E8 1JH),
starting at 6 pm on 17th September. Anyone within AFPing distance of
London, head on over for a glass of something!

http://countertony.org.uk/?page=septembermeet

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

———————————————————————————————————
The End. If you have any questions or requests, write:
interact@...
———————————————————————————————————
Copyright (c) 2011 by Klatchian Foreign Legion

WOSSNAME
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
September 2011 (Volume 14, Issue 9, Post 2)
********************************************************************
WOSSNAME is a free publication for members of the worldwide
Klatchian Foreign Legion and its affiliates, including the North
American Discworld Society and other continental groups. Are you a
member? Yes, if you sent in your name, country and e-mail address.
Are there any dues? No! As a member of the Klatchian Foreign Legion,
you'd only forget them...
********************************************************************
Editor in Chief: Annie Mac
News Editor: Fiona (not Bruce) Bruce
Newshounds: Vera, Mogg, Sir J of Croydon Below, the Shadow
Staff Writers: Asti, Pitt the Elder, Steven D'Aprano
Convention Reporters: Mithtrethth Hania Ogg et al
Staff Technomancer: Jason Parlevliet
Book Reviews: Drusilla D'Afanguin
Puzzle Editor: Tiff
Bard in Residence: Weird Alice Lancrevic
DW Horoscope: Lady Anaemia Asterisk, Fernando Magnifico
Emergency Staff: Jason Parlevliet
World Membership Director: Steven D'Aprano (in his copious spare
time)
Copyright 2011 by Klatchian Foreign Legion

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

INDEX:

01) QUOTES OF THE MONTH
02) LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
03) A MESSAGE FROM THE MASTER
04) "SNUFF" NEWS AND PRE-REVIEWS
05) ASB HEARTS TP!
06) GOING POSTAL DVD REVIEWS
07) PTERRY AND ALZHEIMER'S NEWS
08) DISCWORLD GAMES NEWS
09) DISCWORLD CONVENTION NEWS
10) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS
11) DISCWORLD GROUPS MEETING NEWS
12) DISCWORLD DISCUSSION
13) DISCWORLD ARTS AND CRAFTS NEWS
14) ACTION REPLAY: FABULOUS INTERVIEWS
15) UU OFFICIAL SCARF SEEN ON MOUNT EVEREST
16) IMAGES OF THE MONTH
17) WIZZARDS OF THE BOAST PODCAST
18) DISCWORLD AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE
19) "SNUFF": AT LAST, THE OFFICIAL WOSSNAME REVIEW
20) CLOSE

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

01) QUOTES OF THE MONTH

"Grandad was superstitious about books. He thought that if you had
enough of them around, education leaked out, like radioactivity."

– Johnny and the Dead, p. 46, Doubleday hardcover edition

"Not doing any magic at all was the chief task of wizards – not
'not doing magic' because they couldn't do magic, but not doing
magic when they could do and didn't. Any ignorant fool can fail to
turn someone else into a frog. You have to be clever to refrain
from doing it when you know how easy it is."

– Going Postal, pp. 142-143, Doubleday hardcover edition

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

02) A LETTER FROM YOUR EDITOR

Vorbis wouldn't like it...

Readers in the USA are now in the fine days of Banned Books Week
(BBW), an annual event that celebrates the freedom to read and the
importance of the USA Constitution's famous First Amendment. BBW
occurs during the last week of September and is sponsored by the
American Booksellers Association, American Booksellers Foundation
for Free Expression, the American Library Association, American
Society of Journalists and Authors, Association of American
Publishers, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, National Coalition
Against Censorship, National Council of Teachers of English, PEN
American Center, and the National Association of College Stores,
and is also endorsed by the Center for the Book in the Library of
Congress.

This year the event runs from 24th September to 1st October.

A main feature of Banned Books Week in 2011 is the "internet read-
out", which among other venues features a dedicated YouTube channel
with videos like this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1emBd4cimM

...and The American Library Association's puppet-based video on the
subject:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLprbWMd8mM

"Intellectual freedom — the freedom to access information and
express ideas, even if the information and ideas might be considered
unorthodox or unpopular — provides the foundation for Banned Books
Week. BBW stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of
unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints for all who wish to read and
access them. The books featured during Banned Books Week have been
targets of attempted bannings. Fortunately, while some books were
banned or restricted, in a majority of cases the books were not
banned, all thanks to the efforts of librarians, teachers,
booksellers, and members of the community to retain the books in the
library collections..."

http://tinyurl.com/oc5cgv

"Booksellers around the country are responding to the Internet read-
out that is the focus of this year's Banned Books Week, Sept.
24-Oct. 1. Bookstores of all sizes are planning events during which
they will create videos of customers reading from their favorite
banned books. 'We are really pleased with the response from
bookstores. In addition to the Tattered Cover Book Store and other
stalwart supporters of Banned Books Week, we have been contacted by
stores that are planning their first BBW events,' Chris Finan,
president of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression
(ABFFE), said... Two kinds of videos will be posted on the special
YouTube channel created for the read-out: readings from banned books
and eyewitness accounts of book challenges..."

http://tinyurl.com/3j7n43w

Support Banned Books Week, and here's to a future of Freedom of
Text!

Also, I'd like to draw your attention to an unbanned plug for "star
of L-space and devoted/accomplished Pratchett essayist" Stacie Hanes
who's written a nice piece over at Locus about "books about space":

http://tinyurl.com/3qbdzz2

Oh, and there's some English fantasy author whose next novel is
published on the 13th of October...

It's a bumper fun issue this time. On with the show!

– Annie Mac

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

03) A MESSAGE FROM THE MASTER

Folks,

After numerous enquiries I would like to make it clear that although
I am indeed working on my autobiography, the book 'Terry Pratchett –
The Spirit of Fantasy' is not officially authorised in any way. My
personal account of my life is well under way, including all the
saucy bits and lies I can now tell because the people who know
otherwise are now dead :)

Further more, just to clarify, due to our punishing writing schedule
neither Rob or myself will be attending the Irish Discworld
Convention this year.

All the best.

(signed) Terry Pratchett


To view the original of this message on the web, go to PJSM Prints:

http://www.paulkidby.com/news/index.html

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

04) SNUFF NEWS

4.1 LAUNCH PARTY ONNA RIVER

September's 13th-of-the-month Facebook Snuff goodie was an
announcement of a competition. Unfortunately, it was a rather short
competition, lasting only a few days:

"Win tickets to the Launch Party of Snuff! The Countdown Has Begun!
On the 19th October 2011 a very special party will be taking place
aboard a paddle steamer on the Thames in London. It will be the
launch party of a very special book. Snuff, the 39th Discworld Novel
by Sir Terry Pratchett. We have two tickets to give away to this
event where Sir Terry will be the guest of honour! All you have to
do is answer the following question, email your answer with your
name and address to: discworld@... and the
winner will be picked at random out of those with the correct answer
on Friday 16th September at 10am (GMT) and announced on this page."

http://tinyurl.com/3k5q4t4

(For the record, the question was: "What was Terry Pratchett's first
published short story called?" The winner's name hasn't been posted
yet as of this time – Ed.)


4.2 PROMOTIONAL GIVEAWAY AT WATERSTONE'S

Waterstone's Salisbury is in the middle of a promotion called "39
Days of Discworld". Each day, the first person to pre-order Snuff
in-store or by telephone will win a free copy of that day's featured
Discworld book. Each book (paperback only) features the original
artwork on the cover.

If the day's winning order is via phone, the free book will be sent
with the customer's copy of Snuff when published. Only one free book
per person is allowed, so don't get overexcited...

http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/


4.3 PRE-REVIEWS

Publishers Weekly! And starred, which is always a good thing:

"Pratchett's 39th Discworld novel (after 2010's I Shall Wear
Midnight) brings back fan favorite Sam Vimes, the cynical yet
extraordinarily honorable Ankh-Morpork City Watch commander also
known (if unenthusiastically) as His Grace Sir Samuel, the Duke of
Ankh. Vimes faces an onerous task: two weeks off in the country at
his wife's family estate. It's not the thought of spending time with
his beloved Sybil or precocious six-year-old Young Sam that bothers
him; it's just that a copper can't stop being a copper. Fortunately,
even in this conservative hamlet, there's plenty of skulduggery to
investigate, beginning with the brutal murder of a goblin girl. With
the help of untried local constable Feeney Upshot and gentleman's
gentleman Willikens[sic], Vimes takes on a fiendish murderer as well
as the case for (in)human rights and social justice in this lively
outing, complete with sly shout-outs to Jane Austen and gritty
police procedurals."

http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-06-201184-8

Jennifer Obloy in the San Francisco Examiner:

"Those familiar with the Discworld series have a penchant for comic
fantasy, sparkling wit, and a desire to lock many of the greatest
authors in the world in the same room just to see what will happen
(J.R.R. Tolkien, William Shakespeare, and H.P. Lovecraft to name a
few). Because of the format of the novels, most of the books are
accessible at any point in the somewhat chronological history of
Discworld's biggest city, Ankh-Morpork. That said, there is all the
more reason to anticipate the 39th installment of Pratchett's
Discworld. Snuff will center on Sam Vimes: a (generally) straight-
laced Commander of Ankh-Morpork's Watch, an equivalent of the police
force. Finally able to go on holiday with his wife, Vimes soon
learns that crime never takes a day off..."

http://tinyurl.com/63u5yty

Carol Schneck in Good Reads:

"Pratchett's incomparable sense of humor, his love for humanity –
and on Discworld, I'm using that word loosely – in spite of its
flaws, and his brilliant use of language are just a few of the
reasons that Pratchett, his novels, and his unforgettable characters
are the objects of great devotion by his many fans. In Snuff, Sam
Vimes, Commander of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch, takes a vacation in
the country, far outside his comfort zone, with his wife Sybil and
Young Sam. Anywhere Vimes goes, mayhem is sure to follow. Vimes
discovers something deeply wrong in the countryside surrounding
Ramkin Hall, and when someone tries to frame him for murder, he
knows he's on the right track to catching those responsible. I loved
Snuff!"

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/196480936

Kathleen in Good Reads:

"In my opinion Sir Terry Pratchett can do no wrong, and I know that
his fans the world over will delight in this 39th novel in the
Discworld saga. Wry humor, quirky unforgettable characters, and a
plot that hurls itself down the Old Treachery River with the speed
of a two-cow barge..."

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8785374-snuff

Michael Jones in Blogcritics:

"Snuff, the upcoming Discworld novel (his 38th) not only keeps up
the revival but might just be my favorite book of Pratchett's in
quite some time. It's certainly my favorite within the last 25 in
the series... While I may just be singing the praises of this book
due to the fact that I love Pratchett's writing so and I want to
share it with the world of Blogcritics, let me assure you that I am
not lying about how masterful the writing is in this book. Judging
by the work alone you would never know that this was written by
someone dealing a personal battle against early Alzheimer's. Strong,
clear and deftly economical in approach (doubtless few others would
be as clear-eyed in knowing the grammatical moment for appropriate
placement of a fart joke during a raging battle on the water where
wind and rain threaten to tear everything apart), I can only hope
that the next 38 Discworld books are even half as entertaining as
this one... Snuff is a very solid entry into the discworld oeuvre
and if you are a fan at all (or not at all, really) it should not be
missed..."

http://tinyurl.com/4yxg8wu
http://tinyurl.com/3mut37t

Harriet Klausner in Genregoround:

"The latest Discworld satire (see I Shall Wear Midnight) is a
wonderful entry that looks deeply at inalienable human (and other
species) rights and bigotry to take away those accepted rights.
Fast-paced Vimes is at his cynical best as he learns life in the
country means a female woodcutter works with woodies and that rural
does not mean crime free; as he leads the inquiry into the vicious
murder of the Goblin Girl. Terry Pratchett provides a strong entry
filled with social commentary intertwined into an exciting
thriller..."

http://tinyurl.com/3lp2tte

Stefan Fergus in Civilian Reader:

"It feels like an age since Sam Vimes was the focus of a Discworld
novel, but he is back as the star of Snuff, published in October
2011. Snuff is the ninth novel in the City Watch/Guards series,
following on from the excellent Thud! (2005); and it will be the
39th Discworld book overall... Needless to say, the Guards have
always been my favourite series-within-the-series, and I can't wait
for Snuff."

http://tinyurl.com/3ve3l5e


Remember, Snuff will be out on 13th October, but you can pre-order
now. Signed copies are now available for pre-order from PJSM Prints:

http://www.paulkidby.com/news/index.html
http://www.paulkidby.com/books/index.html

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

05) LOUD AND PROUD, A.S. BYATT HEARTS PTERRY

At the 2011 Edinburgh International Book Festival, award-winning
novelist and noted Pratchett apologist A.S. Byatt held forth again
on our favourite writer. As reported in The Guardian:

"AS Byatt has declared Terry Pratchett her hero, for having 'caused
more people to read books than anyone else – because he tells them
something they want to know, that they can laugh at, and because he
writes really good English'. Indeed, the author of Possession and,
most recently, the Man Booker-shortlisted The Children's Book,
suggested that a free distribution of Pratchett to all 12-year-olds
would 'have a very good effect' on getting young people to read..."

http://tinyurl.com/3j4mcta

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

06) GOING POSTAL DVD REVIEWS

Reviewed at loving length by Jerome Wetzel at Blogcritics:

"While Going Postal is an adaptation of the thirty-third book in
Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, it is not necessary to have any
background going in. The books cover a wide variety of characters,
and there aren't filmed adaptations of most of them, so Going Postal
is approached as a completely stand alone story. Considering that
Pratchett's books sell second only to J.K. Rowling in the UK, and
that this film is a fairly faithful version, it would be advisable
to watch it... Going Postal is set in a fantasy world, with
werewolves and wizards and trolls. Yet, magic isn't an essential
element to the plot of this story specifically, and more informs the
tone, then sets the pace. This is a welcome, novel idea in an age
where boy wizards and hunky teen vamps rule the movie theaters and
television screens. The characters are unique and interesting, and
many have multiple layers. While there are static villains, others,
like Lipwig and Vetinari, aren't so easy to figure out. It makes for
a fascinating tale, and keeps one guessing what will come next...
All in all, Going Postal is sure to leave quite an impression,
especially for those brand new to Pratchett's world..."

http://tinyurl.com/3bayvbo


Reviewed at Denver, Colorado's KDVR:

"Terry Pratchett's Going Postal may not have the epic production
value of, say, The Lord of the Rings films (it was made for
television after all) but it is a beautifully realized world filled
with wonderfully quirky characters. Even though the characters are a
bit on the two dimensional side, they work perfectly in bringing
Pratchett's biting and satirical humor to life. The cast appear to
be having a blast with Coyle, Foy and David Suchet (PBS' 'Poirot'
himself as the villainous Reacher Gilt) really digging in and
delivering over-the-top fun.

"Even though the Discworld television mini-series haven't become
huge mainstream hits, if Going Postal is any indication of their
quality, they should be something at least sought out on the home
video market. Going Postal is a light, joyously fun romp that will
make fans of Pratchett's novel happy and maybe even convert
newbies...."

http://tinyurl.com/3o5fox4


Reviewed at DVD Talk by John Sinnott, who – even though he gets much
of the essential information wrong (Angua is Ankh-Morpork's "chief
of police", eh?) – is very impressed by the Going Postal experience:

"Terry Pratchett's [novels] are filled with amusing scenes and ideas
and this production did a great job of bringing those to life. The
story isn't an outrageous comedy like The Hangover, rather it's a
series of cute and accurate send-ups of modern life that will leave
you smiling for most of the film's running time. I particularly
enjoyed the whole Victorian-era Internet, the Clacks, and the group
who try to befuddle the system, self-described clacks-crackers named
"The Smoking Gnu." The whole subplot on pin collecting is a
hilarious satire on collecting in general... The actors all do a
fine job and manage to bring the characters to life without chewing
the scenery of dramatically overacting, which would be very easy to
do given the material. The play their parts nicely, especially
Claire Foy who stands out... one aspect that really brings the novel
to life however is the sets and scenery. They went to a lot of
trouble to make the city of Ankh-Morpork looked like a real, lived-
in city. This attention to detail really paid off and made the show
much, much better than it otherwise would be..."

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/50835/terry-pratchett-going-postal/


Reviewed at Technorati by Bob Etier:

"Absurd. Wonderful. Inventive. Ironic. Funny. Daft. Clever. Terry
Pratchett's Going Postal, an adaptation of a Pratchett Discworld
novel, is now available on DVD and Blu-ray. Made in 2010, this
British television import nearly defies description, it is that
original. Sometimes one makes recommendations about films based on
'If you enjoy...then you'll enjoy...,' but it's difficult to
think of a movie to which Going Postal compares. However, as I began
watching the first half, I kept thinking about Sweeney Todd and
Edward Scissorhands..."

http://tinyurl.com/3kexxg6


Reviewed in Now Toronto by Andrew Dowler:

"You'll find lots of deadpan silliness in this three-hour British
miniseries based on one of Terry Pratchett's novels about
Discworld, a place that looks like rundown Victorian England where
vampires, banshees, golems and the like live alongside regular
humans... The cast has great fun in high seriousness and arched-
eyebrow mode, especially Suchet and Foy, who get to be nasty, and
director Jon Jones creates some brilliant silent-movie-style dreams,
with Moist awash in a heaving sea of letters..."

http://tinyurl.com/3odr9rk


Reviewed in the Toronto Examiner by Jon Jones:

"Not having any familiarity with the previous works of Terry
Pratchett, I don't really have a firm frame of reference for the
characters, but Going Postal was a fun little fable that leaned more
towards a younger crowd but was enjoyable for the entire family.
This farce with plenty of satirical moments was intelligent designed
as we are taken through Discworld on this adventure. Director Jon
Jones a UK TV Movie veteran has crafted an entertaining world for
our story to unfold in a fairly compelling manner with getting
bogged down in too much exposition. Going Postal isn't high art, but
it is fun entertainment that is suitable for the entire family... If
you're a fan of Terry Pratchett and his novels or just a fan of some
family friendly fantasy story telling then Going Postal may just be
up your alley..."

http://tinyurl.com/3mr9xm8


Reviewed at TV Overmind by Sam McPherson:

"The story, adapted from the Discworld novel by author Pratchett
(who makes a cameo appearance in the series), is clearly allegorical
for today's need for immediate communication through advancing
technology. It also just happens to include golems, banshees, and
it's set in a world that lies on the backs of four elephants who
themselves stand on the back of a giant turtle who swims through the
cosmos. So it's not exactly all serious allegory. The acting is
fantastic. Claire Foy (Upstairs, Downstairs) delivers a strikingly
charming performance as Adora, while Charles Dance (Game of Thrones)
is particularly engrossing as the morally grey (but always
efficient) Lord Vetinari, the leader of Ankh-Morpork... Fans of
absurd British comedy (i.e. Monty Python) will get a kick out of the
series, as will fans of quirky sci-fi (i.e. Doctor Who)..."

http://tinyurl.com/3j36aqo


...and a brief but praise-filled review at AM New York by Scott A.
Rosenberg:

"While author Terry Prachett is pretty well known on this side of
the pond, this British adaptation of 'Going Postal,' part of his
series of 'Discworld' novels, is a bit of a hidden gem. Set in
his fantastical city of Ankh-Morpork, where mythic creatures such as
golems walk alongside men, the unfortunately named conman Moist von
Lipwig is arrested and given the option of death or running the
antiquated and dilapidated post office. What ensues is a clever,
funny yarn that will really surprise you. And I can assure you that,
despite having never read any of Pratchett's books, this is a very
accessible film and a true pleasure to watch."

http://tinyurl.com/3l8rwok

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

07) PTERRY AND ALZHEIMER'S NEWS

In The Guardian's "Joe Public" blog, research manager Philippa Hare
speaks out:

"As a non-expert on dementia, one of the things that has really
helped me to understand the people's experiences of dementia has
been hearing them speak about it, in their own words. The
opportunity for us to do this has grown hugely in the past few years
– before that, it was largely assumed that people with dementia
(or indeed learning difficulties, mental health problems or any
other cognitive or communication impairment) had nothing sensible,
coherent or useful to say, and that others (care staff, doctors,
family members, charities) could speak much more effectively on
their behalf. All that has started to change. [activist] Norrms is
just one of a growing number – including Richard Taylor and Peter
Ashley, Agnes Houston and James McKillop of the Scottish Dementia
Working Group, and Terry Pratchett – who are now not only
presenting at major international conferences, but also using new
social media (blogs, YouTube etc) to convey their experiences and
views directly. It may take a bit longer for us to hear more voices
of those in the later stages of dementia, and of those who are much
older and possibly made frail by a whole combination of conditions
– but I believe this too will come in time...

"Hearing the voices of people who live with dementia has made me
think much harder about the language we all use to describe those in
that situation. We all speak and think so quickly, that it's easy to
use default terms – to label people as patients, care receivers,
service users, residents, dementia sufferers, victims. But each term
has its own connotations and each conveys a specific and very
partial role which can easily prevent us from seeing the wholeness
of the person we are describing and, hopefully, wanting to
understand. People like Richard, Agnes, Peter, James, Norrms and
Terry are all experiencing their own dementia in their own way (and
they choose their own terms to describe themselves and their
condition). But by speaking up they are all showing us that they are
not victims, that they each have an active, unique and extremely
important role to play, and that they are determined to make the
most of life, whatever it throws at them..."

http://tinyurl.com/42ba2eg


More on World Alzheimer's Month at alz.org:

http://www.alz.org/wam/wam.asp#boxHome

The website of Alzheimer's activist "Norrms" McNamara:

http://alzheimersspeaks.wordpress.com/tag/norm/


In research news, scientists at University College London "have
secured £38,000 funding from Alzheimer's Research UK for eye-
tracking equipment to boost research into a rare form of
Alzheimer's. The grant will pay for the high tech equipment to study
posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) which affects only a few thousand
people in the UK, including the best-selling author Sir Terry
Pratchett, a patron of Alzheimer's Research UK... The disease
doesn't cause damage to the eyes, but to the area at the back of the
brain which processes and interprets what we see. Thanks to this
essential new funding boost, Dr Sebastian Crutch and his team at the
UCL Institute of Neurology can now invest in an innovative machine
called EyeLink II to help with their mission to unravel this complex
disease. The team is already learning more about PCA by comparing
the brains of healthy people with those of patients with PCA and
Alzheimer's disease..."

http://tinyurl.com/432y377

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

08) DISCWORLD GAMES NEWS

8.1 ANKH-MORPORK NEWS

A tasty review by Craven on the Rotdog games site ("Gaming by Gamers
for Gamers"):

"It's the first Treefrog Games product I have bought and I wasn't at
all let down by the quality of the finished product. I have been
pretty spoilt by the sheer excellence that represents Fantasy Flight
products, so it is reassuring to see that other companies out there
can churn out items with the same sort of sheen as the bigger boys
do. But, by far the biggest and most pleasant surprise was how
simple this game is to pick up – but it is a simplicity that masks
a very in depth strategy game once you get started... Within moments
it became pretty clear that you simply pick a card and follow the
instructions. That is about as complicated as it gets. Hearing this
for the first time I have to admit to a degree of trepidation. Was
this nice polish merely the result of a few Discworld fanboys
running rampant in the Treefrog design department, without
considering whether it would work as a game or not? The answer is a
resounding no... The rules remain clear, logical and keep the game
moving at a steady pace, but the planning and counter manouvering
really makes your mind work. In simple terms, it's a perfect mix..."

[Note: The review page also features a considerable selection of the
game's cards. Looks wonderful – as your Editor will soon see with
her own eyes...]

http://rotdog.co.uk/blog/?p=2224

Treefrog Games' "Ankh-Morpork" is now available from retailers
including Eclectic Games. Priced at £29.99, it can be ordered
online:

http://tinyurl.com/42kj752

http://www.treefroggames.com/ankh-morpork


8.2 GUARDS! GUARDS! NEWS

Available from Eclectic Games, priced at £34.99. To order online:

http://www.eclecticgames.co.uk/detail.jsp?pid=9&id=35439

http://www.guardsguards.com/blog/5-guards-guards-launch.aspx

...and here be a fine iconograph of Guards! Guards! designers Boyd
and Brashaw, wearing some truly eye-popping on-topic t-shirts:

http://titancon.com/images/guests/brashaw_boyd.jpg

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

09) DISCWORLD CONVENTION NEWS

9.1 SADWCON NEWS

Iconographs from the SADWcon Event of 10th September. Looks like
great fun was had by all!

http://tinyurl.com/3safxap

http://twitpic.com/6it09z

http://tinyurl.com/3tv97ko


"Auction of Discworld goodies raised R5892 for charity."

http://twitter.com/#!/sadwcon

http://sadwcon.org/sadwevent

(Editor's note: that's £470/US$720)

And about next year's inaugural SADWcon itself:

"Booking available now! There are only 100 tickets available, first
100 ticket holders get a goody bag filled with merchandise so book
now!"

Online – R60
At the door – R80
Children under 13 – Free
Online through Zazzle – Go to our Zazzle shop and buy a membership
postcard:
Zazzle.com - South African Discworld Event Membership Postcard

Then email us at membership@... with your order number and
what badge name(s) you want so we can make up your badge(s)

(Note: Online ticket prices do not, regrettably, include shipping
costs, but they do guarantee entrance and a goody bag.)

http://sadwcon.org/tickets
http://sadwcon.org/programme
http://sadwcon.org/venue_menu

http://sadwcon.org/

http://kittenofdiscord.blogspot.com/2011/08/squee.html


9.2. GERMAN DISCWORLD CONVENTION 3

Happening next week!

http://www.scheibenwelt-convention.de


9.3. NADWCON 2013 NEWS

"So you wanna host a NADWCon?"

So far, organizations/coalitions/groups in the following cities
have expressed an interest in hosting NADWCon 2013: 

* Atlanta, GA
* Baltimore/DC area
* Boston, MA
* Charlotte, NC 
* Halifax, Nova Scotia

(Seattle, WA has withdrawn – which is to say, the first lot of
bidders have; anyone up in Cascadia who wants to put hat in ring
should do so now!)

"Bidding is open until October 25th, 2011. Other cites in the U.S.
and Canada are welcome to apply... The key to hosting a good con is
hard work, organization, communication, setting realistic goals,
having high standards, behaving in ways that are fiscally and
ethically responsible, and treating volunteers with respect.
Remember: our attendees come first!" 

http://it-bodes.blogspot.com/2011/08/so-you-wanna-host-nadwcon.html


9.4 DWCON 2012 NEWS

The convention theme will be based on The Colour of Magic and The
Light Fantastic. This is especially interesting as canon says there
weren't many Guilds around in those days, so the familiar Convention
Guilds will likely be... um... different.

Read all about it in the first edition of DWcon 2012's official
organ, News Of The Disk (downloadable .pdf), at:

http://www.dwcon.org/media/uploads/files/News_of_the_Disc_1.pdf

For more news and info, and to get in early on registration, go to:

http://dwcon.org/


9.5 IDWCON NEWS

As noted above, neither Pterry nor Rob Wilkins will be able to
attend the second Irish Discworld Convention (4th-7th November 2011
in Ennistymon, Co. Clare). But there *will* be other special guests,
activities, and of course plenty of good fresh Clare air and good
aged Irish bevvies, so do visit their website for more details of
what, where and how:

http://www.idwcon.org/

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

10) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS

10.1 MAURICE ON THE MOOR

A free-to-all presentation of TAMAHER the Musical, during the Ilkley
Festival!

When: Thursday, October 6th, 2011
Venue: Ilkley Playhouse Wharfeside
Time: 9:30 pm

For more information:

http://tinyurl.com/3uy889w

http://www.ilkleyliteraturefestival.org.uk/


10.2 MONSTROUS REGIMENT IN BRISBANE, FOURECKS

The Brisbane Arts Theatre will present their production of Monstrous
Regiment in October and November 2011.

When: Saturday 8th October (opening night), and then Thursday 13th-
Saturday 15th; Thursday 20th-Saturday 22nd; Thursday 27th-Saturday
29th; Sunday 30th (Halloween night special); Thursday 3rd November-
Saturday 5th November

Venue: Brisbane Arts Theatre, 210 Petrie Terrace, Brisbane QLD 4000
Time: 8pm all performances except the Halloween night special on
Sunday 30th October, which starts at 5pm

Tickets: Adults $31, Concessions & groups of 10+ $25, Members $20,
Opening night $37, Halloween night $40
Bookings: 3369 2344 / bookings@...
To book online: http://www.artstheatre.com.au/index.php?page_id=20

http://www.artstheatre.com.au/index.php?page_id=4


10.3 GUARDS! GUARDS! IN DORCHESTER

The Dorchester Drama Club's next production will be Guards! Guards!
by Terry Pratchett, at the Corn Exchange, Dorchester from November
10-12th 2011. No further information is yet up on their website, so
stay tuned...

http://www.dorchesterdrama.org.uk/

contact@...


10.4 SNUFF IN ABINGDON: 2012 PLANS

"It's still a little way off but we're planning to stage Terry
Pratchett's 'SNUFF' in 2012."

http://www.studiotheatreclub.com/CurrentPlans.html

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

11) DISCWORLD GROUPS MEETING NEWS

The City of Small Gods Terry Pratchett Fan Club meets on the last
Thursday of the month from 6.30pm at the Ed Castle, 233 Currie St,
Adelaide (South Australia). The next meeting will be on Thursday
29th September. Details, discussions and organisation of extra
events (such as play outings) are held on their email mailing list,
so do sign up at:

https://groups.google.com/group/adelaide-discworld-fans

*

The next meeting of the Broken Drummers, London's original Discworld
meeting group, will be from 7pm on Monday 3rd October at the Monkey
Puzzle, 30 Southwick Street, London W2 1JQ.

http://www.steeljam.co.uk/brokendrummers/

*

Drummers Downunder meet on the first Monday of every month in Sydney
at Maloneys, corner of Pitt & Goulburn Streets, at 6.30pm. The next
meeting will be on Monday 3rd October. For more information, contact
Sue (aka Granny Weatherwax) on kenworthys@...

*

Perth Drummers meet on the traditional of first Monday of the month.
The next meeting will be from 6pm on Monday 3rd October at The
Vic Hotel, 226 Hay St, Subiaco. For more information contact:
Daniel Hatton at daniel_j_hatton@...

EDITOR'S NOTE: start times have now changed for most of these
groups.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

12) DISCWORLD DISCUSSION

12.1 From "L(J) Space", aka Discworld on Livejournal:

KISS ME KATE, SAID THE WINTER...

dri (aquandrian) wrote:
Remember that footnote about everyone having a Kate Bush album in a
box in the garage? Well, I couldn't help but think of a certain
Pratchett novel when I just saw the cover for Kate Bush's new album
coming out in November:

http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/371/50words.jpg

Remind you of anything? :p

lady_deirdre:
Does this mean that Kate Bush has a certain Pratchett novel in a box
in the garage?

drjon:
This.

aquandrian:
Hahahahahahah! I'd like to think so! Although not in a box in the
garage ... preferably place of pride on a bookshelf in the living
room or study, thanks KT. :p

hotclaws:
this!


FANS IN HIGH PLACES

niamh_sage) wrote in discworld:

AS Byatt is a Sir Pterry fan.
...speaking at the Edinburgh international book festival, AS Byatt
has declared Terry Pratchett her hero, for having "caused more
people to read books than anyone else – because he tells them
something they want to know, that they can laugh at, and because he
writes really good English". What a nice thing to say :D

I'm interested in her comment about a free distribution of Pratchett
books to kids to encourage them to read more. Do you think it would
work? Which book would you choose  to give out?

eruvadhril:
Guards! Guards! is a good starter for Discworld newbies. Wyrd
Sisters is good, too.

lady_deirdre:
I'd go for Amazing Maurice myself. It's got everything a Discworld
novel should have (Death! Deceit! Horror! Magic! Baked Beans!) and
if some parent complains, you can always point at the back cover and
say it was meant for kids.

charliesmum:
This is an interesting question. My son is a high-functioning
Autistic (PDD/NOS for anyone who knows the lingo) and his summer
reading assignment was Lord of the Flies. Now he is not a good
reader, and that is WAY out of his reading skill set at this point,
so I had him read Only You Can Save Mankind. I knew he'd like it,
because of the video games, and it actually has a very similar theme
to Lord of the Flies; i.e. that humans need rules or else they can
be really horrible to each other. (Broadly speaking) He loved the
book, and went on to read the next two Johnny books.

grimhillman:
Wee Free Men. A female main character who is strong and capable
without being boyish, and also loves animals, is great to attract
girls, and the pictsies for boys, and brilliant storytelling for
everyone.

rockinlibrarian:
That was MY first, and it definitely worked. Of course I was 26 at
the time. But then I do tend to read primarily children's/YA fiction
so you figure I'd be hooked similarly.

cordilleran2:
Depending on age group, I'd choose Maurice and his Educated Rodents,
or one of the Tiffany Aching books.

greenlily:
Not novice readers, of course, but I'd certainly hand the first two
Tiffany Aching books to the 10-12-year-old set (boys and girls), and
hope that they liked Granny Weatherwax enough to get hooked on the
other witches-centric books. With the current popularity of
vampires, Carpe Jugulum would amuse a lot of teenagers, although all
the Granny Weatherwax bits might go over their heads.

hazey_sunshine:
In the UK, we have free public libraries that stock Pratchett. So, I
think we've got the free distribution sorted already. I agree with
Wee Free Men too, but I'm Aching biased!


12.2 From BU:

"THE NAME'S VIMES. SAM VIMES."

Mogg:
I just got home after seeing Cowboys and Aliens with Sacharissa and
the denizens of the Fortress.The movie can be perfectly summed up in
Vera's words as "It did what it said on the box", however Daniel
Craig was channelling the spirit of Sam Vimes. That is, if Sam Vimes
could ride a horse. He was definitely hard drinking, dirty fighting,
cigarette smoking, wiry, scruffy, possibly Brung Low by a Woman, and
couldn't stand rich, bullying twits or damn great flying things.

Vera:
But but but Vimes *can* ride a horse! he rode one in Snu- ~blushes~
Erm, move along, nothing to see here...

Lu-pi:
... in M@A, didn't he? Or, I get the feeling somewhere in Uberwald,
but Uberwald doesn't have too many horses (because they're smarter
than to stick around where there are wolves, of course...)

Libwolf:
Only one I can track down is his dislike of talking to people on
horseback (Night Watch) – but I half remember one of him distrusting
horses?

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

13) DISCWORLD ARTS AND CRAFTS NEWS

DISCWORLD COLLEGE HOODIES

"This is a classic Hooded Sweatshirt. For this design we use AWDis
Hoodies which are 280gsm in weight. They have a double-fabric hood
with self-coloured draw cord, front pouch pocket, ribbed hem & cuffs
and set in sleeves. Twin needle stitching detail to armholes, hems &
cuffs. 80% cotton/20% polyester. The Image is applied using a hard-
wearing Superflex Vinyl. Please ensure sizing is correct when
ordering as all hoodies are made to order."

All designs are available in sizes Small (36"), Medium (40"), Large
(42"/44"), Extra Large (46"/48"), and   Extra Extra Large (50"/52")

All hoodies are priced at £28.00

UNSEEN UNIVERSITY HOODED TOP (golden yellow on burgundy)

BRAZENECK COLLEGE HOODED TOP (burgundy on heather grey)

BUGARUP UNIVERSITY HOODED TOP (white on royal blue)

For more information, and to order, go to:

http://www.pjsmprints.com/tshirts/college-1.html

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

14) ACTION REPLAY: FABULOUS INTERVIEWS

Ann Giles, journalist, blogger and a lot else, also known as The
Bookwitch, has some fantastic extended conversations with Pterry on
record, complete with a panoply of fine iconographs:

http://tinyurl.com/3y3xrnc

http://tinyurl.com/yauz8o6

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

15) THE VIEW FROM CORI CELESTI

"And then, although it took 9 days to get there, after only 30
minutes we turned around...."

Yes, Asti of BU, peripatetic granddaughter of WOSSNAME founder Joe
Schaumburger, has made a successful climb to Everest Base Camp! And
here she is, on the slopes of Everest, proudly wearing her Unseen
University scarf as promised:

http://tinyurl.com/43n6ms5

For the full story and more:

http://tinyurl.com/3wjc6f4

Congratulations, missus!

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

16) IMAGES OF THE MONTH

Oook! A topical "manip" wallpaper by Pratchett fan uvirith:

http://tinyurl.com/3mt4mgr


Bonsai mountains!

http://vcrown.com/suiseki-2/japanese-art-of-suiseki/


Gytha Ogg: the Next Generation?

http://i.imgur.com/GsdXb.jpg


The wonderfulness that is the Pratchgan. Just because it deserves
another airing here:

http://tinyurl.com/42rskzo

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

17) WIZZARDS OF THE BOAST: ALL-DISCWORLD PODCAST

From Planned Banter ("While the chats are planned, the opinions are
not"):

"Time to get your luggage and travel out to Unseen University for an
all-Discworld edition of Bookbusters! Thrill at Mike's reading/re-
reading of the most popular book franchise in Britain that
doesn't... involve... wizards. Well that isn't Harry Potter anyway.
Or a licensed series like Red Dwarf or Doctor Who. I haven't fact-
checked those others but I'm covering my bases here..."

http://tinyurl.com/3nkxy75

To download:

http://tinyurl.com/3rtpzvm

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

18) DISCWORLD AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE

Blogger Florian Kaferbock's critique of the Discworld series, as
featured last month in Around the Blogosphere, inspired a long,
passionate rebuttal from WOSSNAME reader Andy Feeney:

I wonder what's wrong with Florian Kaferbock. I think this man's
problem is that as a mathematician, he thinks too much like a
mathematician. A huge part of the best Discworld novels has to do
with the characters, not the plot, and Kaferbock doesn't seem to
recognize that. Also, for at least some of Pratchett's readers, the
unexpected satirical asides & psychological/sociological/scientific
insights and aphorisms are the little jewels scattered through the
novels that lift Pratchett into the realm of – well, it seems a bit
wossname to say so, but into the realm of genius.

Unfortunately for Kaferbock, who reminds me in some ways of Ponder
Stibbons, he seems tone-deaf to Pratchett's asides and aphorisms,
not to mention Pratchett's occasional forays into sheer goofiness.
Hence his over-valuation of the later, "serious" books and the
woeful under-valuation of the earlier, "silly" ones.

There is a lovely, basically goofy passage in "Eric," for example,
in which the Creator (I think after hearing from Rincewind) decides
to stop making snowflakes on the basically boring design of one
bloody hexagon after another, and starts turning out some snowflakes
in the shapes of letters of the alphabet. Hasn't anyone ever
wondered why this isn't possible? Pratchett did, and used "Eric" to
convey the idea to us. I think we should be grateful for this.

There's another nice, lightly written passage in "Eric" in which
Rincewind encounters the Helen of Troy/Tsort character, ten years
after her face "launched a thousand ships" and triggered a
disastrous war, and finds her a nice matron of remarkably pleasant
appearance, but no great shakes as a femme fatale. It's a logical
gloss on the somewhat overwrought Greek myths about Helen's beauty,
and thus a satirical commentary on the logic of the Iliad, and also
a somewhat melancholy reflection on the damage that time ultimately
does to all great beauties. But Kaferbock seems to have missed it,
or ignored it, which I think is rather sad.

The portrayal of Hell in "Eric" as a place where outright torture
has been replaced by detailed bureaucratic regulation that actually
seems worse than torture is nicely drawn, too, but perhaps because
the plot connecting these moments is somewhat rickety and "silly,"
Kaferbock seems to have missed the good things that are there.

I think what Kaferbock is most oblivious to in the Discworld books
is Pratchett's satire, which is sometimes deft but sometimes
descends to broad burlesque. For example, the scene in "Hogfather"
where Death plays the role of a department-store Santa Claus with
the literal power to grant the outrageous wishes of the children is
a passage that had my Christmas-averse nephew rolling on the floor.
But perhaps because he was never exposed to the high-octane
commercialized insanity of American Christmas shopping, Kaferbock
missed it, or didn't appreciate it.

In "Soul Music," which Kaferbock damns with faint praise, there is a
fine scene where Susan Sto Helit visits a battlefield with a mystic
raven and is revolted when the raven proceeds to eat the eyeballs of
the recently slain, excusing himself with the comment "miracle of
nature." Which, of course, it is! How in the world can Kaferbock
have missed that? Ditto the scene in "Mort" where Death is sitting
in the tavern with the bored tavern keeper explaining how "everybody
hates me" and how he really, really hates his job. Ditto for many of
the other characteristic scenes in which Death appears – such as in
the beginning of "Sourcerers," where the dying wizard says children
are our hope for the future, and Death replies: THERE IS NO HOPE FOR
THE FUTURE. THERE'S ONLY ME. And the wizard says, but what is there
besides you? And Death replies: I'M SORRY?

Almost none of this foolery is necessary for Pratchett's plots.  A
good deal of it also does nothing to advance the development of
Pratchett's characters. But what it does do is allow the author to
comment, pungently and uproariously, on some of the most painful
aspects of the human condition. And this commentary on the human
plight, far more than the confounded plots, is what lifts the
Discworld novels into the plane of great literature.

As a bit of a socialist myself, I find Pratchett's entire Discworld
oeuvre to be resolutely anti-utopian and basically anti-
revolutionary; I get the feeling that Pratchett is somewhat
libertarian in his economic views, and suspect he would class me
with the wretched star people in Light Fantastic, who are a nasty
left-wing mob of rather limited intelligence. But repeatedly,
Pratchett shows a strong anti-elitist and egalitarian streak in his
thinking, and I suspect that this is one element in the books that
Kaferbock finds especially distasteful.

For example, in "Carpe Jugulum," which Kaferbock disliked and
considered silly, a big piece of the psychological action features
Agnes Nitt aka Perdita coming to despise the vampires as economic
predators on the weak and helpless. There's a nice exchange in this
book between Granny Weatherwax and the wishy-washy Omnian priest,
too, in which Granny Weatherwax outlines a system of morality based
on Martin Buber's "I and Thou" distinction – a very serious approach
to non-exploitative, non-theological morality in an almost
apocalyptic setting of violence and predation. But Kaferbock, alas
missed it.

He also appears to have little use for "Lords and Ladies," in which
the destructive elves behave a good deal like the richest and most
elitist "popular" students that many of us have encountered in
American high schools. They are immensely attractive, immensely
stylish, glamorous even to their victims, and inherently cruel -
just like too many teenaged humans. But Kaferbock doesn't get it.
And in "Color of Magic," which Kaferbock found rather
unsatisfactory, the entire first chapter centers around a single pun
that Pratchett is making about the new, highly destructive form of
magic that Two Flower brings to Ankh-Morpork, the one that sounds
like "reflected sound of underground spirits" – i.e. "echo-gnomics."

In "Feet of Clay," which Kaferbock barely remembers, Vimes reflects
a good deal on the willing participation of economically oppressed
candle-makers in the factory where they're being exploited, and at
the end Vimes strikes a nearly "revolutionary" blow against the
hereditary aristocracy. "Jingo," another novel that Kaferbock gives
fairly low marks, is of course centered around the moral obscenity
of war, not to mention the ethnocentrism and xenophobia - and the
arms manufacturing industry, and the mercenary ship captain who is
willing to sell arms to the enemy – that together help to generate
war.

Thus it seems to me that whenever Pratchett pushes his plots in
somewhat radical directions, Kaferbock stops paying attention, and
begins think a great deal more like Lord Rust than like Pratchett.
Whenever Pratchett discusses the powerful destructive magic of
"echo-gnomics," Kaferbock closes his ears.

That's probably enough of my ranting, though. I have no clue any of
this could or should be reprinted. But I wanted to get it off my
chest, since I hate to see so much of Pratchett's earlier work being
unjustly neglected.

– Andy Feeney


Blogger The Incurable Bluestocking reviews Maskerade, not her
favourite Discworld novel:

"This is probably my least favourite of the Witches of Lancre books.
I'm not sure why, but I just don't find it as compelling as the
others. There's no reason I shouldn't. It's based fairly heavily on
The Phantom of the Opera, which was one of my favourite musicals
when I was younger, so familiarity and nostalgia should both be
working more in my favour. And yet — something doesn't take...
Lots of good ingredients, and yet somehow this book just doesn't
sparkle quite the way the others do. It doesn't have the same
balance of absurdity with profound truth that I like from Pratchett.
I also feel like Maskerade, somehow, doesn't have quite enough
struggle in it. The stakes aren't ever quite high enough. The Opera
House is a world unto itself, and while there's a lot of metaphoring
that you can do with that, it means that nothing ever seems too
terribly dire. It also drags a bit towards the end — the endgame
is a little haphazard and takes a while to play out.

"That said, there's a lot of good humour in here, still. Nanny Ogg
grappling with the idea of being fabulously wealthy — and then
having Esme take the decision entirely out of her hands — is good
for quite a few laughs, as is her attempt at a little revenge on her
friend. And if you know much about opera or its descendant, musical
theatre, there are an abundance of great inside jokes. I confess, I
don't catch as many of them here as I do with the Shakespeare-themed
books, but, well, that's what the L-Space is for. I do also thank
this book for giving me the concept of the catastrophic curve —
that point of right before everything goes to hell, a point that has
no small amount of power in it..."

http://tinyurl.com/44zbqk8


Blogger Cheryl Mahoney, on Tales of the Marvelous, lists Samuel
Vimes among her all-time favourite male characters in literature:

"Sam is wonderful, a cynical, bitter copper with a firm sense of
honor. He breaks up riots by gently chiding the participants (backed
up by a very large troll), deals with assassins regularly (but not
until after he's done shaving), charts his own course whether the
authorities like it or not but firmly believes in the Law, and once
stopped a war by arresting both armies for disturbing the peace.
Discworld is a strange, strange place, filled with completely absurd
and very hilarious characters. Sam is the lead of seven books in the
series, and is a sane (but still funny) figure in the midst of the
chaos. His character develops a lot from the first book to the last,
from spending most of his time at the bottom of a bottle and just
trying to stay out of trouble, to Sir Samuel, head of the Night
Watch, who is always (ALWAYS) home at six p.m. sharp to read his son
a bedtime story (even if a state of emergency has to be declared to
make it happen)."

http://tinyurl.com/3fd9ulx


Blogger Elizabeth Willse is also a Vimes – and Watch – fan:

"I remember in college, so many of my friends were reading the
Discworld books, by Terry Pratchett. I read Wyrd Sisters, and
giggled at some of the puns and Shakespeare references. I liked
Witches Abroad. Then I tried to read the first book in the series,
because I am a completist like that. I couldn't get through The
Colour of Magic. So, at some point, I gave up on reading Terry
Pratchett. And relegated him to the "I'll read this at some
point, when I get around to it"... I figured I'd try some Terry
Pratchett again, because I knew it would be a a fast read, something
silly. They had Feet of Clay in the library e-books collection.
That's one of the Discworld books featuring the Guards... I think
now I like them even more than I would have in college. In the past
few years I've gotten absolutely hooked on crime dramas, the
funnier the better. I like NCIS precisely because of the sweet spot
between mystery and hilarity. I like it when the people trying to
solve crimes have plenty of time for ridiculous banter. And head-
slapping..."

http://elizabethwillse.com/2011/09/12/delighted-by-discworld/


Blogger Rachael Griffiths reviews ISWM:

"I've just finished reading 'I Shall Wear Midnight,' the
latest instalment in the Tiffany Aching series by the wonderful
Terry Pratchett. As always, it took me less than a day to read,
because when I pick up a book by Terry, I can never seem to put it
down. Many truths exist between Terry's pages, found between the
effortless humour and clever dialogue. It draws you in and demands
your entire attention, until the real world seems a haze around you,
something that's not really there. I've always thought of books
and the words they contain as some kind of living creature,
attention-starved and selfish beings that want to steal away your
time and make you theirs. Feeling that way has always been a sign
that I'm reading something by one of my favourite authors..."

http://tinyurl.com/4y9jw3n


Blogger Nonsensical Hogwash is deeply indebted to Discworld's Death
for helping her deal with her own real-life thanatophobia:

"Even now, if my little sister goes out for an evening my mind races
with thoughts of rapists, murderers, dementors and evil spirits for
hours. It is so frustrating and totally unnecessary. I know,
logically, that these things are highly unlikely and damn near
impossible (no, I'll never stop believing) but my mind runs off in a
toga and unsightly sandals thinking it knows what's what. So now,
whenever I get scared of death and dying, I think of Death in the
DiscWorld. He's awesome..."

http://nonsensicalhogwash.wordpress.com/2011/09/04/135/


Blogger Geoffrey on Stuffed Crocodile writes an essay, complete with
illustrations, on why Pratchett novels should never have Roundworld
soup advertising in the middle of them:

"The text in the blackout section reads something like: the stairway
Teppic was on was not really good for a break... but we can have
one, so let's adjourn for 5 minutes and make a cup of soup...

"It's an ad for a 5-minute soup.

"Yeah. It's real.

"That was a standard practice for Heyne back then. At least with
their genre novels...."

http://tinyurl.com/3qfamdq


Blogger Samuel Loveland reviews Going Postal and Making Money from
the viewpoint of a die-hard Moist von Lipwig fan:

"Terry Pratchett is high satire at its best, writing Moist Vol [sic]
Lipwig as he scrambles his way into restoring the Ankh-Morpork Post
Office to glory. Although the book takes place in Pratchett's
Discworld, no previous knowledge about the setting is needed. I
enjoyed the Colour of Magic (Discworld #1) when I read it, but
Pratchett is a stinky old cheese – he gets better with age..."

http://tinyurl.com/3fjw92b


Blogger L.S. Engler, a frequent Discworld reviewer, goes back to
Equal Rites and in fascinated:

"Equal Rites is the third Discworld book and, while there are still
some undeniable familiar traits about it, it still feels that
Pratchett hasn't quite fully developed the Disc and is still
working his way through it. It's not bad, by any means; I can't
imagine Pratchett writing *poorly*. But it is as though the Esme
Weatherwax in Equal Rites is just a slip of a woman who Esme
Weatherwax will become. Ankh-Morpork is a mere suggestion of what it
really is in later books. It's a subtle introduction, a glimpse of
more to come, for when these characters are so developed and
particular that there's no denying that they're practically
real. Outside of the almost quaintness of these first glimpses of
these well-known features, Equal Rites is a great book about not
only magic, but the fundamental difference (dare we say it?) between
men and women and the way they go about things...and whether or not
that makes a lick of difference..."

http://lsengler.com/2011/09/01/the-100-books-project-equal-rites/


Blogger NAWFALAQ praises Wyrd Sisters:

"Wyrd Sisters is has several major themes running through the
storyline. The first is about witches: what is it that witches do
and how do they do it? The individuals of the coven each seem to
have entirely different views on this matter, and their conflicting
opinions is the source of much fun for the reader. Of course, I side
with Granny Weatherwax because (not only do I adore her name) but I
think she is positively riotous. Another theme Pratchett satirizes
is Shakespearean theatre. It will probably be lost on those readers
who are not entirely up on their Shakespeare, but if you took a
class in college – you're more than prepared... I love that
there is so much in the Discworld novels. So much... stuff. Satires,
parodies, Easter eggs, etc. Its all so much fun and wit. I love this
about the Discworld series and I seriously distrust those people who
do not like the Discworld novels. If you cannot appreciate the wit
in these novels then clearly you are not to be trusted, I am pretty
sure Granny Weatherwax would agree with me on this..."

http://aqsreviews.wordpress.com/2011/08/29/wyrd-sisters/


...while blogger Reader praises Unseen Academicals:

"The more I read of Pratchett, the more I feel that 'Comic Fantasy'
doesn't really cut it as a description of his work. We have witty
insight into the nature of a football crowd and the nature of 'mob
mentality', a cutting yet non-confrontational judgment on
immigration and persecution and references to Shakespeare (not the
first time the warring families of Romeo and Juliet have been
transposed onto football teams I'm sure) and other classical
literature I'm sure I have not picked up on. This is a book about
love. Not just of 'The Game' but a deep and meaningful love of
humanity..."

http://bookrecord.wordpress.com/2011/08/24/unseen-academicals/


Blogger Vacuous Wastrel, having already done the first two parts of
the Johnny Maxwell trilogy, reviews Johnny and the Bomb:

"OYCSM is, in my opinion, an imaginative, funny, surprisingly
mordant novella that deals with an off-the-wall and curious SF
concept against the background of a realistic, well-characterised
satirical portrayal of the 1990s, and is let down only by its overly
simplistic, almost lazy plot resolution, and its general not-quite-
under-controlness; Dead, on the other hand, is a more polished but
also more lifeless novella, using the same trope (genre concept in
1990s small-town Britain with a cast of teenagers), without the
accuracy or complexity of characterisation, without the darker
undertow, without the same bite to the comedy, without the inherent
interest and sophistication of the central conceit, and without much
of the joie de vivre. Tastes may, of course, vary. But assuming my
views on the first two novels aren't wholly idiosyncratic: where
does the third volume fall on this spectrum?

"Somewhere in between. There is an exciting, enjoyable pace to this,
and the conceit is a little less plain. On the other hand, it
doesn't really make any sense. The fact that it doesn't make any
sense is mostly covered up by the manic pace and the intentional
confusion, but the fact does remain. Characterisation is rather
better than in the second book, but not as good as in the first
(although more realistic in terms of age-suitability). The writing
is, throughout, excellent, particular in the earlier parts, where I
found myself laughing out loud several times..."

http://tinyurl.com/3ps6cju


And two reviews of the new Discworld board game "Ankh-Morpork", from
games blogs Little Metal Dog and Boards and Bees:

http://tinyurl.com/3k2zh7o

http://boardsandbees.wordpress.com/2011/08/21/0082/

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

19) ALL IN THE FAMILY: THE PRIDE, THE PREJUDICE, THE PRIVILEGE AND
THE VIMES

Two reviews of Snuff, by Annie Mac

1. THE SHORT ONE

"Thirty-ninth Discworld novel, what?"

"Absolutely cracking tale of city versus country, what?"

"A policeman will find a crime anywhere if he decides to look hard
enough, what?"

"Full of suspense and plot twists, what?"

"High-speed chases, murder, intrigue, family plots, drugs and sex,
what?"

"Fabulous new characters and character evolutions, what?"

"Chocka with surprises, what?"

"Balls, dances, dinners, and soirees, what?"

"Wonderful, soaringly magical addition to the Discworld canon,
when?"

"What?"

"When?"

"Ah. Thirteenth of October. Buy this book, what?"


2. THE LONG ONE, WITH FOOTNOTES

At the beginning of Snuff, we see Sam Vimes being forced, under
protest, off the streets of Ankh-Morpork. At least that's the way
*he* sees it. But although he may technically be on leave, where
he's really gone is off to war...

...with himself.

Yes indeed, His Grace Commander Sir Samuel Vimes is a one-man class
war, and there's nothing like a nice restful holiday in the
countryside to stir up the old inner battlefield. From his first
moments at the Ramkins' hereditary estate, meeting the vast (also
hereditary) staff, His Grace the Copper finds himself embroiled in a
brain-melting stew of customs and traditions that leaves him equal
parts infuriated and embarrassed – why can't he have a quiet drink
with his manservant? – which hands must never be shaken? – how
can he get the housemaids to answer his simplest questions?, and so
on. And when he tucks tail between legs and retires to the village
pub for a bit of peace and quiet, the confusion continues. Some of
the locals are annoyingly obsequious; some of them make him the butt
of their misplaced republicanism; and even the traditional
solidarity[1] between officers of the law turns out to have hidden
twists and stings. So what's a copper to do?

Look for a crime, of course. At least, Vimes thinks, he knows the
rules about *that*. Or does he?

As we all know, Vimes is the direct descendant of an infamous
regicide, now become the richest and, on a technicality, nobbiest[2]
nob in Ankh-Morpork, and although being His Grace Sir Samuel grates
endlessly on his egalitarian soul, he has come to realise that his
titles, wealth and respectability-by-marriage are sometimes useful
as tools in his personal and professional fight against crime and,
yes, injustice[3]. As we see in Snuff, he's getting better at it,
having had at least six or seven years in storyline-time to
practise.

There's also the matter of the knock-on effects from Vimes' NDE in
Thud! – which is to say Near *Dwarf* Experience[4], i.e. the
interactions between the Summoning Dark, when it was trying to
possess him, and his own inner Watchman aka the Guarding Dark.
Without giving too much away, I can point out that the reality of
this "superpower" is confirmed in Snuff... though the degree of that
reality remains open to interpretation.

But Sam Vimes has become more than just a policeman, more than a
nobleman, more than a super-Watchman, because these days the love he
bears for his family is every bit as all-encompassing as the lust he
bears for catching the bad guys. And O Readers, Terry Pratchett has
given Vimes a family truly worth loving. We've always known that
Sybil is far more than just a pampered daughter of the faded
aristocracy; she's a true Lady in terms of the old claim that *real*
aristocrats can make themselves at home in any company and make any
company feel at home. Although "yielding yet firm" is a good
description of her personality, and although she is pleasant and for
the most part *seemingly* complaisant[5], Sybil has an iron will and
all the grit and determination of generations of Ramkins to back it
up[6] – something that is shown very clearly as the story of Snuff
advances.

...and then there's Young Sam. Now almost six years old, Young Sam
is an almost improbably serendipitous and yet totally believable
amalgam of the very best of both his parents' traits. He has his
mother's gentleness and "people skills", her great capacity for
loving, plus her (again, hereditary) supreme self-knowingness; he
has his father's determination, tendency to singlemindedness, powers
of observation and analytical outlook[7]. The effect of this
combination is nothing short of breathtaking. I'm not a great one
for very young children, but I would willingly babysit Young Sam any
time!

So, on to the rest of the book: Snuff is a great Discworld story, a
great human-interest story, and in keeping with the evolution of the
series over the course of thirty-nine novels, it commits literature
whilst still keeping the satire, comedy, and deliciously awful
pun(e)s that first made Discworld and Terry Pratchett a household
name[8]. It also continues to extend the storylines of familiar
secondary characters (among them Harry King, Constable Haddock, Wee
Mad Arthur, and of course the redoubtable Willikins who may be one
of the series' greatest-ever scene stealers), and expands our
knowledge of Discly geography (time for a new Mapp, perhaps?). I
have yet to find a Pratchett novel I didn't like, but I do have a
"least favourite" list that has built up over the years, but Snuff
very definitely is not on it. If anything, I'd rate it right up
there with Thud! and Going Postal, of the more recent books.

There are a number of recurring themes in the Discworld stories;
Snuff offers us some of the big ones, including the issues of
speciesism and multiculturalism, of class divides, of the power of
tradition and, oh yes indeed, of blood ties, as well as lesser
themes of city versus country and old ways versus new. One could
stir multiculturalism and racism (a quite literal term on the
Discworld, that one) into one brew labelled "personhood issues". In
Snuff, even more than in Unseen Academicals, this is one of the
significant beams on which the whole story balances. Orcs (before Mr
Nutt came to town) were considered a hated and feared lesser race;
goblins, on the other hand, are hardly considered a race at all. If
the Orcs of the Disc inspire terror, the goblins inspire a far less
impressive reaction, namely disgust. To most people, human and
otherwise, goblins are no more than vaguely human-shaped vermin, to
be avoided, abused or even exterminated if their presence, or very
existence, clashes with human business or society. But to Sam Vimes
(this is a "Vimes book" after all), they're an annoying race that
nonetheless deserves the protection of the law, and he intends to
give it to them, even if he is miles from his jurisdiction and up
the river without a... well, that would be spoilage...

One of Vimes' more notable traits is that he's an equal opportunity
bigot. Vimes isn't a misanthrope, he's a miseveryspeciesthrope, and
thus while he tends to detest humans, dwarfs, trolls, Pictsies and
the various Undead with equal vigour[9], he would and does apply
himself equally to solving the injustices meted out towards each
species. And that includes the goblins. After all, hath not a goblin
eyes? Hath not a goblin hands, organs, dimensions, senses,
affections, passions? If you prick them, do they not bleed? – well,
yes, as it happens, they do. Quite a lot. Which is how and why Vimes
gets involved in the first place... but to say more would be saying
too much. And while I could go on in this vein, deconstructing and
examining Sam Vimes and his family in ever closer detail, I think
I've said enough for now.

The plot of Snuff differs from most Discworld stories in that we
don't meet the apparent villains of the piece until well into the
narrative. In fact, it almost starts out as several stories, the
first being about Vimes' attempts to adjust to the life of a country
squire, the second being about the goblins, and the third being
about, well, snuff, but the ride to the point where all three story
threads begin to intertwine is a delightful one without bumps or
turbulence. I'm not inclined to give it an "x out of y" number, so I
will just say:

A pinch of Snuff? Why, YES, thank you!!!


*

Here be footnotes...

[1] or at least, urban-and-rural-myth-of-solidarity

[2] that's 'nobbiest' as in 'most like a posh nob', not to be
confused with Nobbsiest, or anything else referring to Nobby Nobbs.
Truly not. Trust me on this.

[3] but not necessarily for Truth and the Ankh-Morporkian Way,
except possibly when it comes to bacon sandwiches

[4] see anyone can have a near *Death* experience; especially Vimes,
who has said anthropomorphic personification as a frequent though
not constant companion

[5] a wonderful word, one Tiffany Aching would know, and one I've
loved and frequently used since my childhood. Yes, no one told me
not to read the dictionary all the way through either...

[6] Sam has the 'inborn egalitarianism' of generations of Vimeses
– and yet, when he and Sybil butt heads over the class divide,
look who *always* wins.

[7] yes, analytical outlook. In many ways, when it comes to being
analytical the big difference between Vimes and Vetinari is a matter
of speed more than degree

[8] all right, technically that's *two* household names, but let's
not quibble, shall we?

[9] though he still has... difficulties when it comes vampires. Oh
well, we all have our crosses to bear. Hat. Hat. Hat.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

20) CLOSE

And that's it for the moment. Stay tuned for the usual: your monthly
Discworld horoscope and any late-breaking news.

As I've spent quite a lot of time confined to bed recently, I've
taken the opportunity to re-read most of the Discworld novels (and
the Johnny Maxwell novels, and Nation, and...). And then, over the
past day, I re-read Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories for
the first time in many years. I love the character Holmes as much as
ever, but I have to say that Vimes has surpassed him in my books.
May he last as long and become as beloved as dear old Sherlock!

– Annie Mac

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

———————————————————————————————————
The End. If you have any questions or requests, write:
interact@...
———————————————————————————————————
Copyright (c) 2011 by Klatchian Foreign Legion

WOSSNAME
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
September 2011 (Volume 14, Issue 9, Post 3)
*****************************************************************

1) YOUR DISCWORLD HOROSCOPE FOR AUGUST
2) LATE BREAKING NEWS: PTERRY ON PTOUR (UPDATES!)
3) CLOSE

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

1) THE NEW DISCWORLD HOROSCOPE
by Fernando Magnifico

Buongiorno! The Lady Asterisk is unavailable for the horoscoping due
to an attack of custard, but do not be afeared, for it is I,
Fernando Magnifico, and I shall be your astrologer this month!

My friends, when Fernando was the small boy back in Brindisi, he
would play the very many games with his friends and cousins. We
would play the innocent childhood games like Pass the Parcel, Pin
the Chem on the Golem, and Spin the Bottle. Fernando would spend
many hours playing Hide the Sausage with Paquita the milkmaid. Many
a time Fernando's sister Rosita would have to come to the milking
shed and drag Fernando home by his ear because he forgot to do his
chores, so engrossed in playing with the sausage was he. Of course,
as one gets older, ones interests change to the other games, like
Thud and Exclusive Possession, but there will always be the fond
memories of such simpler, happy days. So my friends, in memory of
such fun games, Fernando has asked the stars what games you will be
best suited for.

Ciao bella!

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Adamant Hedgehog  21 Mar - 20 Apr

Hoggers, your game is the dice game Clipper, which is played with
eight dice. If you roll eight dice with the same value, you cry out
"Clipper" and score 1000 points. Other combinations are worth less.
My friends, Fernando's cousin Ricardo is the expert at playing
Clipper. It truly is the sight to behold. Fernando has watched him
score five Clippers in the single game with his lucky dice, which he
refuses to let anyone else handle.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Half-Eaten Sandwich  21 Apr - 21 May

Munchers, your game is the card game Blackguard, sometimes known as
Twenty-Four. Cards are dealt out one at a time, and you place bets,
with the person getting closest to 24 without passing it being the
winner. Fernando knows that Blackguard is the very popular card game
for the casual gambler, for it is simple to understand, and the
house edge is usually quite small (except at Cicero's House of
Cards, where the rich and famous show off how rich they are by
losing more money than they can afford). My friends, when playing
Blackguard it is traditional to always communicate with the dealer
by hand signals. Listen carefully to Fernando: rapping the table
twice means "give me another card", waving your hand backwards and
forwards rapidly means "no more cards", and a punch to the dealer's
nose means "I saw you dealing from the bottom of the pack, you lousy
cheat".

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Herne the Hunted  22 May - 21 Jun

My Hernian friends, the stars tell Fernando that you will be
especially good at the Shell Game. This is a popular game in Ankh-
Morpork, with many people playing it on street corners. The shell
man hides a small pea under one of three shells on a table, and
shuffles them around. Then the others place bets on where the pea
is. My friends, this is the molto challenging game. Fernando has
been playing this game for the many weeks with the friendly
gentleman by the name of Soapy Stan, and he has not won once yet!
Perhaps there is something about the Morporkian temperament, for
every time Fernando gets discouraged, another person joins the game
and wins. Fernando is sure he has worked out a system and soon he
will be the winner too, yes?

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Wizard's Staff and Knob  22 Jun - 22 Jul

Staffies, your game is darts. Fernando knows that there are two
styles of play in darts: competition play and trick shots.
Competition play tends to be done by serious, unsmiling men with
names like Jenkins, who stare silently at the dartboard for minutes
before launching the dart at it. Trick shots are done by jolly,
friendly men called Bazza or Roger, who somehow manage to bounce the
dart off people's drinks *behind* them and still get a bullseye.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Bilious, God of Hangovers  23 Jul - 23 Aug

Bilians, Fernando knows what you are thinking: you expect that your
game will be a drinking game, like "Father Brown's Hat", "Upstairs
Hurling" or "Toss Daddy Down The Well". Do not be so certain, for
the stars have said that your game is in fact Crambo, where you
dress as a barbarian warrior and try to guess a word using nothing
but rhyming clues. If you prefer, you can play Dumb Crambo or
Charades. Do not be afeared, my friends, for you can always make the
game more interesting by turning it into a drinking game.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

My Uncle's Nose  24 Aug - 23 Sept

The stars tell Fernando that your game is Cat Glass Pudding, also
known as Chaverblanc from the Quirmian "Chat Verre Blancmange". My
friends, do not mistake this for the game popular in the Shades,
"Chevablank", which involves two mens kicking each other in the fork
as hard as they can, a completely different game. You only make this
mistake *once*, trust Fernando on this, for he knows it is true. Cat
Glass Pudding is a hand-gesture game: on the count of three, each
player make a hand gesture where Cat breaks Glass, Glass ruins
Pudding, and Pudding drowns Cat.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Small Boring Group of Faint Stars  24 Sept - 23 Oct

Boring'uns, the stars tell Fernando that your game is the card game
Old Crone. If you are looking for a bit of danger and excitement in
your life (for sometimes even the Boring'uns feel the strange
stirrings), you are in luck, for the stars say the good game for you
is Snap. Just be careful of the bruises. And for those of you who
feel that these games are too exciting, do not be afeared my
friends, instead let Fernando tell you of the card game played by
his uncle Bigollone back in Brindisi. In Morporkian, it would be
called Shuffle: you shuffle the cards, then sort them into order and
check that they're still all there. Uncle Bigollone plays it for
hours.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Androgyna Majestis  24 Oct - 22 Nov

Andies, your game is Igors and Nurses. This is not just for the
childrens, it also makes the excellente game for the adults. My
friends, Fernando knows that the influence of Androgyna Majestis is
to give Andies two sides to their personality, and so you will be
well-suited to *both* being the Igor and the Nurse. Sometimes at the
same time. Be careful too my friends, do not take the name of the
game literally, for the only thing worse than accidentally grafting
a carrot to your forehead while playing Igors and Nurses is what
happens afterwards when the real Igors find out you have been
imitating their tribal scars.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Spoons, a.k.a. the Greater and Lesser Spoons, 23 Nov - 21 Dec

Spooners, your game is the mechanical game "Barbarian Invaders", a
game of skill played with the clockwork device, costing a penny a
game. They are very popular in the taverns. At least, they are very
popular until the Librarian discovers them, for he can make a single
penny last all night, with a regrettable tendency to over-enthusiasm
which often leads to the game being accidentally pulled to pieces.
If you can still find a tavern with a working game, listen to
Fernando, for he knows that this is so: the best time to shoot the
wobbly barbarian king is as it goes from left to right, before it
drops down fast towards you. If you time it right, you will get the
twenty bonus points.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Hoki the Jokester  22 Dec - 20 Jan

For Hokians, your game is nothing less than "The Great Game". But
listen to Fernando's excellente advice, and do not mistake this for
"The Most Dangerous Game", which is cheaper to play but the much
more dangerous if Sir Samuel Vimes finds out what you are doing. For
the Great Game, you will need a large diplomatic corps, a few
trained assassins, an army or three, and the willingness to spend
vast amounts of money and lives jockeying for influence over
Klatchistan against Uberwald with nothing to show for it even if you
win. An excellente way to while away a rainy decade or so, but
beginners may find it a bit hard to get into at first.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Big Chicken  21 Jan - 18 Feb

Squawkers, let Fernando tell you that your game is a recent import
from Fourecks. No, not the Fourecksian Rules Footsball, but "stacks-
on", a game similar to the traditional games buck-buck or Johnny-on-
the-pony, only less complicated. Stacks-on makes the good party game
for childrens of all ages. One person, usually the smallest or
youngest, is designated the stackee, and everyone else are the
stackers. The aim is for the stackers to pile upon the stackee.
Extra points are given for crying out "Stacks On!!!" just as you
take a running leap onto the top of the stack. Particularly if the
stackee is, up to this moment, entirely unaware that they are about
to be at the bottom of a stack.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Lesser Umbrage   19 Feb - 20 Mar

Umbragians, the stars tell Fernando that your game is Empirical
Crescent, particularly when played under the Post Office Sorting
Engine Rules. Use of the NoThingfjord variations is optional but
recommended, but Fernando suggests you avoid the Sto Kerrig Rules
unless you are wearing a hat.

[For those unfamiliar with the game of Empirical Crescent -- and
sadly, as the definitive guide to the game, O.G. Stovepipe's
"Empirical Crescent: Rules and Origins", is (and always has been)
out of print, most people are -- the aim of the game is to travel
from No. 19 Empirical Crescent to No. 23 in less than one day. Some
well-known and often used stops include Short Street, Mrs Palm's,
the Tump, the Opera House, the Unreal Estate, the UU High Energy
Magic building, the YMPA, and Bes Pelargic. Passing through the
Dungeon Dimensions is considered a disqualification, except under
the Charter of 1837 Rules (commonly known as the Thumpington-Oddley
conversion, except in Sator Square, where it is known as Bucket's
Code). Sending oneself by Clacks is *certainly* a disqualification
-- there has been only one successful attempt, by Hef Biggleton. Be
warned that, while they are not strictly prohibited under Sorting
Engine Rules, purists frown on the use of homing ducks except by
rank beginners. --- The Editor.]

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

2) THE SNUFF TOUR: UPDATES

Finally, some details for Pterry's first two October appearances!

Seattle:

Date: Tuesday 11th October 2011
Venue: Town Hall Seattle, 1119 Eighth Ave Seattle, WA 98101 (206)
652-5858 (the event takes place in the Great Hall; enter on 8th
Avenue)
Time: 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM
Tickets: $10-$30 ($30 incl. a copy of Snuff, or $10 admission only),
available from 30th September.

http://tinyurl.com/62d9ohw

http://www.townhallseattle.org/index.cfm

www.bookstore.washington.edu


New York City:

When: Thursday, 13th October 2011
Venue: Barnes & Noble/Tribeca, 97 Warren Street, New York, NY 10007
Phone 212-587-5389
Time: 6:00 PM
Tickets: Admission is free

http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/event/73832


...and again, the dates given in this month's early edition:

Washington DC:

When: Friday, October 14, 2011
Venue: National Press Club, 529 14th St NW (13th Floor), Washington
DC 20045
Time: 7:00 PM (ET)
Tickets: $15.00

For tickets and further info:
http://www.eventbrite.com/event/2109683119


London:

When: Tuesday 18th October 2011
Venue: Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Catherine St, London
Time: 8pm (doors open 7.30pm)
Tickets: prices are £35-£45 and include a copy of Snuff – or so it
says at The Londonist:

http://tinyurl.com/6gozrnp
For tickets and further info:
http://tinyurl.com/6gxw4sl


http://www.harpercollins.com/Author/Tour.aspx?authorID=7848

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

3) CLOSE

And that's it for September, just under the wire! See you next
month...

– Annie Mac

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

———————————————————————————————————
If you have any questions or requests, write:
interact@...
———————————————————————————————————
Copyright (c) 2011 by Klatchian Foreign Legion

WOSSNAME
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
October 2011 (Volume 14, Issue 10, Post 1)
********************************************************************
WOSSNAME is a free publication for members of the worldwide
Klatchian Foreign Legion and its affiliates, including the North
American Discworld Society and other continental groups. Are you a
member? Yes, if you sent in your name, country and e-mail address.
Are there any dues? No! As a member of the Klatchian Foreign Legion,
you'd only forget them...
********************************************************************
Editor in Chief: Annie Mac
News Editor: Fiona (not Bruce) Bruce
Newshounds: Vera, Mogg, Sir J of Croydon Below, the Shadow
Staff Writers: Asti, Pitt the Elder, Steven D'Aprano, L.C. Thomas
Convention Reporters: Mithtrethth Hania Ogg et al
Staff Technomancer: Jason Parlevliet
Book Reviews: Drusilla D'Afanguin
Puzzle Editor: Tiff
Bard in Residence: Weird Alice Lancrevic
DW Horoscope: Lady Anaemia Asterisk, Fernando Magnifico
Emergency Staff: Jason Parlevliet
World Membership Director: Steven D'Aprano (in his copious spare
time)
Copyright 2011 by Klatchian Foreign Legion

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

INDEX:

01) QUOTES OF THE MONTH
02) LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
03) PTERRY ON PTOUR
04) "SNUFF" NEWS AND REVIEWS
05) THE BIG INTERVIEW: PRATCHETT BY GAIMAN
06) BRITISH FANTASY SOCIETY AWARD
07) DIGITAL CHAMPION OF THE DISABLED!
08) PTERRY AND ALZHEIMER'S NEWS
09) DISCWORLD GAMES NEWS
10) DISCWORLD CONVENTION NEWS
11) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS
12) DISCWORLD GROUPS MEETING NEWS
13) DISCWORLD DISCUSSION
14) DISCWORLD ARTS AND CRAFTS NEWS
15) GOING TO COURT FOR MORT
16) IMAGES OF THE MONTH
17) REVIEW: THE UNAUTHORISED PRATCHETT BIOGRAPHY
18) DISCWORLD AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE
19) ROUNDWORLD TALES
20) LATE BREAKING NEWS
21) CLOSE

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

01) QUOTES OF THE MONTH

"I have three policeman's helmets lined up in my study, gifts from
policemen who are fans of Sam Vimes. I remember when I was touring,
there would occasionally be the copper turning up in the book shop;
they would never come through the front door, but via the staff
entrance, and with a nod to the manager, after the queue had
finished. And what they would say to me was so predictable that I
could have almost said it for them. They would say things like, 'Oh,
yes, [scathing laugh] we certainly have a Nobby Nobbs alright, and
every nick has got a Sergeant Colon,' although I must report that
the policeman who told me that was quite clearly a Sergeant Colon in
his own right..."

— Pterry, interviewed on BoingBoing by Neil Gaiman, October 2011


"I hope that everyone in Discworld is a recognisable and
understandable character and so sometimes I can present them with
modern and contemporary problems, such as Mustrum Ridcully getting
his head around homosexuality. In truth, I never have to go looking
for this stuff; I turn to find it smacking me in the face..."

— ibid.


"If he was walking across St. Mark's Square with the Pope people
would ask who was that old guy with Rob."

— a tribute to the inestimable Williki-, um, Mr Wilkins from his
employer, October 2011

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

02) A LETTER FROM YOUR EDITOR

Wotcha, O readers! This month's issue is so full of news and reviews
and, well, stuff that scary terms such as "action-packed" and
"bumper" spring to mind. It's also a larger than usual issue, so my
plans for a long editorial have been pushed to the side. Instead,
I'll just say "enjoy"!

On with the show...

– Annie Mac

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

03) PTERRY ON PTOUR

3.1 Rolling on the river!

Remember last month's announcement of the literal launch of Snuff on
a paddleboat on a river (September main issue, item 4.1)? Here be a
marvellous recap by the Bookwitch:

"But when Commander Vimes requests one's company on a paddle
steamer it's hard to say no. So I said yes. And after I'd read
the book about the Commander's latest adventures I got quite
worried and had to check there wasn't going to be that kind of
action on Wednesday night. Was reassured about the planned
sedateness of it all... After all that praise Terry had to say
something. Not sure he had prepared a speech, and his microphone
technique left some of it inaudible to some. Not me. I was that
close. He asked us to convey his thanks to Mrs P, further down the
boat, for allowing him to go out and play every day. Write. Then he
cried a bit and that was that. We resorted to applause to prevent
ourselves from joining him..."

[Includes many photographs of Roundworld's version of the Wonderful,
um, Francesca, of The Author himself, and of London as seen from the
Thames as darkness falls...]

http://tinyurl.com/3l6vkuw


3.2 Exclusive eye-and-ear-witness reports!

This is from longtime Pratchett fan, essayist and ABP poster Tamar,
who has also sent in some photos from the event to WOSSNAME's online
photos***:

"I went to the local Washington, D.C.-area SF convention, Capclave,
and heard that Sir Terry was going to be there for an hour
(literally on the way to the airport).

"The 'Talk with Terry' was much like some others that have already
been on YouTube from other appearances, but there were some
different bits, such as Rob saying which lines in Snuff were his
favorites, and two readings — Sir Terry wanted to him to do the tea
party and Rob wanted to do the Crockett game again as well. The
Capclave talk is on YouTube already!

"Since much of the talk turned out to be about the experience of
making the death documentary, there were only a couple of audience
questions. I managed to scoot up next to Sir Terry in the hallway
and ask my question about Lord Vetinari getting darker. He said
Vetinari is not getting so much darker as more cynical, and that his
harshness toward Moist von Lipwig is necessary because Moist is a
criminal and it's very hard to make him change. I fumbled with my
new-to-me camera while Sir Terry stopped by a vendor and a moment
later he kindly waited and posed for the close-up picture with the
Crowley-esque hat decorations. He and Rob then left for the
airport."

(Tamar also says that Sir Pterry's PCA hasn't affected his public
performance yet: "I hung out with him at the 2000 Worldcon in
Chicago, and at a con or two since then... it's still true that his
speech is just as clear now as it was then.")

*** http://tinyurl.com/6x32vs9


3.3 Sympathy for the, erm, evil!

On the culture/current events/critical thinking blogsite Scholars
and Rogues, Gavin Chait, who attended Pterry's October 18th
appearance at Drury Lane's Theatre Royal, has posted an incisive
essay titled "Terry Pratchett and the redemption of the Orcs":

"Pratchett's compassion and tenderness with his characters is what
draws me to them, long after the gags and fantasy have lost their
ability to surprise. As he grapples with Alzheimer's he is also
grappling with literature and life's more intractable problems.
Adventures need villains. If we are to be the hero then we must cast
someone else in the role of monster. We need to cheer on one side to
the detriment of the other...

"Orcs and Goblins were invented so that we could definitively have
something to hate and that we did not need to feel that we should
empathise, that we should understand or to look for their needs and
grievances. If something is of its very nature evil then we have no
complicity or involvement in their becoming what they are. Real life
is never that obvious or simple. Pratchett, even as he grapples with
the worst illness of the 21st century, demonstrates once more that
fearful majorities are capable of terrible cruelty. He does not
condemn, he does not judge. He offers compassion, empathy and the
recognition that we are reflections and interconnections of each
other..."

http://tinyurl.com/5wd2qq7

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

04) SNUFF NEWS AND REVIEWS

4.1 NEWS

The Bookseller reports that Snuff is selling as fast as a fast-
selling thing:

"Terry Pratchett's Snuff (Doubleday) has become one of the fastest-
selling novels since records began, shifting 54,687 copies at UK
book retail outlets in its three days on sale last week. Helped by
extensive pre-orders and a £5 deal at Tesco, Pratchett's 39th
Discworld novel has the biggest opening week sale from a hardback
adult-audience novel since Transworld stablemate Dan Brown's The
Lost Symbol (Bantam Press) in 2009. Along with Brown, only one other
novel has sold more copies in its first week on shelves since
records began: Thomas Harris' Hannibal (Heinemann) sold 58,300
copies in four days after its release in June 1999.

"Transworld managing director Larry Finlay said: '[Pratchett] is now
firmly established as one of the nation's most important and
widely read authors, with so much to say about the world in which we
live. I couldn't be more delighted that with Snuff, Terry now
joins a very select band of record-breakers'..."

http://tinyurl.com/3ztpe2k

...and the update confirms Snuff as the fastest-ever hardcover:

"Terry Pratchett's Snuff (Doubleday) was narrowly the bestselling
book in the UK last week, outselling Martina Cole's 18th novel, The
Faithless (Headline), by just 768 copies. Snuff, which last week
became the fastest-selling hardback novel by a British novelist
since records began, sold 31,904 copies in its first full week in UK
bookshops, while Cole's The Faithless (Headline) scored sales of
31,136 copies in its opening week in stores..."

http://tinyurl.com/6a87l4n


*

In The Independent, a moment — or more exactly, a minute — from
Pterry's book tour:

"What distracts you from writing?

"Everybody. It's a very unusual day that isn't more or less shredded
by demands on my time. In my heart I ought to be home writing, but
the rest of my body is doing the US tour for 'Snuff', the latest
Discworld book...

"What are your readers like when you meet them?

"Far less strange than journalists would have you imagine..."

http://tinyurl.com/6dn9fmv


*

A delightful BBC live interview, in which The Author discusses
Vimes' inner Watchman, and the relationship between a verbal-by-
necessity storyteller and his Hex. This video is not region-locked
and can thus be enjoyed by WOSSNAME-ers around the world:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-15366944


4.2 REVIEWS

By AS Byatt in The Guardian:

"Pratchett has written several stories set on the Discworld in which
ill-treated, unconsidered species are described and explained and
admitted to society. In Feet of Clay, and Making Money, Miss Adora
Belle Dearheart runs the Golem Trust, and golems develop from being
clay automatons to beings with thoughts and language. In Unseen
Academicals Mr Nutt is an orc, a creature capable of great violence,
who has become an erudite and resourceful hero. In the early books,
Captain Vimes was capable of easy 'speciesism' at the expense of the
dwarves and trolls, gargoyles and zombies who make up the Watch...
In Snuff it is the goblins who are the centre of attention: they are
a dim, feeble collection of creatures who smell very bad and live in
a mess in dark holes, stealing chickens and other things. They are
not classified as human, or sentient beings, and so can be bought,
sold and enslaved. Predictably and agreeably, Vimes takes up the
cudgel on their behalf... One advantage of a continuing world full
of people and creatures is that they can develop in a leisurely way.
The character who does that in Snuff is Willikins, the Vimes's
butler, who when he first appeared was stiff and very formal, trying
to shave Vimes, who forbade him. In Jingo, one of the best of the
series, he joins Lord Rust's army to fight the Klatchians in the
desert, and bites off an enemy nose. In this book he turns out to
have the same streetwise background as his employer, and a
collection of hidden and unusual weapons. He can deal with the
villain in ways his employer, inhibited by professional rules,
cannot..."

http://tinyurl.com/3vofgh5


By Cory Doctorow at BoingBoing:

"Snuff, Terry Pratchett's latest Discworld novel is an absolute
treat, as per usual. It's a Sam Vimes book (there are many recurring
characters in the Discworld series, whose life stories intermingle,
braid and diverge — Sam Vimes is an ex-alcoholic police chief who
has married into nobility) and that means that it's going to be a
story about class, about law, and about justice, and the fact that
Pratchett can make a serious discourse on these subjects both funny
and gripping and never trivial is as neat a summary of why we love
him as much as we do..."

http://tinyurl.com/6hsl2xd


By Kerry Fried in the Washington Post:

"A full-on Vimes vehicle, 'Snuff' begins with a shock as our hero is
chucked out of his office. Happily, this is only a matter of a two-
week stay at his wife Sybil's stately home. Unhappily, he loathes
the countryside. If only some crime would crop up amid all the
'allegedly glorious fresh air.' There's certainly enough suspicious
behavior around, and yokels and aristos alike get noticeably shifty
every time the conversation swings around to goblins. Foul-looking
and worse-smelling, these creatures have an off-putting religion
'founded on the sanctity of bodily secretions' and are resigned,
their only champion laments, 'to undeserved and casual death.' One
such murder leads Vimes to uncover a vast, twisty conspiracy. As he
tries to bring the villains to justice, 'Snuff' daringly links the
demonization of goblins to two of the worst crimes in human history:
slavery and the Holocaust. Some might be offended, but Pratchett
doesn't make such connections lightly. His first Discworld book may
have been a frolic, but his magic has long since been set in strong
moral mortar..."

http://tinyurl.com/6jw3cuh


By Farren Miller in Locus:

"Over the course of Terry Pratchett's long career in humorous
fantasy, the City Watch of Ankh-Morpork has gone through its own
changes, rarely as slapstick as the titles of books like Thud! and
now the equally-monosyllabic Snuff might suggest. The traditional
hatreds between dwarves and trolls, werewolves and vampires, etc.,
don't immediately die down when they come together in the supposed
melting-pot of urban life, any more than English and Irish, or rich
and poor, come to view enmity as old-hat in Victorian London. And
only the most starry-eyed idealist would expect things to be better
in the countryside. Samuel Vimes, still head of the Watch despite
the marriage to Lady Sybil that brought him wealth and social status
as well as true love, grew up a street kid with very little patience
for ideals of any kind... In Snuff he is supposed to be enjoying the
idleness of a family holiday on her estate, though he mistrusts
leisure. But how can he put his instincts as a city cop to use amid
all this unfamiliar greenery, herds of tame animals, and mysterious
bursts of birdsong?

"While not officially YA, Snuff revels in jokes about snot, poo, and
pee to an extent that should delight most boys, exasperate the more
finicky sort of girls, and dismay some grannies (if their last
name's not Weatherwax). But it's all in good fun..."

http://tinyurl.com/5t57zf8


By Francis Spufford in the London Evening Standard:

"Watching Pratchett grow his characters, over 39 novels, has been
like seeing recombinant narrative genetics running with almost
magical efficiency at almost magical speed. Where other writers are
delighted if they come up with just a handful of comic figures with
self-sustaining life in them – Don Quixote and Sancho, the three
men in the boat, Pooh and Piglet and Eeyore – Pratchett breeds
them by the score. All those who live, he adds to the permanent
cast. There's never been anything quite like it. Even Dickens didn't
keep carrying forward his successes till Edwin Drood was rubbing
shoulders with Oliver Twist and Mr Pickwick. Terry Pratchett does...

"Snuff is a Vimes novel. Reviewerly protocol demands that I not give
away any of its contents in detail, so I'll just say that it
features the countryside, Jane Austen, slavery, river boats, snot,
tobacco and a lot of fisticuffs. It also features a Vimes who, for
the first time, feels as if he has acquired more indestructibility,
more elaborated superlative Vimes-ish-ness, than can be kept in
harmoniously plausible balance with his setting..."

http://tinyurl.com/5tc6kat


By Mark Lawerence in the Daily Express:

"Terry Pratchett has a way with words. Like the children's
entertainer with the balloons he can take a familiar phrase and with
a few deft twists create a new plaything better than all the
contents of your party bag. To perform that trick once or twice is
good. To sustain it throughout a whole book is remarkable. To keep
it fresh into the 39th volume of a series deserves a knighthood...
It is not unusual for Pratchett to hold the Discworld up as a mirror
in which he can satirise everything from the iniquitous to the
innocuous in our own world. In Snuff, the critique is perhaps more
heavy-handed. We learn that oppressing minorities (goblins) is bad
and that the class system, along with the uneven distribution of
wealth, are neither big nor clever..."

http://tinyurl.com/3z3hutj


In case you'd miss it, Reader Japester's lovely short review, in the
comments section of Gaiman's interview of Pterry (item 5, below):

"It was a good read. There is a lot more visibility into what's
going on inside Sam Vimes' head this time around, and conversations
with other well known cast members, who have only played bit parts
until now. The writing style was also a little different from what I
am used to, from pTerry. Not in a bad way, but different enough to
make you sit up and realise that this man's brain will never stop
working, adapting to the ever changing world, and making it a better
place."

(second comment in the Oldest replies)


...and from Russia with Discworld love, on the Book Haven site, the
review by OV20, kindly translated for all you non-Russian speakers
out there by WOSSNAME's roving reporter L.C. Thomas:

"Of all the heroes from Terry Pratchett and his Discworld, I love
Sam Vimes the most. It isn't that the others aren't great, but it's
only Vimes that you can reread and reread and love completely.

"In the new novel (39th in the Discworld series, eighth in the
stories about the Guard and its commander) Sam Vimes is finally sent
to the countryside for a well-deserved holiday. A fortnight. In the
idyllic pastoral country estate, Ramkin Manor, he will enjoy the
view, take the air, go to balls, hear about Young Sam's latest
obsession (different kinds of poo) and otherwise enjoy life. And no
work allowed. Vimes of course, suffers, and instinct suggests that a
peaceful and quiet holiday is doubtful...

"You know, considering my love for Sam Vimes, a plot isn't even
necessary for me — he can just wander here and there, eat bacon
sandwiches, curse social stratification and raise his son. But
there's also quite a detective story, concerning questions of human
rights and non-human rights, which I squealed most of the way
through. And a few genres other than detective are touched on - for
instance, Pratchett mocks books about English villages in the 19th
century (there is a family with five daughters, four of whom are
waiting around for suitors, and the fifth of whom became a
woodcutter), and even his own work, a little (for example, the
Patrician's main storyline concerns a crossword he is unable to
solve). And all of this is done with his eternally subtle humour,
with at least every second line being quotable.

"I always feel awful translating Pratchett, it's a Sisyphean task,
it's a futile and thankless job, because it does not translate well,
and the fans are likely to mock the results. And in this case the
translation hell begins with the title, which by itself has more
than one meaning. [There follows a sentence that I can't quite work
out that seems to be about the Russian title being a pun based on
some old Soviet cartoon... not sure though... – L.C.T.]

"Only because there is already one book of genius in the Discworld
cycle (Night Watch, of course) does this get less than five stars."

http://tinyurl.com/3voludl

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

05) NEIL INTERVIEWS PTERRY!

In which Mr Gaiman puts assorted questions about Snuff and other
things, and gets assorted answers:

"NG: How has the Discworld changed over the years?

"TP: I suppose the simple answer is that there is still humour, but
the gags are no longer set up; they are derived from characters'
personalities and situations. These days the humour seems to arrive
of its own accord.

"NG: How has writing the Discworld novels changed how you see the
world?

"TP: I think it more true that getting older changes how you see the
world. There is stuff in Snuff, for example, that I couldn't have
written at twenty-five. Although I had written things before
Discworld, I really leaned writing, on the job as it were, on
Discworld. I think that the books are, if not serious, dealing with
more serious subjects. These days it's not just for laughs. My
world view had changed; sometimes I feel that the world is made up
of sensible people who know that plot and bloody idiots who don't.
Of course, all Discworld fans know the plot by heart!

"NG: How has writing the Discworld novels changed how the world sees
you?

"TP: Has it? My agent pointed out one day that I had been quoted by
a columnist in some American newspaper, and he noted with some glee
that they simply identified me by name without reminding people who
I was, apparently in the clear expectation that their readers would
know who I am..."


To read this excellent interview in its entirety, go to:

http://tinyurl.com/42fel2t

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

06) BRITISH FANTASY SOCIETY SPECIAL AWARD

The British Fantasy Society have chosen Terry Pratchett for their
2011 Karl Edward Wagner Special Award in recognition of his lifetime
contribution to the genre of fantasy:

http://tinyurl.com/3wxqz8x

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

07) CHAMPION OF DIGITAL ACCESS FOR ABILITYNET

"National disability and e-accessibility Charity, AbilityNet, is
delighted to welcome Digital Champion Martha Lane Fox and
bestselling fantasy author Sir Terry Pratchett OBE as Patrons,
announces Chairman Dr Michael R Taylor. Martha Lane Fox, whose Race
Online 2012 campaign aims to facilitate internet access for all UK
citizens and Sir Terry Pratchett, himself a keen user of adapted
computer technology, are both enthusiastic supporters of the
Charity's work with disabled people and those with accessibility
needs. Says Martha: 'Nearly half of the 8.7 million adults in the UK
who have never used the Internet are disabled... For those with
limited mobility, the internet is a vital link with the outside
world as I discovered for myself when recovering from a serious
accident...'

"'Discworld' creator, Sir Terry Pratchett, has become a devotee of
voice recognition technology since losing his ability to type
effectively – a symptom of his Alzheimer's diagnosis. He said
recently that should his dexterity return he would have absolutely
no interest in returning to the keyboard: 'I'm on my third book
using this technology – it's my right hand now!'..."

To read the rest of the press release:

http://tinyurl.com/3sxqt7q


To learn more about AbilityNet, go to:

http://www.abilitynet.org.uk/

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

08) PTERRY AND ALZHEIMER'S NEWS

8.1 PTERRY NAMED CHARITY CHAMPION OF 2011

Third Sector, "the UK's leading publication for everyone who needs
to know what's going on in the voluntary and not-for-profit
sector", has chosen Sir Terry Pratchett as Celebrity Charity
Champion BMAC (which stands for Britain's Most Admired Charity) of
2011. The runner-up was newsreader and youth charity advocate Jon
Snow, and the Beefster (legendary cricketer and cancer research
fundraiser Sir Ian Botham) took third place:

"Sir Terry Pratchett is somewhat uncomfortable about winning an
award as a 'celebrity'. He simply doesn't view himself as a
celebrity. 'A celebrity is someone sitting in a jungle, eating
worms,' he says. It's not him. The author found international fame
for books including the Discworld fantasy novels, but it's his work
on behalf of dementia charities that has landed him the celebrity
charity champion prize... Jeremy Hughes, chief executive of the
Alzheimer's Society, says that Pratchett's willingness to speak
about his experience has created a greater sense of openness about
the disease. 'Somebody in the public eye saying `look, I'm going
to tell you about it and how I'm going to live my life as a result'
was really significant,' says Hughes... perhaps the most public
statement Pratchett can make is to carry on writing: his new novel
Snuff has just been published. 'One of the things I thought I should
do is to continue doing my job,' he says. 'You're up there as a kind
of figurehead.' Hughes appreciates the example. 'What Terry has said
is that, with the right kind of support, he can live with his
dementia,' he says..."

(The page includes a video of Pterry's "acceptance speech" at home,
as he wryly polishes his shiny new award. The six-minute video is
sweet, often funny, and deeply moving – rather like a certain
series of satirical fantasy novels we all know – Ed.)

http://tinyurl.com/6cfx2cw

http://thirdsector.co.uk/go/aboutus/


...and here be a piece by Stephen Cook, a former colleague, about
the man and the award:

"My visit with our cameraman Tas was to record him receiving his
award as Celebrity Charity Champion in Third Sector's Britain's Most
Admired Charity Awards: he wasn't able to come to the awards night
because he was doing An Evening with Terry Pratchett in the theatre
that night. It wasn't my first meeting with him: in the seventies,
four young journalists including him and me did the 40-mile Lyke
Wake Walk across the North York Moors together. As we slogged for
seventeen hours across the boggy expanses of Fylingdales and
Goathland, Terry moaned a lot. So did the rest of us...

"Perhaps the most impressive thing about him now is the way he faces
his predicament. He recalled coming back from his diagnosis four
years ago wondering "who shall I tell?" and deciding "everyone." He
mused about whether it takes greater courage to be open about your
illness or to keep it to yourself, but, either way, he has chosen
not to shy away from it. He said he plays a game of sorts with
interviewers: he knows they want at some stage to talk about
Alzheimers, and watches them circling round it. And sometimes he
puts them out of their misery by raising the subject himself..."

http://tinyurl.com/68whw97


8.2 PROFILE OF THE AUTHOR AS ADVOCATE

A feature on "Sir Pratchett"** in Varsity, the online magazine of
Brazene-, erm, Cambridge University:

"Anyone who has read any 'Discworld' novels knows that they
contain many neologisms, so he has had to `teach' his computer
some of his vocabulary, in order for the software to be useful. He
also experiences difficulties in reading, particularly with page-
turning, and has needed other people to read his speeches on his
behalf. For someone whose livelihood for the past forty-six years
has depended on writing, losing the ability to write must be
devastating...."

http://www.varsity.co.uk/culture/3852


** Emily Smith, the article's writer and therefore presumably a
student at a cream-of-the-crop institution that's been going almost
as long as the peerage itself, really ought to have researched the
proper etiquette for titles. Ah, these youngsters today, hmm...
— Ed.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

09) DISCWORLD GAMES NEWS

ANKH-MORPORK: THE FIRST PLAY

By Annie Mac

This is going to be a very, very, very short preliminary review,
owing to 1) lack of space (see Editorial) and 2) no sign yet of the
typed reports promised by the other players. So I will just briefly
say that four of us (myself, Moggrat, the Dean, and Lipwigzer)
played a long and delightful inaugural round of "Ankh-Morpork",
great fun was had by all, and the game was won by Lipwigzer, despite
his being the least familiar of us with the source material.

In brief: "Ankh-Morpork" looks wonderful. It's a very classy
production, with well-made pieces, luxurious-looking and -feeling
cards, and a beautiful board. The rules are quite complicated but
not overly dense or arcane, and figuring them out (and making
mistakes, accidentally or, um, less accidentally) is a large part of
the fun value. Play goes fairly rapidly, keeping the interest up,
and to judge from our experience, the game can be enjoyed by players
at all levels of Discworld familiarity. All of us are looking
forward to playing again — a big plus, that! — and will do so
next weekend.

More to come. WOSSNAME thanks Treefrog Games for their kind gift of
a "test drive" copy of Ankh-Morpork, since it's not officially on
sale in Fourecks yet!


Remember, Treefrog Games' "Ankh-Morpork" is available from retailers
including Eclectic Games. Priced at £29.99, it can be ordered
online as a superb Hogswatch present:

http://tinyurl.com/42kj752

http://www.treefroggames.com/ankh-morpork

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

10) DISCWORLD CONVENTION NEWS

10.1 SADWCON NEWS

THE SADWCON EVENT 2011

"There is so much to say, everything turned out great! As the
organising lot we managed to jump some scary last minute hurdles,
managed to get a drop of sleep and definitely managed to have a
fantastic time. A big thanks to the team; no team, no event! We had
a bunch of fans, a HAT full of fans, more fans than we had
realistically expected. The turn-out was great; in total (off the
top of my head) there were 88 ticket holders through the door! An
enthusiastic bunch, many dressed up, took part in the pub-quizz, the
auction and the raffle. In the end we raised around R6000 for our
two charities... Graced as we were by the presence of Rob's mug on
the screen, he face was there too. He read to us from Snuff, he
answered questions and he raffled off his cups. Possibly the most
envied person about, I for one know, I'd give my left leg to hop-
about as Sir Terry's assistant..."

http://sadwcon.org/node/14

And the ever-ebullient Laura Kitty-Cat Shortridge, initiator and
organiser of this Event, made a long, thorough blogpost about it
(including a very impressive iconograph of the lady herself as a
very impressive Angua, accompanied by some also-impressive very
small Feegle impersonators, and then lots and lots of other
impressive iconographs of many people who really put their hearts
into the costuming):

"The next few weeks involved frantic and confused emails being sent
back and fourth between about 4-7 people at any given time. With a
two month deadline and one of our most important committee members
living several hundred miles away, I privately suspect Sir Terry and
Rob must have thought we were over-ambitious lunatics. But we didn't
do too badly after all. Between work, studies and sorting out our
own costumes, we organized pamphlets and tshirts, mugs, keyrings,
post-its and post cards, all with the the official SADWE logo on
them...And none of which arrived. Thankfully some things did not get
lost in the famous South African Postal Service, possibly because
they were hand-delivered by Chris Boote himself about a week before
the event. Pin badges, figurines and board games were sorted. One
hundred special issue SADWE stamps courtesy of Cunning Artificer
Bernard gave us minor heart failure as we discovered we couldn't
find them the night before the event..."

http://kittenofdiscord.blogspot.com/2011/09/sadwe-2011.html

As for the convention itself next year, here's what's planned so
far:

http://sadwcon.org/programme

To register, and for further info:

http://sadwcon.org


10.2. GERMAN DISCWORLD CONVENTION 3

Some photos of last month's convention, apparently posted by Death
himself ("Tod"):

http://www.scheibenwelt-convention.de/photogallery.php?album_id=3


10.3. DWCON 2012 NEWS

Hotel rooms are going fast!

"Hotel rooms at the Hilton Metropole Hotel, Birmingham are rapidly
selling out, if you wish to book a room at the Metropole please
don't delay. Details of pricing and how to book are on the
Convention website  on the hotel information page. No payment is
taken when booking your room (although you will need to provide card
details to secure the booking), So why wait? If you have any
questions about your room booking please email hotel@...."

http://www.dwcon.org/news/2011/09/19/hotel-rooms-selling-out

"The good people running next years Discworld Convention have
announced the following price rise: From the 31st October the
membership price rises, from the current bargain rate of £53 (£36
concessions), to  £58 (£39 concessions) which is still a bargain
for all the fun and frolics you will have. Please note memberships
are going quicker than a witch chased by a familiar  so don't be
scared, come and buy now while you still have a chance."

http://bricksandbooks.co.uk/2011/discworld-news/

To buy your membership:

http://dwcon.org/member/add


10.4 IDWCON NEWS

As Pterry can't make the Irish Discworld Convention this time,
primary Guest of Honour will be Bernard Pearson — Cunning
Artificer, storyteller par excellence, and a well-loved appreciator
of, erm, Irish refreshments. Rod Brown, executive producer of the
three extant Discworld telefilms, will also be attending this year.

http://www.idwcon.org/

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

11) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS

11.1 REMINDER: MONSTROUS REGIMENT IN BRISBANE, FOURECKS

The Brisbane Arts Theatre continue their production of Monstrous
Regiment in October and November 2011.

When: Thursday 27th-Saturday 29th; Sunday 30th (Halloween night
special); Thursday 3rd November- Saturday 5th November
Venue: Brisbane Arts Theatre, 210 Petrie Terrace, Brisbane QLD 4000
Time: 8pm all performances except the Halloween night special on
Sunday 30th October, which starts at 5pm
Tickets: Adults $31, Concessions & groups of 10+ $25, Members $20,
Halloween night $40
Bookings: 3369 2344 / bookings@...
To book online: http://www.artstheatre.com.au/index.php?page_id=20

http://www.artstheatre.com.au/index.php?page_id=4


11.2 GOING POSTAL IN GRANTHAM

The Grantham Dramatic Society will present their production of Going
Postal in November and December.

When: November 30th, December 1st to 3rd 2011
Venue: Guildhall Arts Centre, Grantham
Time: 7.30pm nightly
Tickets: Wednesday 30th November £8.00/£7.00 concessions
Thursday 1st to Saturday 3rd December: £9.00/8.00 concessions
"SPECIAL OFFER! Group discount: book 8 tickets or more and get £1
off every ticket. Please note, group discounts are not available
when booking online!"

For more information, contact info@...


11.3 MASKERADE RAISED MONEY

Harleston Players' recent production of Maskerade raised £265 for
the Alzheimer's Society:

"The money was raised through audience donations when the Players
performed Terry Pratchett's play Maskerade in May, as well as a
raffle for one of the cast members – a cat puppet which played the
part of Greebo. Mike Davison, director of the show, said: 'We chose
the society for our fundraising as Terry Pratchett suffers from
Alzheimer's. Helen Farrar, who produced the show, also works for
Studio Landia day centre, which provides day care for the elderly,
including those with Alzheimer's.'..."

http://tinyurl.com/4xl736e


11.4 WYRD SISTERS IN EDMONTON, ALBERTA

Walterdale Playhouse will be performing Wyrd Sisters in
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada from 30th November to 10th December 2011.

Tickets are $12.00 CAD to $16.00 CAD. To book, and for more
information, go to:

http://www.tixonthesquare.ca/event/run/detail/396/

http://walterdaleplayhouse.com/?page_id=727

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

12) DISCWORLD GROUPS MEETING NEWS

The City of Small Gods Terry Pratchett Fan Club meets on the last
Thursday of the month from 6.30pm at the Ed Castle, 233 Currie St,
Adelaide (South Australia). The next meeting will be on 27th
October. Details, discussions and organisation of extra
events (such as play outings) are held on their email mailing list,
so do sign up at:

https://groups.google.com/group/adelaide-discworld-fans

*

The next meeting of the Broken Drummers, London's original Discworld
meeting group, will be from 7pm on 7th November 2011 at the Monkey
Puzzle, 30 Southwick Street, London W2 1JQ.

http://www.steeljam.co.uk/brokendrummers/

*

Drummers Downunder meet on the first Monday of every month in Sydney
at Maloneys, corner of Pitt & Goulburn Streets, at 6.30pm. The next
meeting will be on 7th November 2011. For more information, contact
Sue (aka Granny Weatherwax) on kenworthys@...

*

Perth Drummers meet on the traditional of first Monday of the month.
The next meeting will be from 6pm on 7th November 2011 at The
Vic Hotel, 226 Hay St, Subiaco. For more information contact:
Daniel Hatton at daniel_j_hatton@...

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

13) DISCWORLD DISCUSSION

Editor's note: all discussions below are from LiveJournal's
"Discworld" community, except for the last one (item 13.6).

13.1 SNOGGING IN SCOONE AVENUE

mama_hogswatch:
Snuff Observation: Woah, His Grace sure has lightened up about how
he interacts with his wife! I'd been wondering how in hell Young Sam
managed to get conceived....

sephystabbity:
Yes! I wondered the exact same thing too, that Sam's interactions
with his wife seemed markedly different! :)

staciey:
I haven't read anything beyond the preview, yet, but I thought he
really started lightening up about being affectionate (at least in
private) in Jingo. It's just that pre-Klatch, he didn't seem to
actually understand why in the heck his wife would even *want* to
spend any time around him.

I always thought it was particularly cute that when he got back from
Klatch, he kissed her repeatedly, almost like he didn't realize
quite how much he missed her and needed her until he wasn't in the
city and couldn't just stroll home.

I always assumed he was just a bit dense about how marriages
functioned because he didn't get to see his parents together while
growing up and his only other marital role model was Fred Colon and
his wife, who deliberately work different shifts. He seems to labor
under the misconception that "if we aren't actually arguing,
everything's okay, isn't it?" up until Sybil has that talk with him
in Jingo. And keep in mind, if Watch business hadn't interrupted,
there would have been a makeup *cough* "evening in" in the works
right after that talk.

I have still squeed repeatedly while reading the online preview,
however.

sephystabbity:
"I always thought it was particularly cute that when he got back
from Klatch, he kissed her repeatedly" Wait, was this an explicitly
stated scene in Jingo? I don't remember coming across it in my
reread last month.

honorh:
He kissed her twice before having his bath.

rosinarowantree:
In Jingo I thought it was because the Disorganiser had shown him an
alternative trouser leg where he would never go home and kiss her -
and where she too probably would be killed soon after, if not
before, him, because I can't see Sybil not resisting the invasion.

staciey:
Yep, those two things definitely aren't mutually exclusive to my way
of thinking. He was, for the first time in his marriage, forced to
be away from his wife for a period. Whether he consciously thought
about it or not, as long as he was in Ankh-Morpork, even if he was
working overnight or distracted by police work, he could just decide
to walk X number of streets home or to the Sanctuary and see her, so
he kind of takes that for granted.

Even without the Disorganizer showing him the alternative(s) if he
failed to prevent an invasion, he still had to know, on some level,
that he might die in Klatch or on the boat and never make it home.
The Disorganizer's alternate trouser leg was probably an explicit
way of raising the stakes, though, because... well, if The Fifth
Elephant proves anything, it's "If you want to make Vimes go totally
thermonuclear, threaten his wife. Would you like the pieces we can
find to be cremated or buried?".

Personally, I'm kind of mystified when people aren't convinced he
loves Sybil after reading Men At Arms. I mean, the man is a solid
copper, he eats, breathes and sleeps being a copper. Being a copper
is who Sam Vimes is. Keep in mind he has zero clue that anyone is
going to create the office of Commander of the Watch and that he's
going to fill it. He marries Sybil knowing full well that part and
parcel of marrying her is that he retires from being a copper. In
other words, he was willing to give up being a copper. Giving up
drink was one thing, but giving up being a copper is like giving up
the oxygen habit for him. He's willing to try that. For Sybil.

eglantine_br:
I always assumed that Sybil sort of managed everything.

staciey:
Well, she *is* one of the Ladies Who Organize.

eruvadhril:
I thought it was because he's on holiday. In the other books, he's
on the job 24/8. Especially in the sorts of situations we're reading
about, there are many exciting and important things going on, any
quiet moments with Sybil wouldn't get any screentime, for want of a
better term.

microwave_jenny:
I think by the time of Snuff they have been married at *least* 7+1
years. That's plenty of time for Vimes to 've sussed out how to
lighten up, LOL!

honorh:
They're definitely more outwardly affectionate. Which is great,
because they're my Discworld OTP of OTPs.

staciey:
He's a practiced daddy, now, which might have a lot to do with it,
too. While the wife might understand "Not now, dear, I'm busy being
Commander and I'm afraid I might look silly in front of the Watch if
I admit I have a personal life." but the kid is just not going to
understand that you currently have worries about looking a fool in
front of your employees if you're making silly faces at them and
similar.

marence:
I think after ~7 years of marriage, Sybil and Sam have realized that
(gasp!) sex can be fun and not just procreation. I've heard this
occasionally happens to some* married people.

*They are lucky and blessed, and never tell their friends how happy
they are, in fear of Something Terrible Happening.


13.2 CASTING COUCH: THE NEW DYNAMIC DUO?

scarybaldguy:
If there's a, aha, 'Snuff' film... They MUST cast Fry and Laurie as
Willikins and Vimes. MUST, DAMMIT

snowlight:
Oh, I wholeheartedly concur! It would be brilliant!

gehayi:
My God, that would be perfect.

miss_dearheart:
I second that. Wholeheartedly. It was my first thought at the
"gentleman's gentleman" comment.

putri_nih:
:D YES. If not, we could have BBC drama with them too.

speakr2customrs:
Why? Is Sam Vimes totally and utterly out of character in 'Snuff'?

scarybaldguy:
No, Speaker, absolutely not. It's more that the interplay between
Vimes and Willikins is an exact parallel between Hugh and Stephen in
their earlier works.

drjon:
Now I've got Fry as Vimes, and Laurie as Willikins, in my head.
Dammit.

kasche:
You know what? The reverse wouldn't be bad either :D I don't know, I
can see Fry as Willikins ;D

microwave_jenny:
I think Hugh Laurie would be even better as King Verence! He has the
perfect look. But I agree Stephen Fry would make a perfect
Willikins. Even better as Willikins than he was as Jeeves IMHO :-)


13.3 COVER ART

madfilkentist:     
"Snuff" cover – Is this the first time that the US and UK editions
of a Pratchett novel got the same cover illustration?

elfie_chan:
Yes. And I dearly hope it will not be the last. (After all, it's
just freakin' sensible.)

staciey:
And given that it's Kidby doing the cover, just plain more awesome.
I'm not a huge fan of the boring U.S. paperback covers, for example.
Evidently there's been at least one Snuff cover variant, with Vimes
peeking out of a porthole, but it was on a version that was
exclusive to a U.K. seller and had a copy of A Collegiate Casting-
Out Of Devilish Devices included. Or so I read. I almost want to
frame the standard Snuff cover. The colors alone are gorgeous.

chesneyj:
The first I purchased the 2 books (The Light Fantastic and Color of
Magic) from the Science Fiction Book Club in the 80's and they have
the original Kirby art work. Every other edition has featured
"alternative" art work. I am glad they have finally given us the
real thing.

aota:
I hope the reprint all of them with the "correct" art.

book_bitch:
Probably won't happen, but it'd be SO AWESOME if it did. And I'd be
out a LOT of money... :)


13.4 INTERVIEW THOUGHTS

meridian_rose:  
[mentioned the Guardian interview (see Late Breaking news, item 1,
below)]

sirona_gs:
Thanks so much for linking us to this! It's a wonderful interview.
It makes me love him more than ever. Narrativia bless him.

meridian_rose:
I think I want a statuette of Narrativia for when the Muse is
misbehaving :D

madfilkentist:
His list of planned books, none of which are Discworld novels, is
especially fascinating.

jesskat:
Pratchett is writing a book set in Victorian London?? GIMME!!!

xenaclone:
PTerry is a national treasure :-)

sqlrob:
I disagree. World treasure :-P

singsonggirl:
I want him to stay around forever ;_;

meridian_rose:
I think we all do.

elfie_chan:
I absolutely need a statue of Narrativia...though I think she should
be holding a martini rather than a cigarette. Or a daiquiri, that
would be okay, too... I always think of Lela/Anoia when I think of
goddesses with cigarettes.

meridian_rose:
Oh, yes. Maybe some sort of vessel of mysterious content - could be
caffine to give you a kick or wine to relax the concious mind or
indeed a daiquiri if that's your personal taste :D Agreed, Anoia
seems to have that covered - her and the mortal but kickass Spike.


13.5 UNSCHEDULED STOP

hourglasscreate:
So my local SF club puts on Capclave, our annual convention
(_http://capclave.org/_). pTerry happened to be in town this weekend
during the convention. He had a free hour, so he came to the
con. We rearranged programming and he gave a talk/reading (OK, his
assistant did the actual reading) during his hour. Both my daughter
and I got about 10 seconds with him after his talk. Still so
excited! 

I said, "You do know we all love you?" 
He said, "But only platonically." 
I said, "Oh no, if I weren't too old, I'd have your baby." 

Unfortunately, his voice is too soft and I am losing my hearing, so
the only word of his response that I caught was, "tonight". Since
he was on his way to catching a plane, I don't think it was
serious. My daughter was all, "Motherrrr!"

dragonsally:
I'd have his babies too! He's one gorgeous man...as is Rob. I could
listen to Rob reading for hours.

scarybaldguy:
Hell, *I* would have his babies.


13.6 SNUFF REPORTS

From ABP:

Having now finished Snuff myself – I think its very good in parts
and  generally good overall.  It will probably improve with re-
reading when I  am no longer trying to anticipate where the story is
going. More thoughts later as they say...

– Reader in Invisible Writings


Likewise, the only negative criticism I'd give it is that it has
slightly too much in, I felt that the story didn't quite have room
to breathe. Or that may be because I was reading it too fast!

– Jaimie


Indeed. Unusually I have decided upon an immediate re-read and have
picked up two 'gems' that I missed (because I would not recognise
them until later). Also I reprised what we had learnt about Goblins
in UU when mention of them was a misdirection from the Orc, and it
ties in so beautifully!

– Reader in Invisible Writings


Going too fast on a first-read of a new Pratchett story? *I'd* never
do that (yeah, right!) My usual practice is to read it twice, the
second time a little slower, to make sure I catch anything I missed
on the first go-round. That's planned for next week – I like to give
books a little time to settle.

– Chris Z


As I said, already re-reading and enjoying it even more...

– Reader in Invisible Writings

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

14) DISCWORLD ARTS AND CRAFTS NEWS

Really, this should be in the Discworld Games section, but as it's
both crafty and artistic...

THUD! For your own home!

"Thud, the Great Game, began in 2002 when a very clever man, Trevor
Truran, developed a system of play which allowed combatants to use
their guile, cunning and skill in a tactical game based on the
ancient struggle between Dwarf and Troll. The game itself has grown
in popularity over the years becoming the central theme to the
Discworld novel 'Thud!', enjoying a cameo appearance in Sky Ones
adaptations of Discworld Novels and most importantly, being enjoyed
by thousands of fans across the world. A game can last from half an
hour to gruelling day-long battles. You can learn to play in a
matter of minutes and hone your skills over years...

"This edition, with its thick natural cotton board and carved bone
effect gaming pieces, has been designed for visual impact to sit
beautifully in any home as a piece of craftsmanship in its own
right. The materials have been selected and used to make this
artifact as tactile as possible, a battlefield of bone and cloth
laid out in your living room is a sure cause for conversation. The
gaming pieces have been sculpted by Bernard Pearson, the Cunning
Artificer himself, with his usual level of attention to detail. He
wanted to create a Thud set drawing from the runic imagery of the
dwarfs, pieces that could have been carved out many years ago and
have been polished by of generations of play. After all, games have
been a part of human history from the very dawn of time, they are
indeed, a little part of what makes us human.

"This set is presented in a thick cotton game bag, screen printed
with the Thud glyph, inside you will find the game piece bag
comprising of 32 dwarf pieces, 8 troll pieces and the all important
Thud stone. Along side the screen printed Thud board you will find
the rules to the game, a Thud presentation sheet with ancient poetry
and a very rare piece of Sir Terry Pratchetts writing on the History
of Thud!.

"In the rule book you will find all you need to pick up the main
game including strategy guide as well as the rules for Koom Valley
Thud! a speed version of the game which has an entirely different
dynamic but is equally as playable as Thud itself. Effectively this
is two games in one.

"The Board measures 47cms X 47 cms and has been professionally
screen printed onto thick, hemmed, natural cotton. The pieces have
been resin cast and finished to give the effect of carved bone then
polished with natural beeswax. The dwarfs stand 35mms tall and the
Trolls stand at 62mms.

Prices, including postage:
UK £33.50; Europe £36.50; Rest of world £42.50

For more information, and to order, go to:
http://www.discworldemporium.com/catalog.php?item=566&catid=23

[Dear Hogfather, may I *pleasepleaseplease* have one for Hogswatch?
– Ed.]

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

15) COURT TO KEEP THE INTEGRITY OF MORT?

In The Telegraph, via Richard Eden, "Mandrake" has some news about
Pterry and the film rights to Mort:

"Sir Terry Pratchett may be suffering from early onset Alzheimer's
disease, but the author is determined to stay in control of his
legacy. Mandrake can disclose that Sir Terry is headed for a High
Court battle over plans to make a film of his book Mort. The 63
-year-old novelist is suing Paul Bamborough and Camel Productions,
who had an option on film rights for the fantasy. Sir Terry argues
that the rights ran out and is seeking a legal declaration to that
effect. If he is successful, it would open the way for another
company to make a film based on Mort, the fourth title in his highly
successful Discworld series... The writ appears to have been issued
as a tactic. 'At this stage, we hope to negotiate,' his spokesman
tells me. 'We do not wish to go to court – who wants to waste
money? But writs get issued – sometimes it works.'..."

http://tinyurl.com/6528stp

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

16) IMAGES OF THE MONTH

During the Seattle leg of his book tour, Pterry seems to have
received an autographed iconograph from Mr Fusspot:
http://yfrog.com/nziphcsj

A photo of the beautiful stamps Pterry uses at book signings:
http://tinyurl.com/3rsa9t5

Rob Anybody MacFeegle by Paul Kidby, in monochrome:
http://www.booksillustrated.com/gfx/157807.jpg

A wonderful sign at Roundworld's only A-M Consulate:
http://www.discworldemporium.com/images/CLOSED2.jpg

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

17) REVIEW: TERRY PRATCHETT — THE SPIRIT OF FANTASY

On fansite The Morporkian, John Bullock reviews the new Pratchett
tribute book, "Terry Pratchett — The Spirit of Fantasy", by Craig
Cabell:

"At the beginning of this review, I pointed out that Craig Cabell
calls The Spirit of Fantasy a tribute to Terry Pratchett rather than
a biography, but I would go so far as to say that this book is
almost a character study on the man behind the Discworld. Rather
than detailing Pratchett's life, from school to his career as a
best-selling author, or from The Carpet People to I Shall Wear
Midnight, Craig Cabell goes into the things that make Pratchett
write what he writes. He goes into the things that influenced (and
influence today) Pratchett and why they influence him..."

http://themorporkian.com/news/the-spirit-of-fantasy-review/

[Remember, this is *not* an authorised biography — Ed.]

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

18) DISCWORLD AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE

Blogger Bardsworld's long and informative recap of Pterry's recent
talk at Washington D.C.'s National Press Club:

"Then the first 100 people to order tickets for the event were
ushered out a different exit, into a line for a 'book stamping' and
opportunity to meet Terry Pratchett himself, one to one. The stamps
are two unique images, specific to Sir Terry, which are used when he
is not able to sign personally, but he stood throughout this, and
posed for photographs and a few words with every one of the 100
guests! As you can see in the photograph at the start of this
article, I was exceptionally honoured to get to share a few words
and be photographed with one of my favourite authors. A truly
inspirational night, and I am still grinning and in giddy fan shock
this morning!

"...and what did I say to them? Well Rob had spoken to the American
in front of me with his best fake American accent, so I mentioned
how no accents were needed as I understood English. We talked
briefly about life in America, Stratford-upon-Avon, and I
congratulated him on a wonderful evening and wished them all the
best for the rest of the tour. To Sir Terry, I thanked him for
entertaining me since The first novel in the early eighties, and
told him how he'd always made me smile through his writing..."

http://tinyurl.com/3v5pgbk


Blogger Princess Alyeska was going Librarian-poo waiting for a copy
of Snuff to arrive in Fourecksian bookshops:

"The new Pratchett novel 'Snuff' has been released by the publisher
and should be dispatched in the next few days. Now I spend the next
week beating myself up for going for the cheaper option from the UK
rather than a local option. Admittedly I would have to wait for a
local copy until I could get to Melbourne, but anyway…

"When Making Money was released I was working in Adelaide. The day
it was released I walked the mall to every book shop until I found
one that had received their shipment. They opened the box for me.
First person in Adelaide to buy a copy.

"Now I have to wait another week. Of course, I could buy the book on
Amazon, but can't quite bring myself to do that yet. There is
something about holding the new release in your hands..."

http://princessalyeska.wordpress.com/2011/10/10/snuff/


...and has further excited thoughts as she prepares to read it:

Over the years I have fallen in love with Sam Vimes for his wisdom,
admired Granny Weatherwax for her strength, loved Nanny Ogg for her
compassion and humour, wanted to be Susan Sto-Helit for her
sensibility and practicality, adored Death and the Death of Rats,
pitied Ponder Stibbons and Agnes for being the only sane people in
the asylum and been constantly amused by the various `guest stars'
who appear briefly and make such an impression. Sam Vimes is the
featured character in Snuff. Watching his character develop from a
washed up alcoholic in Guards Guards to the Duke of Ankh, Commander
of the City Watch. The interaction between Vetinari and Vimes is
pure poetry..."

http://tinyurl.com/4yxnmaj


Blogger Bookwitch *has* read Snuff, and is swooning over Vimes...
and Willikins:

I tend to think of there being two kinds of main characters in
Terry's books. One is where we are introduced to a brand new person,
and the other is where we return to someone we have met before.
There is something very reassuring about meeting up with old
friends. And Sam has been mentioned once or twice in the past...
This is a moral story about equality for all, and about how some
people use their wealth and position to abuse others, and how you
can grow with your task, and about seeing in the dark. It is also,
as Terry told me a year ago, about poo. And snot. And that's not as
childish as it sounds, although Young Sam is extremely fascinated by
poo... It feels to me as though there is less of the laugh-out-loud
humour in Snuff, and more of the warm, quiet kind of humour that I
associate with Terry himself, and the novel is all the better for
it. Terry Pratchett might actually be Sam Vimes. And I couldn't help
noticing that the book is dedicated to Rob. I wonder if he really is
Willikins, the lovely Commander's gentleman's gentleman.."

http://bookwitch.wordpress.com/2011/10/13/snuff/


On the Bricks and Books (Lego and Discworld, remember!) site,
Richard "RJH" Hayes reviews Snuff. Ignore the dodgy spelling and
grammar — this is a heartfelt review from a "man in the street"
Discworld appreciator:

"I am not one of those who will put every word and every character
under the microscope and pick it a part, as it takes away the
enjoyment of the novels. Earlier today I was reading people who call
themselves 'fans' who where moaning about the ending and I had to
refrain from replying as it was annoying to have to read it. Vimes
is the main character and is still the Vimes we all love. I like how
in each book he has been in, he has grown as a character and the way
he sees the world is still that of a street copper and that is what
I like about him as a character as he has all theses titles and
roles and money, but take it all away and he is still Vimes of old
and he never forgets where he comes from nut he has learnt to use
his title and power to his own advantage... I do warn you this book
will pull at your heart strings and you read parts with lumps in
your throat. It is that well written and when Wee Mad Arthur kicks
ass you can't help but smile to yourself..."

http://bricksandbooks.co.uk/2011/review-snuff/


Blogger Cheryl Mahoney gives Discworld the highest marks, in a piece
that covers the entire series:

"Discworld is one of those big sprawling series with over forty
books in it. If that sounds intimidating, don't worry – the books
are interconnected, but very few directly follow each other plot-
wise, so you can read as many or as few as you feel like. And you
can probably start almost anywhere. I've bounced all over the
series, and while with some it was clear that there was a previous,
related installment it might have helped to read first, I don't feel
like it severely hampered my enjoyment of whatever I was reading..."

http://tinyurl.com/3qk7u2n


Blogger Polygonwrangler, on SciFi4Me.com, gives a long, detailed and
very approving review of the Going Postal DVD:

"Despite the setting of the film, you will find many aspects of
Going Postal are completely modern in context. Finally, I imagine
that many of you are already cringing about the fact that a book has
been translated into a movie. That hardly ever works out as planned,
apparently. Fortunately, not only has the author collaborated on the
teleplay, he also has a cameo in the film... Ultimately it is in the
Victorian age only instead of gunpowder and steam it's crossbows
and magic. Having a television budget has taken nothing away from
the production or the story, in fact it could be argued that
television is a better venue for this particular piece as far too
much would be lost in the compression of the story arc for sake of
cinema timing... The highlight of the special features was an
introduction by Terry Pratchett on the first disc and an interview
on the second disc. It's always nice to hear an author's insight
into what they were writing and why. The features with Sir Terry
weren't overly long; however, the context he provides for the film
and his, for lack of a better word, immersion he has in all of his
stories is well worth watching. Lastly, the director's commentary
was consistent and informative..."

http://tinyurl.com/3tc3u46


Blogger John Purcell, aka The Booktopia Book Guru, shares an almost-
TMI memory of taking possession of new Pratchett novels:

"I used to live with a woman who became seriously addicted to the
Discworld novels. I used to come home with a new one and she would
bound to the door, then circle about my legs until I extracted it
from my bag. Once it was in my hands I always felt a little nervous,
as she would try to snatch it from me, leaping about like a
madwoman. I would hold it aloft, out of her reach and squeeze past
her until I got to the door of the lounge room. By this time she
would be drooling and grunting. Then I would toss it across the room
onto the couch and she would dash over, seize it and scurry off to
her room. A few hours later she would re-emerge, burp, and then
behave in a manner more befitting an adult with a degree in
literature..."

http://tinyurl.com/6az24cr


Blogger deepseapearl find something to ponder on in Unseen
Academicals:

"The first half of the book contains a handful of encounters between
fans of rival teams, all of which carry the threat of street
violence... I'm the first to admit that I've lived a sheltered
life. Growing up in a quiet neighborhood, I'd—perhaps unwisely
and certainly to my parents' distress—never though twice about
walking alone at night until around the age of 20. Even after
spending last year volunteering at a sexual assault hotline, I've
never felt seriously afraid of or threatened by someone coming
around a dark corner (fact: you are far more likely to be assaulted
by someone you know in a private setting). Now, (obviously) the dark
corner type of danger is not confined to the works of Shakespeare
and Sondheim, and you might just see this as the ramblings of a
naοve girl with too much time and security on her hands. But this
is why I love to read (and watch movies)! So that I can see what
living with the daily threat of physical harm must be like...

"In the second half of the book, these football-(s0ccer)-playing
street toughs get a little more human when they're blindsided by
the government and university's decision to regulate their
favorite pastime. The toughs are drunk, illiterate, and frankly have
no idea what's going on. As a football (real football) player
myself, I understand the need to get a little violent on the playing
field. It's satisfying. It makes you feel like you're doing
something worthwhile. And to have that taken away from you by a
self-proclaimed tyrannical government? I mean, sure, Ankh-Morpork
was dealing with civilian injuries and deaths at practically every
football (soccer) match. But they signed up for it, right? Even the
fans! And the players who died young of head injuries and the
like — they still had the glory, didn't they..."

http://tinyurl.com/69ssse6


Blogger laurapakora82 is delighted to encounter some vintage early
Pratchett in the form of Truckers:

"I love the Nomes different thoughts and explanations for different
aspects of life, and their dismissal of Humans as dimwitted slow
creatures. This book has all the wit of the other Terry Pratchett
books, and I forgot I was reading a children's book. That's not
to say that the book would not be good for kids, it is fantastically
well written. I cannot wait to get my hands on the next two books in
the series, and to go back and re-read some more Pratchett – a
fantastic author..."

http://tinyurl.com/6kcu9nj


Blogger Jennifer Payne gives Mort high marks:

"With Pratchett's trademark tongue-in-cheek wit, Mort is a gem. I
loved Death's gentle side & booming voice – his love of cooking
and shelves filled with life stories yet to be finished. We meet up
briefly with a few characters from the earlier Discworld novels &
make some new friends. For a light-hearted, death rattlin' good
time – pick Mort up and dive into a quirky adventure..."

http://jentbrave.wordpress.com/2011/09/30/mort-by-terry-pratchett/


Blogger Cultural Afterthoughts reviews Snuff:

"Snuff is probably the most Vimes-focused novel in the entire
Discworld series (though I suppose you could make an argument for
Night Watch), as it follows him as he leaves his beloved city and
job for a holiday in the country. Of course, Discworld being
Discworld, the quiet countryside soon throws up a crime or two for
him to solve, and in true Pratchett style the trope (often referred
to as a `Busman's holiday') is acknowledged by the character of
Vimes himself, and his own unhealthy desire to find crime wherever
he looks. The other characters of the Watch books get reduced to
cameo roles, except for Vimes's family and his manservant Willikins,
who in fine literary tradition proves himself invaluable to his
employer. It has to be said, however, that some of the book's new
additions to the cast of Discworld characters don't quite prove to
be as memorable as those left behind in Ankh-Morpork...

"I don't think Snuff quite manages to sit up amongst the best of
Pratchett's work, such as Mort, Small Gods or the aforementioned
Night Watch. Nor would it be one of the books I would suggest for a
newcomer as a starting point since, like the recent Unseen
Academicals, it relies more than usual on the extensive continuity
of the Discworld series (though you hardly need to understand every
reference to enjoy it). But Snuff is a solid effort by Pratchett,
which makes it better than most novels out there..."

http://tinyurl.com/6zz995e


Aptly-named blogger Vacuous Wastrel seems to have put a lot of
thought and effort into his review of Snuff. Your Editor put more
than fifteen floor-pacing minutes of thought and effort into
deciding whether or not to include this piece. Any review that
starts with "I expected to hate this book even before I began
reading it" is fairly bizarre, and it goes on a moment later to "And
yet I bought it in hardback the moment it came out" and thence
swiftly to "I rapidly downgraded my estimation of modern Pratchett
from 'tired, repetitive, unmagical, mostly pointless' to 'can no
longer write'"; but then he claims "actually, I really enjoyed this
book", praises Snuff as "a book worth writing, not just because (as
I feel has been the case with some Pratchett) it expounds a moral
point or furthers his worldbuilding plans for the Discworld, but
because it's a jolly good story", and goes on to list a number of
points of praise *and* some astute observations ("This is also old-
school Pratchett in its erudition. Like the great Discworld novels
before it, this one will send the hardcore fans scurrying to compile
the references, but this time it all feels less accidental, more
purposeful..."), before finally giving Snuff a fairly high score.

So here be the link. Read it if you wish. Your mileage may vary.

http://tinyurl.com/3bjvbfl


...whereas blogger Anarchic Teapot praises Snuff for some of the
very same reasons Mr Vacuous decried it:

"How Terry Pratchett has managed to write so many novels based in
the same mythical universe and still receive acclaim for them may be
mystifying to some. In fact, the answer is quite simple: although he
may sometimes reuse the same characters, each situation, each plot
is different. Each book examines a different side of human nature,
real human nature. The fictional setting just makes it much more fun
to read.

"Each book is different? Well, perhaps up until now, because in
Snuff I detected elements of The Fifth Elephant, Night Watch and
Thud!. Not enough to render the book uninteresting, and all these
novels come highly recommended. No, it's just that you get the
feeling that Sam Vimes, the copper who's so through-and-through
copper that even his inner demon is a copper, has reached the end of
his long psychological journey..."

http://blog.anarchic-teapot.net/2011/10/20/discworld-novel-39-snuff


Blogger Ghost of Goldwater, who claims to be from Norway but writes
in a strangely American style, discovered the Discworld Emporium
when on holiday in England:

"I had no idea that there was a shop in Somerset that was the
official salesplace for all kinds of Pratchett/Discworld related
stuff. So, as the little town of Wincanton was on the road between
Stonehenge and Exeter anyway, I planned a little visit there. Then
this morning, while looking for the exact address to put into my
magic placefinding machine (aka my GPS) I visited their webpage, and
for the first time I scrolled down their front page and discovered
to my great dismay and consternation that the store was temporarily
closed due to building maintenance. Lower lip trembling and tears
forming I still decided to swing by and at least get in a pic of the
place. And boy am I glad I did... As I parked and walked down, I saw
people taking some stuff out of a car and carrying it inside. I
asked a lady in the most lost and forlorn way I could muster whether
they were closed. She said they were, and then asked if I'd come a
long way. 'Norway' I said, voice trembling. 'That counts', she said
and then invited me in. I was in heaven. The little shop is stuffed
floor to ceiling and wall to wall with books and stickers and
figurines and clothes and and and... everything you can possibly
think of and then some. And such wonderful, warm, kind and just NICE
people working there! And funny too, them being British and all. I
bought one rather pricey scarf, which was made in Oxford. So I asked
if it was made from students' hair, being so expensive. 'Yes',
answered the blonde behind the counter. 'Virgin hair'..."

http://ghostofgoldwater.blogspot.com/2011/10/wincanton.html


...and in our last item this month, blogger Guanolad weighs in with
some fascinating suggestions for casting the A-M City Watch in the
proposed Watch television series:

"I'm very excited by the prospect of this show, and, like a lot of
people, have a lot of ideas for potential casting. None of these are
necessarily practical. Some of the actors won't be available, or are
inappropriate for other reasons, such as age or even nationality
(the archetypes are uniquely British, so a UK cast is preferred I'm
sure, at least in my estimation). Some of the casting ideas I've
seen thrown around have included a lot of American names, which is
unacceptable and will not be tolerated. My list are almost
exclusively British or European..."

http://tinyurl.com/4y9v7cf

[Editor's note: Ben Miller as Vimes? That could definitely work!]

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

19) ROUNDWORLD TALES: THE BOGEYMAN

On the Discworld, bogeymen are huge creatures who strike terror into
the hearts of children and fear only the dreaded poker of Miss
Susan. In our universe, the bogeymen of legend come in all sizes and
shapes around the world... including the Spanish/Mexican "coconut
man", Torbalan the Bulgarian "anti-Santa Claus", the Scottish
boggart ("a malicious fairy who causes personal calamities, small
and large... You must not name it, or it will become unreasonable
and follow your family wherever you go"... sounds awfully familiar
in a Pictsie-ish way!), and the Czech and Polish traditional
bogeyman Bubak, who resembles a scarecrow and rides around in a cart
driven by cats!

Here be a list of fifteen of the most bogeyish bogeymen (and at
least one bogeywoman):

http://listverse.com/2009/10/24/15-bogeymen-from-around-the-world/

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

20) LATE BREAKING NEWS


20.1 GUARDIAN INTERVIEW/ARTICLE

By Alison Flood. Not so much an interview as an overview (covering
Pterry's career) with a sprinkling of quotables from The Author:

"The earlier Discworld novels are all about the jokes; as Pratchett
has matured as a writer, they have become less jokey and more funny.
'The further back you go the more juvenile they appear,' he says.
'There's funny and joking, the two are different... As things
progressed, both with adult and junior books, I found that in subtle
kinds of ways, without being preachy at all, you could suggest
rather interesting things.' ..."

http://tinyurl.com/3fu9nbk


20.2 ORANGUTAN LINKS OF INTEREST

Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono "has vowed to
dedicate the last three years of his administration to safeguarding
his nation's rainforests – a pledge that received broad support at
a major conference in Jakarta. Hosted by the Center for
International Forestry Research (CIFOR), the conference provided a
platform for 1,000 leaders of Indonesia's government, business
community and civil society, as well as foreign donors, to discuss
the future of the forests, the third-largest tropical forest in the
world..."

http://tinyurl.com/6dw5vmq


From Jakarta, news of an investigation of orangutan slayings:

"The Forestry Ministry has formed a team to investigate the alleged
slaying of orangutans in Kutai Kartanegara, East Kalimantan between
2009 and 2010, Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan, announced... He
said the perpetrators could be charged with the Law no. 41/1999 and
face up to 10 years imprisonment. An orangutan researcher from
Mulawarman University, Yaya Rayadin, said the orangutans were killed
because they were viewed as pests..."

http://tinyurl.com/69uwxw2


20.3 SHORTLISTED AGAIN...

You'll recall that Pterry won the Galaxy Book Awards' Outstanding
Achievement Award last year (2010. Now he's up again for the Galaxy
National Book Awards 2011, in a different category:

"The awards, hosted by Dara O Briain, will be accompanied by six
weekly TV programmes on More4. Dawn French and Terry Pratchett are
among those nominated for popular fiction book of the year... The
awards largely celebrate British authors, with the exception of
international author of the year and paperback of the year. The
winners will be revealed at a ceremony in London on 4 November."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-15347904

http://www.galaxynationalbookawards.com/


20.4 A MYSTERIOUS COMPETITION

Roving WOSSNAME reporter (and mountaineer!) Asti sent in the
following item:

"For your chance to win something stampy and feature in the next
Stanley Howler stamp journal, your next challenge is to create a
Discowrk[sic] parody of the Mulredy stationery. It could be an
offcial A-M P.O. issue utilising the skills of the engravers' guild
or crafted by the hand of a well-known Discworld character – the
world is your mollusc.

"Please send your entries by January 1st, 2012 to
reb@... or post them to: Stanley Howler c/o 41
High Street, Wincanton, Somerset, BA99JU, England"


20.5 GOING POSTAL BLU-RAY REVIEW

At Blogcritics, a detailed and tech-savvy review by the site's co-
executive editor Barbara Barnett:

"Although this was my first foray into Pratchett's Discworld
Universe, it is not difficult to become acclimated to the rather
surreal world and its inhabitants. It is easy to understand why
Going Postal was nominated for several 2011 Royal Society of
Television and BAFTAs in visual effects and music. And Blu-ray is
the perfect media through which to express the beauty and richness
of Discworld and the movie. The movie is presented in 1080i. In
general the contrasts and details come out crisp and clear; colors
pop—as they should in this fantastical world. The blacks could be
a bit richer, but given that this is not a 1080p transfer (most
transfers of British television series are in 1080i, not 1080p), the
picture is very sharp, and is adequate to show off the movie's
highly detailed backdrop.

"The soundscape would have benefitted from a full surround, 5.1 hi-
def treatment, but unfortunately, the release falls down here,
providing a 2.0 lossless stereo audio track. Dialogue is clear, but
sound effects — and the soundtrack would have given viewers a more
immersive experience. The release features an hour of extras,
including an introduction from the man, himself, Terry Pratchett. It
goes on a bit too long, but it is wry and funny — and provides
viewers with a very helpful introduction to the movie for newbies
that is equally amusing for Discworld veterans...."

http://blogcritics.org/video/article/blu-ray-review-going-postal/


20.6 GOOD OMENS CHOSEN FOR WORLD BOOK NIGHT 2012

"One million books will be distributed at venues including hostels,
pubs and hospitals in a bid to boost reading. Now in its second
year, the event will move from March to 23 April, marking both
Unesco's International Day Of The Book and Shakespeare's birthday.
Some 20,000 members of the public will be chosen to give away copies
of their favourite title from the list... included are Bill Bryson's
dissection of British life, Notes From A Small Island, and fantasy
fiction Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. 'We love
books, and think that a night during which people give each other
books is the best kind of night there could be,' said the authors in
a joint statement. 'We wish that there had been nights like World
Book Night when we were younger. Unfortunately, there weren't, and
we had to make our own entertainment, which is probably why we wrote
Good Omens. But, hurrah! World Book Night! Give each other books.
Especially ours.'...

"This year's selection was partly chosen by members of the public,
who helped to draw up a list of 100 books over the summer. Those 100
titles acted as a starting point for the final shortlist, which was
decided by a panel of experts chaired by acclaimed novelist Tracy
Chevalier, and featuring two members of the public amongst their
number..."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-15433898

World Book Night 2012 will take place in the USA and the UK. For the
full list of titles, and information on how to become a donor, go
to:

http://www.worldbooknight.org/

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

21) CLOSE

And that's it for the moment. Stay tuned for the usual: your monthly
Discworld horoscope (if Fernando returns from wherever he's got to)
and more late breaking news. Take care, and we'll be back!

– Annie Mac

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

———————————————————————————————————
The End. If you have any questions or requests, write:
interact@...
———————————————————————————————————
Copyright (c) 2011 by Klatchian Foreign Legion

WOSSNAME
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
October 2011 (Volume 14, Issue 10, Post 2)
*****************************************************************

1) YOUR DISCWORLD HOROSCOPE FOR OCTOBER
2) LATE BREAKING NEWS
3) REVIEW: "ANKH-MORPORK" GAME
4) CLOSE

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

1) THE NEW DISCWORLD HOROSCOPE
by Fernando Magnifico

Buongiorno my friends, it is I, Fernando Magnifico, and I shall be
your astrologer this month for the Lady Asterisk is unavailable due
to an unfortunate conjunction of a minor planet and her figgins.

My friends, Fernando has the molto distressing news to tell you.
Fernando's rivals in the Guild of Prognosticators, Soothsayers,
Fortunetellers, Oneiromancers, Haruspices and Cunning-Men (divers
wizards, witches, priests, priestess and Mrs Cake exempted) are yet
again trying to have Fernando thrown out of the Guild. (Fernando
senses the hand of the despicable Carlos behind this, but Fernando
shall not speak of him again.) My friends, they are the incompetent
horoscopers who do not even know the difference between a vigintile
and a semi-decile! But do not be afeared my friends, for they could
not find a map to their bottom if it were tattooed on their face,
and Fernando has the no doubt that his position in the Guild is
safe.

Fernando begs you to find it in your hearts to forgive these foolish
ones, especially the Guild Secretary Mr. Weakley "Astral Weaks"
Render, of number 37A The Hidings, and not to throw rotten eggs at
them. For while Fernando has dedicated himself to the mission of
bringing to you the most excellente horoscopes and astrological
advice at the most affordable prices, their only cause is to cut
down the magnificence of Fernando out of jealousy. They are more to
be pitied than to have the fresh dog doings squeezed through the
keyholes, no matter how much they deserve it.

My friends, we all need to follow a Cause we believe in. Some people
are fortunate enough to already have the Cause they can follow.
Fernando hopes your Cause is virtuous and of benefit to all, like
the emancipation of goblins, or to wear the most perfect cerise silk
shirt. For those of you who are still in search of your Cause, do
not be afeared my friends, for this month Fernando has asked the
stars what Cause will most suit you.

Ciao bella!

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Adamant Hedgehog  21 Mar - 20 Apr

Hoggers, Fernando has consulted with the stars and your Cause to
follow is the introduction of the shoulder-block into the great game
of footsball. My friends, Fernando is the great supporter of the
footsball, like all Brindisians, and when it comes to the game he is
the molto conservative, but unlike some other astrologers Fernando
will always tell you what the stars say no matter the consequences.
For although Fernando personally is not a fan of the idea to
introduce the shoulder-block, it is very popular in the street
footsball, especially amongst the Dimwell supporters. Perhaps it is
an idea whose time has come? (Although probably not the Dimwell
practice of using spiked shoulder pads.)

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Half-Eaten Sandwich  21 Apr - 21 May

Fernando is the famous patron of the arts, especially the Opera
where he never misses the performance of the prima diva Christine,
and of the excellente art gallery in Broadway with the transgressive
modern sculptures inspired by traditional Howondalander carvings.
(Fernando is molto fortunate that the Blackribboner artist Baroness
Evangelika Lugubria Arroganta Barbina Solfami von Fledermausen
allows him to pose for the sculptures.) And so Fernando is
especially pleased to tell you that the stars recommend that the
Cause for Munchers to follow is to improve the funding and patronage
for the arts. May there be many more fig leaves for all!

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Herne the Hunted  22 May - 21 Jun

Hernians, your Cause is to support the proposed Magic Registration
Act, which would compel all witches, wizards, psychics and other
magical people or creatures within the bounds of Ankh-Morpork to
register with the Watch, or leave the city. Fernando will let the
sponsor of the MRA, Lord Archibald Pinkler, speak: "How many times
does a man have to have his socks spirited away into the aether by
the wizards of Unseen University before Lord Vetinari sees fit to
act on this threat to our fair city? I demand that the City Watch do
something about this magical menace!" My friends, Fernando is not
one to let his own personal opinions influence his horoscopes, but
he must say that this is of concern to him, for there have been the
many times that Fernando has been accused of the magic on account of
his supernatural good looks and inhuman skills with the love-making.
Fernando's magnificence is all-natural, my friends, but some people
sadly will be envious.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Wizard's Staff and Knob  22 Jun - 22 Jul

Staffies, Fernando knows that the quality, and quantity, of the food
you eat is a subject especially close to your heart, and so it is
that the stars tell Fernando that the Cause you should take up is to
have the Patrician pass the food purity laws. My friends, the Ankh-
Morpork Chamber of Commerce has taken out the many advertisements in
the A-M Times and Enquirer explaining that the Patrician's proposed
limits on the amount of rat droppings in flour will bankrupt Ankh-
Morpork businesses within the month, and that the Morporkians prefer
their rabbit pies to be stretched with a little horse meat to keep
the cost down (but only equal amounts of each: one horse, one
rabbit). And what sort of sausage would you get without sawdust and
gristle? My friends, you don't need to be the magnificent astrologer
like Fernando to answer that question, you only need to have had
primo quality Brindisian sausage in your mouth: you would get a much
better sausage.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Bilious, God of Hangovers  23 Jul - 23 Aug

Bilians, Fernando wishes you the best of good luck for your Cause,
for you will need it. Your Cause is to repeal the anti-mime laws in
Ankh-Morpork. My friends, Fernando has the great admiration for
those who take the unpopular stand. As the great Quirmian writer
Saltaire once said, "I think you are wrong in what you say, but I
think you should say it". (But remember my friends, the next part of
his quote is often left out: "I could do with a good laugh.") In
this case, the anti-mime laws have the support of the Patrician, the
editors of both major newspapers, Sir Samuel Vimes, and the general
population. Fernando knows that almost the only ones against the law
is the Fool's Guild, and so the stars warn that your Cause will be
the unpopular one, and having the law repealed will be molto
difficile. Perhaps even as difficile as walking against the wind. Or
doing other things against the wind which Fernando is far too
cultured to mention here.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

My Uncle's Nose  24 Aug - 23 Sept

With Ankh-Morpork in possession of the tens of thousands of golems,
there are those who believe that other nations of the Disc have
great reason to fear the ill-intentions of the city. Not Brindisi,
of course, for Brindisi fears nothing, except perhaps being
relegated to Division 2 of the Footsball Disc Cup, and also because
of the long and most friendly special relationship between our two
nations. But the other nations, no matter how friendly they are now,
have the consideration that Lord Vetinari's successor may not be
quite as interested in peaceful coexistence. Borogravia, it is said,
has doubled the number of trolls recruited into their army. Klatch
is training assassins (after all, they did invent the word), Agatea
(so the rumours say) has built another 10,000 Barking Dogs, and
Muntab is doing whatever it is that Muntab always does. My friends,
Fernando is the believer in making the love, not the war, but even
he can see that the existence of so many golems risks peace on the
Disc. And so it is that the stars tell Fernando that the favoured
Cause for Nosers is that of golem disarmament, for without their
arms, the golems are much less to be feared.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Small Boring Group of Faint Stars  24 Sept - 23 Oct

Boring'uns, the stars have given Fernando the understanding of the
nightmare you live in. You can hardly dare go out to eat at the cafe
or ristorante, for who knows what they will put in the food? There
could be herbs, or spices, or herbs and spices. Perhaps they use the
garlic, or the black pepper, or even the hot spicy chilli favoured
by Fernando's Aunt Maria. Or worst of all, the dreaded Quirmian
avec! How can you eat out at the restaurant or the cafe when the
most harmless, simple foods could contain such unexpected
excitement? My friends, the stars say your Cause is to have the
spicy foods banned, especially the traitorous Brindisian parsley,
which looks gentle and mild enough for Boring'uns, like the Quirmian
curly parsley, but in fact has the kick to it. The kick like a mouse
perhaps, but still the kick. If you can't trust even the parsley,
what herb can you trust?

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Androgyna Majestis  24 Oct - 22 Nov

When Fernando first arrived in Ankh-Morpork, he was the saddened and
shocked to see how many of the fine Morporkian people would get sick
with the flux, also known as the colic or the griping of the guts.
Sometimes all over the street. Andies, it is now the Year of the
Pensive Hare and it is the disgrace that a city of Ankh-Morpork's
statue should still have this problem! But do not be afeared my
friends, for the stars tell Fernando that your Cause to follow is to
eradicate the flux. Listen very carefully, for Fernando knows that
there are the many crackpots who will lead you wrong with the false
stories of "Zoons poisoning the wells", "too many vegetables in the
diet", and "invisible biting demons in the Ankh water". Trust
Fernando on this, for he knows that this is so.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Spoons, a.k.a. the Greater and Lesser Spoons, 23 Nov - 21 Dec

Spooners, your Cause is the Right To Roam, the ancient Morporkian
freedom to roam through public and private lands. My friends, many
people know that Ramblers wander at will across the Sto Plains,
through Lancre, and even the Forest of Skund (although Fernando must
warn would-be Ramblers that sometimes the trees will follow you
home). But let Fernando tell you that, although most people are not
aware of this, Ankh-Morpork also grants the Right To Roam in the
city. So with the heavy walking boots, a stout walking stick, and a
large sledge-hammer for removing inconvenient walls built across
ancient city streets and paths, it is every Morporkian's right to
wander through Dolly Sisters, Nap Hill, the Scours, and number 37A
The Hidings. Fernando encourages you to stand up for your ancient
rights!

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Hoki the Jokester  22 Dec - 20 Jan

Fernando often has the wonderment about where the rumours and
stories come from. Who first started the rumours that eating the
sausage inna bun would make your t*nker grow as big as the sausage?
(My friends, Fernando has seen the typical Morporkian sausage, and
such a thing is not much to aspire to...) Or the stories about the
talking dog of Ankh-Morpork? Fernando has the much disappointment
from these unbelievable stories. But Fernando does not judge, for we
all must follow the path we have before us, even if that path is to
spread the nonsense rumours. Hokians, the stars tell Fernando that
your Cause is to be one of the "Borners" questioning whether Lord
Vetinari is eligible to be Patrician. Fernando can do no better than
to quote the leader of the Borners, Only Zats: "Is it true that Lord
Vetinari was born in Genua, or perhaps it was Kythia? If he is
actually a Morporkian, why is he never seen out on the streets
throwing half-bricks at toffs?"

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Big Chicken  21 Jan - 18 Feb

Squawkers, Fernando has carefully consulted with the stars, and they
recommend that your Cause to follow is to support the continued
cleanup of magical dumping grounds in Unreal Estate. My friends,
with the success of Thaumatological Park, and hardly anyone being
turned into a spoon while visiting the site, many people believe
that it is past time for the rest of Unreal Estate to be opened to
developers. Fernando understands that Archchancellor Ridcully is
against the idea, but what could possibly go wrong? Fernando hears
that a consortium of business men have offered to buy the land from
the University for $1 and a promise of immunity to lawsuits, and in
return they will dispose of the old spells and magical waste by
burying it safely in the Shades.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Lesser Umbrage   19 Feb - 20 Mar

Umbragians, the stars tell Fernando that your Cause to follow is to
do something about the many undesirables in Ankh-Morpork. Fernando
knows that Ankh-Morpork is the Queen of Cities, but she has the many
beggars, urchins, gnolls, street theatre performers, soapbox
prophets and teachers roaming the streets at will, bothering decent
people and stealing chickens. My friends, Fernando understands that
you are unhappy about this, and so your Cause is to have these
people evicted from the city at dusk each night. Of course, Fernando
also understands that the gates to the city are permanently open and
there is no way to prevent people from just wandering back in, but
it is the principle of the thing that counts. Something must be
done, this is something, therefore it must be done.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

2) LATE BREAKING NEWS

2.1 PTERRY TO TURN ON THE LIGHTS

...the Christmas lights at Burnham-on-Sea, that is:

"Burnham Chamber of Trade has announced that the well-known author
will be leading the big switch-on ceremony on Saturday November 26th
at 4.30pm. Sir Terry will join Burnham's Mayor, the town's Carnival
Queen and local radio presenter Ian Burrage outside the Victoria
Hotel in Victoria Street for the special ceremony..."

http://www.burnham-on-sea.com/news/2011/terry-pratchett-27-10-11.php

Burnham-on-Sea is a charming seaside town that boasts the "shortest
pier in Britain". For those of you who have never been there, here
be the wiki page:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burnham-on-Sea


2.2 MASKERADE IN SANTA CLARA

The Wilcox School Company of Adrian Wilcox High School will present
their production of Maskerade early next month.

When: 10th, 17th,18th & 19th November
Venue: Mission City Center for the Performing Arts, 3250 Monroe
Street, Santa Clara, California
Time: 7:00pm all shows

For more information, go to:

http://wilcox.schoolloop.com/wsc


2.3 NADWCON, NOW WITH A "B"

From the blog of Mrs Palm:

"Baltimore or Boston for NADWCon 2013. Boston has requested another
week to finish hotel negotiations. The rest of their paperwork is
due in today. Baltimore submitted their bid paperwork but they have
been granted an extra week, as well, to make additions and changes,
if needed. The GoC voted to add an additional week on to our
deliberations to compensate for the delay and give us time to
discuss this amongst ourselves and with our consulting body and
allow us to hear from the fans. Therefore, the final decision will
be announced on November 30th."

http://tinyurl.com/3znh8bf


2.4 SNUFF REVIEWS

By Roz Kaveney in The Independent

"Before Vimes can become a liberator, he has to acknowledge that he
has been a bigot. Pratchett has been rightly praised for comic
invention and whimsy; he does not always get enough credit for the
psychological comedy of embarrassment which makes us blush with
self-recognition at the same moment in which we laugh. The
difference between him and his many imitators is that, at his best,
there is nothing comfortable about his comedy... Vimes is one of
Pratchett's finest creations because his entire life is a constant
simmer of indignation carefully controlled; he is the noir detective
who tells the truth because his own self-analysis is equally
merciless..."

http://tinyurl.com/3c6pwzv


By Christopher Bahn at the Onion AV Club, which is consistently more
intelligent and insightful than its ham-fisted, rarely funny parent
site. This is a proper review that includes criticism but is rightly
admiring:

"One reason for Pratchett's immense popular success — only J.K.
Rowling beats him in UK hardcover sales — is that he's terrific at
playing a very long game, keeping the series from becoming stale by
switching perspective characters and settings from book to book,
building a world with a rich history and a sense of constant
evolution. Nothing embodies that as much as the Watch novels — Snuff
is the latest — starring Sam Vimes, the grizzled, cynical, but
unfailingly justice-minded commander of Ankh-Morpork's police
force. Nominally comic mashups of the high-fantasy and police-
procedural genres, the Watch books are also Pratchett's major
avenue for telling a much larger story about how a modern
multicultural democracy can be born out of medieval squalor, with
the city of Ankh-Morpork standing in for Pratchett's London..."

http://origin.avclub.com/articles/terry-pratchett-snuff,64023/


Blogger The Idiot writes a quirky, loving – and illustrated –
review of Snuff, and then lets fly (emphasis as in the original
text):

"And now I want to have a bit of a rant. You see, Sir Terry was
diagnosed with a rare form of Alzheimers in 2007. You may have seen
the two television shows he participated in to show his journey of
getting the diagnosis and the ways in which he deals with it. He
came across as a very lovely and genuine man who is extremely brave.
Yet with all that to deal with he is still writing. And here comes
the bit that angers me: In a lot of reviews of his most recent books
his illness is mentioned. WHY? He is a fantastic writer, he always
has been. Yet some people feel the need to define him by something
that he just happens to have. That is an insult to him, he is so
much more than that. Yes, you may not like some of his books, you
may not like any of them. There are some people who only like his
earlier works. Fair enough. But there is *no need at all* to bring
anything other than his talent in to any discussion of his books.
Yes I know that is what I am doing here, but I am not judging any of
his work on the basis of before vs after his illness. I only judge
his work *based on his work*, nothing more and nothing less. And
that is the way it should be..."

http://tinyurl.com/3zrfm73

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

3) REVIEW: "ANKH-MORPORK" GAME

By The Dean

The Collector's Edition of Martin Wallace's "Discworld Ankh-Morpork"
board game (published by Treefrog Games) is a fast moving, stylish
and fun strategy game for 2 to 4 players. Overall, my friends and I
enjoyed playing it. For Discworld fans, its great fun just to look
at the character cards. The artwork by Peter Dennis is excellent,
and I have to say that his drawings of Sam Vimes as Pete
Postlethwaite are so good that they've managed to displace Paul
Kidby's Clint Eastwood version in my mind.

All things considered, I will give this game Thumbs Up. It is a good
quality, entertaining and fun game that can be played in an hour or
two. It has a few weaknesses, but they aren't fatal to the enjoyment
of the game. It is a complex game though, although perhaps not too
complex. Personally, I think that game publishers are being over-
optimistic if they believe it is suitable for 11 year olds, but what
do I know? It's been a long time since I've been 11.

I must admit to being somewhat intimidated by the number of complex
rules and all the special cases. The game comes with special "Player
Aid" cards summarising parts of the rules, and unless you have a
photographic memory, you will need them. I would have liked a
simpler set of rules, at least to start with. But once we started
playing, the game turned out to be simpler to play in practice than
it looked like in theory.

There is no doubt that this a Discworld game: the Discworld
connection is genuine, and not just tacked on. A lot of thought has
been put into the game to make the actions relevant to the
characters. But deep knowledge of the books is not vital to the game
play: even if you have only the most tenuous knowledge of Discworld,
you can still play the game and be entertained. Out of our group of
four players, one has only read a single Discworld novel and hardly
recognised any of the characters, but he was the one most
enthusiastic about playing again. (Well, he would be, since he won
three games in a row.)

The aim of the game is to be the first to take control of Ankh-
Morpork. The twist is that the way to take control of the city
varies from player to player, depending on which Personality card
you draw. Just to make it more interesting, your Personality is kept
secret from the other players, so you have to block other players
without quite being sure what they are actually attempting to do.
(Rather like real life, I suppose.)

One consequence of these hidden strategies is that the game can come
to a sudden, unexpected, finish. Well, unexpected to the other three
players at least. I personally found this crashing end to the game
somewhat off-putting: "What do you mean it's over? How can it be
over?" This was something of a let down to me, a little like playing
Scrabble, and after painstakingly collecting all the letters you
need to play CAZIQUE and get a Triple Word Score, the player
immediately before you calls "Checkmate!" and wins the game. And
yes, I'm aware that I'm mixing my metaphors. But that's how it felt
to me. It also seemed to me that the game is a little unbalanced:
some of the Personality cards seem to make it easier to win than
others, or at least *faster* to win.

Nevertheless, the game is a lot of fun to play, and all the
Discworld references just make it even better. A couple of trivial
disappointments: there's a Foul Ole Ron card, but no Foul Ole Ron's
Smell card. And the action for the Reacher Gilt misses a great
opportunity: the official rule is that the person playing the
Reacher Gilt card pays another player $2 and takes over one of their
buildings. It should have been that Gilt got the building *and* the
cash. (Treefrog Games, if you're reading this and want to use that
idea in a future version of the game, go right ahead, I give up any
and all claims to it.)

Be aware that this is not a game for those with very little free
space. With four players spread over a moderate size kitchen table,
we were crowded to the very edges of the table. It's not difficult
to end up with a dozen or more separate piles of cards, plus piles
of coins, minion pieces, building pieces, trouble markers, and more.

But despite the flaws, this game is great fun and I don't hesitate
to recommend it. The Collector's Edition adds to the fun by
substituting "7a" on the 12-sided die for that number between 7 and
9. Extra features include the use of actual wooden playing pieces, a
larger map, and an excellent bonus poster of the game artwork.


(Editor's note) Some more "Ankh-Morpork" news, from Treefrog Games:

"Treefrog will be releasing a Deluxe Edition of the Ankh-Morpork
game. This will only be available directly from Treefrog. It will
have all the components of the Collector's Edition as well as
resin pieces instead of wooden ones. The UK selling price will be
£100, in Europe it will be 120 Euros, and the price for the rest of
the world will be US $160. These prices do not include shipping,
which I cannot quote for until I have weighed the final product.

"For the moment you will not be able to express an interest in this
version of the game. We are now working out the best way to deal
with 800plus people who have already expressed an interest. The
problem is that the resin pieces will be produced in batches of
about 100 sets every two weeks. Thus we cannot take pre-orders as we
may not be able to fulfil them quickly. The plan is that emails
will be sent to those who have expressed an interest in groups of a
hundred, going in date order. Orders arising from those emails will
be dealt with quickly. We will then email the next hundred when we
have sufficient stock available. This will continue until all people
who have expressed an interest have had a chance to order the game.
We will then allow the public to order the game depending on
remaining stock. Given that it is easy to convert a Collector's
Edition to a Deluxe Edition, in theory we can cope with a reasonable
amount of demand. We intend to send out the first group of emails at
the beginning of November."

(page includes an impressive photo of the resin pieces)

http://www.treefroggames.com/ankh-morpork-deluxe-edition

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

4) CLOSE

And that's it for October. See you next month! We're off to play yet
another round of "Ankh-Morpork"...

– Annie Mac

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

———————————————————————————————————
If you have any questions or requests, write:
interact@...
———————————————————————————————————
Copyright (c) 2011 by Klatchian Foreign Legion

WOSSNAME
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
November 2011 (Volume 14, Issue 11, Post 1)
********************************************************************
WOSSNAME is a free publication for members of the worldwide
Klatchian Foreign Legion and its affiliates, including the North
American Discworld Society and other continental groups. Are you a
member? Yes, if you sent in your name, country and e-mail address.
Are there any dues? No! As a member of the Klatchian Foreign Legion,
you'd only forget them...
********************************************************************
Editor in Chief: Annie Mac
News Editor: Fiona (not Bruce) Bruce
Newshounds: Vera, Mogg, Sir J of Croydon Below, the Shadow
Staff Writers: Asti, Pitt the Elder, Steven D'Aprano, L.C. Thomas
Convention Reporters: Mithtrethth Hania Ogg et al
Staff Technomancer: Jason Parlevliet
Book Reviews: Drusilla D'Afanguin
Puzzle Editor: Tiff
Bard in Residence: Weird Alice Lancrevic
DW Horoscope: Lady Anaemia Asterisk, Fernando Magnifico
Emergency Staff: Jason Parlevliet
World Membership Director: Steven D'Aprano (in his copious spare
time)
Copyright 2011 by Klatchian Foreign Legion

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

INDEX:

01) QUOTE OF THE MONTH
02) LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
03) A BAFTA WIN FOR "CHOOSING TO DIE"
04) "SNUFF" REVIEWS
05) NEW WORKS IN PROGRESS
06) PTERRY'S "BRITAIN IN A DAY"
07) VIDEO NICETIES
08) THE PROFESSOR IS IN...AGAIN
09) PATHWAYS INTO PRATCHNESS
10) PTERRY AND ALZHEIMER'S NEWS
11) DISCWORLD GAMES NEWS
12) PRATCHETT NAMED BEST AUTHOR ABOUT "TINY PEOPLE"
13) DISCWORLD CONVENTION NEWS
14) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS
15) DISCWORLD GROUPS MEETING NEWS
16) DISCWORLD DISCUSSION
17) DISCWORLD ARTS AND CRAFTS NEWS
18) IMAGES OF THE MONTH
19) DISCWORLD AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE
20) ROUNDWORLD TALES
21) LATE BREAKING NEWS
22) CLOSE

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

01) QUOTE OF THE MONTH

"She gave a deprecating little chuckle. And if Nanny Ogg had been
listening, she would have resolved as follows: that no maddened
cackle from Black Aliss of infamous memory, no evil little giggle
from some crazed vampyre whose morals were worse than his spelling,
no side-splitting guffaw from the most inventive torturer, was quite
so unnerving as a happy little chuckle from a Granny Weatherwax
about to do what's best."

– Maskerade, Gollancz hardcover edition, p. 260

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

02) A LETTER FROM YOUR EDITOR

Hogswatch is coming ever closer at this time of year, and for those
of you feeling whimsical enough to watch the seasonal festive lights
being switched on in a little seaside town by our favourite author,
Burnham-on-Sea is the very place you want to be this weekend! The
lights-on countdown has already started, and attendees are promised
a big  "afternoon of festive entertainment... held from 2.30pm
outside the Victoria Hotel in Victoria Street ahead of the big
switch-on by Sir Terry" at 4.45pm. With school choirs and adult
choirs carolling, and local Music With Rocks In band Vermin
(presumably not carolling), plus the Hogfath–, um, Santa Claus
arriving "around 3.50pm on a train specially built by Burnham-On-Sea
Lions Club", not to mention the town's Mayor and Carnival Queen as
well as local radio presenter Ian Burrage joining the "Grand
Illuminator" himself, it's sure to be the best lighting-up ceremony
in all of Britain! Also, we're told that "Due to time constraints,
Sir Terry won't be in a position to sign any individual books but
pre-signed mementos will be handed out during the event". For more
information, and a link to the local seafront webcam, read all about
it on the anternet:

http://www.burnham-on-sea.com/news/2011/terry-pratchett-22-11-11.php


In other random Pratchett news, here be a charming new Twitter icon
for Pterry and Rob's Tweets page, designed by webcomic-smith Ray
Friesen:

http://p.twimg.com/AeW3z40CIAAHy6S.jpg

And it's on with the show. Enjoy!

– Annie Mac

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

03) SCOTS BAFTA WIN FOR "CHOOSING TO DIE"

The photo:

http://t.co/9HL7Fsx8


As reported in The Scotsman:

"Science fiction writer Sir Terry Pratchett collected an award for
the documentary about his struggle with Alzheimers: Terry Pratchett,
Choosing to Die."

(Article includes list of all winners)

http://tinyurl.com/7afh9v7


In The Atlantic, journalist Maria Popova reviews the documentary:

"Terry Pratchett: Choosing To Die is a powerful and fascinating
film, in which Pratchett explores the cultural controversies and
private paradoxes surrounding the issue of assisted suicide, which
remains illegal in most countries. From the "small but imbalancing
inconveniences" of the disease's earlier stages to the loss of his
ability to type to witnessing a terminally ill man peacefully
choreograph his own last breath in Switzerland, Pratchett explores
what it would be like to be helped to die, and what it would mean
for a society to make assisted death a safe refuge for the dying..."

http://tinyurl.com/c59dbmo

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

04) SNUFF: NEW REVIEWS

By C.A. Bridges at Go386:

"Unlike the other nonhuman races of the Disc, goblins are
universally considered to be vermin. They're unhygienic, they have
questionably nasty practices, they look grotesque. They also have
language, art, families, they create amazingly beautiful pots, and
when one is murdered simply to get blood onto a crime scene to
implicate Vimes, he has his work cut out for him to find justice for
something that no one seems to consider a crime. Vimes is out of his
element and far out of his jurisdiction.

"The Discworld books can be broken into categories and I enjoy all
the Vimes books. This one seemed to lack as much intensity as the
previous ones, possibly because by this point I'm pretty sure Vimes
won't lose and 'Snuff' is sadly lacking an exciting villain or a
real challenge, but his deeply cynical outlook at just about
everything is always worthwhile and it's great fun to watch such a
city-based man thrash about in the countryside..."

http://tinyurl.com/75733bs


By Ian Nichols in The West Australian:

"Sam has to learn a bit about piloting a river boat, and chasing
down murderers through muddy fields, while trying to be civil to the
landed gentry who surround him. And it's here that the book becomes
more than a merry adventure by Britain's leading satirist. For it is
also very much a book about freedom and prejudice... Pratchett is a
self-avowed humanist, and this may be part of an ongoing project to
show that humanity exists in all creatures, even if their behaviour
is seen to be repugnant to us. But how far can he go? In this book,
the goblins do something that is so challenging that it would seem
to condemn them from the very start. But Pratchett succeeds in
making even this understandable, in the context of the world of the
book. He shows us that the goblins have been made slaves, murdered
and hunted as animals, but that they are not animals; they are
talented, sensitive and intelligent creatures who do what is
unthinkable when the hardship gets to be too much. They don't
deserve to be slaves. For Pratchett, no-one deserves to be a
slave... I suspect there are going to be divided opinions on this
book, but it is a vintage Pratchett confection..."

http://tinyurl.com/7723dyv


By Dennis at Lookout Mountain Bookstore, a shop that specialises in
Pratchettry:

"You wouldn't want to invite Hercule Poirot to dinner or go horse-
riding with Miss Marple. And you DON'T want to go on vacation with
Sam Vimes (AKA His Grace, His Excellency, The Duke of Ankh; AKA
Commander of the Watch Sir Samuel Vimes; AKA Blackboard Monitor
Vimes)... 'I laughed, I cried' — literally (and, yes, I do know
what that word means; Tiffany fans take note). There were several
moments in the book where I laughed out loud, and others where I
cried actual tears (small ones). Mr. Pratchett has not lost his
touch. The characters are interesting, Vimes' views of humanity
(including Dwarves, Trolls,Vampyres, Werewolves, Gnomes, Golems
and—now in Snuff—Goblins) and his commentary thereon are
cutting, Pratchett's love of music is once again beautifully, if
briefly, expressed..."

http://www.lookoutmountainbookstore.com/


By Gopal Sathe at Indian financial site Live Mint:

"His latest novel, Snuff, is set around his long-established
character Sam Vimes, and is rich in references and callbacks to
other Discworld books. It is a story about class, about law and
about justice, and Pratchett manages to be both funny and gripping,
never trivializing the subjects he makes fun of. You don't have to
have read his other books to enjoy Snuff, although long-time readers
might find explanations to past events slowing the book a little.
Snuff is a police procedural at heart and, like previous Vimes
books, shows us the darkest parts of the Discworld. Vimes is on his
family estate on vacation, but as his boss, the beloved tyrant Lord
Vetinari​, has noted, where there are policemen, crimes
inexplicably follow...

"Pratchett makes you laugh, but over the years, as his writing style
has matured, he's less reliant on one-off gags and wordplay, and
instead lets the situation itself drive the humour. This means that
the books have gotten darker over the years, and his characters have
to earn their happy endings..."

http://www.livemint.com/2011/11/11210006/A-darkening-disc.html

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

05) WORKS IN PROGRESS

A now-shareable hint from Pterry's Twitter page (11th Nov 2011):

"... but before that comes the Long Earth and Dodger - the new title
for Happy Families — you heard it here first!"

...and Sir Pterry is working on his autobiography, but as reported
here some months ago, he's already written a biography for a
mysterious someone else:

"They are mystery figures whose identities have been lost in time.
But the unknown subjects of these paintings in the National Portrait
Gallery are to be given new life stories by some of Britain's best-
known writers. Julian Fellowes, Alexander McCall Smith, Tracy
Chevalier, Joanna Trollope and Terry Pratchett are among the authors
who have created imaginary biographies to accompany the works. The
gallery has a number of paintings which were purchased in the 19th
and 20th centuries in the belief that they represented famous
people, only for the identities of the sitters to be disproved or
disputed.

"Imagined Lives: Portraits of Unknown People" will open at the
National Portrait Gallery on 3rd December and continue its run until
June 2012.

http://tinyurl.com/7b5njo7

The National Portrait Gallery
St Martin's Place, London WC2H 0HE
Open daily 10:00-18:00, Thursday-Friday until 21:00
(entry to the gallery is free)

http://www.npg.org.uk/

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

06) BRITAIN IN A DAY

In the Radio Times, the "Britain in a Day" project featured The
Author's description of his day:

"Oddly enough, Saturdays and Sundays are good days for a writer like
me; weekdays are so often punctuated with phone calls it's easy to
forget that you are supposed to be working on a book, and even
though Snuff, my latest book, is out there and in the public domain,
there is still some PR activity that I must attend to in the
strange, postnatal world that an author slides into when the latest
baby is snatched away..."

http://tinyurl.com/br4rd3b


...and those of you living in the appropriate area can also join in
with *your* day:

"On Saturday 12 November, we asked you to pick up a camera and film
your day. We're getting such a great response that we've extended
the deadline for uploading until Monday 28 November. By uploading at
youtube.com/britaininaday you'll be contributing to an amazing video
portrait of the UK and your film will be considered for inclusion in
the BBC Two documentary for broadcast in spring 2012..."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00kqz5p

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

07) VIDEO NICETIES

A new and exclusive "Amazon campus" interview on Vimeo:

http://vimeo.com/32271263


Pterry's talk at Capclave:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7CJRIi8kZ0


As a follow-up to last month's BoingBoing interview, the Author
discusses Snuff:

http://boingboing.net/2011/11/01/terry-pratchett-on-snuff.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I19cI4J8D34

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

08) THE PROFESSOR IS IN...AGAIN

As reported in The Irish Times:

"'Professor Sir Terry Pratchett's Alumni Lecture' in Trinity
College Dublin on Wednesday evening, took the form of a
conversational interview between the writer and Dr Darryl Jones,
head of the school of English... Pratchett told the guests he would
support some humans going to Mars, 'so that when we eventually
destroy ourselves down here, the ones on Mars can come back down and
start all over again'..."

http://tinyurl.com/84egvz5


A photo be here:

http://p.twimg.com/AeiGgKPCIAAxCf1.jpg

...and an absolute necessity when you're a Sir, a Professor, and
about to lecture again at Trinity College:

http://p.twimg.com/AeYLTaUCEAAVQFk.jpg:large

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

09) PATHWAYS INTO PRATCHNESS

...or, as Rowan Kaiser puts it in an excellent oeuvre-de-Pratchett
essay at the Onion AV Club, "Gateways To Geekery":

"The natural response might be to start at the beginning of the
Discworld books and work from there, but that isn't necessarily the
best route to take. Discworld did not arrive as a finished product,
and the first three novels (The Colour Of Magic, The Light
Fantastic, and Equal Rites) are all lacking compared to what came
after. They have much of Pratchett's breezy writing style, his
creative philosophical playfulness, and his flair for language, but
they don't have his best works' most important feature: They aren't
laugh-out-loud funny, so much as mildly pleasant and clever. It took
Pratchett a few books to get his voice right.

"Possible gateway: 1987's Mort. Why: Pratchett's style is so
accessible that there's no bad place to start, although some entry
points are better than others. The first three Discworld books may
seem a bit too trifling, and later ones could lose some of their
impact without previous knowledge of the characters. So it makes
sense to start with the origin of one of his Discworld series-
within-the-series. Pratchett's world can be divided into four main
series, respectively built around the anthropomorphic form of Death;
a coven of witches; the bumbling wizard Rincewind; and the City
Watch of Discworld's most important city. There are also a few
standalones, a later young-adult series, some graphic novels, and
various adaptations in other media. This leaves four superb gateways
into Discworld..."

http://www.avclub.com/articles/terry-pratchett-novels,64917/

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

10) PTERRY AND ALZHEIMER'S NEWS

10.1 CAMPAIGN TO SAVE SUFFERERS' DAY CENTRE

"World-famous author Sir Terry Pratchett, who suffers from
Alzheimer's, has backed calls for a day centre that supports those
with the disease to be saved from closure. The fantasy writer has
urged Camden Council to 'withdraw the ­proposal to close Netherwood
Day Centre' in West Hampstead and called on officials to 'safeguard
the future' of the 'very precious resource'. Sir Terry, who was
knighted for services to literature and has sold more than 70
million books, has added his name to an online petition, his agent
confirmed this week... He was joined this week by playwright Alan
Bennett and his fellow Beyond the Fringe writer Jonathan Miller who
have both signed the petition..."

http://tinyurl.com/bp5fhpu


10.2 WEARING THE LILAC FOR ALZHEIMER'S 2012

Kelly from Kentucky is a woman with a mission:

"The Wear the Lilac for Alzheimer's fundraiser started in 2008, not
long after Sir Terry Pratchett's announcement in March of that year
that he had donated 1 million USD to the Alzheimer's Research Trust
UK. Before then, like many fans, I 'wore the lilac' on May 25th as a
reference to the events in the novel Night Watch. Lilacs are not
common in my part of the US on May 25th, as it's too hot for them to
bloom. So I started making lilac pins out of silk lilac blooms for
myself and other local fans and giving them away.

"After hearing of Sir Terry's donation, I wanted to do more than
that. So I approached some online fan communities and asked if they
would be interested in purchasing a lilac pin if they knew the
entire proceeds of the sale would be donated to Alzheimer's research
both in the US and in the UK. The community reaction was very
positive and so the Wear the Lilac for Alzheimer's fundraiser was
born, with the first donation taking place on May 25, 2008.

"In the first year, Wear the Lilac for Alzheimer's donated over
$1,000 to the Alzheimer's Association and the Alzheimer's Research
Trust UK..."

http://www.wearthelilac.com/about.html

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

11) DISCWORLD GAMES NEWS

11.1 PLAY YOUR CARDS RIGHT AND SAY "OOOK!"

Want a Hogswatch gift that helps Roundworld's Librarians, keeps on
entertaining, and serves as a permanent reminder that these
wonderful mon–, ap–, people need our help – by buying a pack of
"Old Men of the Forest" cards from the makers of the Ankh-Morpork
board game:

"Old Men of the Forest is a simple card game for three to four
players where your aim is to save as many orangutans as possible
from deforestation. To save one of these great apes you must cash
in a certain number of prize cards. Game play is a little like
'whist', where players play one card each and the highest wins. The
twist here is that not only does the winner win something but so to
does the player who comes second. When you 'win' a card you take
one of the cards played to  the table, but not your own, with the
player who played the highest card  choosing first. You can then
cash in the cards you have won up to now for one of the orangutan
cards. The second twist is that you must cash in all of your cards,
and any surplus ones count as points against you. Thus you have to
consider whether you cash in early for a low point card or collect
more cards for a high point card but run the risk of penalty
points.

"All of the profits[1] from the sales of Old Men of the Forest will
be donated to the Orangutan Foundation UK. Some of you may be aware
that Sir Terry Pratchett is on the board of trustees, which is a
clue as to why Treefrog is producing such a game..."


[1] yes, *all* of the profits. Did I mention that Martin Wallace and
the rest of the Treefrog folk rock?[2]

[2] not to be confused with tree frog folk-rock, which presumably
has fewer lyrics than the average Dwarf mining song


(price to Fourecks or Merkia is a mere $15 plus $3 p&p)


For more information, and to order online, go to:

http://www.warfroggames.com/old-men-of-the-forest


11.2 ANKH-MORPORK REVIEW

The site My Board Game Journal features a very long, detailed review
of "Ankh-Morpork" by someone who might be anonymous or might be
called Screw You! (no,seriously). The article's writer is admittedly
unfamiliar with Discworld, and the writing itself is somewhat
clumsy, but the game seems to get a definite thumbs-up:

"With light and easy rules, everyone can play this game and have fun
with it. I think it's appropriate to call this one a family game.
I know it can be brutal and mean, but as long as the players are
playing it easy and simple, this could be a fun game for the family.
Well, if you take this game to the competitive level (but still
enjoying with dark and gloomy humor) with you friends, this could be
proven brutal and chaotic. This card driven game really applied the
take that mechanic, which let people play cards and other people
take the bash. And once again, this also a secret personality with
hidden objective, the word 'hidden' should be hidden, which mean you
must complete your objective secretly. If someone successfully
ratted out your personality, there is a big chance you'll lose the
game. The game plays really quick, from 30-60 minutes and it isn't
a brain burner, so yo can have some laugh and fun to share along
with your fellow players. In each game, you have random personality
card and different cards to be played, which gives you enough replay
value even the initial setup doesn't change..."

http://myboardgamejournal.wordpress.com/2011/11/10/screw-you/


Remember, Treefrog Games' "Ankh-Morpork" can be ordered online as a
superb Hogswatch present:

http://www.treefroggames.com/ankh-morpork

[Editor's note: as promised in last month's issue, the WOSSNAME
house copy of "Ankh-Morpork" went out on loan to a number of
experienced Fourecksian gamers among the dreaming spires of Mel's
Bourne, and the verdict was overwhelmingly "This is a good game!"
Unfortunately, none of the promised written reviews from said gamers
have surfaced yet...]

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

12) PTERRY NAMED BEST AUTHOR ABOUT "TINY PEOPLE"

Conn Iggulden, co-author of that delightful modern adventure primer
The Dangerous Book for Boys, puts the Nomes trilogy at the very top
of his ten-best list of children's books that feature "tiny people"
-- even above Gulliver's Travels and The Borrowers:

"With a sense of awe and wonder, they slowly discover that the world
around them is greater than Haberdashery and Kitchen Appliances. As
always with Pratchett, the dialogue cracks along, peppered with wit
– while incidentally exploring our own ideas of reality. Pratchett
is loved by millions for very good reason."

In fact, there are two more Pratchetts on that list: The Wee Free
Men at no. 7:

"A completely different type to his first little folk, as these are
blue and say "Jings!" and "Criminy!" a lot, while attacking anything
that moves. Small people with a bit of bite – or at least the
danger of running straight up your trouserleg. The Nac Mac Feegles,
as they are known, are another wonderful creation – and a way into
the Discworld series for younger children."

...and The Carpet People at no. 9:

"Yes, it's the third one of his in the list and it's definitely not
in order of greatness, because this is a first-rate, charming and
funny story of truly tiny folk, who must journey across the vast
landscape that appears to be the carpet in a single human room. As
small as they are, they have only hints of the reality of the world,
much as we do ourselves. An instant classic and suitable for
children of 10-14 and up."

http://tinyurl.com/6roz759


[Editor's note: "Jings"? "Criminy"? Um, is this some different
translation of Feeglespeak?]

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

13) DISCWORLD CONVENTION NEWS

13.1 HOGSWATCH IN WINCANTON

Our roving Newshound Bruce Not Bruce reports the following
announcement from the Cunning Artificer:

Hogswatch is a comin', no goose will there be found, it's time for
ale and sausages to make our bellies round. The Hogfather will be
flying, o'er rooftops crisp and white, to visit little boys and
girls – he knows when they've been nice. So gather up your
suitcase, your wife and children too, come join us in Wincanton,
there's lots of things to do. Let's raise a glass of scumble,
sherry, port or hot mulled wine, or any other beverage from apple
tree or vine, for it will indeed be Hogswatch, and fun is to be
found, in jolly old Wincanton, Ankh-Morpork's own twin town!

Our annual festive celebration will take place on the 26th and 27th
November. Held in and around the hostelries of Wincanton, Hogswatch
is an informal and somewhat relaxed gathering of like-minded folk
and Discworld fans. Enjoy the company of some notable Discworld
names, participate in lots of nonsense in the name of fun and
charity, and celebrate the man in the hat!

It's our birthday! This year the Discworld Emporium celebrates it's
tenth year, and with that in mind it's carnival/mardis gras time! So
rummage in the dressing up box and go Gogol with a Genuan get up, or
don your most mysterious mask for an elegant Brindisian flavour.
Think sequins, feathers, pox doctors and voodoo! Those of a
theatrical persuasion can take to the stage for the traditional
maskerade, with appropriate party pieces to entertain, mesmerize,
bewitch or confound. All manner of fevered lunacy accepted.

The traditional Sausage Supper will be served from the cauldrons of
various hostelries around town on Saturday evening. This communal
feast costs a small fee and meal tickets can be purchased online
from the 'New Products' section of our site here:

http://www.discworldemporium.com/catalog.php?item=554&catid=23

There'll be talks, entertainments, cake, games room, dealers room
and of course the Grand Charity auction in aid of Alzheimer's
research on Sunday. The Emporium will be open all weekend for moral
support and retail therapy. Keep your eyeballs peeled for updates on
Facebook, our website, email newsletters and forum pages!

Hogswatch is free to attend, but if you're brave enough to stay the
whole weekend you'll need to source your own accomodation. Suggested
places to stay can be found here:

http://www.discworldemporium.com/pages/wincanton.php


The stylish full programme can be read here on ye webbe:

http://tinyurl.com/7avp49a



13.2 AUSDWCON 2012: THE OFFICIAL MEMORANDUM

From the office of Mustrum Ridcully, Archancellor, Unseen University

Dear People of the Discworld; and Students,

We would like to invite you, one and all, to attend the Unseen
University Convivium 2012, to be held at University of Adelaide,
Adelaide, South Australia, Roundworld, on July 6-8 2012.

This will be a celebration of all things Wizardly and Discworldly,
for afficionados [sic] of the ouvre [sic] of Professor Sir Terry
Pratchett. The weekend shall include lectures, seminars, games,
performances of an artistic nature, and much more.

Of course, there will be a chance to experience one of UU's famous
big dinners at Gaudy Night, and for those able to stay an extra day,
on July 9th there will be a Winery and Gourmet Tour. After all,
there's nothing wizards like more than dining and whining.

Young Stibbons told me to include the following nonsense:

You can find out more information and purchase tickets by
  – Looking on the website: http://ausdwcon.org
  – Liking us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/UnseenUni
  – Following us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/UnseenUni
  – Sending enquiries via email to: UnseenUni2012@...

Yours academically,

Mustrum Ridcully,
Archancellor, Unseen University

View this memorandum as a video at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dl5b9DdW14o


13.3 SADWCON NEWS

Remember, it's not too early to register for next year's inaugural
South African Discworld convention!

To register, and for further info:

http://sadwcon.org


13.4 DWCON 2012 NEWS

"The Discworld Convention is a four-day celebration of Sir Terry
Pratchett and his glorious astrochelonian-riding pachyderm-borne
creation. The 2012 event will take place from the 24th to the 27th
of August (the UK Bank Holiday weekend) at the Hilton Metropole
Hotel, in Birmingham. Barring unforeseen circumstances, the Man
Himself will be in attendance.

"This is your chance to spend a long weekend in the company of ...
errr ... 799 or more fellow fans[1], get to know them, learn
interesting things, take in a show, spend all your money at an
auction, and incidentally have a great deal of fun whilst doing it.

"Convinced? Click this link and buy a membership.

http://dwcon.org/member/add

"[1] Not all of them are fellows."

http://dwcon.org/

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

14) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS

14.1 GOING POSTAL IN GRANTHAM

The Grantham Dramatic Society are presenting their production of
Going Postal in November and December.

When: Wednesday 30th November and Thurs 1st–Sat 3rd December 2011
Venue: Guildhall Arts Centre, Grantham, Lincs NG31 6PZ
Time: 7.30pm nightly
Tickets: for Wednesday 30th November, £8.00 (£7.00 concessions);
for Thursday 1st to Saturday 3rd December, £9.00 (£8.00
concessions)
Group discount: book 8 tickets or more and get £1 off every ticket.
Offer may not be used in conjunction with concession rates or any
other offer.
To purchase tickets online:
http://www.guildhallartscentre.com/shows/3929

"There's still time to get involved! Want to get involved? The show
is now fully cast, but you could get your first taste of performing
by being a citizen or postman – no lines, but plenty of fun. We
also need people to get stuck in backstage, helping with costumes,
sets and promotions. If you like to have a laugh and want to express
your creativity, please come along. Graphic Designers particularly
welcome! A warm welcome and a nice cuppa await you!"

Rehearsals: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7.30pm at the Green Room.
Please contact us before you come, so we know to expect you.

Contact information:

http://www.granthamdramaticsociety.co.uk/p/contact-us.html


http://www.gdsgoingpostal.co.uk

http://www.guildhallartscentre.com/shows/3929


14.2 REMINDER: WYRD SISTERS IN EDMONTON, ALBERTA

Walterdale Playhouse will be performing Wyrd Sisters in
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada from 30th November to 10th December 2011.

Tickets are $12.00 CAD to $16.00 CAD. To book, and for more
information, go to:

http://www.tixonthesquare.ca/event/run/detail/396/

http://walterdaleplayhouse.com/?page_id=727


14.3 MORT THE MUSICAL SEEKS PERSONNEL

Perhaps they should go to a hiring fair...

"Youth Music Theatre UK is looking for actors, singers, dancers,
musicians and stage managers aged 11 to 21 for performances next
year. Auditions will take place at The Junction, Cambridge, on
February 18, a two-and-a-half hour session of dance, drama and
singing workshops led by a professional director, choreographer and
musical director. The theatre's 2012 programme includes performances
of Terry Pratchett's Mort The Musical and Macbeth."

To book a place for an audition and workshop, go to:

www.youthmusictheatreuk.org.

For more information contact Katherine Camps Kilgour on 07958 649502
or email katherine@....

http://tinyurl.com/7fo4nda

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

15) DISCWORLD GROUPS MEETING NEWS

The City of Small Gods Terry Pratchett Fan Club meets on the last
Thursday of the month from 6.30pm at the Ed Castle, 233 Currie St,
Adelaide (South Australia). Details, discussions and organisation of
extra events (such as play outings) are held on their email mailing
list, so do sign up at:

https://groups.google.com/group/adelaide-discworld-fans

*

The next meeting of the Broken Drummers, London's original Discworld
meeting group, will be from 7pm on 5th December 2011 at the Monkey
Puzzle, 30 Southwick Street, London W2 1JQ.

http://www.steeljam.co.uk/brokendrummers/

*

Drummers Downunder meet on the first Monday of every month in Sydney
at Maloneys, corner of Pitt & Goulburn Streets, at 6.30pm. The next
meeting will be on 5th December 2011. For more information, contact
Sue (aka Granny Weatherwax) on kenworthys@...

*

Perth Drummers meet on the traditional of first Monday of the month.
The next meeting will be from 6pm on 5th December 2011 at The
Vic Hotel, 226 Hay St, Subiaco. For more information contact:
Daniel Hatton at daniel_j_hatton@...

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

16) DISCWORLD DISCUSSION

At Roundworld's Bugarup University, aka the long-serving Discworld
discussion group ozdw, the "university's" resident werewolf
librarian (Libwolf) makes some criticisms about Snuff and is
rebutted by Steven, keeper of the campus 50-foot-tall nanobots.
WARNING: there's a certain amount of spoilage here, so if you
haven't read the book yet and don't want to know too much in
advance, scroll down very quickly *NOW*!!!

Libwolf proposes, Steven disposes:

Libwolf:
The villain? We barely meet him, let alone get an idea of his
motivation. Lord Rust is about honor, glory, prestige and breeding!
Rust junior just seemed to be out to make a buck in a very morally
ambiguous way. From memory, there's no real confrontation between
Vimes and Rust Jnr — Vimes just throws monkey wrenches into his
plan.

Steven:
I would have thought "making a quick buck as fast as possible
without giving a damn who suffers" was a very *realistic* motive for
a villain.

And again, the lack of confrontation is very true to life. In real
life, and despite the fantasy elements, Discworld does often reflect
real life, the *real* bad guys don't get thrown into their own pool
of piranhas no matter how much they deserve it. Instead, they often
become a "motivational speaker" and earn half a million dollars a
shot to tell self-serving lies about how great they are and what
clever decisions they made while running the country (into the
ground), or retire quietly to enjoy their ill-deserved wealth.

Gravid Rust has his father's sense of entitlement and arrogance, but
lacks his honour, bravery and sense of duty. He is, in a word,
decadent. I don't know if that's *actually* realistic about the sons
of arrogant aristocrats, but it *feels* realistic. Presumably, if
William de Worde had been the first born son, he too would have
inherited all of Lord de Worde's evilness but without whatever good
points he may have. If any.

Speaking of Lord de Worde, his decision in "The Truth" to leave
Ankh-Morpork for a while instead of hanging around to explain
matters to Vetinari isn't that much different from Gravid Rust being
sent to Fourecks without his supper. Privilege has it's privileges.
Reacher Gilt only ended up where he did because he didn't have a
wealthy, privileged family to protect him.


Libwolf:
Characters acting oddly: Sibyl is oddly passive — the Rusts have
intruded onto her family land and harmed the helpless — but she
doesn't stand up and shout, she waits until Sam has done something
about it. Long way from the Nightgown and Broadsword Sibyl or
Operatic Dwarf intimidator Sibyl.


Steven:
I've only read the novel once, perhaps I should read it again, but
as I recall it, Sybil (note spelling) doesn't *know* what has
happened until Sam did something about it. You can't really blame
her for not charging  in with guns blazing when she wasn't aware
that there was any reason to  do so.

Perhaps you are confusing her for a sibyl, in which case she would
have known all about it before it happened. *wink*


Libwolf:
Nobby & Colon — Fred being greedy and snatching something shiny and
unknown? The grab would be Nobby, Fred has always come across as
more cautious.


Steven:
I think that's a fairly dubious criticism. It wasn't a sudden
snatch, as Nobby might have done when no-one was looking. It was
Colon claiming something valuable that he considered his. Anyone
might have picked up the Soul of Tears, or at least anyone who
wasn't an Igor or a Dwarf who had heard stories about the strange
mystical powers of goblin unggue  pots, particularly if they weren't
bright enough to think that something that could make a cigar weep
could possibly do other things as well.

But still, it can't hurt you if you just pick it up, right? It's not
like it will bite...


Libwolf:
Willikins  In his other appearances, he's been polished, reserved.
In Snuff, he comes across as a street thug — more Jason Stratham
than Stephen Fry. 'you're a possible threat to my family, so I'm
gonna kill ya' attitude is new.


Steven:
Are you talking about the same Willikins who bit off someone's nose
in "Jingo", knifed a dwarf assassin with an ice pick in "Thud", and
followed up by firing a flame thrower down the tunnel the dwarfs
came up from? Yes, I can see why you might think Willikins seems
out of character to you in "Snuff". *wink*

If I had a (mild) criticism, it is that PTerry has used the same
trope at least twice now, first with Pepe in "Unseen Academicals",
and now with Willikins: just when you think the bad guy is going to
escape to cause trouble, the badass sidekick gives him a lecture
about morality and then gives him his just deserts.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

17) DISCWORLD ARTS AND CRAFTS NEWS

Seasonal miniatures from PJSM prints! The two newest Discworld
miniatures are "Death as the Hogfather" and "Pixie Albert". Each is
a "30mm scale, high quality, metal cast miniature" provided with a
"30mm premium plastic round base" and, as always, requires assembly
and preparation.

Hogfather Death is priced at £8.50. Pixie Albert is priced at £7.50.

http://www.paulkidby.com/miniatures/index.html


PJSM Prints asks their customers to take note of guaranteed last
ordering dates for merchandise for pre-Hogswatch arrival:

UK and Europe 9th December 2011

USA/Canada 2nd December 2011

Rest of the world 26th November 2011

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

18) IMAGES OF THE MONTH

"A Russian toddler got a big surprise when a huge orangutan tried to
plant a kiss on him. Russian photographer Olga Dmitrieva captured
the incredible moment when the giant mammal leant forward to mimic
the boy's pose at Moscow Zoo, the Daily Mail reported. 'It was an
amazing thing to witness,' Ms Dmitrieva said. The little boy
wasn't fazed by his close encounter with the orangutan, looking it
straight in the eye and kissing it back..."

http://tinyurl.com/ccuzx2m

The photo on its own:

http://tinyurl.com/ct9zzse


A lovely moody shot of a well-chilled (or slightly frozen) Author:

http://p.twimg.com/Ad4gg43CAAArC_N.jpg


Combining two famous Discworld references, a humorous vegetable –
called Kevin!

http://imgur.com/r/WTF/GwK0T


...and lastly, a hedgehog can never be, you know, but it *can* be
given a bath. Daww!

http://boingboing.net/2011/11/04/hedgehog-after-a-bath.html

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

19) DISCWORLD AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE

Blogger Micah Griffin, reviewing Snuff, completely *gets* it:

"The way Terry Pratchett treated goblins in this was awesome. There
are some super deep and nuanced social commentaries in there as well
as some awesome culture building. The goblins are treated here like
they are the low rung of the social fantasy race ladder. The idea
being that they're vermin, and have been treated so poorly for so
long by absolutely everyone else on Discworld that they have
developed a culture around the very idea that they deserve every bad
thing that happens to them. The way this plays out is a special kind
of magic...

"Young Sam. I defy you to find me a better written six year old...
Pratchett totally nails the complete arrogance of a six year old.
Not only this but he nails the complete lack of self awareness that
six year olds can have at times. He also just nails six year old
smarts. Young Sam is a super genius child. He's a very smart six
year old with a very particular interest. He knows a lot about this
particular thing and is more than willing to talk to you about like
you could give even half a damn...

"Class Struggles. This book has some extremely smart ways of
discussing class issues in what is a clearly defined class society.
It puts out all the archetypes for you to look at and examine. Terry
goes about this with clearly skilled precision and nuance. I guess
it's one of those things where it's just clear that Terry spent a
lot of time ironing out all the pieces he wanted to use. Nothing
here is shallow. One of my favorite examples is the hot headed
working class man who openly speaks out against the idea of a class
system. What makes him great is that, while played for laughs, he
isn't made a joke of. He voices real concerns and those concerns are
addressed. It looks at what could potentially be wrong with where
that righteous indignation is pointed. The more important part, for
me, is that he's never made to lose his fire..."

http://tinyurl.com/c658wan


Blogger The Heretic loved the Hogfather DVD:

"Although I loved The Color of Magic, Hogfather has to be my
favorite of the two made for tv versions of the respective Discworld
novels. Especially since Susan Sto Helit (played by Michelle
Dockery) is my favorite character of Discworld. Another cool thing
was seeing the inclusion, even though it was rather short, of the
Death of Rats, the Grim Squeaker. Another thing I love is seeing
Death trying to fill the role of the Hogfather, trying be and act
jolly, while shouting 'Ho! Ho! Ho!' with that emotionless skull of
his..."

http://emveeart77.wordpress.com/2011/10/27/hogfather/


Blogger Siany, aka Two Scones and a Milkshake, still hasn't read any
Discworld *books* but counts herself as a major Pratchett and
Discworld fan by way of having played Discworld games for years and
then having discovered Discworld on the magic box:

"My Discworld discovery then continued two years ago, now out of
University, when I finally came to find myself settling down in
front of the TV at Xmas time to see The Colour of Magic just
starting on BBC1. Here is where it got good for me. The humour is
one of the things I love the most; the bizarre, amazing, peculiar,
brilliance of the world that is Ankh Morpork, the flying turtle, the
elephants, the people, the wizards and everything else under the sun
– it all just enchanted me in a way that I haven't been enchanted
since The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The humour in it all is
the best and I can fully see now why Mr Pratchett has achieved the
fame that he has – he simply has one of the most amazing
imaginations in the universe. Period...."

http://tinyurl.com/7zrntcc


Blogger Kate Paulk reviews Snuff and admits to "fangirl squee":

"As usual I finished up awed by the man's skill and wondering why I
bothered when I can't hope to ever get close to that. Then all the
layered bits started clicking together, which means I'm even more in
awe, especially as the man freely admits he's an extreme pantser (he
doesn't exactly use those words, but that's what it comes down
to)... This is one of Pratchett's best, possibly even his best so
far, and it had me between laughing and reaching for the kleenex. A
word of warning. Don't start it in the evening unless you're
prepared for a very late night..."

http://madgeniusclub.com/2011/10/27/snuff-book-review/


Author and blogger Devon Ellington has written a paean to a
Discworld character we all know and love:

"Death is quite a character — thoughtful, resourceful,
intelligent, kind when appropriate, gets the job done. AND HE ALWAYS
SPEAKS IN CAPITAL LETTERS. One of my favorite novels in the series
is HOGFATHER, where Death steps in to take over when the Hogfather
(a Discworld variation on our Father Christmas) disappears. His
genuine puzzlement when he sits down and takes small children on his
lap to hear their wishes for Hogfather Night and how that does not
go well, is both touching and hilarious.

"Death is logical. Death knows when our time is up. Death likes a
good conversation as much as the next fellow. Death does not suffer
fools gladly. Death is practical. Death has a sense of humor, albeit
a (ahem) deadly one.

"Personifying Death the way Pratchett does makes the inevitable more
palatable, somehow. The method of your personal death may not be
particularly pleasant, but Death is there to give you a hand up to
your next destination. The destination is determined by the way
you've lived your life, and what you BELIEVE you deserve, but you
are not alone..."

http://tinyurl.com/79dyj96


Blogger Princess Alyeska is back with her review of Snuff:

"Vimes is definitely my favourite Discworld character. Watching him
develop from the broken, drunken man in Guards Guards to the
reluctant Duke in his later stories has been a privilege. However,
as some other reviewers have written of Snuff, it does make it
difficult to develop the character further. So, if we assume that
the character is as he is and this is just another episode in his
life, this is still an interesting story...

http://tinyurl.com/6ubnl6v


Blogger The Incurable Bluestocking isn't unreservedly in love with
Carpe Jugulum:

"This is a book that I always feel like I should like better than I
do. It has the right ingredients — the Lancre Witches, mythical
creatures, general snarkiness — and yet something about it always
falls flat for me. I suspect in some ways it's because this book
bears too many resemblances to Lords and Ladies — which I love,
but I'd rather read something with new themes than a re-hashing.
There are a lot of similarities... Nothing's wrong with any of it,
but you do get a bit of a feeling of having been there before... The
book picks up once Granny comes out of her sulk, and then out of her
coma, and spends some time wandering about with Omnian preacher
Mightily Oats. The entire dynamic between Mightily Oats and the
witches is pretty great, actually, largely because of how Esme's and
Gytha's respective prejudices bounce off of milquetoasty Mightily...
The story picks up even further when the citizens of Uberwald
finally steel themselves to revolt against their vampire masters
(with a little inspiration from Agnes/Perdita). The re-emergence of
the old Count, a classic vampire who'll have none of this modern
nonsense, is one of the best scenes in the book..."

http://tinyurl.com/6nfuezm


...but blogger Blogging Mary gives Night Watch 5 out of 5 stars:

"Night Watch is an expertly constructed book that writes time travel
— a notoriously difficult story element — very well. The basic
crux of the book is that, through very interesting circumstances
(Ankh-Morpork is a very interesting place, after all) Sam Vimes is
sent back through time to a year he knows quite intimately. Yes,
Vimes finds himself in the year during which he first started
working for the Watch. I remember reading this on the back cover
synopsis of Night Watch several months ago when I'd just finished
and put down The Fifth Elephant. It's just one of those things that
blows you away, as a reader. I mean, to send Vimes back in time is
one thing, but to send him back to a time where he most definitely
will encounter his past self is fantastic. Not only does that mean
the story will be carefully crafted and and complex, it also has the
potential for absolutely catastrophic results. In other words:
woohoo!... This book was utterly enjoyable thanks to Vimes' just
being his awesome self, the mystery of why lavender is so meaningful
to so many members of the Watch, and the cast of characters that we
meet all over again in a different time..."

http://marysbooknook.wordpress.com/2011/11/03/review-night-watch/


Blogger Malle Vallik loves Pratchetts, especially as audiobooks:

"He was one of my summer reading discoveries (on my 2 week cottage
vacations I like to read an author's oeuvre) perhaps about 5 years
ago. It has to be before digital reading became my primary
experience, because I own his books in print. They take up an entire
bookcase shelf. I love him because he is funny, smart, clever and he
likes people. He is a gifted satirist, but his books are
overwhelmingly hopeful... His stories are meant to be read out loud,
and the narrator, Stephen Briggs, is outstanding. He captures a wide
cast of characters with specificity and accuracy. (There's nothing
worse than when the voice sounds wrong; not at all like the voice in
your head for the character..."

http://tinyurl.com/7gxbyvu


Blogger Mike Finn reviews ISWM:

"What makes this an exceptional book, even for Terry Pratchett is
the development of the young witch of the Chalk, Tiffany Aching. I
confess to having fallen a little in love with Tiffany Aching in the
previous books. She is brave, selfless and determined to do the task
in front of her even when the task is immeasurably bigger than she
is. This is the book where Tiffany grows up. There is almost a sense
that Pratchett is saying goodbye to her and launching her into her
adult life. In this book, Tiffany comes to understand that doing the
right thing is a choice that may set her so far apart that she may
have no route to a normal happy life. She also starts to see the
danger that what starts as setting yourself apart can become setting
yourself above... The title of the book "I shall wear midnight"
highlights another strong theme in the book: doing things in their
right season. Tiffany Aching pushed herself to be a witch of the
Chalk when she was still a child. Her childhood was the price she
paid for that. Yet Tiffany declines to wear black, Tiffany wants to
join in the dance of life, Tiffany is willing to die to protect what
needs to be protected but she'd rather live and love and grow..."

http://tinyurl.com/bu8b5p6


Blogger Tophat reviews Snuff:

"This is the first DiscWorld novel I've read where the action
isn't central on Ankh-Morpork, and honestly I didn't think I'd
miss the city as much as I did when I started reading the novel.
It's chaotic there, and interesting to boot, with different races
of people and monsters coming together to eke out an existence in an
unusual world. I can see why Vimes would miss the place... As a
Vimes Novel, I actually prefered Thud! and Night Watch more, though
that may be because Ankh-Morpork is a fantastic setting for any
book. Snuff is a bit slower paced, which is fine, but the real
action in the novel is in watching Vimes systematically tear apart
the argument of everyone around him just through sheer force of
will. Vimes is an avatar of justice, and at this point in his life
he's good at what he does, even if what he does skirts the
boundaries of what's legal or not..."

http://tinyurl.com/7jsnhr7


Another Snuff review, by blogger Morgan Lewis:

"Snuff builds on the already-complex foundations of Sam's
character established in the earlier novels by putting him in a
situation where he has to choose between being lawful and being
good. How does a man who has always taken a hard stance against
vigilantism react when faced with something that, while monstrously
wrong, might not, technically, be illegal? Making this particularly
challenging is that Sam's stance against vigilante action has
always been driven largely from his fear, not of what others would
do, but of what he himself would do without the restraints of the
law... One aspect of the book that's a bit of a mixed bag is the
heavy racial themes in the novel. The goblins are subjected to
confinement, slavery, abuse, genocide, basically every evil that has
ever been perpetrated in the name of racial domination. It makes
Snuff a markedly darker book than most in the series, even compared
to those that also deal with heavy issues and/or racial issues..."

http://tinyurl.com/7cmrhbx


Blogger Brian Jane has come to the Discworld by way of Mort:

"Death's interview with the employment agent provided one of the
funniest scenes of the book, and the gem of a line: "It would seem
that you have no useful skill or talent whatsoever… Have you
thought of going into teaching?" Pratchett doesn't often let his
comedy get in the way of telling the story. From chapter to chapter,
I never was sure what I'd read next..."

http://tinyurl.com/89h39wz


Blogger manytoomany enjoyed Thief of Time:

"I'm pretty sure I've liked all of his Discworld stuff (all of
his non-Discworld stuff too, actually), and this one was no
exception... Someone is trying to make a clock that's so accurate,
it'll cause the world to end (that sounds a bit silly now that
I'm typing it [and some of the characters thought so too], but
Pratchett sold it pretty well). Meanwhile, hubwards, Lu Tze (an old,
wise, and ridiculously kick-ass monk) has picked up an apprentice
who seems suspiciously good at the kind of time manipulation that
novice monks are supposed to have to spend decades to be able to do.
Things race towards a suitably epic conclusion (Pratchett pulls out
all the stops here, introducing us to two new and mighty
anthropomorphic personifications – Time and Chaos); there's a
fan-service (but warranted) guest appearance from Nanny Ogg, and the
reappearance of Igors; and there's humour galore (some of it based
on particularly deft and witty observations of the kung-fu genre)...
I don't know if what I read here was new, but it definitely felt
fresh. I don't know how he does it, but this book was as much fun
to read as the ones he wrote two decades ago..."

http://manytoomany.wordpress.com/2011/11/14/thief-of-time/


At Fantasy Book Review, Joshua S. Hill gives Snuff 10/10:

"I had Snuff finished in just over a day from when it arrived. I
took it slowly, because you don't want to rush good things like
Terry Pratchett. While there is an almost infinite amount of re-
readability to Pratchett's works, the first time is always
special, and you want to savour it... I was a little wary because
the blurb pretty much told us [Vimes] wouldn't be hanging around
Ankh-Morpork, as he would be on holiday with his wife, Sybil, and
his son, Young Sam. But I should never have worried, as Pratchett
has once again provided us with a book that, in all honesty, leaves
me unable to rate it very well. At this point, I can pretty much
only rate Pratchett books against other Pratchett books... The
underlying political and moral alignment of Pratchett is very
obvious, but it never comes across as preachy. The lessons learned
and the insights gained are ones that we can either take on board,
or we already have..."

http://tinyurl.com/738maex


The Labyrinth Librarian loves Carpe Jugulum:

"First of all, we get a better look at Perdita/Agnes Nitt. Yes,
she's the Third Witch, but she's more at home being a witch than
Magrat ever was. Perdita is two witches in one, and they don't
like each other very much – a volatile combination. And as the
newcomer, Agnes has the unenviable role of being the stand-in for
the reader. She gets a lot of explanation that seems redundant to
loyal followers of the Discworld series, but I guess new readers
have to come in somewhere. Secondly, we get to play around inside
Granny Weatherwax's head again, which is always fun...  Another
really neat thing about this book is that we finally get to revisit
the Omnians, who were introduced as a fanatical theocratic people in
Small Gods. Time has tempered the Omnians, who are now the Discworld
equivalent of the Jehovah's Witnesses. An Omnian missionary has
come to Lancre, and he gets caught up in the battle against the
vampires as well, and it turns out that, well, the Omnians aren't
that bad anymore. Since the Prophet Brutha gave them permission to
think for themselves, the Church has schismed so many times that it
finally comes down to a schism in one member, Brother Oats. Like
Agnes, he's of two minds about the world, and neither of them
really get along..."

http://thelablib.org/2011/11/10/review-148-carpe-jugulum/


...and blogger Zoya was won over by Making Money:

"The story was a bit too long with a tendency to describe the
mundane stuff but the humor was so good that it kept me going.
Lipwig tries to blend it as smoothly as a wallpaper but ends up
standing out due to his ability to entertain people and his love to
flirt with danger. The book also brings out the humor and patience
from Lord Vetinari. The unsung hero/victim of the book though is
Mavolio Bent or Mr. Bent the chief cashier with a dark past which is
unravelled at a gradual pace. I previously resisted reading 'Going
Postal' simply because it seemed boring but I've added it back
to my TBR..."

http://silvermists.wordpress.com/2011/11/09/making-money/

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

20) ROUNDWORLD TALES: CLOOTIE DUMPLINGS

Many a native of Ankh-Morpork will wax lyrical about the joys of a
dessert known as clootie dumpling. But how many of you knew that
this dessert exists in Roundworld?

A Clootie Dumpling is "a rich dark fruitcake served as a dessert,
like a Christmas pudding. It is boiled or steamed in a cloot (or
cloth). Until the recent past, clootie dumplings were made as a
birthday treat for children and, like Christmas Puddings, were often
made containing sixpences. The dictionary definition doesn't explain
that a clootie dumpling has a major difference from a Christmas
pudding in that it has a 'skin' around the outside when steamed and
dried properly. The clootie dumplings I remember, which my
grandmother baked, only ever had one sixpence in them and it always
mysteriously managed to be in the pudding bowl of whichever
grandchild was having the birthday at the time..."

This page even includes a recipe for a thoroughly modern clootie
dumpling that you can make in your microwave:

http://www.ciao.co.uk/Quick_and_Easy_Recipes__Review_5526176

Clootie Dumpling is traditionally served warm with custard. It's
also traditional to fry any leftovers the next day as part of a
cooked breakfast. Not surprising, as the Scots also traditionally do
this to Christmas cake!

A more traditionally-prepared recipe can be found here:

http://tinyurl.com/7fzbzqy

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

21) LATE BREAKING NEWS

21.1 The Author, chatting with the excellent Simon Mayo on Drivetime
at the BBC:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00lwfsd


21.2 "This is just a tribute..." For the Quirmophiles among us, a
new Death-centric collection of stories in homage to Sir Terry
Pratchett's oddly lovable anthropomorphic personification is being
released this week courtesy of the French site fan2fantasy. "Hommage
a Sir Terence" features eleven stories, and the beautiful
commissioned cover art is by Paul Kidby himself:

http://fan2fantasy.fr/286

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

22) CLOSE

It's action replay time again! Here be some wonderful iconographs
from the 2008 NADWcon, well worth revisiting:

Best Cosmo Lavish impersonator in Roundworld?
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3210/2806197036_057ab915bc.jpg

Mad Hamish and charming young, um, assistant:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29984193@N02/2805352191/in/photostream

The lovely ladies Emily and Anna fear not the glom of nit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29984193@N02/2806206396/in/photostream


And that's all from us for the moment. Stand by for your monthly
horoscope – Fernando assures me it will be a good one!

– Annie Mac

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

———————————————————————————————————
The End. If you have any questions or requests, write:
interact@...
———————————————————————————————————
Copyright (c) 2011 by Klatchian Foreign Legion

WOSSNAME
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
November 2011 (Volume 14, Issue 11, Post 2)
*****************************************************************

1) A NOTE FROM YOUR EDITOR: ORANGUTAN ACTION AUCTION!
2) YOUR DISCWORLD HOROSCOPE FOR NOVEMBER
3) GAME NEWS: GUARDS!GUARDS! BOARD GAME UPDATES
4) LATE BREAKING NEWS (AND PLENTY OF IT)
5) CLOSE

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

1) A NOTE: SNUFF AUCTION TO SAVE ORANGUTANS!

An exclusive signed, bound proof of Snuff is currently under the
hammer for charity! Here be the announcement as brought to you by
Bricks and Books:

The Orangutan Foundation is honoured to be auctioning a proof of Sir
Terry Pratchett's latest Discworld novel, Snuff, complete with
signed bookplate. There are only 155 proofs existing and this is the
only signed copy to be auctioned, kindly donated by Colin Smythe,
Sir Terry Pratchett's agent.

The auction will run from this Sunday 27 November at 8pm – Sunday
4 December at 8pm. Place your bids here:

http://tinyurl.com/ct8267g

Also...SAVE THE DATE!! Monday 5 December at 10am – Friday 9
December.

For one week only they have a fantastic opportunity to have all
online donations doubled! Donate whatever you can and they will
receive the same again from the Big Give!

However, you need to be quick as funds from the Big Give are
released bit by bit and, once the day's funds are exhausted, no
more donations can be made. So, they are asking their supporters to
donate here

http://new.thebiggive.org.uk/project/orangutans

as soon as possible once the Challenge opens at 10am on Monday 5
December.

Don't miss out on this unique opportunity to help them to secure a
future for orangutans, forests and people this Christmas. Thank you
for your support!

To read the original message on the web, go to:

http://tinyurl.com/7ebdl59

[Editor's note: the bidding already stands at £82.00, so off you
go!]

For more info on the Big Give:

http://www.orangutan.org.uk/the-big-give
eBay page for the Big Give: http://tinyurl.com/c73suam

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

2) THE NEW DISCWORLD HOROSCOPE
by Fernando Magnifico

Buongiorno! This month the Lady Asterisk is unavailable after she
sprained her prognosticating nerve, but I, Fernando Magnifico, will
be your astrologer instead!

My friends, Fernando has the good news this month, for his rivals in
the Guild of Prognosticators, Soothsayers, Fortune-tellers,
Oneiromancers, Haruspices and Cunning-Men (divers wizards, witches,
priests, priestessesses and Mrs Cake exempted) have again backed
down from their despicable attempts to throw Fernando out of the
Guild, at least for now. Fernando is thankful for the support of his
many fans and readers, and especially to those who went to the Guild
office and chained themselves to the troll guarding the front door.
My friends, Fernando is very gratifying for you!

Fernando does not intend to be the negative person like those
guastafesti with their constant carping "Fernando, you cannot do
that", "Fernando, you shouldn't do that", "Fernando, that is a
violation of Guild Ethics", but Fernando is sure that such is the
jealousy in their hearts that it is only a matter of time before
they try again to throw him out of the Guild. But do not be afeared
my friends, for Fernando does not afear their trumpeted up
trumpetings and will continue to provide the primo quality
horoscopings for your needs.

It is only the one more month until Hogswatch! As Fernando knows,
Hogswatch is the much stressful time of the year. So before you
start the hard work of enjoying yourself for Hogswatch, the stars
say you should indulge yourself for a small treat first, to relax
and refresh yourself before the serious business of the holiday
season begins. So this month, listen carefully to Fernando as he
tells you the best self-indulgence for you.

Ciao bella!

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Adamant Hedgehog  21 Mar - 20 Apr

Fernando is the honest man, and so he must say to you that the
perfection that you see before you did not come without cost. My
friends, Fernando's magnificent good looks are the product of the
much hard work: the many hours of the pumping of the irons, as they
say, with Giorgio and Ahhnuld down at Jim Nauseum's Sports Academy
and Gym in Dolly Sisters; the plucking of the unsightly hairs; the
careful styling. No matter how magnificent are your gods-given
natural gifts, and Fernando's gifts are pretty magnificent, there is
always the room to be the more magnificent. My friends, the stars
tell Fernando that your indulgence is to treat yourself to the self-
improvement with a transplant voucher from We R Igors. Why not spoil
yourself with the Deluxe version that includes after-care?

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Half-Eaten Sandwich  21 Apr - 21 May

Munchers, the stars tell Fernando that your indulgence is to treat
yourself (and perhaps the special friend, if you know what Fernando
means) to the lavish dinner at the famous ristorante Le Foie
Heureux. My friends, if you tell the maitre de that Fernando sent
you, he may be able to squeeze you in before Hogswatch. Fernando can
especially recommend the oysters with avec, Fernando prefers to
order the dozen, although only ten normally are needed to work. You
should also try the sole de chaussures bonne femme avec le plus de
l'ail and soupe a l'ancienne serviette de lavabo. Fernando knows
that not everyone can afford the prices at Le Foie Heureux, so for
those on a budget, Fernando recommends the blue light special at
Harga's House of Ribs: six ribs and four pieces of very nearly fresh
chicken for a dollar.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Herne the Hunted  22 May - 21 Jun

Hernians, your indulgence is the box of mixed chocolates from
Wienrich & Boettcher. My friends, this is not the time for the
rubbish made from cat squeezings that passes as Morporkian
chocolate, you deserve the best sweets available outside of
Brindisi. Fernando is especially fond of putting the couple of
chocolate-coated nuts in his mouth and sucking the chocolate off. Do
not be afeared if this is not for your taste, for Wienrich &
Boettcher have the all sorts of chocolates for all peoples:
chocolate mints, truffles, hard toffee centres, the strawberry
creams, chocolate-coated gingers and even the prince of chocolate,
the Caffe Marzipan Surprise. And a guarantee that there are no cows'
lips in the chocolates (except for the Sto Lat Caramel Cremes, but
that is allowed because it's traditional).

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Wizard's Staff and Knob  22 Jun - 22 Jul

Staffies, your self-indulgence is to order the Archchancellor's
Cheese Board, available from the University Gift Shop for a limited
time before Hogswatch. For AM$6, you get a wooden cheese board (now
with the guarantee to not shriek loudly when used), a selection of
twelve hard cheeses and eight blue cheeses, three types of cheese
biscuit or cracker, pickled onions, and a small jar each of quince
jelly and vole chutney. For those of the more adventurous
disposition, Fernando can recommend the Archchancellor's Extra
Special Selection. For an extra $2, you also get pickled walnuts,
Wow-Wow sauce, and the excitement of possibly being attacked by a
rogue Lancre Blue.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Bilious, God of Hangovers  23 Jul - 23 Aug

Bilians, Fernando knows that on a typical Friday or Saturday night,
you often find yourself walking home from the pub, a piccolo wobbly
on your feet (or, if you are like Fernando's cousin Tony, perhaps
more a trumpet or tuba wobbly) many hours after even the famously
open-almost-all-hours Ankh-Morpork restaurants have closed to hose
out the last of the patrons. My friends, it is at this time that
stirrings of hunger are at their strongest, but before the faint
feeling of distress have worked their way up from your insides. This
is the time that the sausage inna bun often seems especially
attractive. Bilians, the stars tell Fernando that your indulgence is
to treat yourself to one of Dibbler's Premium Best Sausage Like
Father Used To Have ("Stick one in yer gob today!").

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

My Uncle's Nose  24 Aug - 23 Sept

Nosers, why not indulge yourself with a treat *and* do the socially
beneficial act at the same time? For the stars tell Fernando that
your indulgence is to have the lunch with Captain Carrot of the City
Watch at Give Peas A Chance, the legume restaurant on Old Cobblers
Lane. (Fernando suggests you try the Brindisian-style stoo with
named bean.) My friends, Captain Carrot is almost as magnificent as
Fernando himself, and he is sure to thrill you with the many tales
of dwarf battle bread, the history of Ankh-Morpork's penal code, and
the various uses and production figures of pulses, beans and peas of
the nations around the Circle Sea. And the proceeds will be used to
benefit the poor orphans of Borogravia.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Small Boring Group of Faint Stars  24 Sept - 23 Oct

Boring'uns, the stars tell Fernando that your indulgence to treat
yourself to is the quiet night at home. But listen very carefully to
Fernando's most excellente advice, my friends: the stars say you
should hire the pair of heavily armed dwarfs to guard your front
door from religious pamphleteers, door-to-door salesmen, street
urchins, gnolls, people collecting for charities, divers beggars,
and especially your neighbour who keeps inviting you to go paint-
balling. Then you can relax and enjoy the peaceful night relaxing in
your comfy chair with a cup of warm milk. You can even catch up on
darning your socks. (For those of you who consider that a bit too
racy, Fernando suggests you try pooting your socks instead.)

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Androgyna Majestis  24 Oct - 22 Nov

Andies, your indulgence is to enjoy the health-giving benefits of a
NoThingfjord massage. My friends, Fernando can tell you that, when
properly done, the NoThingfjord massage soothes aches and pains,
increases blood circulation, balances the humours, kills 15
different kinds of invisible biting demon, relaxes tense muscles,
and firms the parts that should be firm. Unfortunately, when
improperly done, it is only good for sending you to Dr Lawn for
recovery. But do not be afeared my friends, for Fernando would never
give you the bad advices: listen very carefully, for you cannot go
wrong with the one hour massage from Sven the Hublander, all
messages to Mrs. Flaybottom at number 37 Picklewood Alley. Trust
Fernando on this, for he knows that it is so.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Spoons, a.k.a. the Greater and Lesser Spoons, 23 Nov - 21 Dec

My friends, the Fool's Guild is attempting to have the ban on street
mimes lifted, and to gain public support Dr Whiteface has
reluctantly allowed guided tours of the Guild. Word on the street is
that Dr Whiteface has promised certain high-ranking clowns that if
their idea doesn't work, they will be personally mopping up spilled
custard in the novice clown training rooms with their baggy trousers
for the next six months, so Fernando thinks that this is the most
excellente opportunity while you still can. And the stars agree:
your indulgence is to take the Clown Tour for just eighty cents
(custard removal included in the price), where you will learn the
secrets of floppy shoes and the four officially sanctioned ways to
hit clowns over the head with a bladder on a stick, and have white-
wash poured down your trousers. It is the once in a lifetime
opportunity, mia cara.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Hoki the Jokester  22 Dec - 20 Jan

Hokians, the stars tell Fernando that your indulgence is to take the
ten day luxury cruise around the Circle Sea on the cruise ship Queen
Kelirehenna III. For the ten glorious days, you will be pampered and
your every need fulfilled by the staff of the QK-III, with all the
fine food you can eat, the complimentary Quirmian fizzy wine (never
as good as the honest Brindisian lambrusco, but at least the
Quirmian fizzy rubbish is included in the price of your cruise),
games, and an on-board mini-opera house featuring stars almost good
enough to sing in Ankh-Morpork. The tour will take you to see the
Curious Squid at the site of the Lost Island of Leshp, the ruins at
Holy Wood, and shopping stop-overs in Ephebe, Tsort and the
Klatchian city of Al Khali. Fernando promises you Hokians that this
is the last word in luxury, so long as you see your local witch or
apothecary first for anti-seasickness potion!

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Big Chicken  21 Jan - 18 Feb

Squawkers, Fernando understands that the many mens and womens are
suffering from the personal problem that we do not speak of.
Especially in the cold, dark months of the year. But Fernando is not
afeared to speak of these things, for are we not all adults here?
(Except for Kevin, who is still writing those letters to the
editor.) My friends, if you are feeling the "depression" or "blues",
as they say (or rather, as they don't say) and are generally tired
of being alive, cheer up, for the stars tell Fernando that your
indulgence is to go to the luxury health spa for the water
treatment: first the bracing Klatchian steam bath, then the mineral
springs spa bath, and finally Cronstedtite the troll pummels you and
holds you under water for a minute. After this experience, you will
never be more glad to be alive.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Lesser Umbrage   19 Feb - 20 Mar

Umbragians, Fernando is the very exciting to tell you that the stars
say that your indulgence is truly the most excellente treat. My
friends, your most appropriate indulgence is to visit the art
gallery. And not just the any gallery, for Fernando is the most
pleased to say that it is the "Grave Modern", that little primo
quality gallery on Broadway owned by Fernando's very good friend the
Baroness Evangelika Lugubria Arroganta Barbina Solfami von
Fledermausen. My friends, not only will you see the excellente Nu
Vampyre artwork by the noted semi-reformed artist Darien Thirst, but
after 9pm you will have the opportunity for the private showing of
the paintings of Fernando without the fig leaf.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

3) GAME NEWS: GUARDS! GUARDS! BOARD GAME

Guards!Guards!, Backspindle Games' new Discworld board game, is
doing very well indeed! Co-designer David Brashaw has written to us
to say that last weekend's game sessions at the Wincanton Hogswatch
celebrations were yet another triumph:

"We had a ball at Hogswatch, and will blog about it soon, see
www.facebook.com/guardsguards in the meantime, oh also all our
recent tweets. Jason [Anthony, of WOSSNAME's Distinguished
Competition] had an epic 4 hour game...he took his dead end at. One
player was on final Spell at two hours and fifteen minutes, but
Jason and the others ganged up on him and made him fight at least 4
Dragons. The laughter could be heard 25 yards away outside, awesome!
Yesterday we even got to chat with da man in da hat!"

Furthermore, the first run of the Guards!Guards! game received a
five star review across all areas on Amazon, and is almost sold out
around the world:

"Of course we still have a few copies left that can be purchased at
_www.guardsguards.com_. We are waiting on Z-Man to see if there will
be a reprint at sometime in the future..."

Also, a little birdie tells us that WOSSNAME will soon have its own
copy of Guards!Guards! to test drive! Lipwigzer, Moggrat, Sacharissa
and the Dean will be happy to hear that...

For the rest of you, why not order one of the rapidly-disappearing
copies of the game for your loved ones (or yourselves)? Last order
dates suggested by Backspindle Games Ltd for shipping for Christmas
deliveries are:

UK – Registered: 18 December 2011
UK – Special Delivery: 20 December 2011
Europe – Royal Mail International Signed For: 8 December 2011
USA – to be confirmed
Worldwide – Royal Mail International Signed For: 4 December

For ordering information and a whole lot more:

www.guardsguards.com
www.facebook.com/guardsguards
http://www.guardsguards.com/blog.aspx

And for more about some of the fabulous debut airings of G!G!, see
item 4.4 below...

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

4) LATE BREAKING NEWS

4.1 PTERRY ON IRISH RADIO!

In the Irish Times, and article on Irish radio presenter Orla
Barry's recent relaxed yet incisive interview with Terry Pratchett
on Newstalk radio's weekly arts programme The Green Room. The
interview covered various subjects including the special qualities
of American Discworld fans, his Alzheimer's, Snuff, the secrets of
the Seamstresses' Guild, and how having a beard helps him in his
professorship:

"Pratchett, author of the bestselling Discworld comic fantasy
novels, is almost as well-known as an Alzheimer's sufferer: since
2007, when he was diagnosed with the disease at the age of 59, he
has campaigned to raise awareness of the condition while continuing
to write, publishing his latest volume, Snuff, only last month. So
far, so inspirational. But while Pratchett spoke calmly about the
effects of his illness, he was unwilling to play the stoic martyr.
When Barry suggested that, despite everything, he seemed content,
the author took umbrage. 'What makes you think that?' he asked,
after a long silence. Though he took a reflective, rational view of
his terminal illness, right down to advocating planned suicide, he
was not enjoying some passive state of grace. 'I don't mind who I
attack and I don't care what I say,' he said. 'All fear disappeared
after Alzheimer's. You think, what else can go wrong..."

http://tinyurl.com/d4azza7

http://www.newstalk.ie/

Ms Barry conducted a notably intelligent interview and asked some
hard questions as well as some that surprised Sir Pterry. To listen
to the full interview, click on Part 2 on the link below and go to
count 04:02:

http://www.newstalk.ie/programmes/all/the-green-room/listen-back/


4.2 ON GO THE LIGHTS!

Here be numerous photos of a very cheerful-looking Sir Pterry –
sporting quite wizardly-looking eyebrows and huzzah'd by a very
large, adoring crowd – turning on the Burnham-on-Sea Christmas
lights with mayor Michael Clarke:

http://tinyurl.com/c2ztlak

And a short-ish video of the event:

http://tinyurl.com/75qfsla


Also, Pterry met the crew of Burnham-on-Sea's marvellous rescue
hovercraft:

"The author was in Burnham to switch on the town's Christmas
lights and was keen to hear about the work of BARB (Burnham Area
Rescue Boat), whose life-saving hovercraft The Light Of Elizabeth
was on display at the switch-on ceremony. BARB is a registered
charity that operates two life-saving rescue hovercrafts and an
inshore rescue boat in the Bridgwater Bay area..."

http://tinyurl.com/8299o9j


4.3 CANADA VERSUS DISCWORLD!

Although we've already informed (and reminded) you about the
Walterdale Theatre's production of Wyrd Sisters that opens this
week, an article has just come through that's worth sharing. In the
Edmonton Journal, Disc newbie Liz Nicholls has written an extended
piece about Discworld and the story and production of Wyrd Sisters,
including some marvellous quotes from director J. Nelson Niwa, who
*is* a Discworld fan of long standing:

"The actors play a multitude of characters, two or three apiece,
some of whom appear only fleetingly then disappear to be recostumed.
Niwa tells them 'OK, you're onstage for one scene with this bit
part; you can milk the snot out of it. You have 118 seconds to steal
as much of the scene as you possibly can.'"

There's also a photo of the main cast, who look quite well chosen
for their parts. So if you're in or near the province of Alberta
over the next twelve days, do go see the production!

For the full article, and details of the play:

http://tinyurl.com/7pcjx2f


4.4 IDWCON POST-MORTEMS!

From the Guards!Guards! boardgame team blog, reporting on the
goings-on at the recent 2011 Irish Discworld Convention:

"Next morning up early setting up in the dealers' room, getting demo
games on the go and then at 11am the scary bit of organising the
first ever LIVE Discworld Convention game of Guards! Guards! How did
it go? Well it was crazy; there were players making the noise of
swamp dragons, push-ups done for captain Vimes, Witches blessings,
the borrowing of Wizard's hats, oh and as Fate would have it, out of
ninety Discworld character cards Pat Harkin unbelievably got to play
the Duck Man, hoot! Eventually there was the winner; the one and
only Kristine Heald, apply titled Games Mistress (no fix, she
actually won, with her happy band of volunteers). During the game
she even made time to sing two verses of 'A Wizard's staff has a
knob on the end.' She was delighted to be presented with a bottle of
'Dragon' wine by David. Some hours later we ran another LIVE game
and more chasing about fun was had... On Sunday morning we had lots
of fans enjoying our board game and Pat was particularly please to
beat designer David..."

http://tinyurl.com/6v44zzv

...and from Bricks and Books:

"The event was held over the weekend from the 4th till the 7th
November, with everything from a live action version of the game
Guards! Guards! (more on that below), to Sir Terry appearing via
Skype. I am grateful to Meerkat from the Official Terry Pratchett
Forum for giving me her quick recap of the event as well as some
snaps as well. Meerkat had this to say about her weekend:

"'On arrival (as good a place as any) you are handed your flight
badge which enabled you to travel all over the disc (TWAT -Three
Witches Air Travel). There were so many things to do it was a case
of sorting through the diary and arranging what you wanted to do.
And there was so much to do too! From just watching to actually
joining in Unseen University challenge where Jan and my team got to
a creditable third place! We also did a Mock the Week spoof where I
had to voice Lord Vetinari's 'true' speech as he gave it. DRESSING
UP – NOT ESSENTIAL – but great fun nevertheless... The Pratchett
Conventions are a family and it doesn't matter who you are, where
you come from or the language you speak. Terry's fans accept you for
who you are! It's a lovely feeling! It was fun fun fun! I'm
exhausted – that'll teach me to volunteer for things...'

"I also spoke to Leo Boyd, one of the co-creators of the fantastic
Guards! Guards! game, that should be on everyone Discworld fans Xmas
list, from what I have been told the live action version of their
game went down a treat and there are plans to repeat it at next
years DWCon, if I go I look forward to seeing it myself. Leo himself
had this to say about the event:

"'You should definitely try to plan a visit to the IDWCon at some
time in the future. The guys who put it together are fantastic
everyone who we met rated it as one of the best DW cons to be at.
They say it may be one of the smaller events but its has such an
intimate and personal feel to it that bigger cons just cant compete
with (and apparently Sir TP has said as much himself)'"

http://bricksandbooks.co.uk/2011/a-look-back-at-idwcon-2011/

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

5) CLOSE

Some great bits to take you on into December, O Readers:

The Professor is... on! On video, that is. Here he is talking
earlier this week with Trinity College Dublin's Head of the School
of English, Dr Darryl Jones

http://tinyurl.com/79udrpy


University student and blogger Katie McDermott had a very close
encounter with the Professor in Dublin:

"It was technically only for alumni and I had an essay and a story
to submit that week as well as NaNo, but I volunteered to help out
anyway. Myself and my friends were sitting in the front row, a
meter, maybe a meter and a half from the genius himself. Afterwards
there was a wine reception and while a few people monopolised his
time, asking questions and that, we still got a picture with him and
got to hob-nob over glasses of wine in the same room.

"Then on Thursday we had a class with him. This was definitely the
highlight for me. There was only fifteen of us in a room sitting
around a table with him and we got to ask him any questions we like
about writing. We got world building advice, a debate on genre
fiction vs. literary, ideas for novels, the writing process and a
truly epic tangent when one guy asked where he bought his hat. He
talked about his new novel Snuff, no one else had read it so he
turned to me and said 'I'm just going to address this to my reader
and the rest of you can all piss off.' For the rest of the afternoon
he called me 'my reader.' Best. Moment. ever..."

http://tinyurl.com/csq5yog

And here's a direct link to her marvellous photo of Professor Sir
Terry Pratchett, university lecturer – and blackboard monitor:

http://katiemcdermott.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/0114.jpg


And with that, I'm off to bed. See you next month!

– Annie Mac

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

———————————————————————————————————
If you have any questions or requests, write:
interact@...
———————————————————————————————————
Copyright (c) 2011 by Klatchian Foreign Legion

WOSSNAME
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
December 2011 (Volume 14, Issue 12, Post 1)
********************************************************************
WOSSNAME is a free publication for members of the worldwide
Klatchian Foreign Legion and its affiliates, including the North
American Discworld Society and other continental groups. Are you a
member? Yes, if you sent in your name, country and e-mail address.
Are there any dues? No! As a member of the Klatchian Foreign Legion,
you'd only forget them...
********************************************************************
Editor in Chief: Annie Mac
News Editor: Fiona (not Bruce) Bruce
Newshounds: Vera, Mogg, Sir J of Croydon Below, the Shadow
Staff Writers: Asti, Pitt the Elder, Steven D'Aprano, L.C. Thomas
Convention Reporters: Mithtrethth Hania Ogg et al
Staff Technomancer: Jason Parlevliet
Book Reviews: Drusilla D'Afanguin
Puzzle Editor: Tiff
Bard in Residence: Weird Alice Lancrevic
DW Horoscope: Lady Anaemia Asterisk, Fernando Magnifico
Emergency Staff: Jason Parlevliet
World Membership Director: Steven D'Aprano (in his copious spare
time)
Copyright 2011 by Klatchian Foreign Legion

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

INDEX:

01) QUOTES OF THE MONTH
02) LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
03) A MESSAGE FROM THE MASTER
04) "SNUFF" REVIEWS
05) THE NEXT PRATCHETT PRIZE
06) ISWM FREEBIE
07) REVIEW: HOGFATHER ON TELLY
08) REVIEWS: GOING POSTAL ON TELLY IN FOURECKS
09) BETTER THAN MARY POPPINS
10) PTERRY AND ALZHEIMER'S NEWS
11) DISCWORLD GAMES NEWS
12) REVIEW: JOHNNY AND THE DEAD
13) DISCWORLD CONVENTION NEWS
14) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS
15) DISCWORLD GROUPS MEETING NEWS
16) DISCWORLD DISCUSSION
17) DISCWORLD ARTS AND CRAFTS NEWS
18) IMAGES OF THE MONTH
19) DISCWORLD AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE
20) ACTION REPLAY
21) CLOSE

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

01) QUOTES OF THE MONTH

"Pratchett is still the second most-read author in Britain today,
behind only JK Rowling. His back catalogue however is the number one
best selling of any author in the UK. His books have been translated
into 35 languages with notable success in US, Germany, France,
Spain, Australia and New Zealand among others. It should be noted
that Pratchett becomes ever more popular in the US and is now the
sixth most read non US author in the United States."

— Australia's ABC network, in their promotional blurb for Going
Postal, which was televised on 17th December


"He had spent years in search of boredom, but had never achieved it.
Just when he thought he had it in his grasp his life would suddenly
become full of near-terminal interest. The thought that someone
could voluntarily give up the prospect of being bored for fifty
years made him feel quite weak. With fifty years ahead of him, he
thought, he could elevate tedium to the status of an art form. There
would be no end to the things he wouldn't do."

— Rincewind yearning for a quiet life, in Sourcery (p. 142, Corgi
1989 paperback edition)


"I think young girls need to have their eyes opened to the different
avenues open to them in games. They can be artists, animators,
writers, designers, producers, programmers... We need to get them
fired up about technology and find the Ada Lovelaces of the future.
I think both the industry and the educational system have a role to
play to achieve this. There are so many great female role-models
within the games industry, but they rarely get the exposure they
deserve."

— Pratchett the Younger agitates for more women in games design,
in an article in The Guardian

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

02) A LETTER FROM YOUR EDITOR

Well. I thought this month's issue would be a short one, low on
content. As usual, I was exactly wrong...

We seem to have passed another critical-Pratchett-mass milestone:
enjoying Hogfather, both the film version and the original novel, is
becoming a traditional Christmas activity in more and more
Roundworld homes. Who would ever have thought this would come to
pass – and isn't it wonderful! (I have to admit that re-watching
the entire extended Lord of the Rings is *our* tradition during the
year's end holidays, but then we revel in the works of Pratchett all
year anyway.) And admit it, having Hogfather on every year at this
time is better than yet another re-run of Zulu or Dam Busters, isn't
it?

Right. We have news, reviews, updates and all the usual in this
final issue of 2011, so sit back under the Hogswatch tree and enjoy!

– Annie Mac

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

03) A (BRIEF, MUSICAL) MESSAGE FROM THE MASTER

In which Sir Pterry and friends sing us a seasonal carol:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gL_X5i0M9b8

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

04) SNUFF: NEW REVIEWS

REVIEWS: SNUFF

In The Telegraph, David Langford recommends Snuff:

"Some fantasy series drag on, but Terry Pratchett's Discworld
remains a joy. In Snuff (Doubleday, £18.99), tough cop Sam Vimes
takes an enforced country holiday and inevitably finds crime among
the cowpats. Pokes at aristocratic households and Jane Austen are
seriously funny; Vimes's outrage that a racial underclass is
reckoned too vile to merit fair treatment is, well, funnily serious.
A highly readable, mature comedy, far from the rapid-fire quipping
of early Discworld..."

http://tinyurl.com/d39ovny


In the Wall Street Journal Online, Tom Shippey has nothing but
praise for Snuff:

"One of the strengths of Terry Pratchett's "Discworld" series, which
has kept his readers hooked through more than 30 volumes, is that he
keeps changing his lead characters... Vimes was the disregarded
chief of a useless police force until Carrot arrived, but the Night
Watch has since pioneered equal opportunities by recruiting dwarfs,
trolls, vampires, zombies and Sergeant Angua the werewolf, not
forgetting Wee Mad Arthur, once thought to be a gnome. Vimes has
grown in stature accordingly and also become something of a
political spokesman... The great thing about such a long sequence is
that characters evolve and their relationships thicken, like an old-
fashioned stockpot. You can keep adding new ingredients and give the
whole lot a stir..."

http://tinyurl.com/cc6azyd

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

05) THE NEXT PRATCHETT PRIZE WANTS *YOU*!

The lovely Lynsey Ogg reminds us that the Terry Pratchett Anywhere
But Here, Anywhen But Now First Novel Award will indeed be taking
its second run in 2012! Same blurb, different year:

"We will be looking for books set at any time, perhaps today,
perhaps in the Rome of today but in a world where 2000 years ago the
crowd shouted for Jesus Christ to be spared, or where in 1962, John
F Kennedy's game of chicken with the Russians went horribly wrong.
It might be one day in the life of an ordinary person. It could be a
love story, an old story, a war story, a story set in a world where
Leonardo da Vinci turned out to be a lot better at Aeronautics. But
it won't be a story about being in an alternate Earth because the
people in an alternate Earth don't know that they are; after all,
you don't.

"But this might just be the start. The wonderful Peter Dickinson
once wrote a book that could convince you that flying dragons might
have existed on Earth. Perhaps in the seething mass of alternate
worlds humanity didn't survive, or never evolved — but other
things did, and they would have seen the world in a different way.
The possibilities are literally endless, but remember, it's all on
Earth. Maybe the continents will be different and the climate
unfamiliar, but the physics will be the same as ours. What goes up
must come down, ants are ant-sized because if they were any bigger
their legs wouldn't carry them. In short, the story must be
theoretically possible on some version of the past, present or
future of a planet Earth."

COMPETITION TERMS AND CONDITIONS 2012

1. By entering this competition, you agree to accept and be bound by
these terms and conditions. All entry instructions form part of the
terms and conditions of this competition.

2. This competition is open to anyone aged 18 or over who is a
resident of the UK, other countries of the British Commonwealth, and
the Republic of Ireland, except for employees (and their families)
of Transworld Publishers, a division of The Random House Group
Limited (Publisher) and any other company connected with the
competition.

3. The closing date for the competition is 31st December 2012
(Closing Date).

4. Each entrant must submit the following in order to enter the
competition:

(a) a complete and previously unpublished work of fiction of not
less than 80,000 words and not more than 150,000 words aimed at
adult readers and written in the English language (Novel); and (b) a
synopsis of the Novel in the English language of no more than 600
words, (together, Entry).

5. Each Entry must:

(a) be emailed to the Publisher at pratchettprize@transworld-
publishers.co.uk; (b) include the entrant's full name and contact
details (including a home address and a telephone number); and (c)
be submitted as a Word document with double spacing in font size 12
point 'Times New Roman'.

6. Each entrant warrants to the Publisher that:

(a) they have not previously had a full length novel written or co
authored by them (under any name) published under a valid ISBN; and
(b) their Novel is original to them, does not infringe copyright or
any other intellectual property right and does not defame or invade
the privacy rights of any third party, or infringe any other legal
rights, regulations or laws.

7. Each entrant can submit one Entry only, and may not re-submit
work that was entered for the Terry Pratchett First Novel Award in
2010.

8. The winning entrant will be offered an advance payment against
royalties of £20,000 on entering into a publishing contract with
the Publisher (Prize) and will be required to agree to license
exclusive world publishing rights in all print, electronic, audio
and any other media formats in the Novel to the Publisher on
acceptance of the Prize. At the Publisher's discretion, shortlisted
entrants may also be offered publishing deals with the Publisher.
Subject to any such contractual agreement, entrants will retain
their legal rights to their Entries.

9. Entries that do not comply with these terms and conditions (by
example Entries received after the Closing Date) will not be
accepted by the Publisher. The Publisher is not responsible for
delayed or lost Entries. Entrants are advised to retain a copy of
their Entries.

10. A shortlist of six entrants will be contacted by the Publisher
by 31st March 2013. The publisher will select the winner from the
shortlisted entrants and the winner will be announced by 31st May
2013.

11. Events may occur that render the awarding of the Prize
impossible due to reasons beyond the control of the Publisher and
the Publisher may, at its absolute discretion, vary, amend, suspend
or withdraw the Prize with or without notice.

12. Winning and shortlisted entrants agree to the Publisher's use
and publication of their name, country of residence and photograph
in relation to the Publisher's publicity activities.

13. The Publisher will use the personal details of entrants only for
the purpose of this competition. Personal details will not be kept
on file by the Publisher and will not be passed on to any third
parties.

14. The shortlisted entrants and winner's names will be available on
www.terrypratchett.co.uk from 31st March 2013 and 31st May 2013 (as
applicable).

15. The Publisher's decision is final and no correspondence will be
entered into in relation to this competition. No cash alternative
will be offered.

16. These terms and conditions are subject to English law and the
exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.

17. The contact details of the promoter of this competition are:
Transworld Publishers, 61-3 Uxbridge Road, London W5 5SA,
pratchettprize@....


To read the original page on the web, go to:

http://www.terrypratchett.co.uk/?p=1348

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

06) ISWM FREEBIE

"An extract from I Shall Wear Midnight is featured in the FREE
OtherRealms ebook sampler. Go to the OtherRealms Facebook page for
details and the chance to win a PS3":

https://www.facebook.com/OtherRealms?sk=app_156218351098324

http://www.facebook.com/pratchett/posts/10150437754815025

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

07) REVIEW: HOGFATHER ON TELLY

By Rocco Sansone at ReviewFix:

"Unlike some other holiday movies, this one delivers a holiday
message that we all can get behind. It's not corny and unoriginal.
Not to mention the comedy is very well done too. That is, if you can
handle the dry, stuffy British humor that permeates the movie
throughout. The humor itself is not forced and, if you can handle
it, will make you burst out in laughter. It should be said the
actors are the best part. Marc Warren is excellent as Teatime. He is
scary, cunning, crazy, weird and an all around great villain. You
can tell he's having fun in this role. Michelle Dockery pulls off
Susan's sarcastic personality perfectly. The only problem with her
is that they got the hair wrong.

"The best performance by far is by Ian Richardson. His voiceover for
Death is funny, scary, mysterious, ominous and just all around
great. There's no better actor for the job. There are a few
downsides for this movie though. One of them is that some people may
find it a tad too long. At 189 minutes, it should be taken in two
parts just like how it originally ran on the BBC..."

http://tinyurl.com/6wtam6v

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

08) REVIEWS: GOING POSTAL ON TELLY IN FOURECKS

By Lissa Christopher in WA Today:

"This two-part adaptation of Terry Pratchett's 'comic sci-fi' novel
is a good old-fashioned ripping yarn. I can't fault it and was held
in thrall for its entirety. It looks beautiful, the performances are
strong and the characters sublime – from Stanley Howler, who's
obsessed with pins, to the unctuous, titanium-white Mr Gryle, a
banshee assassin played by Adrian Schiller..."

http://tinyurl.com/7g4wsrm


By Tim Elliott in the Brisbane Times:

"I have a friend who works in a post office; he says he can't decide
what is most disturbing – his fellow staff members or the
ceaseless procession of urban undead otherwise known as the general
public. Moist von Lipwig might know how he feels. A lifelong
travelling con artist, von Lipwig (Richard Coyle) is finally caught
and convicted in the fantastical land of Ankh-Morpork. Faced with
death by hanging, he is spared on the condition he take over running
the decrepit local post office. Adapted from the novel by Sir Terry
Pratchett, this hyperkinetic comical fantasy brims with Gothic
indulgences: the bloodthirsty tyrant, Reacher Gilt (David Suchet),
the hilariously anal junior employees and Mr Pump, the resident
golem, who resembles nothing so much as a bald, slime-covered
Borat..."

http://tinyurl.com/7u3zyqj

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

09) BETTER THAN MARY POPPINS

In The Guardian, John Mullan includes Susan Sto Helit in his list of
top ten fictional governesses:

"Hogfather by Terry Pratchett Susan Sto Helit, grand-daughter (by
adoption) of Death himself, is a thoroughly sensible young
governess: 'She'd sworn that if she did indeed ever find herself
dancing on rooftops with chimney sweeps she'd beat herself to death
with her own umbrella.' She educates two children and, gifted with
supernatural powers, can also protect them from the monsters under
the bed."

http://tinyurl.com/7dzb7sk

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

10) PTERRY AND ALZHEIMER'S NEWS

10.1 Terry Pratchett: Choosing to Die continues to garner praise and
spark debate.

The Radio Times, official television weekly publication of the BBC,
lists it among its top 40 programmes of 2011:

"A fog of manufactured media outrage almost engulfed this profoundly
important documentary where author Terry Pratchett asked difficult
questions about the right to self-determination. The hysteria was
provoked by the on-screen assisted suicide of Peter Smedley,
debilitated by motor neurone disease and absolute in his conviction
that he wished to die with dignity by his own hand. Choosing to Die
was haunting and sad, without being ghoulish or intrusive."

http://tinyurl.com/7rqm6mq


10.2 In The Examiner, disabled journalist Martina Robinson wrote at
length about her reactions to the programme. All special-interests
advocates (Terry Pratchett included!) have their axes to grind, and
Ms Robinson is no exception, but her review is worth reading:

"In 2011, famed fantasy author Terry Pratchett precipitated in a
documentary on the BBC he interviewed English people with various
amendments about whether or not they would end their lives and why.
He followed two men to Switzerland and actually stayed with one of
them while they performed the procedure. He also interviewed one man
who lived in a hospice and was not choosing to end his life. As a
disability rights activist and someone who has profound difficulties
with the idea that anyone for any reason would choose to end their
life voluntarily, this review was difficult to write...

"On the whole, I thought that the movie was very well made and
thought-provoking. I was a little disappointed that they did not
have anyone who was opposed to assisted suicide in the documentary.
I always thought the BBC was a little more evenhanded than that. I
also like the fact that anyone with an Internet connection can watch
the documentary free..."

http://tinyurl.com/6q976jv


10.3 SIR TERRY IS "MINDFUL OF HIS NOVEL FUTURE"

An article-interview in by Charlotte Heathcote in The Express:

"If you were looking for signs of Alzheimer's, (or, to be specific,
his particular form of the disease: posterior cortical atrophy,
which he has described as sitting 'on top of Alzheimer's') you would
be hard pushed to find them. On one occasion, he forgets who wrote a
book he liked. Talking about Nation, his moral story for children,
he says the book dragged him through a field of 'tissues' then he
pauses until the word 'thistles' comes to him (and he blames the
blip on the large brandy he's enjoying over our lunch). Which means
he's no different to anyone who hasn't been diagnosed with
Alzheimer's. Now 63, he was only 59 when he was diagnosed but thus
far, at least, he feels the disease hasn't had a great impact on
most aspects of his day-to-day life. 'I know I've got it because
I've seen the scans,' he concedes. Otherwise, because the disease
means he doesn't always see what's before him, the main irritant is
that he can no longer drive. 'I was having some difficulties
driving. It was just more stressful and made me wonder what was
going on so it was a big relief to get shot of it,' he says
philosophically. After all, he has his wife Lyn and assistant Rob to
chauffeur him around. In fact, as far as he's concerned, the main
change is more spiritual than physical: 'I have nothing else to
fear,' he says. Pratchett has done a remarkable job in highlighting
the appalling lack of research into Alzheimer's (just three per cent
of the funding granted to cancer), a disease which, terrifyingly,
lies in wait for an estimated one in three of us..."

http://tinyurl.com/cx3pvyw


10.4 Cook for a Cure

For our UK readers, from the Alzheimer's Research UK team:

"We're bringing the fight against dementia to the nation's dinner
tables with Cook for a Cure – a dinner party with a difference!
Hosting your own Cook for a Cure dinner party is not only a good way
to get together with friends and family to have a great time, it's
also a brilliant way to help raise funds for research into
Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. Choose your dishes, pick a
theme (if you want) and ask your guests to make a suitable donation
to attend your event. Then all you have to do is draw up your guest
list and let the fun begin. Download the pack here:

http://www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/cook-for-a-cure-download/

and you'll have all the information you need to make sure your Cook
for a Cure dinner party goes without a hitch. You can download a
seasonal recipe every month:

http://tinyurl.com/c85bdvo

"There are more than 820,000 people living with dementia in the UK
and every 3.2 minutes someone else develops the disease. These
figures are set to double within 30 years. Research is our only hope
of finding a cure. We are the UK's leading dementia research
charity and one of the world's top five non-government funders.
With your support we will defeat this terrible disease – now
let's Cook for a Cure!"

The pack includes a Cook for a Cure Booklet, Invitations, Gift Aid
Form, Donation Return Form, and Feedback Form.

http://www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/cook-for-a-cure/

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

11) DISCWORLD GAMES NEWS

REVIEWS OF "ANKH-MORPORK"

by Adam van Langenberg

[Editor's note: Adam is a Fourecksian maths teacher and enthusiastic
player of all sorts of games, virtual and physical. Having recently
borrowed WOSSNAME's house copy of "Ankh-Morpork" and played it with
a number of other gameheads, here is his assessment.]

I was worried when I heard about the new "Discworld: Ankh-Morpork"
game. Book, movie and TV-show themed board games often work better
as something to round out the collection, rather than a game you'd
actually want to play. Would this game live up to the Discworld name
or would it be another version of "Star Wars: Monopoly"?

For example, take the 2002 game, "Thud", by Trevor Truran.
Essentially, it was an abstract game with a Discworld costume thrown
on top. Imagine a game of chess where your side is made up of one
piece only, but different from your opponent's. It had some
interesting mechanisms and was by no means the worst game in the
world, but it didn't shake my world either. It was the type of game
that would probably require several plays before you really got into
swing of it. Unfortunately by that time you'd probably also realised
that it wasn't very fun.

My worries left me when I discovered that the designer of
"Discworld: Ankh-Morpork" was Martin Wallace. Wallace is best known
as the creator of complex economic games such as Brass and
Automobile. A wonderful designer for sure, but would his style of
game really fit into a Discworld theme? Fortunately, yes.

So how does "Discworld: Ankh Morpork" work? Each player (2 – 4)
takes on the role of a Discworld character, such as Commander Vimes
or Lord de Worde and attempts to take control of the city. You see,
Lord Vetinari has disappeared and there is a power vacuum that needs
to be filled.

This is an area-control game. The game board is a (wonderfully
drawn) map of Ankh-Morpork, divided into twelve areas, such as Nap
Hill, Unreal Estate and The Shades. Players have a hand of cards
based on Discworld which allow you to perform various actions which
can include spreading their minions across the city, constructing
buildings in different areas or even performing the noble art of
assassination. Sergeant Colon, for example, lets you remove trouble
from an area and place a minion, whereas Death lets you perform two
assassinations and then place a building.

Too much activity in an area can lead to Trouble and careless play
can lead to dragons, demons or, far worse, Bloody Stupid Johnson.
Owning buildings grants players special powers, but only one
building can exist per area so there is often a struggle to be the
first to build.

What really makes this game shine is how the secret missions work.
Each player's character is kept a secret until the end of the game
and each has a mission to complete in order to win. For example,
Chrysoprase needs to bring his net worth up to $50, whereas Vimes
simply needs to prevent anybody else from winning by the time the
cards run out. As the missions are kept secret, you must use
deduction to determine who the other players may be, and obfuscation
to hide your own identity. Players need to be on the lookout for
every single victory condition that might be near completion. Clever
players might try to meet more than one to throw off the others.

By far, however, the best feature of this is the fact that your
victory conditions must exist at the start of your turn. This means
that not only do you have to achieve your goals to win, you have to
hope that nobody else manages to ruin them before your next turn.
This creates a very tense atmosphere. In a four-player game I played
I met my goals three times but had to watch my opponents tear my
plans apart twice before eventually winning.

Some may not like the random element to the game, but others will
find that it lends itself perfectly to the Discworld theme. There is
a twelve-sided die included with the game that leaves out the number
that cannot be named (it's the one between seven and nine) and
instead bears the mark '7a'. I'm sure most Discworld fans will
appreciate this touch. For those of you familiar with Wallace's
work, you may have realised that this game is remarkably similar to
"London", which only came out in 2010. In fact, "Discworld: Ankh-
Morpork" is clearly based entirely on "London", with a few extra
features thrown in. "London" isn't as cut-throat, but is slightly
less luck-dependent.

"Discworld: Ankh-Morpork" is a lot of fun, well suited to an evening
of laughter and betrayal among friends. Best suited to a laid back,
light hearted group of gamers, this game is well worth a look.


...and by Paul Goodhead on bit-tech:

"The basic premise of the game is that Lord Vetinari, occasionally
benevolent dictator and general Ankh-Morpork string-puller, has gone
missing, creating a power vacuum that a number of prominent city
figures are trying to fill. These are the roles that the players
assume, and each role has its own victory conditions - Chrysoprase,
for instance needs to amass a $50 fortune, while Dragon King of Arms
needs to get eight trouble markers down on the board. The real twist
to the game, though, is that the player roles are kept secret, so
nobody knows who is who and, by extension, what they need to do to
win. This make playing Ankh-Morpork a gloriously suspicious event,
with everyone second guessing their opponents moves in order to work
out which character they're playing, while simultaneously trying to
move subtly towards their own stated goal. Meanwhile, throwing the
proverbial orang-utan wrench into the works are the city-wide random
events, which spice up the game by doing anything from burning down
buildings to summoning a hoard of marauding demons. Thankfully,
despite these events and the almost over the top power of some of
the playing cards, the game never feels totally random. Those of us
who played the game all agreed that we could pick a long term plan
or tactic and stick to it, rather than having to just play on the
fly..."

http://tinyurl.com/7jvd58l

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

12) REVIEW: JOHNNY AND THE DEAD

By young reviewer Groovy Dhruv in The Guardian:

"This book is not a must, but for a book you would read to pass the
time the story's fine. But it is as hilarious as nothing I can
describe in words, reading this book I was laughing so hard that the
house shook..."

http://tinyurl.com/7h6loo5

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

13) DISCWORLD CONVENTION NEWS

13.1 NADWCON 2013 NEWS

Drumroll, please: The city picked to host NADWCon 2013 is ...

After giving this (very tough) choice a great deal of thought and
discussion, we are delighted to announce that the CITY OF BALTIMORE
will be the site for the next North American Discworld Convention in
2013.

The dates are July 5th – 8th

The con hotel is the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront located in
Baltimore's fabulous Inner Harbor area.

We believe that Sir Terry and the Discworld fans will be in
experienced and capable hands with the Baltimore team and we look
forward to working very closely with them as we support their
preparations and plans. The steering committee members and our
consulting team were extremely impressed with Baltimore's creative
and well organized plans for 2013, plans detailed in a comprehensive
bid that ultimately came in at over 30 pages.  It was clear to us
that this team is a triple threat: they have have the convention,
stage and real world skills needed to provide an memorable, well
organized and fun convention for all concerned.

Both bidding cities have a great deal to offer visitors and that
made the choice all the more difficult.

For those of you who have not been to Baltimore before, we believe
that you are going to love what you find. There is a great deal to
see and do in the immediate area (and Washington D.C. is only a
short train ride away). The inner harbor hotel they have chosen will
fit our needs wonderfully and provide for the kind of mingling and
meeting spaces for our guests that we feel is so important the
success of this affair. It is also within easy walking distance of
many interesting, historical and family-friendly sites as well as a
wide variety of food choices and prices. The city itself is within
easy reach for both our international and U.S. guests and the bid
committee has given a great deal of thought to making our time there
enjoyable. Wait till you see what they have planned!

The bid chairs were informed yesterday, as were Terry & Rob. The
Baltimore Chair writes:

I would like to take the opportunity, on behalf of the bid
committee, to thank the GoC for their hard work, effort and
diligence in the selection process. Having spoken with (the Boston
chair) a couple of times over the last few months I'm hoping and
sure that there will be collaboration between the Boston and
Baltimore bid committees in forming the convention committee at
large over the next few weeks.

We look forward to working with the GoC over the next few days,
weeks and nineteen months in developing and executing the North
American Discworld Convention for 2013. (Our staff members) will be
touch next week to discuss the corporate structure required for the
convention to operate efficiently and effectively.

Yours Sincerely,

Richard Atha-Nicholls
Chair, North American Discworld Convention 2013

We would like to thank both bid committees and their chairs for
their hard work in producing these bids. Thanks also to our
consultants who so generously gave us their time and advice and to
the fans for their enthusiasm and patience.

We know that our Terry, Rob and our attendees appreciate the
dedication shown by both groups and we again offer our
congratulations to the team in Baltimore. (1) We ask that Discworld
fans the world over give them their full support. The members of
the GoC and our consulting team look  forward to working with all
here to make NADWCon 2013 the best one yet.

Update 3:55 PM Richard added this today to answer some questions
from our Facebook fans:

I'm excited to be chairing the Con for 2013 and look forward to
sharing all the wonderful things we have planned in due course.
Including, what we think, is a great hotel rate. Just bear with us
as we get our ducks (or should that be flamingos) in a row. We'll
let you know all the details in good time.

Thanks and hope to see you all in Baltimore in 2013,

See you in Baltimore ....

http://tinyurl.com/83hma66


13.2 AUSDWCON 2012 NEWS

Dear Students and Staff,

Happy Hogswatch to one and all! Exciting things are afoot at Unseen
University in preparation for the Convivium next July in Adelaide,
South Australia, Roundworld.

GUESTS OF HONOUR – VISITING LECTURERS
We are pleased to announce the Guests of Honour for the Convivium are
the following visiting lecturers:
– Daniel Knight, Emeritus Professor of Silicate Biology and Condensed
Metaphysics (Untied Alchemists), of Snowgum Films.
– Pamela Munt, Superbus Professor of Vindictive Astronomy and Thespian
Studies (Thespia), of Unseen Theatre Company.
and
– Martin Pearson, Lecturer in Applied Zoology and Fretwork Teacher
(Lancre), of... well, anywhere you hear folk music.
You can find out more information about our guests at
http://ausdwcon.org/pages/guests

PROGRAMME AND ACTIVITIES
There are many lectures and other activities to keep you busy during
the Convivium. They include the Entrance Examination, Commencement,
Gaudy Night[1], the Maskerade, the Wizard's Excuse Me, Try Wizarding,
the Winery and Gourmet Tours[2], and many many more. Our visiting
lecturers shall also be contributing to the programme with a
presentation by Snowgum Films, and performances by Martin Pearson and
Unseen Theatre Company.

You can see a full list of confirmed and potential activities at
http://ausdwcon.org/pages/programme

However, many activities will require volunteers to be run - so if you
have an idea of your own, or would like to just take one from our
suggested list, please do so!

MERCHANDISING AND SURVEY
Those of you using social media may have seen a sneak peek at some
special Convivium merchandise when we passed 100 Facebook and 50
Twitter disciples. This merchandise will be available for online sale
to anyone early in 2012[3].

However, we are also planning to offer Convivium Attendees Only
exclusive merchandise that will only be available to attendees. In
order to get an idea of what sort of merchandise to offer, we would
like you to complete a short survey for us available at
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/5792Q9S

DISCUSSIONS
Just a gentle reminder that if you have any questions about the
Convivium, or would like to chat to other fans, we have forums at
http://ausdwcon.org/forums which need love and attention!

Of course, we are also on Facebook at http://facebook.com/UnseenUni
and Twitter at http://twitter.com/UnseenUni

INFORMATION AND TICKETS
For further information on Unseen University Convivium 2012, and to
purchase tickets, please visit and browse through our website at
http://ausdwcon.org

Yours academically,

Chair of Indefinite Studies (Programme and Activities)
Unseen University 2012
University of Adelaide, 6-8 July 2012
http://ausdwcon.org

[1] Gaudy Night is a gala dinner held on Saturday 7th July. There is
an additional cost for this activity.
[2] The Winery and Gourmet Tours are held on Monday, 9th July. There
is an additional cost for these activities.
[3] We wish to make sure the merchandise is of good quality before we
sell it to you, so we have to wait until our own order arrives!

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

14) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS

REVIEWS: WYRD SISTERS IN EDMONTON

"This is a challenge for a volunteer theatre group. Many of the
Walterdale cast seemed anxious at first, performing in front of an
almost full theatre for opening night, but they all settled into
their roles by the mid-point, with many performing multiple roles.
The acting overall was solid, though of course there were some
standout performances. Witch Magrat, as portrayed by Mandy Stewart,
was probably the most notable. As her vibrant green dress stood out
from her otherwise black-clad coven, so, too did her acting. She
expertly weaved her way through every scene in the ever-changing
role, playing the naοve witch when necessary, thrusting the perfect
emotion into her comedic lines, and easily convincing the audience
of her love for the Fool... The other remarkable performance was by
Andrew Mecready, who played Duke Felmet. One can't help but feel
sorry for the Duke, obviously mentally ill, clearly delusional and
in danger of harming himself, and even more obviously controlled by
his Queen. His mental illness may have been brought on by killing
his brother, a fact borne out early in the play; Mecready's
portrayal of gouging his hands, forever attempting to rid them of
blood long since washed away, with knitting needles, a cheese
grater, and whatever else was handy was the perfect portrayal of the
over-top caricature crafted by the grand Terry Pratchett..."

http://tinyurl.com/6ntq7mn


...and a lyrical, quirky blog review by lolkoenig27:

You are at the Walterdale Playhouse on a cold and snowy Wednesday
evening. Imagine three witches, assembling around a huge kettle...
'Wyrd Sisters,' a play by Terry Pratchett, doesn't seem to be
different from others plays at the first glance: There are witches
with magical power. There is a King, who got murdered by his cousin.
There is a homeless baby, which now is the real king since his
father got killed, but doesn't know it yet. There is a troupe of
traveling actors, hired to solve the problem. There is a fool, who
is observer and adviser, but swore to be loyal to his king as long
as he breathes. You will find yourself surrounded by the spirit of
Shakespeare. It feels like you just traveled back in time, back to
the 17th century. The traditional costumes used by the the
Walterdale Theater group and the language in which the play is
written helps you to believe that. You just entered a different
timezone. Hamlet's hopeless whispers and Macbeth's tragedy are
almost touchable. You might think now the play is boring, because it
simply seems to be another Shakespeare adaption. But this is not
quite true... A truly clever written piece full of word games,
sarcasm and hidden winks next to tragedy, foolishness and confusion.
You will laugh and cry. You will find yourself shocked and
disgusted. You can feel the love Stephen Briggs brought into the
play..."

http://tinyurl.com/82yjx9y


REVIEW: GOING POSTAL IN GRANTHAM

"Although not wowed by their latest show at the Guildhall, I was
certainly entertained, although it did take a while to get going.
But when it did, it drew you in and the cast had me and the rest of
the audience laughing away at times. I've reviewed a number of the
society's productions, and am always pleased to see some familiar
faces who always entertain. One such face belongs to Chris Dakin, a
regular leading man who plays Moist von Lipwig. He shows a real
confidence on stage and his lines are always read in an easy manner
which gives his character realism... The award for best comedy
performance has to go to Rupert Tyrer. Applause was at its loudest
after his appearances as Igor and Mad Al. His mad gestures as Igor
were hilarious, and although it was difficult to understand a word
of his crazy babbling as Mad Al, his antics, and the dancing we were
not meant to see in between scenes, were very funny! The entire cast
did a great job, especially Kay Haw as Lord Vetinari. She really
looked the part with her wig and goatee, and gave a convincing
portrayal of the mysterious character. Meanwhile, Kevin O'Neill and
Mark Brown were a great double act as Tolliver Groat and Stanley,
two larger than life postmen..."

http://tinyurl.com/793xlze


REVIEW: WYRD SISTERS IN GATA

"Sir Terry Pratchett's tale is loosely based on Macbeth and adapted
for the stage by long-term collaborator Stephen Briggs. It is part
farce, part pantomime, with a touch of Blackadder and Monty Python
thrown in. And this upbeat yet challenging production is a bit like
tasting Marmite – likely to get a 'love it' or 'hate it'
reaction. Anyone with even the smallest appetite for madcap laughter
would lap it up. It took Javea Players out of the comfort zone into
uncharted waters and the show can be heralded a success thanks to
the group's teamwork – a production needing the talents of the
techies backstage as much as the actors treading the boards.
Congratulations to team leader, director Christyn Nossell, for
blending together skeleton scenery, computer generated scene
changes, special effects, and some wonderful moments onstage..."

http://tinyurl.com/6tmw3by

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

15) DISCWORLD GROUPS MEETING NEWS

The City of Small Gods Terry Pratchett Fan Club meets on the last
Thursday of the month from 6.30pm at the Ed Castle, 233 Currie St,
Adelaide (South Australia). Details, discussions and organisation of
extra events (such as play outings) are held on their email mailing
list, so do sign up at:

https://groups.google.com/group/adelaide-discworld-fans

*

The next meeting of the Broken Drummers, London's original Discworld
meeting group, will be from 7pm on 2nd January 2012 at the Monkey
Puzzle, 30 Southwick Street, London W2 1JQ.

http://www.steeljam.co.uk/brokendrummers/

*

Drummers Downunder meet on the first Monday of every month in Sydney
at Maloneys, corner of Pitt & Goulburn Streets, at 6.30pm. The next
meeting will be on 2nd January 2012. For more information, contact
Sue (aka Granny Weatherwax) on kenworthys@...

*

Perth Drummers meet on the traditional of first Monday of the month.
The next meeting will be from 6pm on 2nd January 2012 at The
Vic Hotel, 226 Hay St, Subiaco. For more information contact:
Daniel Hatton at daniel_j_hatton@...

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

16) DISCWORLD DISCUSSION

NO FIRE WITHOUT...

roruna:
Another Reason Why I Want to Move to Ankh-Morpork:

http://tinyurl.com/6td7sgd

I don't know what's more depressing, the headline or the comments.

ticktockman:
Really? Last I looked, Vetinari wouldn't permit formation of any
sort of fire brigade at all. At best, the Watch might step in to
supervise standers-by on a haphazard basis. *daha*

aliaswestgate:
I thought there was a volunteer Golem fire brigade. The watch didn't
have to do too much, since they'd begun to free themselves.

beccastareyes:
There was. Previous books stated that the Patrician didn't like the
idea of paying people to put out fires, since, given the Ankh
Morpork mentality, the firemen might try to drum up business by
setting fires.

chaosmyth:
I swear I heard Vimes going "You do the job that's in front of you"
in my head while I was reading that article. And he sounded pretty
pissed off.

scolaro:
...and afterwards he'd go and see Vetinari about it to make sure
rich folks would pay higher taxes to avoid something like this in
the future.

Problem here is that people don't want to pay taxes, so they changed
the system into this travesty. If firemen accepted the fee from
people whose house was burning down in order to put it out, no one
would pay the annual fee at all anymore and there'd be even less
money for the fire fighters than there's now. The next fire they
might not even be able to put out because of lack of equipment. So
it's really a flaw in the system. Vetinari relies on the fact that
the city is densely populated and if YOUR house is on fire MINE is
in danger as well, so people are motivated to help each other out in
such a situation.

http://discworld.livejournal.com/1068737.html

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

17) DISCWORLD ARTS AND CRAFTS NEWS

The 2012 Discworld calendar is The Independent's number one
recommendation on their top ten calendars list!

£10.50 at forbiddenplanet.com — or of course from PJSM Prints:

http://www.paulkidby.com/news/index.html

http://tinyurl.com/7ll9fvx

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

18) IMAGE OF THE MONTH

Stephen Player's Death. Er, that is, Death-the-anthropomorphic-
personification as drawn by Discworld artist Stephen Player:

http://saahub.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/death.jpg?w=450&h=841

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

19) DISCWORLD AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE

On Foyles' official book blog, Ben Sweeny waxes lyrical about Snuff:

"I think it is a beautiful book, which is something special for an
author who's books have always had striking and idiosyncratic
covers. For a Pratchett novel it has a style that wanders from his
standard style and humour. As a long term fan, I found this a
pleasant and unusual surprise. That's not to say that it is lacking
in his trade-mark brand of humour. It contains some of his funniest
jokes to date. I also believe that for a novel which is likely one
of the last in the series it is curiously also one of the most
accessible."

http://www.foyles.co.uk/Public/Biblio/Detail.aspx?blogId=1080


D.A Lascelles gives us an essay titled "Terry Pratchett: Tracing the
evolution of a writer":

"In order to keep things simple, I am not going to discuss The
Carpet People or any of the non-Discworld novels. I am keeping thing
solely in the province of his best known creation... The Colour of
Magic introduces us to the Discworld as a vibrant and chaotic
fantasy realm and takes us on a travelogue which spans a significant
part of the disc. We meet one of Pratchett's most memorable
characters – the cowardly wizard, Rincewind – and are introduced
to a plethora of characters and plotlines, each of which parodies an
element of fantasy literature. For example, the character of Hrun
the Barbarian is your typical musclebound thug of an adventurer, the
classic Conan the Barbarian stereotype, while Bravd the Hublander
and the Weasel (two characters who have brief appearances in the
story) are clearly derived from Fritz Lieber's Fafhrd and the Grey
Mouser. A part of the intention behind the Discworld is also to
subvert many of the fantasy cliches and so Rincewind, our main hero
for the first few books, is a wizard who is neither brave nor
capable of casting spells... We also later (in the sequel, The Light
Fantastic) get Cohen the Barbarian, the ludicrously wonderful
subversion of the Conan schtick in the form of a barbarian hero who
is still adventuring well into his eighties...

"From these parodies in the early books, there slowly develops a
complex and involved world. As the series develops we see more and
more of the world and meet more characters. For many of the early
books there is still the sense that Discworld is a parody of a
fantasy realm and that Ankh Morpork, Pratchett's fantasy city, is a
play on the concept of Lieber's Lankhmar. At some point, however,
things change. It is a slow change and a subtle one, taking place
over a number of novels and with the development of several
storylines and characters. I think it begins properly with the first
Night watch book, Guards! Guards!, as Pratchett clearly needed a
grittier and more realistic setting for the somewhat noirish
adventures of Captain Vimes and the members of the Night Watch..."

http://tinyurl.com/c7ydz5g


Blogger Flynn the Cat has created a *very* long, detailed page
titled "Never Start With The First Discworld Book:, about Discworld
reading order, the evolution of Pratchett's writing, and all that
sorta wossname, and including many instructive iconographs, video
footage, oodles of comments threads, links, and even a poll:

"This page is an attempt to create a starting point for people
interested in Terry Pratchett and his Discworld series and a
compendium of the available material and reviews here on Squidoo.
There's a terribly shocking lack of reviews here, so I've started by
listing all the books... If it isn't obvious, I love Pratchett's
books. I first read The Bromeliad and The Carpet People years before
I knew he was famous (I was around eight or ten) and later
recognised him as the author of the Colour of Magic and the Light
Fantastic in my high school library, when I was twelve. Of course, I
was a compulsive reader and would have read them regardless!

"There are some books I didn't really like the first time around —
Mort, Making Money, Monstrous Regiment and Soul Music being examples
— but have grown on me with rereading. Monstrous Regiment is now one
of my favourites. Others I loved the first time, and still do —
Thud, Maskerade, Jingo... There are definitely different styles, and
I've noticed that the people who loved Going Postal and Making Money
usually don't like Thud, Unseen Academicals and Night Watch as much
(and the inverse). I love being able to play 'spot the reference'
and guessing what storylines or themes are being parodied or
tributed. And the puns that don't hit you for another paragraph
still kill me — although I'm a lot more suspicious now and spot them
much more quickly..."

http://www.squidoo.com/reading-pratchett


A review of Hogfather by The Incurable Bluestocking:

"Susan is close to being my favourite thing about Hogfather, just
because her voice is so distinct and such a joy to read... What
Hogfather does best, though, is explore the correlation between
belief and being human. This is something Pratchett ponders on
frequently in his works (as does his friend Neil Gaiman) — the
idea that belief creates gods and other figures. That is not new,
though it's given a delightfully weird edge in Hogfather, as the
wizards of the Unseen University start accidentally creating the Oh
God of Hangovers and the Cheerful Fairy and the Eater of Socks (in
whom I fervently believe now) out of the extra belief left sloshing
around by the Hogfather's absence. But what Pratchett really does
magnificently here is tie that capacity for belief with what it
means to be a human, what it means to be this marvelous sentient
creature, this marvelously narcissistic creature who thinks the
whole universe is inside of its head and secretly believes the whole
universe was created just to lead to its own existence...

"For what it's worth, the move adaptation (currently available on
Netflix Watch Instantly) is magnificent. It's remarkably true to the
book, and what few cuts there are are ones I don't notice, because
they trim all those parts of the books I tend to forget about
anyway. They tighten and streamline the plot without losing the
quirky sense of serendipity that governs Pratchett's world. It's
joined the ranks of my must-see holiday films..."

http://tinyurl.com/884g9l6


Blogger Jennifer Payne loves Discworld novels to bits, except for
Sourcery:

"The fifth book in the series, we see the return of Rincewind ...
and that may just be my problem. Perhaps our bumbling wizard is a
little too bumbling for me? I do like the luggage that follows him
around, and that may be what kept me reading to page 131 – but
beyond that, it didn't hold my interest. Usually the Gods don't
allow wizards to get to the point where they can have an eighth son
– preferring to let them mess about with their own diluted form of
magic, to ward off any grabs for power or unnecessary explosions. So
when the Unseen University receives a visit from Coin – the new
kid on the block – they're a little unprepared for the magical
fallout. After putting the book down half way through, I went and
read a summary of the rest of the plot & that happily satisfied my
curiosity until it's time for the next Pratchett extravaganza..."

http://tinyurl.com/7c9zb96


Blogger Charity mentions a new Christmas tradition:

"I once heard a woman say 'our Christmas tradition is to make
turnovers and watch Hogfather.' That's the British for you.
Hogfather is a film adaptation of a satirical novel by Terry
Pratchett. It revolves around an assassination attempt against the
Hogfather (Santa Clause), which temporarily makes him vanish,
leaving Death to take his place and deliver presents to the children
of the Discworld, much to the distress of Death's granddaughter,
Susan. Her desire to have a 'normal' Hogswatch (Christmas) goes
astray as she tries to discern the whereabouts of the Hogfather.

"Not everyone appreciates Terry Pratchett. His motto is 'if it
exists, it can be made fun of.' He belittles the government, he
takes pokes at religion, he mocks culture's fascination with
vampires, he creates a world in which monsters actually do live
under the bed (until Susan bangs them over the head with a poker and
kicks them face-first out the back door into the snow) and Death is
actually quite a likable fellow, albeit somewhat clueless when it
comes to human traditions. Some of his books are hilarious, others
questionable, and a few are even dull, but none of them are what you
might call 'normal.' I like them due to my askew sense of humor..."

http://tinyurl.com/8858r5b


Blogger Lance Schaubert pens a paean to Pterry in the form of a
Thief of Time review:

"My first introduction to Pratchett – Thief of Time – reminded
me just how much  scifi-fantasy and video game lore rests inside my
subconscious. Terry made jokes about things I didn't even know I
found funny, smashing up humor from seemingly unrelated fields in an
amusing amalgamation of dork. Examples? The Igor with a lisp. The
Yeti who can save his life if he senses danger (think Super Mario)
and continue onward; if he dies, he can always start over from where
he saved, but with the advantage of a memory of the future. DEATH's
complete misunderstanding of jokes. The Monks of History who use
martial arts like okie-dokie and deja-fu (time as a weapon). There's
auditors – grey, shapeless beings who assign metrics to everything
in the universe and explode if they taste chocolate. There's
procrastinators – tools the Monks of History use to borrow wasted
time from one place and insert it where time flies. There's even a
fifth horseman of the apocalypse. The original four are DEATH,
FAMINE, WAR, PESTILENCE. The fifth's name? Ronnie. Ronnie's a dairy
man and outside of the otherworldy-red horse that pulls his dairy
cart, he runs a normal business of shipping milk and cheese around
the city. I could go on, but the experience is somewhere between
reading Vonnegut and Douglas Adams with bits of Rothfuss's blog
sprinkled about..."

http://tinyurl.com/6rrm7mp


Blogger Dooliterature spreads to word about the Sir Terry Pratchett
Reading Challenge 2012:

"Ok, here's a challenge I am super excited for, as Terry Pratchett
is my absolute favorite author. This is a challenge hosted by Once
Upon a Time which I found via A Novel Challenge. The rules are thus:

"Any format, any book, so long as it's Pratchett. Re-reads are also
perfectly acceptable! Books need to be started and finished between
January 1st 2012 and December 31st 2012. You can set your own goals,
whether you want to read 5 books or go for the whole Discworld
series, that is entirely up to you. Be realistic or go crazy, there
are no penalties if you don't meet your goal, in fact the only real
goal is to read some Pratchett..."

http://tinyurl.com/7cfqdkb


Blogger and former English Lit teacher Fantasynibbles muses on the
best way to create a new Discworld fan:

"My Mum surprised me tonight by asking to borrow a Terry Pratchett.
She's never read any before and I want her to love them. Now it's
been a million years since I first got into Pratchett, and over the
last few years I've been finding them a bit tired, which is a real
shame. I kind of can't remember the awesomeness of loving them to
death and racing out to get the new one each year any more. I do
always get them, but as much out of habit now as anything else. But
anyway, my question is this, which one would you recommend as a
starter novel for the uninitiated? I'm thinking definitely not
Colour of Magic or Light Fantastic. I think Mum would be a Witches
kinda person, although I suspect she'd have a soft spot for
Rincewind. Overall the DEATH novels are coolest though, no? Should I
start her off with Mort? Or, given the season, maybe Hogfather would
be a good bet? ..."

http://tinyurl.com/7zoud66


Blogger Bronnypop is helplessly in love with our favourite Commander
of the City Watch:

"I first met His Grace, His Excellency, the Duke of Ankh, Commander
Sir Samuel Vimes (Blackboard Monitor) in 1989 in Guards! Guards! (a
book that continues to be my favourite out of all Terry Pratchett's
novels).  At the time, he was a mere Captain of the City Watch, and
I a recently-married student.  We have grown up together, Vimes and
I, although I have not attained the heady heights of nobility and
career stardom that he has.  Like millions of fans worldwide I am
worried that Snuff, the latest title by Pratchett, may also be his
last, and I am both pleased and saddened that of all the characters
and stories he could have chosen, it's Vimes who is the hero of
Snuff... Snuff is a delight, a fabulously funny, heart-warming tale
of mystery and murder on a policeman's holiday, that is also about
justice and slavery, nobility and prejudice and standing up for what
you know to be right.  It is one of the very best books I have read
recently, and has only cemented my ongoing love for Vimes, Duke of
Ankh, Blackboard Monitor, and policeman extraordinaire..."

http://cclblog.wordpress.com/2011/12/09/samuel-vimes-youre-my-hero/


Blogger Sanzbooks is delighted to have discovered Discworld:

"What a funny book! It reminded me of Douglas Adams. I enjoyed the
characters and the plot but mostly I enjoyed the Discworld Universe
itself. It was so colorful, so vibrant, that it had my imagination
fired up. I can't wait to move ahead in the series, but seeing as
it has 39 books, I'm slightly intimidated. But I'm happy to have
discovered this series nonetheless. Looks like Pratchett will soon
become a favorite..."

http://sanzbooks.wordpress.com/2011/12/10/237/


Blogger Dan Swindlehurst offers a long, well-made essay, The Genius
of Terry Pratchett:

"Why am I writing about Terry Pratchett? Well, when I was young,
probably between the ages of about 7 and 14, I loved his books and
have many fond memories of reading them. In 2008 I learned that
Terry Pratchett had early-onset Alzheimer's disease, and in 2010 I
found out that he had been involved in campaigning for the rights of
people to commit suicide, and the right's of others to assist in
suicide... I've recently returned to live in the UK and have been
nostalgically revisiting my past, and picked up a copy of The Colour
of Magic, the first Discworld book. It reminded me of how talented
Terry Pratchett is and how crushingly depressing it is that he has
been struck down with such an awful disease. I've begun re-reading
the Discworld series and the shear [sic] brilliance of Pratchett's
imagination and talent inspired me to write this post, and hopefully
this will inspire someone else to read these books or even to go
back and revisit them...

"Much of the writing in the Discworld series is breathtaking. I'm
trying to write a book at the moment and really appreciate the
quality of Terry's prose; it's clear and simple, but insightful and
very funny. I hardly ever laugh out loud when reading a book, but do
laugh a number of times when reading his novels, much to the
annoyance of anyone in the same room/bus/tram as me..."

http://tinyurl.com/7mjt6mv


Blogger Random Alex has mixed feelings about ISWM — which isn't to
say that he doesn't recommend it:

"Overall, I have loved the Tiffany Aching books a great deal. I love
that we have followed a character from the age of eight or so, as
she discovers that she has to do something that will set her apart
from everyone else, and then goes through with it anyway. I love
that that character is a girl. I love the way Pratchett has played
with and inverted all sorts of tiresome notions from fairy stories
and society more generally in writing these stories. I also love
that Tiffany is a witch, because I adore the very concept of
Headology. Plus, Nac Mac Feegles for the win...

Part of my trouble with this story is with the plot; not the
details, but in some of the ways it gets places. There's a feeling
of disconnect between some sections, of moving too abruptly from one
idea or action-scene to the next, which made me less than
comfortable. I liked the vibe overall, though, of dealing with
gigantic issues from history (quite literally) at the same time as
dealing with very personal issues. The combination of 'all witches
are eeevil' with 'how will I live with being a witch?' made a lot of
sense, and the two complemented each other nicely..."

http://randomalex.net/2011/12/06/i-shall-read-midnight/


Blogger VoVatia offers a short, surprised review of Snuff:

"Samuel Vimes, Commander of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch, is on
vacation in the country with his wife and son. If you know anything
about Vimes, though, you know that he can't go anywhere without
finding a crime to fight. In this case, there's a case of smuggling,
drug trafficking, and the murder of a goblin. Not that the latter is
really all that frowned upon, as despite the leaps in equal rights
that have taken place on the Discworld, goblins are still considered
basically vermin. They have their own society and language, however,
and looking the other way when a sentient being is killed is never a
good idea. I didn't find much humor in the story, which is fine, but
it's kind of weird to note that a series that started out as comic
fantasy has gotten so serious over time..."

http://vovatia.wordpress.com/2011/12/08/to-kill-a-goblin/


Blogger Dion is also well pleased with Snuff:

"Like most Discworld books Snuff effortlessly mixes humour, satire
and some seriously heavyweight issues and somehow manages to tell a
rollicking good tale at the same time.  It's not laugh-out-loud
funny in that many places but there are plenty of chucklesome
moments.  There is food-for-thought aplenty but it's never forced
down the reader's throat, rather delivered in nutritional bite-sized
chunks... Overall Discworld fans should find Snuff like a
comfortable old pair of hiking boots.  The terrain may vary but
there are plenty of new areas to explore, the experience is always a
pleasure and the quality is beyond doubt..."

http://geeksyndicate.wordpress.com/2011/11/30/book-review-snuff/


Blogger Procrastin8or gets gleefully into the spirit of Hogswatch:

"This is a wonderful tale. Death, Susan and Bilious (the 'oh god' of
hangovers) take us on an amusing and sometimes deeply profound
journey on the importance – not so much of Christmas in isolation
– but of imagination, tradition and belief. Though some may
perceive a religious message here, it is important to remember that
Pratchett is agnostic. Any doubts about this are dispelled when
Death tells Susan 'humans need to believe the small lies so that
the bigger ones (such as justice) are more bearable'. The same
conversation also contains the one amazing line that epitomises what
this book is about: 'if Hogfather had died, the sun would not have
risen on the Discworld, instead a flaming ball of gas would have
illuminated it'. Pure poetry."

http://tinyurl.com/7hpgrko


Blogger Drive Me to Geek gets political in an essay titled Where's
Sam Vimes When You Need Him: Pratchett and the "Occupy" Protests:

"What's always drawn me in is his ability to use humor and fantasy
to create startling clear social commentary. And he always seems to
do it best in 'The Watch' books* and I would say it's mainly because
of the main character, Sam Vimes. I'll fully admit that he is my
favorite character in Discworld (and probably in my top ten
characters in all of fiction). I was quite happy to see my affection
was shared by Pratchett who, in a talk I attended, said that Vimes
was among his own favorites as well. Pratchett's use of Vimes as
tool for political commentary is so clear to me that, when we
launched the most recent Iraq War, one of my first impulses was to
re-read Jingo, which looks at nationalism, racism, and war…through
the Pratchett lens of humor and fantasy...

"There's been a lot of political analysis about the militarization
of police and how it led to the horrors we've been seeing at the
Occupy protests. And tucked away in a fantasy novel, written months
before the protests began and published only a few weeks in is a
not-so simple policeman, with a not-so simple thought... I can only
wonder what the headlines would have been if there were only more
Sam Vimeses on the police forces of our country...."

http://drivemetogeek.com/2011/12/02/pratchett-and-ows/


Blogger Lady Garfunkel notes how Pterry can bring banking into
fantasy *without* the politics:

"I'd read a little Terry Pratchett a long time ago. The Carpet
People, I believe it was, a book for children. Which was quite
charming. Pratchett is rather acclaimed and prolific on the fantasy
scene, and his Discworld series is very popular. There are closing
in on forty of them, and they all take place on some kind of
mythical flat-earth. The one I stumbled upon, Making Money, is a
fairly recent entry and a direct sequel to something that's come
before, from what I could gather. I wouldn't say it's the most
exciting fantasy novel I've ever touched – it deals with banking
and the practicality of introducing paper currency in place of the
goldish type. But I have to praise Pratchett's style. He shares
the absurd humor of Douglas Adams, always a welcome element. The
funniness carries the book over the essentially boring bits about
economy and gold-minting. Plus, there are Golems..."

http://ladygarfunkel.wordpress.com/2011/11/29/book-update/


Blogger Greta van der Rol is ecstatic about Snuff:

"In this book I giggled at a six year old boy besotted with poo
(well, they are, aren't they)? I read the conversations between Sam
Vimes, reluctant Duke of Ankh, Commander of the Watch, reformed
alcoholic and one-time blackboard monitor from Cockbill Street in
the Shades, and his patrician wife Lady Sybil, and giggled some
more. They reminded me in many respects of my own conversations with
my husband, accompanied by 'yes, dear' and knowing when to say
nothing. Sir Terry described the machinations of a country manor
house not with meticulous description but by playing out the
interactions of the characters. He did the same with a country pub.
As always, there is a mystery, which Sam notices because while he's
supposed to be on holiday, is a policeman ever on holiday? We have
unlikely characters who discover that they could be heroes,
prejudice in its most ugly form and politics at every turn. Vimes is
the hero, of course, but he's no Captain America. He is on the side
of Justice despite having to prevent the dark side of his psyche
from winning the internal battle. I was along for the ride, every
step of the way..."

http://gretavanderrol.net/2011/11/30/a-dark-warped-mirror/


Blogger Paul Wiseall, a dedicated Pratchett fan, was in Burnham for
the lights-on ceremony:

"For the record, Terry Pratchett is one of my very favourite
authors. I have almost everything he has ever written which is in
excess of 60 novels. The first fantasy book I ever read was
Pratchett's The Carpet People and one of my favourite books of all
time is Good Omens by him and Gaiman. I have two book shelves
dedicated to his novels. He is the reason I read what I read and the
reason I currently do what I do. I am not a religious man but if I
was, my Jesus would be Pratchett. Based on this, you can probably
understand just how excited I was to see him... I glanced to my
right and there, stood next to me was a chap with an enormous brown
beard wearing bright red robes. These weren't just any robes though
my friends, oh no, these were wizarding robes. Atop his head sat a
tall wizarding hat in the same red colour. What was particularly
impressive about these robes were the golden stars that adorned
them. I remember thinking two things. Firstly, I wondered where
Luggage was – there's a joke for the fans – and secondly that
his mum must have helped him with the sewing of the stars as this
guy looked like he would have opted to try to stick them on with
glue. He also looked like he would probably try to eat the glue too.
I pictured a 'one for me, one for you' situation... Soon the crowd
were whooping and cheering loudly as up on to the 'stage' strode a
small man with a big black hat, white beard and a big, warm smile.
Ladies and gents we have Sir Terry Pratchett. My heart jumped, my
breath went short. 'HOLY SHIT, HE'S REAL!'..."

http://tinyurl.com/83jwen5


Blogger Just Jacqui tells us "Why You Should Get Lost in Discworld
or How Terry Pratchett Changed My Life":

"Now, I could tell you how great the Discworld books are. Funny,
relevant, and brilliantly written, they are an awesome combination
of fantasy, humor and satire. Instead, I think I'll tell you how
these books changed my life. When I was nine years old – per a
custody agreement drawn up before I was even born – I left my home
on the reservation and moved in with my father. I still visited my
mother fairly often, but it wasn't the same as living with her. I
was something of a loner before I left the rez. After, I became down
right reclusive. I rarely spoke and spent most of that summer in my
room, only coming down for meals or at my father's insistence...
Then one day, a nun handed me an old, dog-eared copy of 'The Color
of Magic'. It took me over a month to finish it, but after that, I
was a goner. I decided that if I had to learn English to read books
like that, then I would learn. Six months later, I had reached
'proficient' level. Two months after that, I was fluent. My love
of reading didn't end with Discworld – over the years, I
discovered Twain, Gaiman, Shirley, Norton, McCaffrey, Lackey, and
so many others – but it began there..."

http://tinyurl.com/7xkoew7


Blogger Fyrefly is delighted to have finally read Small Gods:

"How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 07 February 2011. Terry
Pratchett's main premise in Small Gods – that gods are created by
their believers, and not the other way around – is not a
particularly new one, nor is his satirical take on organized
religion particularly subtle. But man alive, does he take that
premise and that satirical tone, and run to some damn funny places
with it. Some of the running gags (everyone telling Brutha, upon
seeing the turtle, 'there's good eating on one of those') fell flat
after a while, but others (Om's thoroughly ineffectual attempts to
call down damnation and smiting on everyone who annoyed him, which
was pretty much everyone) made me chuckle every time. There's also
the usual complement of one-liners, which range from silly to quite
sharply insightful, but always drily witty. The plot does meander a
bit, and not all parts are always explained as thoroughly as they
could be, or tie in as well as they should, but for the most part,
things move along well enough, and the diversions are entertaining
enough not to be too much of a detriment..."

http://tinyurl.com/clhd2u9


Blogger and author Sue Ann Bowling found the Hogfather DVD well
worth unwrapping:

"The DVD is remarkably close to the book, probably because Terry
Pratchett was closely involved with making it. Since the plot
involves not only the Hogfather and Teatime, but Death, his
granddaughter Susan (especially Susan), the Tooth Fairy and the
franchise she runs, the wizards of Unseen University, and an
assortment of unlikely creatures such as the oh god of hangovers and
the sock-eater, there tends to be a good deal of jumping between
scenes. There are complications, many (and much of the satire on the
commercialization of Christmas) coming from Death's taking over the
Hogfather's job. I particularly enjoy his filling in for the hired
Hogfather at the Discworld equivalent of a department store. Then
there is the idea that there has to be a certain amount of belief in
the world, leading to any personification thought of coming into
being once the children's belief in the Hogfather wavers. But there
are serious scenes, too, like the Hogfather, in boar shape, being
chased by the Auditors as dogs... If you like satire and like
Pratchett, it's definitely worth watching. It's on my watch-every-
Christmas list..."

http://tinyurl.com/bspxwbt


Geek blogger Clive Maxfield says there's nothing like a Pratchett
novel for pure relaxation:

"I really enjoy good books explaining scientific things like Time,
Gravity, Chemistry, and so forth. And I've recently started to read
more Autobiographies and Memoirs. But when it comes to unwinding and
relaxing and just kicking back, I am a HUGE fan of the author Terry
Pratchett in general and of his Discworld series of books in
particular. In fact, I just re-visited Terry's Guards! Guards! It
must have been several years since I last perused this book, which
is the first of his Watch series. I had completely forgotten the
state of play with regard to how things began with the lead
character Sam Vimes, a haggard, cynical, working-class street copper
who has a problem with alcohol... Now I want to go back and read the
next book in the Watch Series...

"I really envy Terry for his razor-sharp wit and clever turn of
phrase. Sometimes he has me laughing out loud, and I often recommend
these books to my friends. But there is one small difficulty,
because there are a lot of books in the Discworld 'family' and it
can be difficult to know where to start..."

http://tinyurl.com/87d4wbt


Blogger Alex Willging agrees with having Hogfather as a new
Christmastime tradition:

"Give Pratchett credit for being an author who both deconstructs the
whole holiday craze and then reaffirms why we celebrate these things
in the first place. His story is one that looks at some of the
silliness behind a spirit figure who brings gifts to children and
all the weird things we do with friends and family at the end of the
solar year. It's also a story that says it's all okay to
believe because it's these beliefs that keeps us as a species
going... this is both one of the most irreverent and reverent
Christmas tales I've ever enjoyed. It's funny enough that you
can read it anytime year-round, but it's best for the holiday
season and one of Pratchett's best works..."

http://rhapsodistreviews.wordpress.com/2011/12/22/hogfather/


...and the Bookwitch thinks so too:

"People have some strange ideas, but luckily we have Terry Pratchett
to put them into perspective. So, here I was, only yesterday, saying
we don't need to believe in Father Christmas. And now, well, Terry
seems to be saying we should believe. Not because it's true, but
because believing is good for us... I'm not sure we know exactly
what's happened to Hogfather, but Death delivers in his place.
Death's granddaughter does her bit, and those clever wizards at
the University play around with a sort of computer. Trust Terry
Pratchett to have spot-on thoughts about computers so long ago
(well, I feel fifteen years is a long time in the world of
computing), and for those thoughts to be still valid today. I would
like to believe, but it might be too late for a hardened witch.
Although, if I could sit on someone's lap and have all my unspoken
wishes come true..."

http://bookwitch.wordpress.com/2011/12/26/hogfather/

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

20) ACTION REPLAY

INTERVIEWED BY A LIBRARIAN!

http://tinyurl.com/7lrkqel


...AND INTERVIEWED IN FOURECKS

And a fine interview it is, conducted earlier this year by SBS
presenter Anton Enus:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jU4VJUmWas0

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

21) CLOSE

And that's all from us for the moment. I think there will be a final
2011 horoscope from Fernando, so stand by... and if not, WOSSNAME
wishes you a fun New Year's Eve and all the best in health and
happiness for 2012!

– Annie Mac

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

———————————————————————————————————
The End. If you have any questions or requests, write:
interact@...
———————————————————————————————————
Copyright (c) 2011 by Klatchian Foreign Legion

WOSSNAME
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
December 2011 (Volume 14, Issue 12, Post 2)
*****************************************************************

1) A NOTE FROM YOUR EDITOR
2) YOUR DISCWORLD HOROSCOPE FOR DECEMBER
3) CLOSE

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

1) EDITOR'S NOTE

Just in passing, here be a sweet feature on io9.com – "ten
weirdest scientific theories" includes the Discworld and its
universe:

"It turns out that, compared to trying to do biology at a distance,
the universe we inhabit is relatively easy to understand. You can
spot most of the relevant things about a planet by watching it
orbit, doing spectroscopic analysis of the light coming off of it,
and looking at its surroundings. Not so with a space turtle..."

http://tinyurl.com/7rbmfqc

...and at the eleventh hour (and fifty-ninth minute), Fernando has
Clacksed us the last horoscope of the year. Enjoy!

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

2) THE NEW DISCWORLD HOROSCOPE
by Fernando Magnifico

Buongiorno and the many Happy Hogswatch to you all! My friends, this
month the Lady Asterisk is unavailable as she is lost in Empirical
Crescent, but do not be afeared, for I, Fernando Magnifico, will
take care of all your astrological needs this month!

My friends, Hogswatch is the season for buying the molto expensive
gifts you can't afford for the peoples you don't like. Choosing the
right gift is the very hard job, but not if you listen to Fernando's
advice. Many astrologers say that when purchasing the gifts for
others, you must consider the sign of the receiver, but they neglect
the sign of the giver! Do not make this mistake, my friends, for
nothing will lead to making the bad choices for Hogswatch gifts
faster than the mismatch between the gift and the giver. (Except
perhaps Uncle Rafael's grappa, trust Fernando on this.) Of course,
Fernando is the greatest gift of all, but he cannot be given to all
(not all at once, at least), so this month, listen very carefully as
Fernando tells you which gifts are the next best for you to give,
and which should be avoided.

Ciao bella!

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Adamant Hedgehog  21 Mar – 20 Apr

Gifts to give: Drinks
Gifts to avoid: Religious icons and relics

My friends, Fernando is usually the first to recommend that you stay
in the Gods' "good books", as they say, but this is one time to
avoid giving the religious icons. Hogswatch is a tricky time for the
Gods, with the demarcation disputes and the higher than normal
levels of the piety and the hypocrisy, and the stars warn that this
year it is best to avoid the religious gifts. It is never pleasant
to be caught as the innocent party between two gods when they argue
over who has the biggest icon. Trust Fernando on this, for he knows
that this is so. Instead, the stars recommend that your most
felicitous gift to give is the drinks. For the childrens and tea-
totallers, a bottle of raspberry cordial or wahoonie nectar makes
the fine gift. For the vino drinkers, you will want to avoid the
Quirmian rubbish and stick to the good vino from Brindisi. And for
those who prefer their drinks a little stronger, Fernando recommends
Old Mother MacCredie's Best Sherry for the ladies and Jimkin
Bearhugger's The MacAbre for the gentlemens.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Half-Eaten Sandwich  21 Apr – 21 May

Gifts to give: Fashionable clothing
Gifts to avoid: Unfashionable clothing

Sandies, the stars tell Fernando that for you, the best gifts to
give are the fashionable clothings. But beware, for the
unfashionable clothing is especially infelicitous for you, so just
say "No!" to the beige cardigans, the boring tweed jackets, or the
sensible shoes. How fortunate you are that Fernando is here to guide
you, for nobody has the sense of fashionable clothings like
Fernando! My friends, you cannot go wrong with the leopard skin
print, for it goes with everything. It is especially good on the
silk trousers. Another molto bene choice is the cerise velour
shirts, or the chiffon poet blouses. Fernando suggests lavender this
year. For the ladies, Fernando knows that bustles are back this
year, they are especially suited to the tight dress. Fernando
recommends the satin hobble skirt by Crispin Deare in the crimson or
vermilion. An excellente accessory to wear is the jabot, Fernando
suggests eau-de-nil to go with the crimson. My friends, listen to
Fernando's fashion tips and the receiver of your gifts will be
speechless!

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Herne the Hunted  22 May – 21 Jun

Gifts to give: Collectibles
Gifts to avoid: Poo

Hernians, the stars tell Fernando that this is the good time for you
to introduce others to the joys of the collecting. The most popular
collectibles this season are the stamps, especially the stamps from
foreign parts, or showing foreign parts, which Fernando finds ironic
since most foreign stamps are actually made here in Ankh-Morpork.
Let Fernando give you the excellente advice that other good choices
are pins, pressed lizards, porcelain dolls, foreign coins of very
little value, domestic coins of great value, and ex-spouses. When
Fernando was a boy, he collected the fig leaves, and for many years
would love to show off his collection to anyone who would look. But
Hernians, let Fernando tell you that no matter how complete your
collection of animal poo is, very few people will consider it
appropriate as a Hogswatch gift.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Wizard's Staff and Knob  22 Jun – 22 Jul

Gifts to give: Gooseberry Dis-organisers, golems, iconographs
Gifts to avoid: Magic brooms, Wow-wow sauce

For those who can afford the extremely high prices, a non-free golem
is an impressive and useful gift. For those who don't wish to draw
the attention of Adora Belle Dearheart, a safer gift may be the
latest Gooseberry, or perhaps one of those new iconographs with the
16 micro-imp resolution and the full palate of 256 colours.
Staffies, listen carefully to Fernando: the magic broom is the
fashionable gift, but they are best avoided. It may seem like the
excellente idea now, but wait until it has swept all your furniture
out into the street. Trust Fernando on this, for he knows that it is
so. Wow-wow sauce is another gift best avoided, especially in the
presence of open flames, sparks, or anything containing sulphur.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Bilious, God of Hangovers  23 Jul – 23 Aug

Gifts to give: Fine art
Gifts to avoid: Gazundas

Bilians are not as well-known for their artistic side as Umbragians,
but let Fernando tell you that many Bilians do have the excellente
art sense. So what better Hogswatch gift than the fine art? My
friends, the stars say that you should give your artistic spirit the
free rein, and the best gifts to give are the paintings, sculptures,
or the modern art made from old tin cans and pieces of embalmed
carrot. The stars also say that the gifts to avoid are gazundas, no
matter how practical they are (for everyone needs the gazunda).
However, there is the exception to this rule: copies of Daniellarina
Pouter's famous sculpture "Water", a gazunda balanced on a
broomstick.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

My Uncle's Nose  24 Aug – 23 Sept

Gifts to give: Food
Gifts to avoid: Avec

Nosers, the stars tell Fernando that the most felicitous gift for
you to give this year is food. This is the very pleasing to
Fernando, for it reminds him of back home in Brindisi, where the
gifts of food are always the big part of Hogswatch. Whenever
Fernando visits his Uncle Enzo, he is sure to be given an enormous
salami. My friends, Fernando understands the Morporkian tastes may
need the persuasion before trying the exotic Brindisi sausage, but
do not be afeared, for you can always give the traditional
Morporkian foods like Spotted Dick, Knuckle Sandwich, hard cheese,
soft cheese, tasty cheese, jams, preserves or sweeties.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Small Boring Group of Faint Stars  24 Sept – 23 Oct

Gifts to give: Socks, hats, money
Gifts to avoid: Neck ties

Boring'uns, the stars tell Fernando that the safest gifts for you to
give are the classics: socks (possibly with a half-brick inside,
although Fernando does not understand why the stars say this), hats,
and when in doubt, gifts of money are simple, unimaginative and
plain (much like Boring'uns themselves) but always appreciated. But
beware of the neck ties and cummerbunds, such clothing is far too
dangerous for Boring'uns. A thin piece of cloth you tie around your
throat? May the Gods protect you from even *handling* such a thing!

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Androgyna Majestis  24 Oct – 22 Nov

Gifts to give: Opera subscription, tickets to the music hall
Gifts to avoid: Membership to the Ankh-Morpork Folk Dance and Song
Society

Andies the stars tell Fernando that your best gift is the gift of
music. Fernando suggests that the yearly subscription to the Opera
House is the best gift for you to give. If you are on the budget,
and Fernando understands that in these economics times many people
are, the tickets for "the Gods" are extremely cheap. Fernando is the
great patron of the opera, but he understands that not everyone
appreciates such sensitive and refined opera as "Grande Palle di
Fuoco" by Gino Lee Luisi, or "Nie Werde Dich Aufgeben" by Vik von
Astlieb. Do not judge them, my friends, for it takes all sorts, and
were would we be if we all liked the same things? Instead, Fernando
recommends the tickets to the music hall, where people can enjoy the
latest japes and pratfalls by Robbie Banker and Dobby Corbie, or
listen to Nellie Longtree sing "My Private Parts Are Public But My
Heart Belongs To You". What a treat for music lovers.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Spoons, a.k.a. the Greater and Lesser Spoons, 23 Nov – 21 Dec

Gifts to give: Subscriptions to magazines
Gifts to avoid: Pets

Giving pets should be avoided, even the cats and dogs but especially
the dragons. Remember, my friends, a dragon is not just for
Hogswatch. You think they are cute when they are little, but wait
until they eat your kettle and set fire to the litter box. Instead,
the stars suggest that magazine subscriptions are the best gifts for
Spooners to give. There is a magazine for everyone: "Girls, Giggles
and Garters" for your nephew Billy, "Bows and Ammo" for your intense
cousin Bob who wears chain mail all the time, "The Lady's Home
Companion" for Aunt Tilly, and "Aisle Be Back" for your sister Saffy
who has been planning her dream wedding for 7a years now and still
doesn't have a boyfriend. Just be careful and don't get the
subscriptions mixed up, although many an Aunt Tilly might not object
to a subscription to GG&G.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Hoki the Jokester  22 Dec – 20 Jan

Gifts to give: Toys, games, books
Gifts to avoid: Gag gifts

My friends, you don't want to be like Fernando's Auntie Rosa-Marie,
who thinks the funniest thing in the world is to carefully wrap up a
dirty old dish-rag in a fine presentation box and give it as a gift.
And she is not even a Hokian! Trust Fernando, nobody appreciates the
gag gifts, except perhaps the other Hokians. Instead, you can
indulge your lighter side by giving toys and games and books,
especially books of amusing anecdotes, jokes, and engravings of
humorous vegetables. Remember, my friends, toys are not just for the
childrens. Fernando has the most excellente scale model of Lord
Vetinari's scorpion pit, complete with the fully poseable figures of
mimes.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Big Chicken  21 Jan – 18 Feb

Gifts to give: Intimate undergarments, personal services, flowers
Gifts to avoid: Intimate undergarments, personal services

Squawkers, your gifts to give are of the more personal nature, and
so require care when giving. The intimate undergarments are the
excellente gift, but take care who you give them to. Trust Fernando
on this, it is rarely a good idea to give your grandmama the special
silk underwear with the extra lace trim. Not even if it is a
respectable widow's black. If you have the friend or relative who is
the socially maladjusted and finds it hard to meet people, they
might appreciate a gift card from the Seamstresses Guild. If they
are the cleaner and less objectionable sort of wallflower, you may
even prefer to skip the Seamstresses and help them out yourself. But
beware, my friends, for such things may often give the wrong
impression and lead to the unfulfilled expectations later on. It
might be safer to just stick to flowers.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Lesser Umbrage  19 Feb – 20 Mar

Gifts to give: Writing implements, jewellery
Gifts to avoid: Alcoholic beverages, rubbing alcohol or liniment

Umbragians, the stars tell Fernando that writing implements are a
particularly good gift this year. Whether you wish to impress the
receiver with your generosity with an expensive, fine ink pen from
Teemer & Spools, or impress them with your thriftiness with a slate
and chalk from the shonky shop, you can't go wrong with writing
implements. (Unless you get it stuck up your nose, like Fernando's
cousin Mario did when he was the small boy.) Jewellery is another
good gift, listen to Fernando who has the most excellente advice,
you cannot go wrong with the gold medallions on a chain for the
mens, and the six-inch gold hoop earrings for the womens. When in
doubt, Fernando has the one word to remember: ankh stones. Alcohol,
on the other hand, is best avoided as a gift: the Lesser Umbrage is
the sign of almost all Feegles, and the stars say that this year the
risk of attracting Feegles is too high for comfort.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

3) CLOSE

And that's it for 2011. A very happy new year to all!

– Annie Mac

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

———————————————————————————————————
If you have any questions or requests, write:
interact@...
———————————————————————————————————
Copyright (c) 2011 by Klatchian Foreign Legion

WOSSNAME
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
January 2012 (Volume 15, Issue 1, Post 1)
********************************************************************
WOSSNAME is a free publication for members of the worldwide
Klatchian Foreign Legion and its affiliates, including the North
American Discworld Society and other continental groups. Are you a
member? Yes, if you sent in your name, country and e-mail address.
Are there any dues? No! As a member of the Klatchian Foreign Legion,
you'd only forget them...
********************************************************************
Editor in Chief: Annie Mac
News Editor: Fiona (not Bruce) Bruce
Newshounds: Vera, Mogg, Sir J of Croydon Below, the Shadow
Staff Writers: Asti, Pitt the Elder, Steven D'Aprano, L.C. Thomas
Convention Reporters: Mithtrethth Hania Ogg et al
Staff Technomancer: Jason Parlevliet
Book Reviews: Drusilla D'Afanguin
Puzzle Editor: Tiff
Bard in Residence: Weird Alice Lancrevic
DW Horoscope: Lady Anaemia Asterisk, Fernando Magnifico
Emergency Staff: Jason Parlevliet
World Membership Director: Steven D'Aprano (in his copious spare
time)
Copyright 2012 by Klatchian Foreign Legion

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

INDEX:

01) QUOTE OF THE MONTH
02) LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
03) LORD VETINARI FOR PRESIDENT
04) PTERRY PARTIES DOWN WITH THE RADIO TIMES
05) PTERRY AND ALZHEIMER'S NEWS
06) REVIEW: SNUFF
07) VALE MARK HALL
08) DISCWORLD GAMES NEWS
09) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS
10) THE CUNNING ARTIFICER TRAVELS IN TIME
11) HOGSWATCH IN WINCANTON 2011
12) DISCWORLD CONVENTION NEWS
13) DISCWORLD GROUPS MEETING NEWS
14) ROUNDWORLD TALES
15) IMAGES OF THE MONTH
16) DISCWORLD AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE
17) ACTION REPLAY
18) CLOSE

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

01) QUOTE OF THE MONTH

"Unseen Academicals and Good Omens are in pre-production. CSI Ankh-
Morpork is the working title for the Watch Series..."

– exciting news from Pterry's Ptwitter, 9th January 2012

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

02) A NEW YEAR'S LETTER FROM YOUR EDITOR

~opens one bleary eye~

~peers around~

"Eh, it's another new year already. How did that happen...?"

Welcome to 2012 and the year's first issue of WOSSNAME!

~peers around again~

On with the show...

– Annie Mac

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

03) LORD VETINARI FOR PRESIDENT?!

With another USA election year looming, American blogger Maggie
Flynn has a novel idea:

"So we have another election year bearing down on us like a tidal
wave of endless campaign updates and a never-ending circuit of
commercials with ominous music and voice-overs. I don't know about
most of the people in this country, but I end up getting depressed
and annoyed every single election year, since none of the candidates
seem capable of leading a one- acre farm. But after much thought and
reflection on the state of our country, I'm going to humbly cast my
support for: Lord Havelock Vetinari, current Patrician of Ankh-
Morpork. 'But he's a tyrant! you say. 'This is America, dammit! We
don't put stock in dictators here!' Hear me out! Vetinari may not be
democratically elected, but he isn't technically a dictator- he's
the Patrician. He runs the country by sitting back and talking to a
few people, using just a few words. Then he lets the country work
itself... Having the Patrician running our country would completely
do away with the problem of the two-party system... One doesn't need
much in the way of 'support' when one has the whole country in the
palm of one's hand..."

http://tinyurl.com/7xdkehd

And for those of you who want to adorn your carriages (or walls, or
copybooks...) with an appropriate bumper sticker:

http://tinyurl.com/7oksmjs

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

04) PTERRY PARTIES DOWN WITH THE RADIO TIMES

First there was that lovely Radio Times cover featuring our
favourite author, and now at last came the after-party:

"It's always one of the glitziest, most exclusive showbiz parties of
the year – and the 2012 Radio Times Covers Party was no exception.
Celebs who had the rare honour of appearing on the cover of Radio
Times magazine last year – and a few select others who received
one of our much sought-after invitations – came to London's super-
swanky Claridge's to receive framed copies, at a ceremony compered
by Graham Norton and RT editor Ben Preston... Some of those
attending were particularly honoured guests. Radio Times was very
pleased to welcome Terry Pratchett, who collected the cover for his
ground-breaking documentary Choosing to Die. 'Thank you Radio
Times,' Pratchett tweeted as he made his way home. 'You sure know
how to throw a superb party... so many people to thank for their
company, but Big Respect to Warwick Davis and [Davis's wife]
Samantha.'"

http://tinyurl.com/6vfbz6t

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

05) PTERRY AND ALZHEIMER'S NEWS

In the UK, the Commission on Assisted Dying, set up in September
2010 and chaired by former Lord Chancellor Charles Falconer, has
made a report, on assisted death and on possible recommendations for
changes in the current laws, that has stirred up debate in many
quarters. If you wish to read the Commission's report in its
entirety, it is available as a PDF file:

http://www.demos.co.uk/files/CoAD_-_web.pdf?1325710486

About the Commission:

http://tinyurl.com/7qge4op


From Pterry himself, in The Sun:

"The report by the Commission on Assisted Dying is very much a step
forward. For a long time people in the United Kingdom have been
talking about assisted dying, which is already legal in a number of
countries and in the US states of Oregon, Montana and Washington. My
father once said to me, 'If you see me in a hospital bed with tubes
coming out of me and no possible hope of recovery, switch me off.'
Like it or not, a lot of people in the UK agree with that view. My
father, David Pratchett, was an engineer, a working man. He didn't
see that forcing someone to suffer through death was right. It's
like sending them to hell before they've even passed away. I've
inherited my father's stoicism and also his attitude to death, which
is largely in line with the Commission on Assisted Dying's findings.

"The critics are overlooking several crucial points. For a start,
you would have to be in a clear state of mind to avail yourself of
an assisted suicide and be able to say clearly what you want. As my
Alzheimer's progresses I will no longer have that clarity, which
would rule me out as a potential candidate.

"In the Netherlands they are discussing the possibility of people
with Alzheimer's making a living will. This would allow a physician
who is caring for them to administer the necessary drugs for a
painless death when the disease became suitably advanced. However,
that isn't a procedure being considered or even backed in the UK.

"Many people who disagree with the report claim a large part of the
British population is nervous about assisted suicide. I totally
disagree. Instead, I think there are a lot of organisations which
have made it their agenda to promote this view.

"Let's not forget the report insists anyone who qualifies for an
assisted death must be near the end of their life. There are lots of
safeguards in place to ensure no vulnerable patients are somehow
forced into a death they don't want. The Commission says the patient
must be of sound mind, firm of purpose and suffering a debilitating
and incurable condition. We are talking about someone making a very
big decision to die. The procedure would involve doctors and reports
and various levels of bureaucracy. It is a harrowing situation and
not something that could conceivably be forced on the weak against
their will. But with the relevant safeguards in place, I don't see
why a country such as Britain could not introduce assisted suicide
successfully. To claim otherwise is smoke and mirrors — it's
scaremongering.

"As it stands, British people who want assisted death have to travel
to the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland. I have the paperwork for
Dignitas myself but haven't completed the application. Having to die
abroad, away from my family in a strange environment, is not what I
want. My ideal death would be sitting out on the lawn, with a glass
of brandy in my hand. The English composer Thomas Tallis would be
playing on my Walkman, birds would be singing — and possibly with
an attractive physician by my side. If not that, then a comfortable
death a long time in the future, when I still know who I am, in my
own surroundings, with people I love around me.

"It is nothing to do with the sanctity of life, but the dignity."

http://tinyurl.com/7uvcpz9


Sir Pterry was interviewed on ITV. For those of you who can access
it, the full interview is here:

http://www.itv.com/news/full-pratchett-interview64780/


A piece from the UK Press Association:

"Sir Terry, who has campaigned for a change to the law over assisted
dying since being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2007, said
care homes have the same connotations for some older people as
workhouses used to have. He said Thursday's report from the
Commission on Assisted Dying, which he helped fund, did not go far
enough. But he admitted there was little prospect of progress over
the next few years. The award-winning Discworld author said the poor
quality of end-of-life care in the UK was leading to people
travelling to the controversial Dignitas clinic in Switzerland,
where he filmed the Choosing to Die documentary last year, to die.
While Sir Terry, 63, conceded he does not 'necessarily agree with
everything Dignitas stands for', he said: 'I'm glad that it's there,
because it's a spur. If you don't like people going to Dignitas,
what can you provide them with here? And what you can provide them
with is a certain amount of commonsense thinking. And I would say a
declaration that somebody's life is their own and does not belong to
the sodding Government.'..."

http://tinyurl.com/7coe25o


In The Guardian:

"The report is careful to stop short of calling for legalisation,
stressing that any such debate would be a matter for parliament, but
it is clear that the current law "is inadequate, incoherent and
should not continue". It remains explicitly illegal to help someone
to die in England and Wales, though since new guidelines were
introduced two years ago by the director of public prosecutions Keir
Starmer, prosecutors, in effect, turn a blind eye. More than 40
cases have been considered since that date but resulted in no
charge. The new legal framework proposed by the commission, if
adopted by the government, would change that, opening the door for
the first time to legal assisted suicide in Britain.

"The criteria, however, are stringent, and not all those with
serious or even terminal illnesses would be permitted to ask their
doctor to prescribe them lethal medication. Only those who were over
18 and had been diagnosed as having fewer than 12 months to live
would be eligible, and then only if they could show that they were
making the decision voluntarily, without coming under any pressure
from family members, and had "no sense of being a burden". Two
independent doctors would have to agree with the diagnosis, and also
agree the person was aware of all the social and medical help
available to them, and was not influenced by depression or a
treatable mental illness. Under the proposals, Pratchett and others
with Alzheimer's would be unlikely to be eligible, since a person
with dementia who had less than a year to live would be unlikely to
be judged mentally competent..."

http://tinyurl.com/7nhc5nt


In the Daily Mail:

"Critics have raised concerns over the impartiality of the
commission, which was set up and funded by the author Sir Terry
Pratchett, who has Alzheimer's disease, and high street businessman
Bernard Lewis. Both are supporters of legalising assisted dying.
Lord Falconer himself has previously warned that the law on assisted
suicide was 'no longer fit', while most of the individuals on the
11-strong commission have expressed their support for a change in
the law in  the past..."

http://tinyurl.com/86kwz4s


In The Telegraph, several pieces:

"The peer and barrister [Lord Falconer], who served as Tony Blair's
Lord Chancellor, writes in The Daily Telegraph that the rarely used
law against aiding suicide only favours those terminally ill people
with the money and support to see their final wishes carried out.
Meanwhile others are being forced to take their lives early rather
than facing the worry of their loved ones being arrested for helping
them if they became incapable. He says that even if 'patchy' care
for the terminally ill were improved in hospitals and hospices
around the country, there would still be some who wanted to die at
the time of their choosing 'rather than face a period of reduced
function and independence in their final illness'. But Lord
Falconer, who has chaired the independent commission on assisted
dying that reports on Thursday, says that his experts 'did not like
much of what they saw' at Dignitas, the Swiss clinic where more than
160 Britons have been given legal help to die in 'alien
surroundings' over the past decade..."

http://tinyurl.com/87v54p8


"Although helping someone to die is punishable by up to 14 years'
imprisonment and police still investigate all cases, there have been
no prosecutions since landmark guidelines were set out almost two
years ago. The Commission says the situation is "very
distressing" for families, "uncertain" for health workers and
place a 'deeply challenging burden' on police and prosecutors. Under
its plans, doctors would be allowed to prescribe drugs to end the
lives of terminally ill patients who have fewer than 12 months to
live provided they are judged to have the mental capacity and clear
desire to die..."

http://tinyurl.com/8yewo45


...and a Q&A about the Commission:

http://tinyurl.com/86o6ajb


In The Australian Eye:

"The final report of the commission, chaired by the former Labour
Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer, concludes: "There is a strong case
for providing the choice of assisted dying for terminally ill
people. Even with skilled end-of-life care, the Commission finds
that a comparatively small number of people who are terminally ill
experience a degree of suffering towards the end of their life that
they consider can only be relieved either by ending their own life,
or by the knowledge that they can end their life at a time of their
own choosing." The recommendations are likely to be discussed in
Parliament. Any move to implement them will probably face strong
opposition from politicians and much of the medical profession..."

http://tinyurl.com/83s4mxj


In the Wall Street Journal's LiveMint blog:

"It's fascinating to read the transcripts of the evidence presented
before the Commission. For instance, Peter Bailey, a trustee with
the London Cheshire Disability, and himself disabled for the last 35
years after breaking his back: 'I'm concerned that opportunity would
become obligation; that the onset of impairment releases huge angst
at the loss of capacity and function; and that at that time we need
protection from ourselves, but those times will pass. And finally,
in the world of disability we really need help to live, not help to
die... I just think death is part of living. The idea that you can
come along and subcontract out of a bit of it doesn't seem quite
right to me really. It's part of our contribution to the world,
coping with situations like (terminal illness)'...

"Surprisingly, at least one priest supported assisted dying. Said
Rabbi Danny Rich, chief executive of Liberal Judaism: "We consider
heroic those who die in certain circumstances. If I throw myself in
front of a car to save another person, and I die, that would be
heroic. If I'm a soldier sent off to war by government, I am heroic.
I'm not sure that it isn't heroic, or the right of an individual to
say that I myself feel that I am burdening my relatives, and
therefore I myself, as an independent human being, taking account of
everything before me, could say that I don't wish my children to be
dragged to see me, or feel morally obliged to see me, or guilty
about not coming to see me, in a particular moment (and)... I want
to make a decision to end my life.'..."

http://tinyurl.com/7la92dm


The UK Human Rights Blog's piece:

"The Commission was funded by two supporters of assisted suicide,
author Terry Pratchett and businessman Bernard Lewis, and despite
reassurances that the running and outcome of the Commission were
independent, some individuals and groups opposed to the practice
regrettably refused to give evidence to the Commission. Still, the
range and quantity of the evidence, which included evidence gathered
from international research visits, qualitative interviews and focus
groups, commissioned papers, and seminars, is impressive and can be
read and watched here: http://www.commissiononassisteddying.co.uk/

"...the report is cautious and pragmatic in its attempt to stimulate
a change in the law. In the eyes of society, the assisted suicide
of already-dying competent adults (permitted in Oregon, Switzerland
and Luxembourg, for example) is more palatable than the euthanasia
of chronically ill children (permitted in the Netherlands)... the
report concludes that 'it is possible to devise a legal framework
that would set out strictly defined circumstances in which
terminally ill people could be assisted to die' while protecting
vulnerable people. And so the report suggests a number of
safeguards, ranging from medical advice and support to a settled
intention to die (i.e., a minimum of 2 weeks from request to
assisted death) to the safe storage and transportation of the lethal
drugs to the establishment of a national monitoring commission (an
independent statutory body reporting o the Department of Health).
Importantly, it acknowledges that assisted suicide must co-exist
with high quality health and social care services. The lawfulness
of assisted suicide should not signal the death knell of palliative
care..."

http://tinyurl.com/8yvhg38


Academic Kevin Yuill, who is not a philosopher by trade, has doubts,
in an op-ed piece worth reading in Spiked Online:

"Therein lies the biggest difficulty for proponents. How to justify
allowing assisting suicides for some and not others? Moving the
qualification point for assistance, from having six months to live
to having 12 months to live, is arbitrary and belies the
commission's 'core principle' that 'all forms of discrimination in
end-of-life care should be ended as far as possible, whether these
are based on geographical location, physical condition, ethnicity or
wealth'. Isn't this 12-month rule discriminatory on the basis of
physical condition? Why suicide for some who suffer and not for
others? After all, prominent suicides like Daniel James and
proponents like Debbie Purdy would not be allowed to be helped to
die by the commission's recommended plan.

"Assisted suicide is an either/or question. Either we give the
thumbs up to all acts of self-destruction, whether they be for
reasons of religious belief, suffering in the throes of a failed
love affair or because of the onset of a terminal illness, or we
continue to refuse to regard death as appropriate therapy. That is
not to say that there are never cases where death is desirable, or
that assisting or even causing death is always wrong. But these are
individual – as opposed to institutional or bureaucratic – acts
of compassion. The existing law generally works in dealing with
these situations..."

http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/11961/

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

06) REVIEW: SNUFF

Giles Hardie in the Sydney Morning Herald:

"Pratchett knows his genre tropes, however, which means whenever a
lawman goes on a trip, crime is sure to follow. Pratchett by now has
more than a few tropes of his own, so the victims of this crime are
yet another species imported from fantasy – goblins. As ever,
Pratchett takes the goblins of folklore – a reviled, dirty,
untrustworthy species, as illustrated by every author up to J.K.
Rowling – and explores with whimsy and wit the sort of xenophobia
and cultural misunderstanding that might fuel such a stereotype. All
this occurs while Vimes and his Watch traverse Discworld to solve a
twisting crime, partake in more than a few silly sidebars and Vimes
takes time to bond with his son, Young Samuel.

If you have never read a Pratchett book before, don't start with
Snuff. This is not a statement about the book's quality. Merely that
book 39 in any series is not likely to be an ideal point of
introduction. Despite every effort by the author to engage the
novice, there is a finely detailed world of backstory to this tale
that cannot be conveyed in a prologue and the Pratchett trademark
hysterical footnotes..."

http://tinyurl.com/895xzzqhttp://tinyurl.com/895xzzq

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

07) VALE MARK HALL

An obituary in The Telegraph for Mark Hall, who was half of the
world-famed Cosgrove Hall animation partnership, co-creator of
Danger Mouse and of course a Discworld animator:

"Hall was the business brains with a talent for model-making;
Cosgrove was the ideas man, a storyboard wizard with a gift for
traditional cartoon animation. The success of the series gave them
the financial security to embark on other children's animation
projects... In the 1990s Cosgrove Hall began a fruitful partnership
with Terry Pratchett, collaborating on an animated adaptation of
Truckers, the first book in The Bromeliad (which follows the
attempts of a group of gnomes, marooned on Earth after their
spaceship crash-lands, to return home). In 1997 they produced two
series for Channel 4 based on Wyrd Sisters and Soul Music, two
novels from Pratchett's Discworld series...."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/9021327/Mark-Hall.html

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

08) DISCWORLD GAMES NEWS

From Guards!Guards! co-creator David Brashaw, exciting news:

"We officially sold out world-wide on 5 December 2011, less than
three months after launch, not bad for a couple of guys... We are
now considering a re-print, based on projected demand, other games
(not necessarily DW), being at DWCon in Birmingham, maybe, possibly,
going to the Czechoslovakia DWCon and more. Exciting times...

"We are currently running a win a GG t-shirt competition on our FB
site. All fans have to do is post a photo on our walll and tell us
who won, or what they enjoyed doing most on another player etc. If
they have trouble posting it they can link to it on flicker or other
photo site. The competition will run until midnight (UK) time on 31
January.

"We found recently that players really appreciated the Turn Guide in
the update FAQs on our website, cause then they could remember 'all'
of the things they could do on their turn."

www.guardsguards.com
www.facebook.com/guardsguards


[Editor's note: owing to something quite weird happening to
WOSSNAME's Games Master, our inaugural game of Guards!Guards! was
unavoidably delayed. Stay tuned for a full review very soon,
though!]

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

09) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS

14.1 LORDS AND LADIES IN LICHFIELD

The Lichfield Players present their production of Lords and Ladies
in February.

When: Wednesday 1st February – Saturday 4th February 2012
Venue: Main Auditorium, Lichfield Garrick, Castle Dyke, Lichfield,
WS13 6HR
Time: 7.30pm
Tickets: £10, Seniors £9, Children £6
Box Office 01543 412121
Online bookings: http://tinyurl.com/7jhmera

Tickets are now on sale and can be booked by calling the box office
on 01543 412121 or visiting www.lichfieldgarrick.com

http://tinyurl.com/8xhtb6d


14.2 MONSTROUS REGIMENT IN CARDIFF

Act One Cardiff will present the Welsh stage premiere of Monstrous
Regiment in February.

When: 22nd-25th February 2012
Venue: The Gate Arts and Community Centre, Keppoch Street, Roath,
Cardiff
Time: 7.30pm (Saturday matinee 2.30pm)
Tickets: £7 (£5 Concession)
http://www.thegate.org.uk/buy-tickets-2/
£1.50 admin fee online/phone payments
Phone and buy from The Gate Box Office on (029) 2048 3344 (card
payment) Visit Reception @ The Gate, Keppoch St, Roath, Cardiff CF24
3JW (card or cash)

http://www.thegate.org.uk/

Here be the excellent poster for the production:
http://tinyurl.com/7thbybo

Here be director Amy Davies' blog about the production, from its
beginnings:

"This week we took a Monstrous cast trip to the society's panto
where my ladies were able to observe some great examples of girls
playing 'lads'. There was nose picking and ball scratching galore,
along with the occasional exploration of an ear.Monstrous was also
mentioned in the Guardian's top 10 instances of women dressed as
men. So now the hardcore 'man training' begins. My cast are getting
used to notes along the lines of 'Scratch your balls more' or 'there
wasn't enough nose picking in that scene'. In fact, we've started to
do it outside of rehearsal. Even me and I'm not in it. We've tried
just the basic walking like men technique and we obviously all have
very different ideas on how men walk, either that or we're all
observing very different men..."

http://eskarina54.tumblr.com/


14.3 PRATCHETT PIECES IN ADELAIDE

Unseen Theatre, the Southern Hemisphere's premier Discworld stage
company, presents Pratchett Pieces Three, "bite-sized Pratchett
comedies adapted especially for the 2012 Adelaide Fringe", in
February:

"This is the third time that Unseen Theatre Company has presented
bite-sized Terry Pratchett comedies especially for the Adelaide
Fringe, but this time we are giving you even more! – A full season
of shows immediately prior to the Fringe and three nights at the
beginning of the Fringe season. Pratchett Pieces Three will consist
of three brand new plays (never seen before), and a chance to catch
up on a couple from Pratchett Pieces One and Two, that you may have
missed in previous Fringe seasons. If you are a Pratchett fan you
cannot afford to miss this! If you are not a fan yet, come along and
see what all the fuss is about! Please note that although Pratchett
Pieces Three runs for our normal full season, only three nights of
this season will be over the Fringe period. These nights are Feb 22,
23, & 24."

Included are the world premieres of a handful of famous short
stories -- Death and What Comes Next, The Trial (based on The Sea
and Little Fishes), Hollywood Chickens, Turntables of the Night, and
A Collegiate Casting Out of Devilish Devices.

"Adapted for the stage by Pamela Munt... Featuring a troupe of
actors especially devoted to this production... Directed by Pamela
Munt and David Dyte... Lighting design by Stephen Dean."

When: Preview night Fri. 10 Feb 2012, Opening night 11 Feb 2012,
Season continues Wed to Sat at 8pm until Fri. 24 Feb 2012

Venue: Main Stage, The Bakehouse Theatre, 255 Angas St, Adelaide
Time: 8.00pm (duration of show is 90 minutes plus interval)
Tickets:: Adult $18, Conc $15, Bank SA $15/ Fringe Benefits $15
Bookings: For shows up until Feb 21, book at
www.bakehousetheatre.com. For Fringe shows on Feb 22, 23, 24 Book at
FRINGETIX
http://www.adelaidefringe.com.au | 1300 FRINGE | Fringe
TIX Outlets: Rundle Mall, Gawler Place Canopy/ Adelaide Fringe
Office, 105 Hindley Street/ East End, cnr. East Tce & Rundle Rd
(Open from 16 February)


14.4 AUDITIONS FOR MORT IN BUXTON

Open auditions are scheduled for the last week of January for Buxton
Drama League's upcoming production of Mort:

"We are looking for people to play a wide range of parts including
Mort, Princess Keli, Albert, Ysabell, Rincewind and Death – 'an
anthropomorphic personification'. However, there are also many more
roles that feature in the play that require actors with ages that
range from 13 upwards.

"Auditions will take place at the Old Hall Hotel, Buxton on Thursday
26th January between 7pm and 9pm and on Saturday 28th January
between 11am and 1pm. Audition pieces will be provided on arrival.
Performances will take place at Buxton's prestigious Opera House on
Friday 22 June 2012 at 7:30 pm and on Saturday 23 June at 2:30 PM
and 7:30 pm."

For more information, email buxtondrama@...

http://buxtondrama.org.uk/auditions-for-mort/

Buxton Drama League was founded by Mrs G Lenthall in 1922 and
performs regularly at Buxton Opera House, the Arts Centre and
Burbage Institute:

www.buxtondrama.org.uk


14.5 REVIEW: TAMAHER THE MUSICAL

"The plot was tied together by a group of narrators whose expressive
clarity and projection set up from the start the professional
approach to all aspects of the production that meant that one did
not need to make any allowances for it being a 'children's
performance'. The pre-recorded music worked very well; I have always
been somewhat dubious about this practice but here it clearly gave
much confidence to the performers and enabled them to focus on
performing the songs – not to mention the often elaborate
choreography, a particular highlight being the Year 3 Trap Disposal
squad's tight and focused performance of their big number near the
start of the show which, as with all the other major numbers slickly
combined sharp dance moves with well-focused and projected singing.
Rat King Cole and the Ratettes were particularly musically strong
and this element combined with visual impact made their parts of the
show some of the most musically enjoyable.

"One of the best aspects of the production was that there was a wide
range of character parts which enabled young actors to shine briefly
on the stage without the pressure of having a major part and for all
of these roles the characters came across clearly and distinctively
through a variety of dramatic means, be it speech, costume, movement
or a combination of all three as with the townsfolk who clearly
created distinctive characters. This was a major reason for the
success of the evening – the fact that there was 100% plus
commitment from all on the stage allowing the story to be told with
passion and clarity..."

http://www.britishschoolofwashington.org/News/PrimaryCurriculumNew


And for those of you who might want to, or know someone who might
want to, put on TAMAHER The Musical, here's where to buy the
necessaries:

"Sir Terry Pratchett's ingeniously upended tale of the Pied Piper,
has a roving band of highly intelligent rats as its heroic
protagonists. Matthew Holmes' script and songs capture the plot in a
captivating musical for children to perform and everyone to enjoy...
Perfect for upper primary school performances, there are parts small
and large for rats – heroic, villainous and oppressed – for humans
on the good side and the bad, and of course for a cat named Maurice.
The complete performance pack with its photocopiable script and
piano vocal score includes everything you need for rehearsing and
presenting the final show, plus there's full audio support on CD
so you don't need to read a note of music."

RRP £29.99
Online Price £27.00

http://tinyurl.com/76cp8k6

http://www.terrypratchettmusicals.co.uk/

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

10) THE CUNNING ARTIFICER TRAVELS IN TIME

In This is Dorset, a report on what could be called a backwards
facelift:

"The facade of The Discworld Emporium on Wincanton's High Street now
looks as it did in 1907. Master craftsmen, father and son team
Gordon and Jeremy Champion used an old photograph for reference to
ensure the restoration was true to the shop's history. Bernard
Pearson of The Discworld Emporium said: 'Gordon and his team have
done a fine job, turning a nondescript shop front into a work of
art. It is an amalgam of some of the finest craftsmanship you will
see in the world.'...  Working from the photograph of the premises
when it was a watchmakers' shop more than 100 years ago, Gordon and
Jeremy produced all the joinery for the restoration in their West
Hill workshop. The works took four months to complete...

"Mr Pearson revealed that he and his Discworld Emporium business
partners, wife Isobel Pearson, Reb Voice and Ian Mitchell have
secured a deal to produce a series of four new books with Terry
Pratchett. The titles will be based in a fictional city twinned with
Wincanton, which the team is now busy creating... An official
celebration to mark the restoration of The Discworld Emporium will
be held in April next year, and will be attended by Sir Terry
Pratchett."

(includes then-and-now iconographs!)

http://tinyurl.com/89vzrym

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

11) THE MEANING OF HOGSWATCH...

In the online publication Wincanton Window, "Discworld journalist"
Periwinkle (aka Lora Pendragon and sometimes Mandy Eldred-Tyler)
made an excellent, long and informative report on Wincanton's
Hogswatch Weekend:

"We sit on the Hogfather's knee and get presents; we partake in a
delicious sausage supper in the local hostelries of The Bear, The
Dolphin and The Nog and all weekend our town is buzzing with
Watchmen, Barbarians, Witches, Vampires, Igors, Elves and other
strange sights but all in the name of charity and fun! The last
weekend in November was no exception – Bernard Pearson and his
team, who run the Discworld Emporium in Wincanton High Street,
unveiled their newly restored shop front (restored to its original
1907 glory) and Sir Terry took time out from turning on the
Christmas lights at Burnham-on-Sea to visit and spend the weekend
with fans old and new... With over 700 fans – a lot of them
newcomers – attending, Sir Terry was on fine form and said how
lovely it was to see so many people enjoying themselves at
Hogswatch! He also gave us a little insight into his next book –
always a treat when you attend these events...

"Hogswatch and the other Discworld events held in the town raise a
lot of money for charity, both local and national Wincanton was at
first sceptical about our events but more local businesses are
getting involved each time we hold an event – this time for
example a new addition was the Lunchbox which made the Hogswatch
dish 'Boozy Figgins' which went down wonderfully well, selling out
by lunchtime Saturday and then despite the lovely Lunchbox owners
getting up at 6.00am and making more they again sold out within
hours of opening time on Sunday!! Andrew Barclay, the Wincanton
Butcher, made over 1,000 sausages for our annual Sausage Supper and
The Dolphin pub laid on special barrels of Discworld Cider – a
potent brew which went down well with locals and visitors alike..."

http://www.wincantonwindow.co.uk/hogswatch-2011.htm

The Discworld Emporium is located at 41 High Street, Wincanton,
Somerset BA9 9JU. Opening hours are: Monday, Tuesday, Friday &
Saturday: 10:00am-4:00pm; closed Wednesday and Thursday; Sundays
open by appointment only, phone in advance: Telephone: 01963 824686.

http://www.discworldemporium.com/

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

12) DISCWORLD CONVENTION NEWS

13.1 AUSDWCON NEWS

Nullus Anxietas IV, the fourth (well duh) official Australian
Discworld convention, will be in Melbourne on the 9th-11th March
2013 at the Bell Rydges, Preston. But despair not, you won't have to
wait that long for some Fourecksian Discworld action! The Unseen
University Convivium – a "gathering, shindig or hootenanny (delete
whichever is inappropriate) of Discworld fans", takes place in
Adelaide, South Australia, on the 6th-8th July 2012 at the
University of Adelaide. Here be the latest news, in their own
wizzardly words:

+++ HEX OS V2012 BOOTING... +++
+++ READY. +++
+++ HAPPY NEW YEAR! +++

Good afternoon, staff and students. We just wanted to give you a
quick update about the preparations for the Unseen University
Convivium to be held in Adelaide, South Australia, Roundworld, on
July 6-8, 2012.

+++ PRICE RISE IMMINENT +++

The current cheap prices for membership
(Full $80, Concession $70, Child $60) are set to end in a mere few
weeks, on 1st March. If you would like to be a worm-catching early
bird, be sure to purchase your tickets now!

If you can not yet commit to a complete purchase, another way to
guarantee a cheaper price is by purchasing a supporting membership
($30) which may be upgraded later by simply paying the difference
between it and the full ticket price as it currently stands.

For more details, see http://ausdwcon.org/pages/membership
and you can purchase tickets at http://ausdwcon.org/memberships/new

+++ ENROBE YOURSELF WITH WIZARDLY STYLE +++

Ever wanted to declare yourself a Rocket Wizard? Or play for Unseen
Academicals? Or perhaps carry your books in a bag marked with the UU
Library Rules?

The Faculty have designed some magical merchandise to help promote
and support the Unseen University Convivium, and you can purchase it
right now! T-shirts, bags, coffee mugs, stickers, and various other
knick-knacks can be bought at http://www.cafepress.com/unseenuni

These items are not limited, and can be purchased by anybody,
anywhere in the world. So go to it!

We are also planning to have a few convention attendees-only items
which will be able to be pre-ordered via our website and picked up
at the Convivium. More information on those at a later date!

+++ ANY QUESTIONS? +++

For further information, please read our website:
http://ausdwcon.org
or contact us via
Facebook http://facebook.com/UnseenUni
Twitter http://twitter.com/UnseenUni or
Email: UnseenUni2012@...

Chair for the Public Misunderstanding of Magic
Unseen University Convivium 2012
Adelaide, South Australia, 6-8 July 2012
http://ausdwcon.org

+++ END OF LINE +++


13.2 GERMAN DISCWORLD CONVENTION 2013

"After successfully surviving the Assassins of Ankh-Morpork in 2011
we are taking the German Discworld Convention 2013 to their home
continent Klatch! Make room in your schedule from October 3rd to
6th in 2013 for the fourth German Discworld Convention."

http://www.Discworld-Convention.de

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

13) DISCWORLD GROUPS MEETING NEWS

The City of Small Gods Terry Pratchett Fan Club meets on the last
Thursday of the month from 6.30pm at the Ed Castle, 233 Currie St,
Adelaide (South Australia). Details, discussions and organisation of
extra events (such as play outings) are held on their email mailing
list, so do sign up at:

https://groups.google.com/group/adelaide-discworld-fans

*

The next meeting of the Broken Drummers, London's original Discworld
meeting group, will be from 7pm on 6th February 2012 at the Monkey
Puzzle, 30 Southwick Street, London W2 1JQ.

http://www.steeljam.co.uk/brokendrummers/

*

Drummers Downunder meet on the first Monday of every month in Sydney
at Maloneys, corner of Pitt & Goulburn Streets, at 6.30pm. The next
meeting will be on 6th February 2012. For more information, contact
Sue (aka Granny Weatherwax) on kenworthys@...

*

Perth Drummers meet on the traditional of first Monday of the month.
The next meeting will be from 6pm on 6th February 2012 at The
Vic Hotel, 226 Hay St, Subiaco. For more information contact:
Daniel Hatton at daniel_j_hatton@...

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

14) ROUNDWORLD TALES

16.1 THE RETURN OF LESHP

You may remember, O Readers, a recent-ish Roundworld Tales report on
the there-and-gone-again island of Ferdinandea and its Jingo-
reminiscent disputes. here's another one:

"A new volcanic island has appeared in the Red Sea almost overnight.
The eruption was first reported by local fishermen in mid-December
2011, 40 miles off the coast of Yemen... According to NASA, the land
is "now about 530 by 710 meters (1,700 by 2,300 feet) across."

http://tinyurl.com/75af6eb

About Ferdinandea again, for reference:

"Despite showing signs in both 2000 and 2002, the seismicity did not
lead to volcanic eruptions and as of 2006 Ferdinandea's summit
remains about 6 metres (20 ft) below sea level. Should it reappear,
Federico Eichberg, an international relations expert based in Rome,
believes it would do so within Italian territorial waters — and in
all probability would be formally claimed by Italy. Eichberg does
not expect that a renewed international rumpus would arise..."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinandea#Recent_activity


16.2 THAT POCKET CROSSBOW

In the LiveJournal Discworld community, Marveen writes:

"It turns out that the one-shot crossbow that one can hide down
one's pants (requiring nerves and other parts of steel) is
historical Roundworld. Apparently in ancient China it was known as
the back crossbow. The bolt was propelled by a powerful spring. The
bolt head had a notch in it which caught a swiveling springloaded
trigger. One strapped it to one's back, bowed--properly!--to the
target and pulled a string, tripping the trigger and releasing a
forty-pound spring-and-piston arrangement. According to the History
Channel's 'Death Weapons of the East' program, it was usually
coupled with poison and thus more of an 'eventual' death than an
'instant' death. (There was also mention of a version that fired
five smaller darts rather than one stouter bolt, on what I suppose
we'd call the scattergonne principle.)"

http://discworld.livejournal.com/1071618.html

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

15) IMAGE OF THE MONTH

A hedgehog can't be er um several things, but it can be crowned with
a strawberry:

http://p.twimg.com/Ajn5AWOCEAAlxit.jpg

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

16) DISCWORLD AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE

Blogger Geoffrey got seriously lost in virtual Discworld:

"On the second day of Christmas we were bored. No thing to do, no
place to go out to (shops ins Poland are closed on national
holidays, so are restaurants, and everything else but gas stations),
and after a few days of them we also had enough of family. My
tolerance for stuff like that is low anyway. So I thought: 'Hmm, why
not play the Discworld MUD for a while again?'. And then I thought:
'God, that is a bad idea, isn't it?' 'Why is it a bad idea?' asked
my girlfriend. 'Because the last two times I had this thought I lost
a week each on playing this game.' 'So where is the problem? You
have a week of holidays right now.' she said then. And so, half-
convinced it was a good idea, I started the game, created an Agatean
called Lee, and, just as predicted, I only got out of it more or
less at New Years' Eve..."

(Post includes extensive descriptions of Discworld MUD and various
Discworld MUD links)

http://tinyurl.com/7eu5cp7


Blogger Just Jacqui reviews Witches Abroad:

"This book delves into some of our favorite childhood stories and
turns them inside out. Little Red Riding Hood is an obnoxious brat
and the big bad wolf is neither big nor bad, just a wolf tragically
altered by a demented fairy godmother obsessed with stories and
happy endings. As Terry Pratchett put it: 'Lilith held a mirror up
to life, and chopped all the bits off life that didn't fit...' Dive
into this book and you'll find several of your favorite stories
waiting for you: including The Hobbit, the Three Little Pigs, the
Wizard of Oz, and Sleeping Beauty.

"The thing about Terry Pratchett novels is that I always walk away
feeling smarter. The writing is superb, full of real-world allusions
and tongue-in-cheek humor, all of which is great. I leave them
entertained, but also wiser. The way he takes universal truths and
couches them in humor is awe-inspiring..."

http://justjacqui2.com/2012/01/06/my-book-a-week-challenge-book-1/


Blogger Captain Amanda reviews Going Postal:

"If you haven't read anything by Pratchett, think Lemony Snicket (A
Series of Unfortunate Events). There's that same wit and humour
woven into the narration. Take, for instance, the name of the female
lead. Adora Bell Dearheart. I love it.  I so delightfully quirky. My
favourite character though, is the executioner who introduces
himself as follows. '"Good morning, Mr Spangler." He raised the hood
helpfully. "It's me, sir, Daniel 'One Drop' Trooper. I am your
executioner for today, sir. Don't you worry, sir. I've hanged dozens
of people. We'll soon have you out of here."' How can you not love a
character like that?..."

http://dismantlednowrepairing.wordpress.com/2012/01/07/going-postal/


Blogger The Mad Hatter writes a general thank-you to Terry Pratchett
for his life and works:

"Pratchett is a tongue-in-cheek writer who adds comedy and satire
throughout each book. The books read quickly but are ones that can
be reread several times. You may catch something in a second reading
that you hadn't noticed the first time through. Pratchett loves to
tie in characters from previous books, so familiar names will
continue to pop up throughout the series. However, the best Terry
Pratchett reading I've done has been of the interviews he's given
over the past few years. Pratchett was diagnosed with early onset
Alzheimer's in 2007 and has been open and honest about his reactions
and life since. In no way could I do justice to the interviews he's
given, so instead I'll include links to a couple of the better ones
I've read..."

[Editor's note: nice looking blog, Hatter! I congratulate you on
your choice of page design.]

http://tinyurl.com/89vctfc


Blogger Hatch 22 reviews Snuff:

"This is a simple tale of Samuel Vimes being Samuel Vimes, and fans
will love it for that... In Snuff he finally agrees to take a well-
deserved holiday. A break from Ankh-Morpork for his wife and six-
year old son (who is very good at reading but chooses only to read
about poo) sounds like a good idea. Until a crime is discovered,
that is, and Vetinari's terrier, one of Vimes' less official titles,
sniffs out the deep and dark secrets of the countryside borne from
the attitude of its high and mighty towards what they consider to be
the vermin of society. While this may sound like a thematic
dissection of the double-standards of society, rest assured that
Snuff comfortably veers away from patronizing and over-condescending
preaching about racism and morals. These themes may be obvious in
the novel, but they are never zealously thrust into the readers'
faces, as lesser writers would do. Snuff develops into a simple tale
of quintessential Vimes, who finds something wrong and moves heaven
and earth, and hell, to set things right..."

http://hatch22.wordpress.com/2011/12/27/snuff-terry-pratchett/


...as does blogger Moirads, who applies it to her own country:

"The parallels with South African society are all too obvious to
those of us who wish to see them. The long arm of the law for the
most part is corrupt. Look out for the abuses of the privileges that
go with powerful positions, the misappropriation of monies entrusted
to people who should be using them for the good of all, the turning
of a blind eye to the mistreatment of others on the grounds that
they are not human. Yes, the goblins smell and are dim and steal.
South Africans have lived with these prejudices before. We have
pledged that we never will again. But some things are part of
humanity's base desires wherever they find themselves. We as a
society need people like Vimes..."

http://tinyurl.com/6umwvl6


Blogger Freedomtights has discovered Pratchett by way of A Hat Full
of Sky:

"I hadn't read anything by him before. But after reading A Hat Full
of Sky I wonder what took me so damn long. It was probably because
the IN YOUR FACE fantasy scared me away. You know the stuff – the
scary bit in the library where the fuzzy-faced, big eyed people hang
around and worship. But that was a misconception, I know that now.
My favourite creature in A Hat Full of Sky is the Nac Mac Feegle
which are Scottish blue ugly fairies... Pratchett is very funny. In
similar ways to Gaiman (which I assume Gaiman probably copied took
inspiration from the original fantasy man himself!) the narration is
very tongue in cheek. While Gaiman gets very caught up in the
folklore and grit and the uglier stuff of a faerie (it is faerie,
not fairy to Gaiman) Pratchett tells the story in a simple world
making it more accessible to younger readers..."

http://tinyurl.com/79eyn7n


Blogger vikingsinspace returns happily to The Colour of Magic:

"I had forgotten how much attention Pratchett spent to describing
the Discworld and explaining how it works. The stories in later
years are so much more character driven that I have forgotten that
these books really did start as 'typical' fantasy. That being said,
it is still satire and very humorous. I am finding myself having a
hard time describing all that I enjoyed about this book – Pratchett
simply has an ability to play with the English language in such a
way as to point out some of the silliness inherent in our
language..."

http://vikingsinspace.wordpress.com/2011/12/26/vi-18-01/

...and The Light Fantastic:

"This is probably one of the more fantasy-esque of Pratchett's
novels (even though they are all considered fantasy...) and it ends
in a try dramatic fashion (after some typical bumbling by the
characters to get the pronunciation of the world-saving spell
right). I say this novel is more fantasy-esque than others, because
it is after this novel that Pratchett seems to have a general
satirical theme. The previous book, The Colour of Magic was
satirizing tourism and the fantasy genre, but The Light Fantastic,
though had satirical elements in it, did not appear to have an over-
arching theme: just a good adventure..."

http://vikingsinspace.wordpress.com/2012/01/09/vi-18-02/


Trainee children's author diaryofabookworm reviews A Hat Full of
Sky:

"I decided to take it easy and get back into Pratchett with A Hat
Full of Sky, the sequel to The Wee Free Men. We're with Tiffany
Aching again, and she's on her way to the mountains to learn
"haggling" from a real witch, Miss Level. The book is, of course,
peppered with Pratchett's wonderful, almost inexplicable humor...
But aside from the humor, what makes this book so enjoyable is
Tiffany. An 11-year-old girl who's smart, brave, clever, and
talented, and yet still worried about boys and upset when others are
laughing at her. I want her to succeed, I want her to get credit,
and yet I understand when she lets things pass her by..."

http://tinyurl.com/77xy2kf


Blogger Ashley reviews Witches Abroad:

"Witches Abroad features the fan-favorite set of characters The
Witches, and while they're not as funny as the Night Watch, say,
they still make me laugh quite a lot. The entire novel is basically
a deconstruction of fairy-tales. Three witches have to prevent the
princess from marrying the prince, and defeat the fairy-godmother,
preventing stories from taking over the world – and they're the
good guys... The pacing is typical Pratchett. There are no chapters,
and the characters are thrown headlong into the action. Like many
Discworld novels, Witches Abroad is a wacky landslide of
inappropriate humor and clever words that gradually spirals into
genuine emotion. It was a bit slow to start, and it didn't get quite
real enough at the end, but otherwise, very enjoyable read.
Pratchett is good at symmetry, and fittingly enough for a story
about the power of stories, he understands how to work them..."

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/100034214


In Baltimore Reads, blogger Monica reviews The Last Continent:

"The Last Continent could just as easily be the first book you read
if you desired... In reality though, the plot is not important. The
reason I enjoy Terry Pratchett is that every book is full of satire.
The Discworld is our world with magic and religious myths, and it
helps point out flaws in our own logic, moral codes, and
stereotypes. This really is my kind of book – there is character
development and a story, but the story is not as important as the
satire and the message (which is simply that we all need to take a
look at ourselves and laugh)..."

http://tinyurl.com/7khzysp


Blogger Tia reviews Going Postal (the novel):

"Going Postal is a Discworld book, which I think is actually the
thing that had scared me off Pratchett previously. Almost everything
he writes is in the Discworld universe, and I had always thought
it'd be a bit of a commitment to get into, but apparently, you can
read the books in any which order you'd like. There might be some of
the same characters, there might even be continuing plot, but the
books are self-contained. I found Going Postal to be an absolutely
delightful place to start... The characters in this book are utterly
delightful. My favorite is probably Mr.Pump, a golem who is Moist's
parole officer and assistant, to keep up the appearance of not being
a criminal. Mr.Pump, being a golem, is rather matter of fact in his
communication, and pronounces the capital letters at the beginning
of each word... The pervasive humor is so very British in a way that
tickled me. I enjoyed it thoroughly, and would certainly recommend
it to any one as a way to get to know Pratchett's writing..."

http://readinginskirts.wordpress.com/2012/01/16/going-postal/


Blogger The Bookworm reviews ISWM:

"Pratchett has done remarkable job with Tiffany, I'm not sure many
old(er) male authors could have written a young girl so
convincingly, but i have always enjoyed Pratchett's work and he has
a talent for getting at what really makes people (or witches) tick.
This book seems to round off Tiffany's story and follows on
brilliantly from The Wintersmith with its hint of fairytale lyricism
in the prose. Pratchett's Discworld characters often pop in and out
of each other's books (Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg have a cameo
in this one) so we may see Tiffany again but if not it's well worth
reading her books in order to receive the full benefit of her story.
Pratchett himself identifies the strength of the story in these
books and these cornerstone storylines with a touch of magic and a
little matter of fact common sense create a wonderful modern
fairytale..."

http://tinyurl.com/87vkp9g


Blogger Greta van der Rol takes on reviewing the Hogfather film:

"I have to say I don't think the book translated well to the screen.
It's just too complex and it's actually a rather dark tale. Mister
Teatime (pronounced 'Te-ah-tim-eh') is an evil nutcase, superbly
played, I must say, by Marc Warren in the film... Sure, there are
some genuinely funny parts to the book. Pratchett 'gets' kids and
the whole sitting on Santa's knee stuff, and the little 's' which is
a shy kid's 'yes'. The notion of a real, raw wood Santa sledge drawn
by four wild boars replacing the curly sleigh and the pink
papier-mache pigs in the department store's Santa grotto is
hilarious. The kids LOVE the boars, which pee on the floor,
generally stink and scare the bejaysus out of management. And the
notion of Death, a seven-foot skeleton with a scythe, taking over
the Hogfather role is mind-boggling. Only TP could have come up with
that. But while there's plenty of amusing by-play on the sides (the
death of rats, the raven, the Cheerful Fairy, the oh-god of
hangovers, the wizards, Ponder Stibbons and HEX etc etc at its
heart, 'Hogfather' is a serious story with an interesting
message..."

http://tinyurl.com/89cg6u3


The Mad Hatter is back, having finished tCoM for the third time:

"When I first set foot in Discworld, I was probably around 12 years
old. At that time, Terry Pratchett spun a tale of whimsy and
happiness. I took note of those things a normal 12-year-old would,
the escape into an alternate reality that was clearly more exciting
than our own. The second time in was just a few years later and not
much had changed, although I do remember finding it much more
comical than before. The interactions between Death and Rincewind
are great. This time is took me much longer to read it than ever
before. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy it as much as previously,
because I did. It was because I spent about half the time reading
and the other half thinking about a passage in the book..."

http://tinyurl.com/74l3oru


Blogger Bodie Parkhurst gives full marks to the timeliness of the
Going Postal DVD:

If I hadn't read Terry Pratchett's book Going Postal way back when
it was first published in 2005 I would have sworn the DVD I watched
tonight was satirizing the actions of Big Business over the last few
years... One of the things I love about the Pratchett movies is that
they look exactly the way they should. Part of this might be that
Pratchett is involved in the production. Part of this surely is that
since some of the novels have been made into graphic novels the set
designers and wardrobe people have resources from which to draw. But
this movie has Something More, and it gets it from the context in
which it will inevitably be watched. As I said, I read the book back
in 2005, and enjoyed it. But as I watched the movie tonight I was
struck by the eerie parallels with our time. Mr. Pratchett is not
only a damned fine writer – he is apparently a prophet as well. I
won't spoil the movie for you because you truly need to get it and
watch it for yourself, but I will say that in writing this book Mr.
Pratchett juggles things like bankrupt post offices, robber barons
who operate within the letter of the law while systematically
robbing the people they profess to serve, the role of marketing in
shaping public opinion, and a multitude of other issues that
apparently plague Ankh-Morpork as well as us – and he never once
drops the ball..."

http://tinyurl.com/826wyjg


...and lastly, the Pratchett Podcast continues. Graeme Sheridan and
Rhys Parton appear to live, breathe and blog all things Pratchett.

Podcast 2, reviewing the telefilm of The Colour of Magic:

http://tinyurl.com/6uvo32k

Podcast 3, reviewing the Hogfather DVD:

http://tinyurl.com/7sg8kgl

To download this episode:

http://recordings.talkshoe.com/TC-113968/TS-573426.mp3

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

17) ACTION REPLAY

17.1 CROWLEY AND AZIRAPHALE'S NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS

Because it never gets old...

http://tinyurl.com/23x67f


17.2 THE PRATCHETT PRIZE AGAIN, AGAIN

Rules and instructions (again) for the next Pratchett Prize:

http://www.terrypratchett.co.uk/?p=1348

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

18) CLOSE

Calling all Rincewinds, Lancre Witches, Watchmen, and anyone else
with an appropriate Discworld costume! Down in Fourecks, there's a
very special party coming up at Melbourne's beautiful State Library
of Victoria:

"Kick off the National Year of Reading with a tea party especially
for book-lovers! Dress up as your favourite book character and join
the Mad Hatter in the Library's Queen's Hall for a glorious
celebration of books and reading. There'll be snacks and drinks
inspired by famous books, plus performers and prizes for the best
costume. Tickets to this free family event will be offered through
the Library's Facebook page and Twitter feed – so become a fan and
keep an eye out for your chance to win."

The event will take place on Sunday 19th February 2012, 11:00am –
1:00pm at Queen's Hall in the Library, Level 3, Main entry, Swanston
St (has wheelchair access), and entry is free.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/State-Library-of-Victoria/32256104331

https://twitter.com/#!/Library_Vic

http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/event/national-year-reading-tea-party

And that's all from us for the moment. Still to come: your first
monthly Discworld horoscope of 2012. Take care, and we'll see you
next month!

– Annie Mac

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

———————————————————————————————————
The End. If you have any questions or requests, write:
interact@...
———————————————————————————————————
Copyright (c) 2012 by Klatchian Foreign Legion

WOSSNAME
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
January 2012 (Volume 15, Issue 1, Post 2)
*****************************************************************

1) YOUR DISCWORLD HOROSCOPE FOR JANUARY
2) CLOSE

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

1) THE NEW DISCWORLD HOROSCOPE
by Fernando Magnifico

[Assistant Editor's note: Dear readers, Fernando Magnifico has taken
a brief leave of absence (not to be confused with the Editor, who
has taken a brief leave of absinthe) to visit a cousin in Fourecks,
and unfortunately has not made it back in time to prepare this
month's horoscope. With the Lady Asterisk unavailable after an
unfortunate accident with a sack of piglets and a jar of honey, we
bring you (at great expense, which will be coming out of the
Editor's bonus) a selection of Mr Magnifico's answers to readers
letters.]

Buongiorno my friends, it is I, Fernando Magnifico, currently
becalmed somewhere in the Widdershins Ocean, thousands of miles from
my astrological tables, writing to you by carrier albatross.
Fernando is ashamed that he cannot take care of all your
astrological needs this month, but do not be afeared, for this month
Fernando shall answer your most excellente letters. But not too
many, for the albatross has the long way to fly!

Ciao bella!

* * *

Dear Fernando,

I am worried about my boss, who is a law enforcement officer of some
standing in Ankh-Morpork. Some time over the last few years, he has
developed unnatural powers, such as the ability to see in the dark.
I am pretty sure he is not a vampire, and naturally this is not
something that you can ask your boss about (especially one who is
likely to go spare), but you can't tell me that it's natural that he
can see when even dwarfs can't see a thing. Fernando, I am concerned
that these are the demonic powers what will lead to no good, or
worse, what if they come from the wrong sort of god?

Signed, an Om-fearing copper


My friend Copper, you must understand that your boss is probably
sensitive about his new powers. Fernando understands this the most
very well, for have not many jealous and small-minded people accused
Fernando of having the demonic powers? They cannot stand for
Fernando to be so much more magnificent than they are, and they do
not understand the many hours Fernando spends each day, with the
exercise, and the muscle training, and the washing of the hair, and
the carefully choosing the most fabulous clothing that shows off
Fernando's magnificent physique for benefit of those who will be
fortunate enough to see him. Those who are not Fernando do not see
how hard it is to be Fernando. But Fernando is not bitter, and he
forgives them. My friend, your boss is probably just like Fernando,
except not as magnificent, and it has probably cost him the most
dearly to gain these powers of which you speak. Fernando imagines
that he must have eaten the lot of carrots. But just in case,
perhaps you should carry around the small bottle of holy water with
you, for you never know if you may need it.


* * *

Attention: Fernando,

Took your advice and moved to Chirm seaside. Been fine 'til last
month. Followed home from sea by giant squid. Cursed thing keeps
eating my Yellowtail Gobblers. Sits in the trees and frightens the
maids. Tried crossbow but put arrow through window of parlour while
wife taking tea with vicar, wife says no more shooting. Don't think
much of such rot m'self, never would have won medal fighting crazed
Chimerians in '62 without crossbow, but wife insists. Asking for
advice to get rid of squid.

Signed,
Colonel Alistair Major-Minor Minimus, Ankh Third Horse Regiment
(Ret.)


My dear Colonel, you have written to the right person, for
Brindisians are the expert on the squid, especially when cooked in
the tomato and basilico sauce like Fernando's sainted mamma does,
but also the expert on dealing with the squid when they become the
over-familiar. My friend, it is most important that you treat the
squid kindly but firmly. Do not try to be cruel, for the squid is
the most stubborn beast, and the more badly you treat him, the more
he will try to win you over with kindness. Or at least, what appears
to be kindness to the squid, which is not always appreciated by
those who are not squiddy. You must instruct your maids not to react
when the squid grabs them from the trees, for the squid he will
interpret their screams as playful shouts. They must give the squid
the sharp rap on the beak with the rolled up newspaper, especially
the weekend edition of the Ankh-Morpork Times, and he will soon get
the message and leave in search of a more friendly family.


* * *

Ping! Fernando, we has the new 25 megagig cache for the clacks,
which is fine, w007! but the crufty MySquidly instance keeps falling
over whenever there are more than 37 clacks on the stack. Grandpa
has replaced the 5/8th gripley like N-squared times, he's such an
old fart, but its like obvious this is a one-banana problem if he'd
listen to moi. It can't be the gripley, it has to be the
reciprocating spin joint. Or maybe the moby filter, or the crab
elbow. Possibly the static threads. How can I get Grandpa to listen
to my wizard instructions?

Signed, Flizzo the D00d, 3rd Assistant Clacks Tech


My friend Flizzo, Fernando understands your frustration, even if he
does not understand your letter! It is the most unfortunate when you
know the solution to the problem and nobody will listen. Or at least
one of many possible solutions to the problem. Fernando is not the
expert on the clacks, but he is the expert on the human nature, and
my friend unless you are as magnificent as Fernando (and let us be
honest, my friend, there is nobody as magnificent as Fernando) you
are unlikely to put people into the mood to listen if you start off
by telling them how stupido they are. Even the stupido people don't
like to be reminded of that. Fernando suggests you start with the
"buttering up" and tell Grandpa how much you admire his work, and if
that fails, put the castor oil and senna in his tea and fix the
problem while he is in the privy.


* * *

My dearest Fernando,

At long last, Mamma and Pappa have given my beloved Brian permission
to marry me, but there is just the one small problem. Fernando,
Brian is from the Reformist Northern Conservative Church of Anoia,
while I am from the Conservative North-Eastern Reformist Church of
Anoia, so as you can imagine the difficulties we have planning the
ceremony. According to Brian's pastor, we have to each stand with
our left foot in a bucket of white sand, symbolising the purity of
our hearts, while Pastor Bottle insists that we stand with our right
foot in a bucket, symbolising the righteousness of our union. What
should we do? We have already ordered the buckets, and Mr. Dibbler
says no refunds.

Hugs and kisses, Miss Cantaloupe Dungoode (soon to be Mrs. Brian
Wardrobe)


Miss Dungoode, or may I call you Cantaloupe, your story has touched
Fernando's heart. How brave you and your Brian must be, to overcome
such obstacles to your love. You remind Fernando of his own life,
for Fernando so often must overcome the obstacles to true love too.
Obstacles like the chaperones who do not understand what it is like
to be young and handsome as Fernando. But do not be afeared, for
Fernando has the solution to your problem: stand with *both* feet in
the bucket, symbolising purity, righteousness, and unity. And it is
the good practice for later, if you wish to make the vino.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

3) CLOSE

And there's more, but not until the next issue. See you soon!

– Annie Mac

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

———————————————————————————————————
If you have any questions or requests, write:
interact@...
———————————————————————————————————
Copyright (c) 2012 by Klatchian Foreign Legion

WOSSNAME
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
February 2012 (Volume 15, Issue 2, Post 1)
********************************************************************
WOSSNAME is a free publication for members of the worldwide
Klatchian Foreign Legion and its affiliates, including the North
American Discworld Society and other continental groups. Are you a
member? Yes, if you sent in your name, country and e-mail address.
Are there any dues? No! As a member of the Klatchian Foreign Legion,
you'd only forget them...
********************************************************************
Editor in Chief: Annie Mac
News Editor: Fiona (not Bruce) Bruce
Newshounds: Vera, Mogg, Sir J of Croydon Below, the Shadow
Staff Writers: Asti, Pitt the Elder, Steven D'Aprano, L.C. Thomas
Convention Reporters: Mithtrethth Hania Ogg et al
Staff Technomancer: Jason Parlevliet
Book Reviews: Drusilla D'Afanguin
Puzzle Editor: Tiff
Bard in Residence: Weird Alice Lancrevic
DW Horoscope: Lady Anaemia Asterisk, Fernando Magnifico
Emergency Staff: Jason Parlevliet
World Membership Director: Steven D'Aprano (in his copious spare
time)
Copyright 2012 by Klatchian Foreign Legion

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

INDEX:

01) QUOTE OF THE MONTH
02) LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
03) "THE LONG EARTH" NEWS
04) SIR PTERRY, BIRD WHISPERER? SECRET GARDEN APPEAL
05) GOOD OMENS FOR A FREEBIE
06) PTERRY AND ALZHEIMER'S NEWS
07) NEW ISSUE OF EARLY DISCWORLD PAPERBACKS
08) "GOOD OMENS" DREAM CAST?
09) DISCWORLD GAMES NEWS
10) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS
11) DISCWORLD ARTS AND CRAFTS NEWS
12) REVIEW: NIGHT WATCH
13) DISCWORLD CONVENTION NEWS
14) DISCWORLD GROUPS MEETING NEWS
15) TURTLES ALL THE WAY... TO DINNER
16) IMAGES OF THE MONTH
17) DISCWORLD: BIG IN MARIBYRNONG
18) DISCWORLD AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE
19) CLOSE

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

01) QUOTE OF THE MONTH

"To misquote the immortal Terry Pratchett – using more than one
exclamation mark is the sign of a deranged mind while using more
than three is a pretty good indication that bystanders should begin
planning a break for the treeline."

– sportswriter Evan Fanning quoting Alex Hanton in The Guardian

["Immortal"? We like that idea very much! – Ed.]

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

02) LETTER FROM YOUR EDITOR

Once again, WOSSNAME is coming to you from your Editor's sickbay (I
know, boring, isn't it). Here be a few odds and sods to start you
off...

Pratchett Pieces is an email discussion group worth noting. Co-
created by Michelle Vitard, whose review of the *other* Pratchett
Pieces (the recent world premiere at Unseen Theatre) is featured in
Item 10 this month, it lives here:

https://plus.google.com/113224978031189531427/posts

Snuff continues to top the Locus bestsellers list in hardcover:

http://tinyurl.com/89vk4lv

Open sourcers VideoLAN have just released new media player software
– called Twoflower!

http://www.videolan.org/vlc/releases/2.0.0.html

Actor Mike Fenton Stevens has been recording the Science of
Discworld books for audiobook release. Here he is in the recording
booth, looking pleased with his progress:

http://p.twimg.com/AkcL_BwCMAA7I-j.jpg

...and on with the show. This month we have quite a lot of activity
in the Discworld Plays News section, and another big story is the
officially leaked synopsis and cover for the forthcoming Pratchett-
Barnes novel The Long Earth, which a little birdie tells me is truly
superb.

Speaking of little birdies, if you haven't seen the amazing pictures
of Sir Pterry with starlings and owls at Secret World yet, there are
links to them (and more!) below. Enjoy!

– Annie Mac

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

03) "THE LONG EARTH" NEWS

3.1 THE LONG EARTH LONG SYNOPSIS!

As posted on terrypratchett.co.uk:

The possibilities are endless (just be careful what you wish for...)

1916: the Western Front, France. Private Percy Blakeney wakes up. He
is lying on fresh spring grass. He can hear birdsong, and the wind
in the leaves in the trees. Where has the mud, blood and blasted
landscape of No man's Land gone?

2015: Madison, Wisconsin. Cop Monica Jansson has returned to the
burned-out home of one Willis Linsay, a reclusive and some said mad,
others dangerous, scientist. It was arson but, as is often the way,
the firemen seem to have caused more damage than the fire itself.
Stepping through the wreck of a house, there's no sign of any human
remains but on the mantelpiece Monica finds a curious gadget - a
box, containing some wiring, a three-way switch and a...potato. It
is the prototype of an invention that Linsay called a 'stepper'. An
invention he put up on the web for all the world to see, and use, an
invention that would to change the way mankind viewed his world
Earth for ever. And that's an understatement if ever there was
one...

...because the stepper allowed the person using it to step sideways
into another America, another Earth, and if you kept on stepping,
you kept on entering even more Earths...this is the Long Earth. It's
our our Earth but one of chain of parallel worlds, lying side by
side each differing from its neighbour by really very little (or
actually quite a lot). It's an infinite chain, offering 'steppers'
an infinite landscape of infinite possibilities. And the further
away you travel, the stranger - and sometimes more dangerous - the
Earths get. The sun and moon always shine, the basic laws of physics
are the same. However, the chance events which have shaped our
particular Earth, such as the dinosaur-killer asteroid impact, might
not have happened and things may well have turned out rather
differently.

But, until Willis Linsay invented his stepper, only our Earth hosted
mankind...or so we thought. Because it turns out there are some
people who are natural 'steppers', who don't need his invention and
now the great migration has begun...

http://www.terrypratchett.co.uk/index.php/books/the-long-earth


3.2 THE LONG EARTH COVER REVEAL!

http://tinyurl.com/78v37em

"The (95% completed) cover artwork for the upcoming novel The Long
Earth has been revealed! Terry Pratchett and science fiction giant
Stephen Baxter are combining forces to write this first novel in an
astonishing, mind-bending new series... The Long Earth will be
published in the UK on 21st June 2012 and 19th June 2012 in the
US..."

For further details about The Long Earth over the coming months
leading up to publication, go to:

https://www.facebook.com/pratchett

http://tinyurl.com/7u3r94c

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

04) SECRET WORLD "CALL OF THE WILD" APPEAL

Secret World, the wildlife rescue centre often featured in WOSSNAME,
has launched a new appeal to raise funds for a wildlife teaching
hospital and to continue and expand their vital work in rescuing and
preserving injured and orphaned wildlife. The appeal was co-launched
and endorsed by Sir Pterry. Donations can go towards everything from
blenders for preparing animal feeds to an X-ray unit for the
proposed hospital. A selection of articles are below.

For further information on the appeal, go to:

http://www.secretworld.org/fundraising_callofthewild.html


From This is Somerset:

"The fantasy writer, 63, spoke out in an effort to inspire nature-
lovers to look after endangered creatures such as the hedgehog and
the sparrow. He passionately backed a campaign to build a new
£4.4million wildlife teaching hospital – which would include an
education centre to train young vets... Sir Terry said: 'Orphaned by
traffic, hurt by our pollution and rubbish and forced out of their
natural habitats by our developments, Britain's wildlife is in
serious decline. So much so that even the sparrow and the much-loved
hedgehog are endangered. Fifty years ago there were 30 million
hedgehogs in Britain but now there is only an estimated 1.1 million
– so if we carry on at this rate they could be extinct in ten
years. Yet when humans decide to act they succeed in reversing the
trend. I urge everyone to play their part.'... Pauline Kidner,
Secret World founder, said Britain's wildlife had been hard hit by
the speed of development in rural areas. She said: 'We will receive
around 5,000 injured or orphaned animals and birds over the coming
year, yet when wildlife needs people's support most – the nation
is increasingly losing touch with nature....'"

(contains a lovely photo of Pterry with a hedgehog)

http://tinyurl.com/7jguejj


From The Telegraph:

"Sir Terry said: 'Orphaned by traffic, hurt by our pollution and
rubbish and forced out of their natural habitats by our
developments, Britain's wildlife is in serious decline...' Sir Terry
was joined by television naturalists Mike Dilger, Simon King, Steve
Backshall, Chris Packam and Michaela Strachan in backing the Call of
the Wild Appeal to raise money for the hospital."

http://tinyurl.com/6qmfcfs


From the Burnham and Highbridge Weekly News:

"The nationally-renowned rescue centre launched its Call of the Wild
Appeal with the help of fantasy author Sir Terry Pratchett and the
Weekly News is calling on readers to dig deep and back the cause.
Launching the fundraising drive on Tuesday, Sir Terry, 63, said:
'Every so often when you work with wildlife something happens to
make you feel better about the world. I'm supporting this enterprise
because I feel we have to get the kids interested in wildlife...'"

http://tinyurl.com/7dmkhhs


From Somerset's Heart Radio newsround:

"The West Country is to have a new Wildlife Teaching Hospital and
Education Centre to save more wildlife and provide practical
experience for trainee vets from across the UK, and to inspire the
region's youngsters by giving them direct access to the natural
world... The hospital is to be developed at the Secret World
Wildlife Rescue Centre, near Highbridge, where a Call of the Wild
Appeal to raise £4.4 million to help fund the project and keep the
centre running over the next two years has been launched... Secret
World founder Pauline Kidner, said much of Britain's wildlife was in
decline and the South West had been particularly hard hit because
while being the largest rural region, it had also been the fastest
developing over the past 20 years...

"When completed, the new  teaching hospital will include an
operating theatre, examination, preparation and x-ray rooms with a
first floor laboratory, lecture theatre and library. It will give
Secret World the facilities to provide all veterinary care on one
site, to bring faster relief to suffering wildlife. An IT hook-up
will allow up to 120 resident students a year to watch procedures
being performed by the hospital's in-house veterinary surgeon in the
operating theatre below...

"As part of its Call of the Wild Appeal, the charity will be
launching a number of fund raising initiatives over the coming
months and is asking individuals and companies from all over the
region to send for an information pack and get involved. For further
information on the appeal, email save@... or visit
www.secretworld.org and click on the Call of the Wild link. It costs
£135 to rescue an animal or bird and £15 to inspire another child
so all funds raised will help to keep Secret World going...'

http://tinyurl.com/7b8txra


From This is Bristol:

"The author, who began his career in the city, is backing a £4.4
million appeal to build a teaching hospital at Secret World Wildlife
Rescue Centre... Rescued animals include a mute swan that crash-
landed onto the M32 close to Fishponds having mistaken the road for
a river and a hedgehog who wandered into a car dealership in Winter-
stoke Road.."

http://tinyurl.com/726fzmm


From the Weston and Somerset Mercury:

"Pauline said £2.2million has already been pledged for the hospital
and the charity is encouraging others to get involved. She said: 'We
all got to thinking that, after all of our work at the centre, there
needs to be a future in it otherwise everything we have achieved
could be lost. We have to make sure Secret World has a secure home.
We can educate people through the centre and we want to pass on that
knowledge.'"

http://tinyurl.com/7jljt2r


meanwhile, Nottingham's chad.co.uk has a hedgehog focus:

"Author Sir Terry Pratchett spoke about the issue during the site
visit for the proposed Secret World Wildlife Rescue Centre, in East
Huntspill, Somerset earlier this week. He estimates that 50 years
ago there were 30 million hedgehogs in Britain but now there is only
an estimated 1.1 million. Paul Cook, senior ranger at Sherwood
Forest National Nature Reserve, which is managed by Nottinghamshire
County Council, said: 'The life of a hedgehog can be quite fragile.
Even this time of year – hibernation – is fraught with problems
– a hedgehog can perish if its body weight is too much or too
little. Out of hibernation season, I have only seen one hedgehog in
the forest here in the last few years because there are more
predatory creatures such as foxes, badgers and birds of prey which
can target them. However, a garden environment is great for
hedgehogs – people may want to leave a corner of their garden full
of decomposing leaves rather than throw the leaves away as that
provides a perfect habitat for hibernating hedgehogs. They are also
excellent at pest control as they target slugs and snails – again
families could consider getting non-toxic pellets for these pests as
they will not harm hedgehogs and are also kind to household pets..."

http://tinyurl.com/83nn9yp


...and don't forget the badger! In the Weston Mercury:

"Secret World has received one of its tiniest badger cubs ever, just
days after author Sir Terry Pratchett launched its £4.4million
appeal for a wildlife hospital. The cub, named Hope, weighed just
100g and was found with a grown female badger who was injured and
sheltering in a garden summerhouse in Crewkerne, near Yeovil. This
rescue comes shortly after the East Huntspill-based charity launched
its Call of the Wild Appeal, along with Discworld author Sir Terry,
to build a new wildlife hospital at the centre. Secret World staff
discovered the badger pair were not mother and daughter and Hope is
now being fed by a syringe..."

(with lovely photos of Hope the badger)

http://tinyurl.com/7lt3af7


...not to mention the dormouse. In The Sun:

"The adorable creature found himself at a tea party in the cafe in
Lyme Regis, Dorset, just like the cute critter in Lewis Carroll's
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. He was scooped up by a visitor and
taken to the Secret World Wildlife Rescue Centre, near Highbridge in
Somerset, where he promptly went into hibernation. Staff put the
furry dormouse inside the shell of a coconut. The snoring mouse was
woken briefly when famous author Sir Terry Pratchett visited the
centre to launch a £4.4million Call of the Wild Appeal for a new
animal hospital. Charity founder Pauline Kidner said the animal
occasionally woke briefly for a catkin snack before nodding off
again. He will be returned to Lyme, a well-known dormouse habitat,
in the spring..."

http://tinyurl.com/723rv4z

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

05) GOOD OMENS RELEASING INTO THE WILD...

Good Omens is one of the 25 titles that will be given away on World
Book Night, 23 April 2012:

http://tinyurl.com/6rxowv4

For more information visit the World Book Night website:

http://www.worldbooknight.org/

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

06) PTERRY AND ALZHEIMER'S NEWS

The marvellous, moving, and award-winning documentary Terry
Pratchett: Living with Alzheimer's is now available on DVD. Amazon
UK are offering it for £11.99 with free UK delivery, and there are
many other options. Highly recommended!

http://tinyurl.com/8a5rl2j

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

07) EARLY DISCWORLD PAPERBACKS WITH REVAMPED JOSH KIRBY COVERS

The Colour of Magic, The Light Fantastic, Equal Rites, Mort, and
Sourcery will be re-released in June as "B-format paperbacks".
Signed copies of all five novels will be available to pre-order from
PJSM Prints from May.

To view facsimiles of the five "new" covers, go to:

http://www.pjsmprints.com/news/

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

08) GOOD OMENS DREAM CAST

Some fascinating suggestions here, although your Editor wishes to
point out that they left out our own household favourites for
Aziraphale and Crowley, namely Anthony Stewart Head and James
Callis:

http://tinyurl.com/7cnao3d

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

09) DISCWORLD GAMES NEWS

9.1 ANKH-MORPORK NEWS

A very special offer from Treefrog Games This month and next month!
Here's Treefrog's Martin Wallace:

"Treefrog has a special offer for the next two months. From now
until the end of March all games will be shipped free of charge.
This also means the collector's and deluxe editions are cheaper to
buy now.

Also, Treefrog will have a presence at the Australian Games Expo in
Sydney this June. Their main featured product will be the Discworld
game. Treefrog are "looking for folks who might be willing to help
run the stand in return for free games." Interested? Then do contact
Martin:

martin (at) treefroggames.com


Our recent WOSSNAME exclusive review of Ankh-Morpork by Adam van
Langenberg is now featured on the gaming site Subterranean Death
Cult, with extra added iconographs!

http://tinyurl.com/7mq6s8r


9.2 GUARDS! GUARDS!, AN APOLOGY

Owing to illness in our home and amongst our friends, the marathon
session of Guards! Guards! *still* hasn't taken place. Stay tuned.
In the meantime, you can always go to:

www.guardsguards.com
www.facebook.com/guardsguards

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

10) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS

10.1.1 REMINDER: MONSTROUS REGIMENT IN CARDIFF

Act One Cardiff's presentation of Monstrous Regiment continues
through the 25th of February.

When: 22nd-25th February 2012
Venue: The Gate Arts and Community Centre, Keppoch Street, Roath,
Cardiff
Time: 7.30pm (Saturday matinee 2.30pm)
Tickets: £7 (£5 Concession)
http://www.thegate.org.uk/buy-tickets-2/
(£1.50 admin fee online/phone payments)
Phone and buy from The Gate Box Office on (029) 2048 3344 (card
payment) Visit Reception @ The Gate, Keppoch St, Roath, Cardiff CF24
3JW (card or cash)

And there's a very special meal deal, too:

"Why not add to your Theatre experience by enjoying a meal before
you see your show? Come and enjoy our fantastic offer of two meals
for £9.95 (extra £2.50 supplement, per person, for steak choice)
at our Mad Hatters Restaurant, within The Gates Arts Theatre. Sit
down in our relaxing, candle-lit room and enjoy pastas, sharing
platters, hot salads, soups and much more. Please see our full menu
at

http://www.madhatters-catering.com/Evening%20Menu1.pdf

"To qualify for this offer, advance bookings are required. Please
call our booking line on 02920 431294, between 9am-5pm, so that we
can reserve a table for you."

http://www.thegate.org.uk/

...and here be the updated production blog:

http://eskarina54.tumblr.com/


10.2 TAMAHER THE MUSICAL IN ILKLEY

Ilkley Grammar School students will present their all-singing, all-
dancing production of The Amazing Maurice And His Educated Rodents
musical, choreographed by sixth-form student and lifelong dancer
Maddy Hatfield-Allen. Work on the musical has involved around a
tenth of the school's population, including more than 100 members of
the cast and orchestra.

When: 28th February to 1st March 2012
Venue: Kings Hall, Ilkley
Tickets: £7.50 (£5 concessions), available from the Grove
Bookshop, Ilkley Visitor information Centre and Ilkley Grammar
School, or phone (01943) 608424.

http://tinyurl.com/7d5xfmu


10.3 MASKERADE IN BASILDON

The Thalian Theatre Group will perform their production of Maskerade
in March.

When: Wednesday 14th March to Saturday 17th March 2012
Venue: Mirren Studio, Towngate Theatre, Basildon, Essex
Time: 8pm
Tickets: £9.50 (£8.50 concessions) for the Wednesday and Thursday
performances, and £11.50 (£10.50 concessions) for the Friday and
Saturday. Tickets are available from John on 07788 997497, or email
thaliantg@...


10.4 WYRD SISTERS IN SHERBORNE

The Amateur Players of Sherborne will present their production of
Wyrd Sisters in late March.

When: Thursday 29th - Saturday 31st March 2012
Venue: Digby Hall, Sherborne, Dorset
Time: 7.30 pm
Tickets: £7.50 (Students £4). Tickets will be on sale in March.

http://www.aps-sherborne.co.uk/forthcoming-productions.html


10.5 AN APPEAL IN SODBURY!

The Sodbury Players, who will be putting on their production of
Guards! Guards! this May, are desperately seeking a new place to
craft their props and sets:

"We need your help! Sodbury Players have just had an incredibly
successful run of 'Aladdin' at Chipping Sodbury Town Hall, selling
out all 11 performances but future productions are now in jeopardy.

"Part of the group's success is down to our big bright sets and
backcloths that transport the audience to that magical location, be
it a fairytale castle or inside a mystical cave. For nearly 10
years, we have been fortunate enough to rent some huts in Chipping
Sodbury from the Town Lands Charity in order to build and paint our
scenery but due to safety concerns with the building, this is no
longer possible.

Sadly large cracks have been found in the roof and the walls are
bowing. A building surveyor has inspected them and found that it is
not financially viable to attempt any repairs. Asbestos has also
been found which adds more complications and health concerns. We
thank the Town Lands Charity for their support over the last decade
with allowing us to use these huts but now we're in need of another
space locally where we can build, paint and store our sets and
props.

"We're calling out to local people to see if they can help. We're
looking to rent around 1500-3000 sq ft of space within a few miles
of Yate/Sodbury. It could be industrial space, old warehousing
space or maybe even a small plot of land on which we could build our
own unit.

"If you can help in any way, please get in touch with Sodbury
Players as soon as you can by calling Diane on: 0844 3320230."

http://www.sodburyplayers.org.uk/


10.6 REVIEW: PRATCHETT PIECES THREE IN ADELAIDE

Especially for WOSSNAME, a review of the recent Unseen Theatre
Company production, by Michelle Vitard:

Professor Sir Terry Pratchett is an author much beloved by fans all
over the world, especially for his Discworld series. So much so that
there are not only fan groups and reading groups and internet forums
but also monthly newsletters, Discworld Conventions and even amateur
theatre groups dedicated to Pratchett's works. In Adelaide
Pratchett/Discworld fans gather at the Bakehouse Theatre to
experience the works of Pratchett through the Unseen Theatre Company
under the direction of Pamela Munt. 2012 is promising to be a
splendiferous year for Munt and her inspired ensemble cast judging
from their first offering of 5 one-act plays entitled Pratchett
Pieces Three also part of the 2012 Adelaide Fringe Festival.

These plays in order of performance are:

Death And What Comes Next credited as a world premiere, adapted as a
2 person piece, Death's mask was the stand out performance for me.

The Trial known as short story The Sea and Little Fishes full cast,
with as many scenes as to warrant a second act. In fact they did
such a great job with this story that I'd like to see Munt flesh out
the story more, as the audience interest supports a full length
version. Stand out performances by Michelle Wichelo (Nanny Ogg) and
of course Pamela Munt was "nice" in her recurring role as Granny
Weatherwax.

Hollywood Chickens non-Discworld in setting, but the audience was
familiar with "in-joke" reference to Queen's Greatest Hits cassette
tapes found strewn on a highway which had them chuckling. The
chickens were fabulous and stand out performance from Kate Hall as
"Research Officer".

Turntables Of The Night non-Discworld in setting but with the oh-so-
familiar character of Death (Hugh O'Connor) getting his groove on.
Paul Messenger's (and I quote) "Eighties Shouty Man" voice held the
story together and drew the audience in beautifully with the aid of
Pratchett's well-timed gags.

A Collegiate Casting out Of Devilish Devices all the fellas have got
their wizard's hats on for this one and just enough time to sort
through some UU business and Pratchett's favourite digs at
committees, books for having been written and the metaphorical door
always being open, before the tea trolley arrives.

A special mention must go to Samm Blackmore who as Pratchett's
famous Footnote (asterisk) acted as Narrator, sewing the seams of
very diverse Acts together with confidence, poise and good humour.

As for the production, the sound queues and song choices were all
appropriately amusing and well-timed. The lighting design has most
definitely improved and so has the seating. The Bakehouse theatre
stage itself is quite an intimate affair with seating for less than
100 and a licensed bar where on occasion you might run into C. M. O.
T. Dibbler during intermission and sample his "gourmet" fare.

Opening Night Proceeds were donated to Alzheimer's Australia SA in
recognition of Terry Pratchett's own fundraising for Alzheimer's
cause and cure research. The company currently has a seasoned cast
who have now performed together on about four other occasions, give
or take a cast member, and are comfortable with the space and each
other. It seems the amateur actors' talent is blossoming under
Pamela Munt's direction, and it is difficult to pick out an actor to
praise as they do work so well together that the ensemble becomes
more than just the sum of its parts.


10.7 REVIEWS: MASKERADE IN SHEFFIELD AND IN WALLINGFORD

According to reviewers, it's a Must Do Better,sadly...

By Ellen Nicholls at Forge Today:

"Ending with a comical duel and death scene, Maskerade is a play
which pokes fun at opera by mimicking its exaggerated characters,
nonsensical plots and untalented prima donnas. Unfortunately, The
Company turned Pratchett's play from a light-hearted spoof of
musical theatre into a garish, amateur pantomime with cringe worthy
moments of misplaced comedy. What was supposed to be the weaving of
two subplots in a comic blending of fantasy and reality, became a
muddled narrative which proved confusing and entirely disengaging...
The only person worthy of merit was Ken Rowe, who played Nanny Ogg
with confidence and brilliant comic timing in the face of the
unnatural and forced ham acting of his peers..."

http://forgetoday.com/fuse/review-maskerade/


An uncredited review in The Star:

"The Company's latest outing is not one of their finest. The play is
slow and plodding and the jokes very hit and miss. I enjoyed
director Emma Portus's production of Pratchett's Wyrd Sisters but
this time the script isn't up to scratch. The acting however is
sound and the characters well cast. Most stage time is taken by the
two witches Granny Weatherwax, played by Sara James and Nanny Ogg
(Ken Rowe). The latter enjoys some of the better lines... Mr
Salzella played by Neil Sullivan has a fine line in laconic
irony..."

http://tinyurl.com/6rvd6oh


...but apparently things went better in Wallingford, at the Sinodun
Players' production in January. Hannah Smithson's review contains a
lot of iconographs of the production, which really do look rather
good:

"Directed by Paul Cleverly, this stage adaption was highly
professional, with an ever changing set, including clever adaptions
of classic stage props as well as a digital screen backdrop used for
special effects for when Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax embark on
their coach journeys. Accompanied by fantastic costumes and a
slight hint of song from the actual musical the play was a well-
rounded culmination of humorous satire alongside a more serious
moral of hiding behind invisible masks... The engaging parody of the
theatre within the theatre helped create the atmosphere in the wings
of the Corn Exchange in Wallingford. The chandelier hung, as the
audience waited for the terrible moment it came down. It remained
stable till the end of the show, that was perhaps my only
disappointment. But could it really beat the Chandelier at Her
Majesty's Theatre. Probably not. But then this was not the Phantom
of the Opera. This was simply great acting, a fantastically
delivered storyline in one of Pratchett's fabulous fantasy worlds
and quite frankly, downright good entertainment!..."

http://hannahsmithson.wordpress.com/2012/02/07/phantom-opera/


10.8 REVIEW: LORDS AND LADIES IN LICHFIELD

By Phil Preece on Lichfield Live:

"With its clever sets, original costumes and make-up (especially the
punky elves) plus the myriad detailed sound and lighting cues one
can only guess at the hard work that has gone into it overall. If
the complex plot's occasionally a little opaque for those of us not
fully initiated into Mr. Pratchett's Discworld it doesn't really
matter because there are gags aplenty and droll wordplay that gives
this show a kind of mystical panto aura. And if the proceedings show
even the slightest sign of turning dull [director] Mr Titley
introduces some brisk slapstick business to keep the bus rolling
merrily along... Gina Martin and Adrienne Swallow as the two
getting-on-a-bit witches, Gina delightfully dignified as the savant
who ultimately saves the day and Adrienne vivaciously down-to-earth
as the bucolic earth-mother who may have magic powers but isn't
averse to a bit of rumpy-pumpy (well, it's that kind of show –
think the Archers on acid). The overall effect is enhanced by the
presence of a lovely band of rustics (dead ringers for Shakespeare's
comic mechanicals) whose Morris-dancing tour de force got the
loudest applause of the night. But the mainstay of the show is Sarah
Stanley as Magrat Garlick the pretty young witch and fiancee of King
Verence (Ian Davies). Ms. Stanley carries this role which links the
whole play together seemingly effortlessly, from her naive village-
girl beginnings to her ultimate assumption of Queenly power that
brings happy fruitfulness to her new kingdom..."

http://tinyurl.com/8xlrmht


10.9 MORE ON MAURICE

On A.C. Black's website, the TAMAHER: the Musical performance pack
is available for £26.99  – three pounds lower than recommended
retail price.

http://tinyurl.com/7ujthd9

I have to say that the performance pack is superb, as is the music.
Possibly the very best of Discworld-related musical theatre so far.
A full review follows soon! – Ed.


10.10 TWENTY YEAR ANNIVERSARY PRODUCTION IN ABINGDON

"For our next Discworld show, and to mark twenty years of staging
Discworld, we're doing a new staging of Stephen Briggs' published
adaptation of GUARDS! GUARDS! More news – on dates and tickets –
soon!"

http://www.studiotheatreclub.com/CurrentPlans.html

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

11) DISCWORLD ARTS AND CRAFTS NEWS

11.1 AT LAST, DISCWORLD E-CARDS!

The Discworld Emporium now offer a selection of Discworld-themed
animated e-cards, and very clever they are indeed! There are four
different themes: Nac mac Feegles (rampaging through fairyland!),
Igor, the Assassins and Time. Each card can be previewed, and each
can be personalised before sending. The cards are priced at £1.50
each. A bit steep, but well worth it!

For more information, and to send, go to:

http://discworldemporium.com/ecards/

Note: to preview or view the cards, you'll need Flash on your Hex,
meaning that can't be accessed via an iPad or iPhone.


11.2 REASONS TO BE CHEERY!

There are hats, and there are hats, as every wiz(z)ard knows. But
never have there been hats like these amazing and affordable
creations! Just the ticket for a Dwarf who's having a bad beard day,
or a Roundworld human who wants to go to a Discworld party or
convention toting the axe of his or her grandfather...

http://tinyurl.com/87ls6t9

A few more photos here:

http://tinyurl.com/7j5tvpo

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

12) YOUNG READER REVIEW: NIGHT WATCH

Reviewed by Cate in The Guardian's young reader book club:

"'Night Watch', my favourite book so far, combines both the darkness
and the humor. It's about the city guards or more specifically, Sam
Vimes, and how the city guards came to be what they are. If you
haven't read any other books on the city watch, you'll probably be
okay. If you have, but you've only read 'Guards Guards', or another
of the earlier ones, you probably will get confused. Just a
warning... It is, like all Discworld stories, a complicated and
potentially grim scenario. In places, it is. But for the most part
it is incredibly funny and entertaining, even in the midst of chaos.
It's even more brilliant than usual, however, because of the younger
versions of all our most loved characters. They add comedic value
and background information. It's surprising and emotional. It paints
an even more detailed picture of Vimes – who was one of my
favourite characters already. Not only does it do that, but is also
pokes fun at every time travelling tale there's ever been. Well,
that's what it feels like..."

http://tinyurl.com/88lxx8f

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

13) DISCWORLD CONVENTION NEWS

13.1 WINCANTON SPRING EVENT 2012

"The next Discworld event in our calendar will be on the 5th and 6th
May 2012 in our hometown, Wincanton. This event is cosier and more
relaxed than our Hogswatch weekends, but is nonetheless bursting
with active ingredients and Pratchetty goodness to keep the
Discworld fan energised and enlightened! In a tenuous tribute to
this year's forthcoming Roundworld events, the Spring Fling shall
curtsey to the Queen's Jubilee and, er, squat thrust to the Olympics
with a Mr Shine Him Diamond/Gods theme. May trolls and deities
abound!"

http://www.discworldemporium.com/

13.2 DWCON 2012 NEWS

DWCon 2012 is now sold out. For those of you lucky enough to be
going, or just curious about what merchandise is available for
conventiongoers, the online shop is now open. Don't you just love a
little shop?

http://www.zazzle.co.uk/discworldconvention

There are now three editions of DWCon's News of the Disc available
for download:

http://www.dwcon.org/pages/38079/news-disc


13.3 SADWCON NEWS

This year's inaugural South African Discworld Convention will be on
a little later than the advertised time. Given the high quality of
the SADWCON Event, it will be worth waiting for though! Their
announcement:

The Turtle Moves ...

Forever onwards, towards the final destination, but there are may
interesting sights to be seen on the way. And one of those sights is
approaching; if you look to your left you might catch a glimpse of
it in the distance. Table Mountain, Cape Town.

But it seems that now the turtle will be taking the scenic route. We
have run into some difficulties, the one at the top of the list
being the delay in the processing of our charity status. This
boulder in our progress has caused an avalanche of other issues, and
has resulted in us being unable to move ahead with our plans at the
speed with which we had hoped to be able to move. So we had two
choices – either have a mediocre convention this year, or to have an
amazing convention at a later date. We have decided to go with the
latter choice – that of an incredible convention at a later date ...

So now we're going the scenic route – the long way around, but more
enjoyable. We have the scenery to look forward to, as well as
smaller events and days of fun. So keep your eyes open for
interesting spectacles and gatherings that will be announced. But do
we get to see the elephants?

Take part in the fun, be part of the planning – SADWCON 2014

Goddes and Men Saide It Was Notte To Bee, But They
Would Notte Listen!
Thys wille shok you!
With a 1,000 elephants!

http://sadwcon.org/

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

14) DISCWORLD GROUPS MEETING NEWS

The City of Small Gods Terry Pratchett Fan Club meets on the last
Thursday of the month from 6.30pm at the Ed Castle, 233 Currie St,
Adelaide (South Australia). Details, discussions and organisation of
extra events (such as play outings) are held on their email mailing
list, so do sign up at:

https://groups.google.com/group/adelaide-discworld-fans

*

The next meeting of the Broken Drummers, London's original Discworld
meeting group, will be from 7pm on 5th March 2012 at the Monkey
Puzzle, 30 Southwick Street, London W2 1JQ.

http://www.steeljam.co.uk/brokendrummers/

*

Drummers Downunder meet on the first Monday of every month in Sydney
at Maloneys, corner of Pitt & Goulburn Streets, at 6.30pm. The next
meeting will be on 5th March 2012. For more information, contact
Sue (aka Granny Weatherwax) on kenworthys@...

*

Perth Drummers meet on the traditional of first Monday of the month.
The next meeting will be from 6pm on 5th March 2012 at The Vic
Hotel, 226 Hay St, Subiaco. For more information contact:

Daniel Hatton at daniel_j_hatton@...

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

15) DISCWORLD... RESTAURANT?!

A shopping mall in Bulgaria is perhaps not the first place one would
think to find a Discworld-themed restaurant, but guess what? That's
exactly what and where "A'Tuin" is! And the descriptive text on the
mall's website is charming, in its English translation:

"Our idea is to embark together on a interesting and colourful
adventure, all aboard on the back of the giant turtle A'Tuin from
Terry Pratchet's Discworld books and steer away from the hasty and
stressful city. If you grant us faith, we will do everything in our
power to respond to all your needs with special offers, loyal
customer programmes and pampers for the most exclusive of tastes..."

http://tinyurl.com/7ph9ose

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

16) IMAGES OF THE MONTH

What birds? On PJSM Prints, a scan of a newspaper photo of Pterry at
Secret World, sporting some unusual headwear:

http://www.pjsmprints.com/images/news/february-2012-01.jpg

...and with less avian headwear but accessorising with a lovely owl:

http://www.pjsmprints.com/images/news/february-2012-02.jpg

...and undecorated, but looking serious, at the launch of Secret
World's Call of the Wild appeal:

http://p.twimg.com/AkfFQw8CMAEPzyw.jpg

...and a very lovely photo:

http://tinyurl.com/7j38rgc
(read the comments!)


Fan artist SM9T8, whose name is probably Charles Smith, has created
a charming map of the Sto Plains and other familiar pieces of the
Disc:

http://sm9t8.deviantart.com/gallery/29423274#/d3ado32

http://sm9t8.deviantart.com/gallery/29423274#/d3i8944


...and last, the A'Tuin restaurant logo in English:

http://tinyurl.com/72sx8vg

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

17) DISCWORLD: BIG IN MARIBYRNONG

...and, no doubt, other Fourecksian libraries:

"Most of his books are set in a fantasy world known as the
Discworld: a flat disc of land supported on the backs of four giant
elephants who, in turn, ride through space on the back of the giant
turtle, A'Tuin. However, this fantastical scenario belies the true
nature of Pratchett's work which is concerned with real life issues
both historical and contemporary. Over Pratchett's large body of
work within the Discworld he has addressed such issues as: the role
and responsibility of media in society, the difference between
politics and governance, the authority and power of officers versus
soldiers during wartime and mob mentality. However, that makes his
work sound serious. Ultimately Pratchett crafts colourful, funny,
easy to read stories that simultaneously explore more serious issues
for those who care to listen. I happily recommend Terry Pratchett
to teenagers and adults alike..."

http://tinyurl.com/7d334cz

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

18) DISCWORLD AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE

On Reading to Our Kids, blogger Glenn reviews Wintersmith:

"These Tiffany books are aimed at a child/teenage audience (I think
they're classified as 'Young Adult Fiction'), so it has less
violence and innuendo than in some of the other Discworld novels.
It does mention the Feegles and their 'fightin' an boozin'' where
they get 'pished' (I had to explain those last two). Also, there are
some interesting themes introduced in this book. Essentially the
Wintersmith, i.e. the anthropomorphic personification of Winter,
falls in love with Tiffany. This is the first time in the Tiffany
books that romantic love is really talked about openly. It was
hinted at in Hat Full of Sky, but never really gone into. In this
one Tiffany has to deal with not only the Wintersmith's feelings for
her, but also her own confusion around how she feels about that,
plus her definitely-not-boyfriend-just-a-boy-who-she-writes-to
Roland... I've read all the Tiffany books previously (actually
there's only a couple of the Discworld books I haven't read) so I
get a lot of pleasure anticipating my kids' reactions to the
sections that are coming up. The book picks up the pace after this,
with Annagramma's troubles, the snow and then confronting the
Wintersmith. I'm really interested to see what Alanah makes of this
one..."

http://tinyurl.com/772n984

"I think it's safe to say that Alanah's favourite part of the last
part is when Rob Anybody confronts his 'heroic' task of reading a
book... It took a second reading for her to recognise it, but then a
huge grin appeared on her face as she realised where it was from.
It's from the book Where's My Cow, the children's book Pratchett
created for Samuel Vimes to read to his son in Thud. My kids got me
Where's My Cow for me for father's day a few years ago, they were
thrilled to be able to buy me a book that actually looked
interesting for a change, instead of those boring books with only
words in that Mummy buys for me! Sarah now assures me she's spent
the rest of the day yelling 'Where's ma coo!!!'

http://tinyurl.com/7jawwwo


Blogger and would-be novelist James T Kelly contemplates the
Pratchett Prize:

"There's a lot of guff in there about alternate Earths (I think
that's thrown in there to confuse people!) but it all seems to
boil down to this: the story 'must be theoretically possible on
some version of the past, present or future of a planet Earth.'
This is the muddiest part of the competition. After all, aren't
Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and Star Wars all theoretically
possible? The winners of last year's competition are described as
'A dazzling, tragi-comic tale of childhood wonder, time-travelling
poets and theoretical physics' and 'a comedic tale of zombie
animals overrunning the UK'. This one's a judgement call, I'm
afraid. Your guess is as good as mine..."

http://tinyurl.com/7tvz7n9


Blogger Readingmater (note spelling!) has a few words to say about
Nation:

"Then I picked up a Young Adult book to re-read- Terry Pratchett's
'Nation' and it is full, full, of ideas to think about:
theodicy, cultural pressure (the voices of the Grandfathers' or
'grandmother' in the heroes' heads,) the coming of age and
rites of passage of a boy and a girl, ethics,cosmology. Mau's
Nation is destroyed by a tsunami while he is on the boys' island,
alone, preparing to become a man, and Ermintrude/Daphne is the sole
survivor of a shipwreck. Mau  argues against the gods who could do
this, fights the voices in his head, becomes the leader of the
ragtag survivors, while Daphne both becomes a woman and leader, and
resists the cultural pressures of the sort-of-victorian world she
comes from. Thrown in are ideas about parallel universes, cultural
jingoism and so on. This is a different way of thinking about the
links between events and the reasons why things are as they are. He
also, of course, refuses easy answers. All this together with
Pratchett's joyful manipulation of language..."

http://tinyurl.com/89y39o6


Roleplayer Geoffrey was disappointed in Discworld GURPS, but thinks
Discworld itself would be a rich setting for RPG:

"The first few novels are pretty much 100% D&D fare. With thieves'
and assassins' guilds in the faux-medieval metropolis of Ankh-
Morpork, with weird forgotten temples, druids and barbarians,
dwarves and trolls, wizards and witches, and just a pinch of
Lovecraft lurking in the background. The whole of Discworld is a
wonderful pastiche/satire on the typical early D&D/fantasy novel
setting of the time. I maintain that it should be easy to actually
do some roleplaying there, and that the problem with GURPS Discworld
was that it was overthinking it. What was the inspiration for
Discworld in the first place? Pretty much D&D, wasn't it? Terry
was a D&D player, he played the game, read the White Dwarf, created
his own worlds along this game. It wasn't GURPS guys in his age
group were playing in early 80s Britain (because GURPS did not exist
yet), it was beautiful, make-up-your-own-and-mix-with-whatever-you-
got D&D..."

http://tinyurl.com/77rrwzm


A short, sweet review of Small Gods by blogger whimsicalmeerkat:

"I don't even know how to express just how much I loved Small Gods.
I really, really, really enjoyed reading this. Sure, that may have
been because my boyfriend's great love of turtles has rubbed off on
me. It may have been a devious glee at the thought of a petulant
little god who never considered that he should do anything for his
believers. The great library and the hilarious stereotype of the
philosophers in Ephebe certainly didn't hurt. Nor did the penguin.
Or the history monk. Vorbis was creepy as hell, which added a slight
touch of reality. Seriously, go read this. Now. Go!"

http://tinyurl.com/89ctl58


...and another short sweet review, this one of ISWM by blogger
Trib:

"...the young Miss Aching appeals no end; she is moral, caring, a
thinker and understands that while she has a place in the world, it
is often complicated by difficult or potentially unpopular
decisions. Though Pratchett originally wrote this subset of the
Discworld novels for a younger audience, there's absolutely no
reason they ought not be on the reading list of any Discworld fan.
Nay, any fantasy fan. With the Tiffany Aching books, Pratchett has
moved beyond the (very excellent, mind you) silliness and satire
present in many of his earlier pieces to a more profound, gentle
humor laced with more than a condiment level of humanity..."

http://cannonballread4.wordpress.com/2012/02/04/3703/


Blogger Tom Russell, reviewing tCoM, came late to the party and is,
perhaps incurably, at least six drinks behind:

"I must say, I was a bit disappointed. It was clever in parts, but I
never really laughed. The exploits of Twoflower and Rincewind
plodded along with no real aim or purpose, other than Twoflower's
zeal to explore the world. They escape one threat after another by
mere chance and dumb luck. But, considering the wager by Fate and
The Lady, I guess that's somewhat the point. In any case, I found
myself reading the whole thing just to get through with it. Unless
someone tells me the series gets better I will probably not bother
to read the next one..."

http://tinyurl.com/6qz36gh


Blogger Librarianaut loves The Wee Free Men, but has a quibble with
its title:

"The Wee Free Men isn't the best title for Terry Pratchett's
excellent book about a girl, Tiffany Aching, who becomes a witch-
hero. Like The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents this is an
excellent younger readers-focused book set in the Discworld but kind
of off to the side somewhere. It has less to do with storybook
tropes, and more with analysis of what a witch actually does.
Basically Tiffany Aching is a ten-year-old badass through her
careful paying of attention to things and when her little brother
(who she doesn't really like) is kidnapped by otherworldly creatures
she goes off to save him because who can wait for the 'real witches'
to show up? She's got help from a toad (a bit) and the titular Wee
Free Men, who are pictsies that fight and steal and cuss. They're
kind of awesome and stuff, but it bugs me that the book is named
after the assistants, rather than the hero..."

http://librarianaut.com/2012/02/09/book-review-the-wee-free-men/


Blogger Miranda is suffering from Pratchett overdose...or not. It's
a familiar dilemma for many:

"I can't decide whether to read more Terry Pratchett now or to give
myself a break. I don't want to burn out, and there is just so much
good stuff to read. But then I think over what I might read instead
and all my brain does is go, 'But it's not Pratchett!' and then I
read Pratchett and my brain goes 'So...much...Pratchett...erglp.'
And then I think over what I might read instead and my brain goes,
'But it's not Pratchett!'..."

http://tinyurl.com/6pn5bh5


Blogger awritershailmarypass offers an essay-length piece on themes
and characters in the Discworld series:

"Terry Pratchett has written more than Discworld novels, but I think
those are his most famous set of novels. I think that these are some
of the best books I've ever read, although as I may have mentioned
before not always truly fantasy. If you are not familiar with
Pratchett, you should be.... I think Pratchett has gotten better
throughout the series, although the author is now suffering from
Alzheimer's. It's really a great shame. He does a great job with
characters that while they have very pronounced personalities and
quirks are still believeable. Sometimes he integrates a lot of the
magic of the world in his stories (see Sourcery), and sometimes he
deals with more modern themes (such as racism) using the fantasy
setting (see Thud!). Overall, an awesome series of books..."

http://tinyurl.com/7vt5po3


Here's a fascinating blog entry from Halley239. It's a lengthy post
about football (soccer to those of you not in the Commonwealth), in
which she credits Unseen Academicals with showing her the love of
the game:

"And then somebody scored a goal. I understood it was 'our' team
when my husband jumped up and yelled 'GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!!!' from
the top of his lungs. His face had lit up and he was grinning so
wide I could see each and every one of his 32 bright white teeth. I
stood up, hesitating and did the wave with the rest of the 100,000
spectators. That's when it happened. Terry Pratchett describes it so
much better in his book, Unseen Academicals – the unity, the
sudden rush, thousands of people screaming with joy or
disappointment, depending on their affiliation. I felt it. I went
through me like...a wave...if you excuse my unimaginative wording.

"I began to pay more attention to what my husband said about the
game and to cheer more at the goals (it was a game of many goals)
and after we got home, I made a decision. I became a fixture to the
Saturday or Sunday afternoons, sneaking into the downstairs living-
room and taking my spot in the darkest corner to watch our team
play..."

http://tinyurl.com/6uukf6h


Blogger Christina Rosendahl weighs in this month with her review of
Unseen Academicals:

"Pratchett gives his own version of Romeo and Juliet in this book.
Of course, Pratchett's Romeo and Juliet have far bigger problems
than just their families being against them – their issue is they
support different football teams...! Oh, and when Pratchett in the
end gets to the big game – it's amazing!

"What I love about Discworld is that after so many books, it has
become such a well-carved out universe that while each book is
readable on its own, you really get a lot out of having read at
least some of the others. Pratchett has main characters from other
books in the series show up for brief appearances. We get a brief
visit from Death, we speak to Vines from the Watch, Moist von Lipwig
covers the football match and of course there's a brief appearance
by Rincewind and the Luggage. This makes the world real because
these are the people who would show up in those circumstances. But
what I love even more than to get the feeling that this is actually
a real world, is the humor which is present on every page in the
book..."

http://tinyurl.com/7e5e6pl


Blogger Ian, a self-confessed Pratchett acolyte, reviews Snuff:

"Again, race is one of the big recurring themes in Pratchett's
books: people are people. Even when they're really small, and smell
a bit curious, and have a weird language. You'd think the message
would get old, but it's still one of those things that it never
hurts to hammer home: all people, are people... Pratchett also
throws in the reflections on the nature of law-enforcing, a few
thoughts on authority and nobility, some smuggling, thoughts on how
a parent mourns for a child lost, the common tropes of English
pastoral novels, and even the works of Jane Austen, or at least her
Disc counterpart, who enjoys a thoroughly curious luncheon with
Mister Vimes.

"Overall in terms of Discworld books, Snuff might not top anyone's
lists. Parts of the plot are similar to stuff that's already come up
in other books, only given a lick of paint and a new name. The
villain, by name of Stratford, is a decent enough murderous bastard,
but doesn't quite stick into your mind, like a knife in cold jelly,
the way, say, Nightwatch's Carcer or Hogfather's Teatime do. One
part, however, that I really liked were the segments Sam spent with
his family, actually enjoying himself. His son runs around and is
generally excited at everything while Sam keeps a watchful, and
proud, eye, and Vimes and his wife are always cute together, in the
way they have a gentle almost-but-not-quite-a-tiff and then
immediately return to happily married. Even the scenes with Vimes
taking charge of a boat and discovering a fondness for sailing, at
least not when it's in the middle of a raging maelstrom (that in and
of itself a cool moment that deserves reading), are very sweet. For
a man who wades through so much shit as a policeman, it's genuinely
nice to read Sam Vimes getting some sunshine and having fun, in the
spaces between the plot about murder and slavery...."

http://tinyurl.com/7suetvh

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

19) CLOSE

And there you have it. Too late to be an early edition, but early
enough to remind you about some time-related things. That's all from
us for the moment. See you at the back end of the month with our
regular Discworld horoscope and any late-breaking news!

– Annie Mac

p.s. Mmm, pancakes. Don't forget Tuesday next!

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

———————————————————————————————————
The End. If you have any questions or requests, write:
interact@...
———————————————————————————————————
Copyright (c) 2012 by Klatchian Foreign Legion

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
WOSSNAME
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
SPECIAL EDITION: ANKH-MORPORK STREET NAMING COMPETITION
February 2012 (Volume 15, Issue 2, Post 2)
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

INDEX:

01) EDITOR'S LETTER
02) ANKH-MORPORK STREET NAMING CONTEST!

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

01) A SHORT LETTER FROM YOUR EDITOR...

Well, here we are again, and not even two days after the main
February issue came out! But this item simply won't wait, because
there's a brief competition on with a very special "prize": namely,
the opportunity to officially name a street in Ankh-Morpork! The
winning street name will be included in the Discworld canon forever
after. All you need is access to a smartphone, webcam or similar
video recording device, the ability to carry a tune for a very short
distance, access to some (not totally) secret information, and your
imagination...

Details are in item 2, below. Remember, this is a very brief
competition, only six days of the week left!

– Annie Mac, Editor

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

02) NAME THAT STREET!!!

Here be the competition announcement, exactly as posted on the
interwebs:

Feb 21st! Win the chance to name a street in Ankh-Morpork!

by Terry Pratchett on Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 2:39am

To celebrate four months until the publication of The Long Earth we
are giving one lucky fan the chance to name a street in Ankh-
Morpork. That street will go into The Compleat Ankh-Morpork, a
brand-new street directory of the Discworld city complete with
beautifully illustrated pull-out map which will be available on the
13th September 2012. Your street name will be forever immortalised
in the city for all to see, who knows what will happen there in the
future!

To win this fantastic opportunity read the below question - and film
yourself (or get a friend to film you) on yours (or their!) smart
phone (web cam or other recording device) singing the first verse...


QUESTION:

Upon arriving in Matamata, New Zealand, what is the name of the song
that was instinctively sung by Terry and Rob without even the need
to pause to confer? (submitted by Sir Terry Pratchett)

Send your video answer and chosen street name (be inventive!) to:

discworld@... *

*Please be aware all videos will be sent to Sir Terry and he may do
with them as he wishes!

Competition closes Monday 27th February.

To read this announcement on the web, go to Pterry's Facebook page:

http://tinyurl.com/892p826

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

———————————————————————————————————
The End. If you have any questions or requests, write:
interact@...
———————————————————————————————————
Copyright (c) 2012 by Klatchian Foreign Legion

WOSSNAME
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
February 2012 (Volume 15, Issue 2, Post 3)
*****************************************************************

1) YOUR DISCWORLD HOROSCOPE FOR FEBRUARY
2) CLOSE

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

1) THE NEW DISCWORLD HOROSCOPE
by Fernando Magnifico

Buongiorno! My friends, the Lady Asterisk is unavailable this month
as she has been chased up a tree by a rabid cheese, but do not be
afeared, for I, Fernando Magnifico, safely back from the Widdershins
Ocean, will take care of all your astrological needs this month.

My friends, Fernando is the very thankful of your kind well-wishes
during his time becalmed in the ocean near Fourecks. For many weeks
our ship was stuck in the ocean, waiting for the winds to pick up,
but Fernando put this time to good use to work on his tan, which is
now even more magnificent, and make friends with the sailors, who
taught Fernando many interesting things to do with rope. But
eventually all good times must come to an end and so Fernando has
made it back to Ankh-Morpork again, tanned and well (although a
little sick of hard-tack and ship's biscuit, they are nothing like
the biscotti Fernando's sainted mamma makes!) and ready to consult
the stars for you.

My friends, with Fernando's time on the ship, he learned many things
about pumps and bilges and sails and other nautical technology, and
so in honour of this Fernando has asked the stars, what sort of
technology are you best suited for?

Ciao bella!

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Adamant Hedgehog  21 Mar - 20 Apr

Hoggers are well-known for being suited for, shall we say, *loud*
professions like the regimental sergeant major or greengrocer, and
so it does not surprise Fernando when the stars say that you have
the affinity for the mighty organs. The Opera House is famous for
its mighty organ, a B.S. Johnson, as is Unseen University, but they
are not the only such mighty organs here in Ankh-Morpork. Fernando
knows a thing or two about organs, especially mighty ones, and he
has been privileged to put his hands on Sir Harold Fussbender's
organ, which may not have all the extra knobs of the Opera House
Johnson, but is impressively large. Lord Sebastian Ffnaugh also has
a grand organ, although it must be said that it is suffering badly
from wear and tear after 35 years of heavy use. Another of
Fernando's favourites is the organ of Mr. George W. Wardrobe, of
Afternoon Lane, who hires out his organ for twenty cents an hour
(discounts for the children's parties). It is not the especially big
organ, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in power. Trust
Fernando on this, for he knows it is so. Fernando once saw Mr.
Wardrobe stun a flock of geese out of the sky with his organ.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Half-Eaten Sandwich  21 Apr - 21 May

Sandies, the stars tell Fernando that, sadly, you have no affinity
for the technology at all. Fernando is sorry to tell you that,
whether it is the printing press, the clacks, or even the simple
3/8th Gripley, you are "all thumbs", as they say in Morporkian, when
it comes to the technology. But do not be afeared, my friends, for
even if you have no skill or talent with the technology, you at
least can still make the good living as the technology salesperson
or by writing the technical reviews for the magazines. Being good
with technology is not the prerequisite for being the great
salesperson; Fernando remembers well his second cousin Joseph, who
for a time had great success selling the "Mamma's Own Egg Timer"
family planning device even though he knew nothing at all about
calendars or thermometers. (Fernando also remembers well how cousin
Joseph had to run away to sea after four of his customers found
themselves with unplanned bambinos as the result of his personal
demonstrations and lack of the knowledge about the calendars and
thermometers, but that, cara mia, is altogether another matter.) All
you need to do is present the confident "front", practise the
"technobabble", and success will come to you. Trust Fernando on
this, for the stars do not lie!

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Herne the Hunted  22 May - 21 Jun

Hernians are lovers of all things small and misunderstood, and this
includes the (in)famous Gooseberry Dis-organiser. The stars tell
Fernando that you could have a very satisfying career in the repair
and maintenance of Gooseberries, for despite their faults, they
remain extremely popular, especially with the Young Ankhians trying
to make a name for themselves in business. The Gooseberry is very
useful for storing reminders, appointments, and short memos, and the
BlueNose Messenger Service is very useful for sending the short
messages. My friends, with your understandings of the Gooseberry,
let Fernando tell you that there is the very lucrative business to
be made in Gooseberry training and repair, especially when people
forget to feed the imp or drop it in the privy.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Wizard's Staff and Knob  22 Jun - 22 Jul

Whether you are the keen sportsman, or prefer just to relax by the
quiet brook or lake, fishing gear is the most excellente technology
for Staffies. As the keen fisherman (or, in these more equalities-
driven times, fisherwoman, or fisherperson) will tell you, fishing
gear is not just a stick, a bit of string, and a hook, for there is
the art to making the rods, reels, and especially lures. An
expensive art, my friends, like the 7ft Morning Glory rod designed
by Greenwater and Son especially for Archchancellor Ridcully himself,
$95 dollars (plus an extra $11 for the optional knob on the end)
just for the rod alone. But worth every penny, at least according to
the Archchancellor after he used one to land an 18ft shark that was
found in a flooded basement of the Unseen University. For those with
the slightly smaller budget, the stars tell Fernando that the secret
to success is to concentrate on the lure, for a well-designed lure
is the path to glory of many a fisherman. The fluffiness of the
feathers. The configuratione of those tiny shiny bits of glass,
sparkly rock or Ankhstone that draw the attention of magnificent
carp or award-winning tunny. In fact, you should be careful that
your lures are not *too* attractive, or you could find yourself face
to face with a wandering sea troll, which would certainly spoil a
quiet afternoon's fishing.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Bilious, God of Hangovers  23 Jul - 23 Aug

Bilians, it will come as no surprise to you that the technology for
which the stars say you are best suited is the technology of
distillation, also known as how to build the better still. But this
is a practice that is equalimente known as the *art* of
distillation. And as all Bilians know, when the science and the art
combine, you can get something more magical than a third-year
honours student wizard and more explosive than a crater-load of
alchemists! So for you who were born under the Sign of the God of
Hangovers, Fernando says go forth with your copper tubing, boiler
and fractionating column and discover newer and better ways to make
the health-hazardous beverages. But beware, my friends, and don't
travel the same road of discovery as the ill-fated Dmitri "Double
Reflux" Isopropeles, who included in his custom equipment a small
portable Procrastinator to produce the fast-distilled reannual
brandy. On the day of his first test run, Isopropeles disappeared
never to be seen again, and although a smoking pair of his boots
were found at the site of his former still, the Watch also found
some unexplained broom bristles and one constable was heard to
remark on how suspiciously well-swept the premises were.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

My Uncle's Nose  24 Aug - 23 Sept

Perhaps the most exciting new technology in Ankh-Morpork is that of
Unseen University's Hex -- or perhaps technomancy is the molto
better term. Many young people today are applying to become wizards
just for the opportunity, in 7a years provided they graduate, to be
given the few minutes a week to run the high-speed spells on Hex, or
to work on breeding the new and faster species of ants. Nosers, the
stars tell Fernando that technomancy is your technology, and
Fernando has the excellente good news for you. Now that Brazeneck
University has built their Pex, which Fernando is assured is
absolutely nothing like Hex and works on completely different
fundamental principles, your chances of some day actually getting
your hands on such technomancy has doubled. Especially if, like many
Nosers, you are good at the chicken wrangling.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Small Boring Group of Faint Stars  24 Sept - 23 Oct

Boring'uns, some people think that you are the far too quiet and
boring to be interested in the technology. But do not listen to
them, my friends, you should listen to Fernando instead! For the
stars say that you are best suited to the careful study of spoon
technology. Yes my friends, Fernando knows that you are already
getting the molto excitement at the thought of spending the many
long hours in dusty libraries reading about the history of spoon
manufacturing and the progressings from carved wooden spoons to
the modern metal spoons. Perhaps you will even create the Holy
Grail of spoon manufacturers, the first practical spoon with
built-in eye-guard, to prevent those terrible "poked myself in the
eye while drinking tea" moments. For those of you feeling brave,
you can even read about the famous Battle Spooners of the
Praetorian Guard of Emperor Percy the Timid (ruled 18th June 1428
to 23th June 1428), whose military record is still unmatched to
this very day: in just three days they chalked up 0 defeats, 0
victories, and 74 tactical withdrawals from the battlefield.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Androgyna Majestis  24 Oct - 22 Nov

Andies, the stars tell Fernando that your technological affinity is
to the iconograph. My friends, in these days with the latest
Tusselvlad iconographs with 16 micro-imps, anti-chattering sound
baffles and insta-etch functionality, it is easy to forget that the
taking of excellente iconographs is as much or more the product of
skill and art as it is of the cunning technology. Let Fernando tell
you, the careless and lazy iconographer, armed with the AM$200
Celesti iconograph with special lens filters, anti-vibration
hammocks for the imps, and the newest octaprism viewfinder, will not
produce work as good as the talented iconographer with an AM$12
Brownie-Inna-Box. Let Fernando give you the secrets of the most
excellente iconographers, for Fernando makes the magnificent
iconographs no matter which side of the lens he is on. Firstly, my
friends, give your imps a tea break every few hours, otherwise they
will get surly and start drawing the moustaches and eyepatches on
everything. Secondly, do not over-feed your imps. The fat imp is
sleepy and lazy, while the lean imp is keen and sharp (but do not
under-feed them, or they will eat their pencils). And lastly but
certainly not the leastly, do not skimp on the ink for your imp.
What is the point of spending the extra money on the 256-colour
palette when your "Agatean Fuchsia" and "Frosted Tulip" look
identical? Trust Fernando on this, for he knows that it is so.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Spoons, a.k.a. the Greater and Lesser Spoons, 23 Nov - 21 Dec

My friends, you might guess that your technology of interest would
be the spoons, like your constellation. But no, that would be silly
-- the astrology does not work that way! Sandies are not especially
fond of sandwiches, nor do Nosers run a lot. Spooners, the stars
have told Fernando that your personality is the especially well
suited to ladles, which are nothing like spoons. Ha ha, no, Fernando
is having his little joke, your technology of interest is actually
the great Stone Circles of the Vortex Plains, like the 12.5 megalith
computer at Plinth or the newer dual-cor circle being built to
replace it, so called because when it is finished it will be so big
and impressive that people seeing it for the first time will say
"Cor blimey, that's impressive! Cor!". My friends, do not let the
trend-seekers and dandies put you off the Stone Circle, for it is
the timeless classic. Long after the last Gooseberry imp has
evaporated, and Hex has been forgotten, the reliable old silicon
circle will still be as stable as a rock. Trust Fernando, for this
is so!

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Hoki the Jokester  22 Dec - 20 Jan

Hokians, the stars tell Fernando that you are best suited to the
technology of clocks. The Guild of Clockmakers is keen to encourage
the amateur clock enthusiasts willing to buy "Make Your Own Clock"
kits, and Fernando has learnt of the many sorts of clocks: water
clocks, candle clocks, sundials, grandfather clocks, even clocks
using trained imps counting "one hippopotamus two hippopotamus ..."
for hours at a time. My friends, according to the stars Hokians are
perfectly suited to watchmaking, as they have a particular affinity
for the understanding of the very small devices and watches are,
after all, only small clocks. Although not the understanding of
Devices, for which you can thank the stars! Having an understanding
of Devices might bring your name to the attention of the Patrician,
after which you may find yourself summoned to the Palace and kept
there under the comfortable, well-paid, but extremely restricted
conditions until you have finished helping with the Undertaking.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Big Chicken  21 Jan - 18 Feb

Squawkers, Fernando has consulted your stars and they tell him that
your most suitable technology is that of the high-performance racing
cart. "But what can I do with a box on wheels drawn by a horse?",
does Fernando hear you ask? Do not be afeared! There are many clever
and scientific improvements you can learn to make, like some of the
new breed of young "hot roaders", who will make the most
excepzionale modifications to their carts -- the anti-roll
suspensions, the go-faster axle polish, the double-slick wheels with
spring-loaded stabilisers for hard cornering, even the dangerous
application of fresh ginger in voonerable places to increase the
power of horse. Before you know it, you could be the becoming famous
for the fastest Sto Lat road run, or the fastest time getting from
Pseudopolis Yard to Scoone Avenue at rush hour (although the new
traffic division of the Watch tends to frown on this unless the one
doing the fast timing is their Commander). You might even, who
knows, become the famous "road racer" like Fernando's cousin Savio,
who loves his racing cart even more than his wife and bambinos and
who once won the Quirmian Grand Prix in his "hot road" cart. But
Fernando knows this only sounds impressive because it is in
Quirmish. All "Grand Prix" means is "big prize", although it sounds
like something else, a certain word Fernando feels is the best
describing of Quirmians.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Lesser Umbrage   19 Feb - 20 Mar

Umbragians, the stars say that you have the affinity with two
technologies. The Lesser Umbrage is the sign associated with thieves
(Fernando does not judge, as his Thieves' Guild subscription is due
for renewal next week), and as such you may find yourself with the
very close affinity with locks. Before coming to the wonderful city
of Ankh-Morpork, Fernando spent some time apprenticed to a
locksmith, and he knows well the many types of lock mechanisms used
by the suspicious husbands and how to pick them in the dark, a skill
which has come in very handy many times. Lesser Umbrage is also the
sign of most Igors, and like Igors, you may have the strong interest
in the thundering and lightning, or as Igors call it, "thparkth". My
friends, Fernando has travelled throughout Uberwald, and he knows
that Ankh-Morpork (Queen of Cities though she is) does not have the
magnificente, and frequent, lightning storms that Uberwald is
blessed with. But do not be afeared, my friends, for with the many
stray cats in the city, and Only Slightly Unhinged Dr Fastidious
Bonafides' Rotary Feline Spark Generator, you can produce thparkth
on demand as easily as the Igors in the craggy mountain castles.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

3) CLOSE

And that's our lot for February, unless something important happens
in the Pratchettverse in the next twenty-four hours. Happy Leap Day
one and all, and we'll see you in March!

– Annie Mac

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

———————————————————————————————————
If you have any questions or requests, write:
interact@...
———————————————————————————————————
Copyright (c) 2012 by Klatchian Foreign Legion

WOSSNAME
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
March 2012 (Volume 15, Issue 3, Post 1)
********************************************************************
WOSSNAME is a free publication for members of the worldwide
Klatchian Foreign Legion and its affiliates, including the North
American Discworld Society and other continental groups. Are you a
member? Yes, if you sent in your name, country and e-mail address.
Are there any dues? No! As a member of the Klatchian Foreign Legion,
you'd only forget them...
********************************************************************
Editor in Chief: Annie Mac
News Editor: Fiona (not Bruce) Bruce
Newshounds: Vera, Mogg, Sir J of Croydon Below, the Shadow
Staff Writers: Asti, Pitt the Elder, Steven D'Aprano, L.C. Thomas
Convention Reporters: Mithtrethth Hania Ogg et al
Staff Technomancer: Jason Parlevliet
Book Reviews: Drusilla D'Afanguin
Puzzle Editor: Tiff
Bard in Residence: Weird Alice Lancrevic
DW Horoscope: Lady Anaemia Asterisk, Fernando Magnifico
Emergency Staff: Jason Parlevliet
World Membership Director: Steven D'Aprano (in his copious spare
time)
Copyright 2012 by Klatchian Foreign Legion

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

INDEX:

01) QUOTE OF THE MONTH
02) LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
03) FORTHCOMING PRATCHETT BOOKS NEWS!!! WITH MULTIPLE EXCLAMATION
MARKS!!!
04) REMINDER: WORLD BOOK DAY AND NIGHT
05) SECRET WORLD "CALL OF THE WILD" APPEAL UPDATES
06) PTERRY AND ALZHEIMER'S NEWS
07) MUSICAL MORT (NOT MORT THE MUSICAL!)
08) DISCWORLD BOOK REVIEWS
09) DISCWORLD GAMES NEWS
10) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS
11) DISCWORLD ARTS AND CRAFTS NEWS
12) DEATH VERSUS...DEATH?!
13) DISCWORLD CONVENTION NEWS
14) DISCWORLD GROUPS MEETING NEWS
15) ACTION REPLAY
16) IMAGES OF THE MONTH
17) PRATCHETT PRIZE WINNER'S NOVEL ALMOST READY TO ROLL
18) DISCWORLD AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE
19) CLOSE

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

01) QUOTES OF THE MONTH

"Terry Pratchett has donated to The Alzheimer's Society to encourage
research. If this leads to another Discworld novel, there will be
millions of happy readers including me. It will be wonderful if he
himself can continue his creative work and also share some of the
happiness that he gives to so many other people."

– Dr Robert Lefever


"Thend him to athk for a thecond therving of thauthageth and thqueak
pluth a thmall thide thalad."

– the inestimable Pat Harkin to Pterry, on hearing that Rob
Wilkins had just been Igorishly numbed up for some dentistry, 6th
March 2012


"I think it more true that getting older changes how you see the
world. There is stuff in Snuff, for example, that I couldn't have
written at twenty-five. Although I had written things before
Discworld, I really leaned writing, on the job as it were, on
Discworld. I think that the books are, if not serious, dealing with
more serious subjects. These days it's not just for laughs. My world
view had changed; sometimes I feel that the world is made up of
sensible people who know that plot and bloody idiots who don't. Of
course, all Discworld fans know the plot by heart!"

– Pterry, interviewed by Neil Gaiman for BoingBoing, 10th October
2011

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

02) LETTER FROM YOUR EDITOR

As you read this, Sir Terry and Rob are on their way to Borneo (The
Author delightedly clutching his new  "essential jungle equipment",
a Canon 5D Mark III camera). But theirs is a sad journey this time.
Back in 1995, Terry Pratchett visited Borneo with the Orangutan
Foundation and made the much-admired telly programme "Jungle Quest".
But since then, commercial interests wanting to clear land there for
palm oil plantations have prompted the destruction of vast tracts of
the orangutans' natural habitat, and the destruction of the apes
themselves.

For a heartbreaking look at Green the orangutan and her final days,
go to:

http://tinyurl.com/8y5u4us

The page includes many (upsetting) photos, and also video.

Additionally, the link to the documentary film itself:

http://www.greenthefilm.com/?cat=7

If you can look at these without being gutted, you've a stronger
stomach than I do.

Please, O readers — I know it's well-nigh impossible to find
*every* product that uses palm oil, but often this ingredient is
plainly displayed on the ingredients list of a product's packaging.
If you see palm oil listed, please don't buy.

*

In lighter news, according to Locus Magazine, Snuff is *still* their
number one bestseller for the third month in a row:

http://tinyurl.com/8axpqkh

...and we've received a rather interesting email from reader Gary
Nedzweck. Here is the text of it, in all its idiosyncratic glory:

"Dear Friend in DiscWorld,

"Wouldn't it be great if CMOT Dibbler finally got it together,
perhaps overturning the local gangstas and forging (pune not
intended!) an empire, after grasping life by the... whozenames?
Dibbler's rehabilitation into a tower of moral strength and virtue,
born of his eternal, indefatigable perserverance and optomism in the
face of the inevitable collapse of every one of his schemes: now
that would bring tears to his ol' mum! Eh?"

There's a lot of book news this month, and many other items of
interest. On with the show!

– Annie Mac

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

03) FORTHCOMING PRATCHETT BOOKS NEWS!!! WITH MULTIPLE EXCLAMATION
MARKS!!!

3.1 DODGER

The big blurb:

In an alternative London, ruled by the young Queen Victoria, an
enterprising lad can find adventure and opportunity – if he is
very smart, and very, very lucky. Dodger has the brains, the luck
– and the cheek – to scrape by on his own.

Everyone knows Dodger, and everyone likes Dodger. Which is a good
thing, because life for a boy on the streets is anything but easy.
And it's about to get seriously complicated as a simple haircut
turns momentous when Dodger unknowingly puts a stop to the murderous
barber Sweeney Todd.

From Dodger's encounters with fictional villains to his meetings
with Darwin, Disraeli, and Dickens, history and fantasy intertwine
in a breathtaking tale of adventure and mystery, unexpected coming-
of-age, and one remarkable boy's rise in a complex and fascinating
world.

Beloved and bestselling author Terry Pratchett writes at the height
of his powers, combining high comedy with deep wisdom, to the
delight of fans old and new.


...and the small blurb:

A storm. Rain-lashed city streets. A flash of lightning. A scruffy
lad sees a girl leap desperately from a horse-drawn carriage, in a
vain attempt to escape her captors. Can the lad stand by and let her
be caught again? Of course not, because he's . . . Dodger!


Dodger —  Published September 13th 2012.

Signed copies available to pre-order from August.


3.2 THE LONG EARTH: CHARACTERS REVEAL!

"Here is the first character revealed from The Long Earth...

"Joshua Valiente: Joshua was an orphan born in another world, he
would rather lose himself in a forest than in the crowds of our
Earth, and can't wait to get away from it again.

"The second character to step forward into the light and onto the
pages of The Long Earth is Lobsang:   A Tibetan mechanic
reincarnated as a highly intelligent machine, with a high opinion of
himself to match.

"And finally the last Long Earthian to step from the page is Monica
Jansson: A Madison police officer with more imagination than most,
who is first on the scene when children start disappearing all over
the city."

http://www.facebook.com/pratchett


Signed copies of The Long Earth will be available to pre-order from
21st April from PJSM Prints:

http://www.paulkidby.com/news/index.html


3.3 THE WORLD OF POO!

Yes, it exists! For those of you who want a complete collection (I
shall always be glad we bought Where's My Cow? back when it came
out), Miss Felicity Beedle's entertaining and educational book is
not to be missed:

"The World of Poo
Published June 7th 2012.

Signed copies available
to pre-order from May."

http://www.paulkidby.com/news/index.html


3.4 TSoD4: IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN!

All three Science of Discworld co-authors (that's Ian Stewart, Jack
Cohen, and of course, Pterry) have been meeting recently to discuss
The Science of Discworld 4. Although given the venue, perhaps
they're just meeting for more... liquid reasons? Here be an
iconograph of Pterry, Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen thinking deep
thoughts-inna-pub:

http://tinyurl.com/7oplxq3

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

04) WORLD BOOK DAY AND NIGHT: DON'T FORGET!

World Book Day/Night 2012 takes place on the 23rd of April. Do get
involved!

Here be some of Pterry's own recommendations:

"London Labour and the London Poor — Henry Mayhew (without which
no library is complete)

"Feeding Nelson's Navy: The True Story of Food at Sea in the
Georgian Era (ISBN 978-1861762887) — Janet MacDonald

"And anything outside of your genre. We're on our third Sophie
Kinsella in a row. Beautifully written and very, very funny."

from Pterry's Twitter page:

http://twitter.com/#!/terryandrob


From Pterry's official Facebook page, as originally posted in
January:

"World Book Night represents the most ambitious and far-reaching
celebration of adult books and reading ever attempted in the UK and
Ireland. World Book Night 2012 will be held on the 23rd April and
they're once more looking for 20,000 volunteer givers. This year,
givers will be distributing 24 copies each (480,000 books) with the
further books distributed directly to prisons and libraries through
charitable partners... Reading changes lives and at the heart of
World Book Night lies the simplest of ideas and acts – that of
putting a book into another person's hand and saying 'this one's
amazing, you have to read it'."

http://tinyurl.com/7683ln6


About Book Night in the USA:

"What is World Book Night? World Book Night is an annual celebration
designed to spread a love of reading and books. To be held in the
U.S. as well as the U.K. and Ireland on April 23, 2012. It will see
tens of thousands of people go out into their communities to spread
the joy and love of reading by giving out free World Book Night
paperbacks. World Book Night, through social media and traditional
publicity, will also promote the value of reading, of printed books,
and of bookstores and libraries to everyone year-round.

"Successfully launched in the U.K. in 2011, World Book Night will
also be celebrated in the U.S. in 2012, with news of more countries
to come in future years. Please join our mailing list for regular
World Book Night U.S. news. And thank you to our U.K. friends for
such a wonderful idea! Additionally, April 23 is UNESCO's World Book
Day, chosen due to the anniversary of Cervantes' death, as well as
Shakespeare's birth and death."

http://tinyurl.com/8y4kth5


To see a full list of the chosen 2012 titles:

http://tinyurl.com/6u9f4m2

www.worldbooknight.org

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

05) SECRET WORLD "CALL OF THE WILD" APPEAL UPDATES

From the Bristol Evening Post:

"A campaign for a new multi-million pound animal hospital took a
major step forward after a store manager in Bradley Stoke donated
£25,000. Plans to build the £4.4million wildlife teaching hospital
– which would include an education centre to train young vets –
was launched by fantasy author Sir Terry Pratchett at Secret World
Wildlife Rescue Centre in East Huntspill, Somerset – the site of
the proposed hospital.

Secret World founder Pauline Kidner recently received a £25,000
donation from Russell Hardyman-Richards, store manager of Pets at
Home in Bradley Stoke. 'This wonderful grant takes us one step
closer to raising the last £300,000 needed before we can start the
hospital phase of the project,' she said..."

http://tinyurl.com/6p7vjku


Remember, Secret World's "Call of the Wild" appeal is ongoing. For
a refresher on the information, and donation links, go to:

http://tinyurl.com/74esdxw

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

06) PTERRY AND ALZHEIMER'S NEWS

6.1 "CHOOSING TO DIE" WINS RTS AWARD

Choosing to Die just picked up the Royal Television Society award
for best documentary. Very proud of the whole team. Thank you. –
Pterry, from his Twitter, 21st March 2012

Reported by the Press Association:

"The winner of Best Single Documentary went to the controversial
Terry Pratchett: Choosing To Die."

http://tinyurl.com/7x6tf98


6.2 REGION-FREE "LIVING WITH ALZHEIMER'S" SIGNED DVDs AVAILABLE

"This programme follows Terry coming to terms with his diagnosis,
living with his condition, facing the certainty of its conclusion
and his mission to find a cure. Adamant that he has done nothing
wrong and that Alzheimer's sufferers should not be stigmatised, this
is a genuine personal journey of one man, through the science and
the reality of what it s like to be diagnosed with Alzheimer's
disease."

£15.00
Region: 0 (Worldwide)
Format: PAL
Running Time: 120 Minutes

http://www.pjsmprints.com/


6.3 ACTIVISM AND ARTICLES

From This is Bath:

"The best-selling fantasy author, who lives in Wiltshire, said
patients were seen as a nuisance and penalised because ministers see
the illness merely as a social care problem. And Sir Terry, who was
diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2007, said it was unfair that families
were 'bankrupting' themselves paying for dementia care when
treatment for other conditions is free on the NHS. Those with assets
worth more than £23,500, including their house, have to pay for
dementia care – which can cost £100,000 a year. Sir Terry, 63,
told the Alzheimer's Disease International conference in London that
labelling dementia as a social care issue 'takes the humanity out of
people with the disease'. 'Alzheimer's patients are discriminated
against by being seen as needing social care,' he claimed. 'What
they've got is a problem rather than a disease.'..."

http://tinyurl.com/6n6wg2l

Reported in the Daily Mail:

"And Sir Terry, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2007, said it
was unfair that families were 'bankrupting' themselves paying for
dementia care when treatment for other conditions is free on the
NHS... Sir Terry, 63, told a conference in London: 'I don't think
the Government cares about care very much. People with Alzheimer's
are penalised. The families of people requiring care could quite
possibly bankrupt themselves with the cost.'... But he argued that
as all patients pay for the NHS through their taxes they should all
be treated the same. 'We want Alzheimer's to be treated fairly, not
pushed on one side,' he said. 'If we all put into the NHS surely we
should be treated alike. It's as simple as that. If it's not a
disease, presumably people are malingerers in some way. They are
just hanging about requiring social care. It's just old people
wanting food and drink. But it is a disease that is doing this to
them, that can be seen on scans and you can see how the brain is
deteriorating. It's not something we dream up.'..."

http://tinyurl.com/84w7vpv


Two more articles from the Daily Mail:

"Hundreds of thousands more dementia patients could be helped by two
drugs that temporarily halt its symptoms, according to researchers.
In a trial, the treatments, which cost as little as 50p a day, gave
sufferers in the later stages of the disease precious extra months
to live independently and hold coherent conversations.

At present the two drugs – donepezil, more commonly known as
Aricept, and memantine, or Ebixa – are given to only about 50,000
patients in the early stages of Alzheimer's. Once the illness has
progressed beyond a certain point, prescriptions are usually stopped
because the drugs are not thought to have any further benefit. But
based on the findings of a ground-breaking study carried out at
King's College London, experts believe they could help 450,000
advanced sufferers in the UK. They also say the drugs could replace
harmful anti-psychotic medication routinely used to sedate patients,
which worsen symptoms and heighten the risk of strokes and death..."

http://tinyurl.com/6snzvgg

"Alzheimer's symptoms such as memory loss could be prevented by
targeting a chemical that dismantles brain connections, research
suggests. Scientists have already started work searching for a drug
that will block the mechanism, discovered in mice. If successful, a
treatment that effectively protects against the effects of
Alzheimer's could be available in the next 10 years... study leader
Dr Patricia Salinas said now that Dkk1's role was known, there was a
chance of developing drugs to target it. 'These novel findings raise
the possibility that targeting this secreted Dkk1 protein could
offer an effective treatment to protect synapses against the toxic
effect of amyloid-beta,' she said. 'Importantly, these results raise
the hope for a treatment and perhaps the prevention of cognitive
decline early in Alzheimer's disease.' Her team is now working with
a biotech company to develop molecules that can block Dkk1..."

http://tinyurl.com/6mqzqcs


...and a doctor (and Pratchett fan) weighs in:

"As a working doctor I was very familiar with the problem of
dementia. All doctors are. I was also well aware of the devastation
it caused in families. My aunt developed Alzheimer's disease. On one
occasion she shut my uncle out of their house, saying through the
letter box that she hadn't got a husband. It was tragic for him and
tragic for her, even though she may have been less aware of it. Any
advance in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease therefore has
benefits for family members, and other carers, as well as for the
primary sufferers. Even a short extension to an independent and
mentally competent life can lift heavy clouds and painful burdens.

"The drugs Donepezil (Aricept) and Exbixa (Memantine) have been in
the pharmacopoeia for some years. Currently they are prescribed to
about 50,000 patients in the early stages of their mental decline.
Another 400,000 sufferers, in the later stages of degeneration, have
not been given these drugs because it was thought that the medicines
lose their effectiveness after a time. This belief has now been
shown to be false. A clinical trial at Kings College Hospital has
shown that mental state, and also the ability to perform simple
tasks, are preserved, for longer than previously thought, when the
prescriptions are continued. These medications can also lead to the
discontinuation of anti-psychotic drugs used for sedation in these
patients. Some patients were found to benefit for a whole year
longer than previously anticipated. That is a huge improvement in
quality of life for these patients and for their carers..."

http://tinyurl.com/7mju2fb

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

07) MUSICAL MORT (NOT MORT THE MUSICAL!)

WOSSNAME reader Juliet Drennan writes to recommend a Discworld-
themed music player app with a familiar name:

"Did you know that there's a audiobook player named for Mort? It's a
very good player too."

And so it is, according to several of Your Editor's friends and
acquaintances!

"Simple to use music player for all those who prefer folder
structure over tags. (You want your mix folder, not separated by
artists, right?)...."

http://tinyurl.com/7jzpnom

The website of Mort developer Mirko Schenk (coder and Pratchett fan)
is here:

http://www.sto-helit.de/

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

08) DISCWORLD BOOK REVIEWS

8.1 REVIEW: SMALL GODS

Olivia Houseman, a staff writer for The Clipper, Everett Community
College (Washington state, USA) student newspaper ("Since 1943"),
reviews Small Gods:

"Normally, I say away from series for reviewing purposes. I was
pleasantly surprised to find that this novel was brilliant as a
stand-alone story... I found this novel to be intellectually
stimulating, as well as absolutely hilarious (a tortoise screaming
curses? Come on!). The novel's themes — organized religion,
politics and philosophy – are in-your-face and thought provoking.
Pratchett reveals, with well-organized ease, the hypocritical
undercurrents that seem to flood politics, the ridiculous and needed
ways of the philosopher and the necessity of skepticism..."

http://www.clipperonline.info/node/2237


8.2 REVIEW: MORT

By "frustratedartist" in The Guardian books section:

"A skilled writer can seduce his readers into suspending their
disbelief. Pratchett does this- within a few pages his world becomes
real, in all its startling beauty and baroque complexity. It is both
gloriously alien, and uncannily like the world we live in – both
strange and familiar. His unforgettable characters often reappear
from one novel to the next, and to meet them again is like meeting
up with old friends... These two story arcs, the experiences of
Death as he attempts to live as a human, and the experiences of the
world as it attempts to cope without a functioning life-removal
system, form the twin backbones of the novel. They spiral around
each other like strands of DNA, intimately connected, but meeting
only at the end of the novel. And it is a lovely novel, outrageously
funny and hauntingly lyrical..."

http://tinyurl.com/7t8pb9h


8.3 REVIEW: NATION

In The Guardian's children's books section, ThePinkElephant reviews
Nation:

"The characters are quite brilliantly odd. You warm towards them
instantly, and you want to see where they end up. Daphne, Mau, Milo
and Pilu had me clenching my fists in places, welling up in others,
and mainly rolling around in fits of laughter. Nevertheless, this
novel has a far more in-depth plotline of discovery, finding roots,
religion, and of course, of rebuilding a nation..."

http://tinyurl.com/837kp92

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

09) DISCWORLD GAMES NEWS

9.1 "ANKH-MORPORK": THE TOURNAMENT!

Damo writes:

The people organizing next years Nullus Anxietas IV are running at
Ankh-Morpork Tournament on the 31st March.  The game is made by Tree
Frog Games and is very popular and very good. So if you happen to
live in the land of Fourecks (Australia) and fancy entering the
tournament then be sure to let the team know by liking their
Facebook page. Here are the official details:

On 31st March, 2012: Rule the City! Come and play Ankh-Morpork in
what is hopefully the first of many Ankh-Morpork tournaments.

     * Venue: Realm of Legends (190/198 Mt. Dandenong Rd, Croydon, Vic)
     * Time: 11-4
     * Cost: Gold-Coin Donation
     * Date: 31/03/2012

If you are planning on attending or better yet entering the
tournament, we would love to hear from you. We would love to heard a
report on the tournament, photos etc. This is something that should
be considered here in the UK as well. I expect the tournament will
prove a huge hit.

http://discworldfanatics.co.uk/ankh-morpork-tournament/


9.2 REVIEWS OF "GUARDS! GUARDS!"

Two exclusive reviews, as promised!

Guards! Guards!: The Board Game — A Review.
by Your Humble Correspondent Mogg

The arrival of Guards! Guards!: The Board Game provoked quite a bit
of excitement amongst our reviewing team, a group which largely
enjoyed Ankh-Morpork: The Board Game, or at the very least enjoyed
the spectacle of DisBo and the Dean attempting to wipe each other
off the board. Plans, or PLNs, to get together to play the game were
made, cancelled, re-arranged, settled, upset, and mangled until
finally a day arrived where all four members of the team were able
to be in one place for a couple of hours. YES!

Er, no. It turns out that Guards! Guards! is, in the words of the
Nac Mac Feegle, "verra comp-lick-ated". Oh waily waily!

The basic object of the game is for each player to collect the seven
plus one Great Spells and return them to Unseen University. Each
player is a member of a Guild that gives them a home section of the
board and different basic skills, and can acquire extra guild skill,
charm or magic as the game progresses. Each player recruits
characters, taken from the entire Discworld series, who have
different characteristics such as street wisdom, toughness, loyalty
and magic power, in order to help their mission. Players can bribe
or charm recruits, set them up to sabotage other players' attempts
to return a spell, or use them in fights if they bump into each
other on the board. Some recruits are also secret members of the
Elucidated Order of the Ebon Night who may at times, depending on
Fate, gather to summon a dragon to wreak havoc on a section of the
board. Fate cards can also decree other actions, some of which can
be positive and many of which are negative. Players can be infected
with Pox, which handicaps them until they visit a hospital to be
cured, and those with Pox can infect other players.  Useful items
and spells can be obtained by purchase or visiting a temple. To top
it all off, the Luggage wanders around the board stomping on players
who get in its way.

Phew, that's quite a lot! DisBo, our official Reader of Rules, had
to spend 15 minutes working out enough of the basics to start the
game. Then a try-it-out round ensued, which involved about an hour
of the basics of gameplay without any of the complicating factors
like dragons or sabotages. It took that long for our reviewing team
to get the hang of things and decide that, in fact, the game was
quite enjoyable, it just needed something like six hours to play. A
second, longer session was proposed, agreed upon, and promptly Dis-
organised.

Several weeks later...

Attempt the Second was convened and more time allowed for playing,
but once again we were defeated. We did get through enough game play
in a couple of hours to work out how all of the different features
work, but still only played about a quarter of the game — enough
time for DisBo and the Dean to resume their warfare, and for us all
to comment on the artwork depicting many Discworld characters (and
correct DisBo's pronunciation of some of the names, Pterry neophyte
that he is). In order to be as thorough as possible, official Owner
of the Game "Madame de Worde" therefore graciously allowed DisBo to
take it to his favourite bar to be rigorously tested by the Sundry
Denizens at the weekly games night on pain of pain should any damage
occur.

The overall opinion of all, in the end, was that the game is rather
too complicated. It has many good ideas, but there are so many of
them that instead of being a good, fun game it becomes a slog where
so many things slow the game play down that the basics become
repetitive. We had a mix of Discworld fans and non-fans, and this
seemed to hold true for all.

For the fans, there was also some hit-and-miss artwork and some
inconsistencies that were annoying. Some of the cards were lovely
representations of the depicted character, and some were very, very
wrong. And while great care had gone into finding a quote describing
each character to accompany the portrait, the game characteristics
assigned to each had little or nothing to do with how that character
was portrayed in the books. For someone not familiar with the books,
like DisBo, that would make no difference to how the game is played,
but for a fan the inconsistency was annoying.

There were also rules that were not well enough defined and caused
some problems with game play. For instance, there was nothing in the
rules about what happens when a player has been stomped on by the
Luggage and a player with the Pox already occupies the nearest
hospital. Does the stomped player get Pox, and if so, do the two
players continually re-infect each other as they try to leave the
hospital? Or should the stomped play instead go to the nearest
unoccupied hospital? The Sundry Denizens were unable to work out a
useful way of dealing with this situation.

In summary, this is a game clearly designed by big fans of the
Discworld, full of loving detail and good ideas to make the game
different. However, the good ideas should have, perhaps, to be
scaled back a little in order to not clash and cause the game to
drag out. Ultimate verdict: promising, but flawed.


Review of Guards! Guards!: The Board Game
by Steven D'Aprano

In "Guards! Guards!" (available from http://www.guardsguards.com),
the eight Great Spells are loose again, and it is up to you to
retrieve them, with a little help from the denizens of the Big
Wahoonie itself. Provided you can persuade or bribe them into
helping, while avoiding the pox, saboteurs, dragons, and the
Luggage.

"Guards! Guards!" is for serious game players: it takes a lot of
time to play all the way to the end, and there are a lot of rules to
learn and deal with: rules for winning over volunteers, combat with
dragons, conflict between players, collecting the Spells, wizards'
challenges, and more. The instruction manual even suggests that game
players can reduce the time needed by setting easier goals for
victory. But it can be fun, particularly for dedicated gamers who
aren't intimidated by complex rule sets. Stephen Player's
illustrated volunteer cards are excellent, and so it's a pity that
they spend so much time face down. To my mind, a highlight of the
game is the Luggage, which behaves as a sort of mobile "Go Directly
To Hospital" square. Less successful are the dragons, which I
believe unbalance the game.

My first attempt at running the game was a failure: my friends and I
realised that after an hour of game play we had barely got started.
As the next day was a work day we decided to try again when we had
more free time. Our second attempt was much more successful: we were
able to get through all the major elements of game play, enough to
see the fun side of it, although again we ran out of time and
declared the game over just before I was able to spring my cunning
plan and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

I can't really recommend this game for casual game players. It's a
big game, with many rules and a lot of different things happening,
and yet at the same time it's not a fast-paced game (perhaps partly
because we had to keep stopping to check the rule book). But for
serious gamers who like a long game with a fair bit of complexity
and challenge, I think this is more than worthwhile. One weakness,
in my opinion, is that it is too easy for players to spend their
time playing defensively by avoiding each other. But once we decided
to throw caution to the wind, the game thawed nicely and became much
more fun.

Overall, I would have to say that the game's successes are greater
than its failures. But next time I play "Guards! Guards!", I'll play
under House Rules and leave out the dragons.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

10) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS

10.1 REMINDER: WYRD SISTERS IN SHERBORNE

The Amateur Players of Sherborne will present their production of
Wyrd Sisters in late March.

When: Thursday 29th — Saturday 31st March 2012
Venue: Digby Hall, Sherborne, Dorset
Time: 7.30 pm
Tickets: £7.50 (Students £4). Tickets will be on sale in March.

http://www.aps-sherborne.co.uk/forthcoming-productions.html


10.2  COME JOIN THE STC

The Studio Theatre Club, otherwise known as Stephen Briggs' home
from home, is seeking warm bodies, um, fresh meat, erm, new
personnel:

"We enjoy staging a wide range of plays at the Unicorn Theatre in
Abingdon and we want our audiences to see the best shows possible.
We also meet socially outside rehearsals - for informal parties,
meals, pub nights, country walks, clubbing, girls' nights, lads'
nights, sitting around the TV watching old Johnny Depp DVDs, cinema
& theatre visits and other stuff I didn't think of when I was typing
this..."

For more info and a list of official and unofficial STC rules, go
to:

http://www.studiotheatreclub.com/index.html


10.3 GUARDS! GUARDS! IN CHIPPING SODBURY

The Sodbury Players will be performing their production of Guards!
Guards! in May.

When: 16th-19th May 2012
Time: 19:30, except for 19th May: 22:30 (hmm, bit of a late start...
- Ed.)
Venue: Chipping Sodbury Town Hall, Broad Street, Chipping Sodbury,
S. Gloucestershire
Tickets: £8 (concessions £7)
Box Office: 0844 332 0230 or tickets@...

http://www.sodburyplayers.org.uk/


10.4 THE TRUTH IN DURHAM

The Shoestring Theatre Company will present their production of The
truth in early May.

When: Thursday 3rd May to Saturday 5th May 2012
Venue: Stanley Community Centre, Tyne Road, Stanley, Durham DH9 6PZ
Time: Performances start 7:15pm
Tickets: £5 (£4 concessions)

For more details, email shoestringtc@... or ring 0776 675 1048


10.5 MASKERADE IN HAYLING ISLAND

Hayling Island Amateur Dramatic Society (HIADS) will be presenting
Maskerade next month.

When:Sat 19th May — Sat 26th May
Venue: Station Theatre, Station Road, Hayling Island PO11 0EH
Time: 7:45pm
Tickets: £7

http://www.hiads.org.uk


10.5 JOHNNY AND THE BOMB: NOW, THE MUSICAL!

Matthew Holmes, creator of the excellent TAMAHER The Musical, has
now turned his hand to adapting Johnny and the Bomb for children's
theatre, and a little birdie tells me it follows an appropriate
World War 2-era music theme and is very good indeed. The hour-long
production, which features seven songs and non-vocal music, had its
successful premieres at Church Broughton Primary School in
Derbyshire on the 8th and 9th of February and John Port School (also
in Derbyshire) on the 21st and 22nd of March.

The performance pack for Johnny and the Bomb (ISBN 9781408165607)
will be published by A&C Black/Bloomsbury Publishing PLC on 16th
August 2012. In the meantime, Waterstones online offers a pre-order
service:

"Sir Terry Pratchett's enquiring adventure into time travel has its
young teen hero, Johnny Maxwell, and his friends confronted with
their own bomb-stricken street in WWII. Can they change history and
avert the catastrophe? Matthew Holmes' script and song superbly
support the plot in a musical for young people to perform and
everyone to enjoy. Johnny and his friends travel back in time to
their own street, site of a bombing raid intended for a nearby
industrial complex. 'Collateral damage' is not the only disturbing
issue: what happens to the present if you try to save lives in the
past? Serious subjects, but with Terry Pratchett there's always the
humour as well, and the musical includes a host of likeable
characters. Matthew Holmes' script skilfully carries the plot along
in Terry Pratchett style and his music swings to contemporary pop
and the glorious sound of the forties Big Band. The complete
performance pack with its photocopiable script and piano vocal score
includes everything you need for rehearsing and presenting the final
show, plus there's full audio support on CD so you don't need to
read a note of music."

http://tinyurl.com/7twc2xo

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

11) DISCWORLD ARTS AND CRAFTS NEWS

We do need some steenkin batches! Here be the latest from PJSM
Prints:

Unseen University Alumni Badge: "Cock-a-snook at mere undergraduates
with this Unseen University Alumni Badge." Approximately 35mm high.
Price £4.50

Unseen University Doctoral badge: "Cock-an-even-bigger-snook at
holders of inferior degrees with this Unseen University Doctoral
Badge." Approximately 40mm high. Price £4.95

http://www.pjsmprints.com/


New Discworld minis — including Moist as head of Royal Bank with
golden top hat and Mr Fusspot (£8.00), Tiffany Aching with frying
pan (£7.50), and Guards!Guards!-era Sam Vimes in nightshirt and
fluffy slippers and armed with a loaded dragon (£7.50):

http://www.pjsmprints.com/miniatures/index.html


Those College Hoodies are now available as T-shirts! By Fruit of the
Loom (still a reputable quality Roundworld manufacturer) and priced
at £15.00 each, they come in sizes Small (38"), Medium (40"), Large
(43"), Extra Large (45"), and Extra Extra Large (48"). Designs
include Unseen University (golden yellow on burgundy), Brazeneck
College (burgundy on heather grey), and Bugarup University (white on
royal blue):

http://www.paulkidby.com/tshirts/college-2.html


...and another new ecard from the Cunning Artificer. This one's very
Monty Python-influenced and quite sweet...erm...that is...

http://discworldemporium.com/ecards/demo/?card=FromTheHeart

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

12) DEATH VERSUS...DEATH?!

Here be a fun little gem of an article entitled "Literary Slap
Fight: Gaiman's Death vs. Pratchett's Death", in which Susan Sto
Helit stands in for her more famous grandfather (as she often does
in Discworld narrative):

"Sure, we could comb through the world's rich mythology and pick our
favorite Grim Reaper, but why do that when our favorites can only be
found in the works of the two greatest living British authors. Both
Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett have famous Deaths, and today we pit
them against each other for the honor of hauling our pasty spirit
out of the tub into whatever after life there is.

"In This Corner: In Neil Gaiman's Sandman cosmology, the functions
of living existence are overseen by seven beings called the Endless.
The second eldest of these is Death. Don't let the perky goth girl
outfit and bright smile fool you. Yes, she is friendly face upon the
end of your life, but she takes her job very seriously, and as one
of the most powerful forces in the universe it is generally bad idea
to piss her off.

​"And In This Corner: To keep things on a more even keel,
Pratchett's Discworld will actually be represented by Death's
granddaughter Susan Sto-Helit, who occasionally fills in for her
grandfather in times of need. Though she spends most of her time out
in the non-paranormal world, she has access to a wide variety of
abilities whenever she assumes her heritage..."

http://tinyurl.com/88d2pe4

(Be sure to click through to the second page!)

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

13) DISCWORLD CONVENTION NEWS

13.1 UNSEEN UNIVERSITY CONVIVIUM UPDATES

AUTUMNAL UPDATE

Ladies, Gentlemen and Students, there's now only just over three
months until the Unseen University Convivium! Please come and join
us at the University of Adelaide, South Australia, Roundworld on
July 6-8, 2012. Details of the Convivium are, as always, available
at http://ausdwcon.org

ACCOMMODATION

We have managed to arrange some deals with hotels and hostels near
the University, so please consider booking at one of the following
places: http://ausdwcon.org/pages/accommodation

Options range from a luxurious four star hotel down to the budget
backpackers — but please do not feel restricted by our
recommendations, stay anywhere you like.

For those who would like to save money and share a room with a
strange friend or friendly stranger, please use this forum thread
for arranging things:

http://ausdwcon.org/forums/1/topics/495

If you live locally in Adelaide and would be willing to give up your
spare bed or floor space to a visitor, or if you're a visitor who
really wants to save money, please discuss billeting arrangements on
this forum thread:

http://ausdwcon.org/forums/1/topics/496

PROGRAMME HIGHLIGHTS

Some newly released information for items on our programme!

* The Maskerade costume competition is now open for applicants! You
can read all the details and
download an application form at

http://ausdwcon.org/pages/maskerade

* Transmogrification — Get yourself turned into a frog. Or a
werewolf, troll, zombie, vampire, Feegle, or any other creature!
Face & body painting available by appointment only at reasonable
prices. In addition, a demonstration of a full-body painting will be
done during Gaudy Night. To find out more details, see:

http://ausdwcon.org/pages/bodypainting

And of course, our wondrous guests and performers will be presenting:

* Unseen Theatre Company's "Pratchett Pieces 3" — reprising some of
their short plays from the
Adelaide Fringe Festival
* Snowgum Films presents some behind-the-scenes footage and info
about their in-production film "Troll Bridge", based on the Terry
Pratchett short story
* Martin Pearson performs his own style of comedy and folk music
* Matt Falloon and his Trained Balloons will turn inflated bladders of
rubber into magical creatures before your very eyes!
* Matt Falloon will also be presenting Magic and Ballooning workshops
for those who wish to learn these amazing skills.

You can find out more about other programme items at
http://ausdwcon.org/pages/programme

The Unseen University Convivium programme runs at the following times:
Fri 6 July — 6pm to midnight
Sat 7 July — 9am to midnight
Sun 8 July — 10am to 5pm
Mon 9 July (Winery & Gourmet Tours) — 9am to 5pm

A more detailed timetable of events will be available in early June.
We are also still looking for several volunteers to run or
participate in various programme items, so please check out the list
and let us know if you can help us out!

EXCLUSIVE CONVIVIUM ATTENDEES-ONLY T-SHIRT AND SCARF

If there's one thing you need to show your friends that you've
attended the best Australian Discworld fan gathering of 2012, it's a
t-shirt bearing the slogan "I Learned To Spell Like A Wizzard."

If there's another thing, it's an official Unseen University
Convivium scarf.

Both items are now available for preorder at:

http://ausdwcon.org/pages/exclusive_merch

These are exclusive to Convivium attendees only, and can be picked
up from the Faculty on arrival at the University. Orders must be
made by June 6th.

You can still buy other items of merchandise (available to everyone,
everywhere) from our Cafepress store at:

http://cafepress.com/unseenuni

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Read all the information available at the website: http://ausdwcon.org
Like us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/UnseenUni
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/UnseenUni
Send us an email: UnseenUni2012@...

NULLUS ANXIETAS IV

Last of all, we'd like to let you know that the next major
Australian Discworld Convention after the Convivium will be Nullus
Anxietas IV, to be held at the Bell Rydges Hotel and Convention
Centre in Melbourne, Victoria from 8-10 March, 2013.

Detailed information will be at http://ausdwcon.org
after the Convivium, but for now, you can use social media to keep
yourself informed:
Facebook — http://www.facebook.com/NullusAnxietasIV
Twitter — http://www.twitter.com/NullusAnxietas4
Google+ — https://plus.google.com/105712341206990016676

Yours academically,

The Faculty
Unseen University Convivium
University of Adelaide, South Australia, 6-8 July 2012
http://ausdwcon.org


13.2 AUSDWCON 2013 NEWS

The official poster for Nullas Anxietas 4!

http://tinyurl.com/7g3xmk6


13.3 WINCANTON SPRING EVENT 2012

"The next Discworld event in our calendar will be on the 5th and 6th
May 2012 in our hometown, Wincanton. This event is cosier and more
relaxed than our Hogswatch weekends, but is nonetheless bursting
with active ingredients and Pratchetty goodness to keep the
Discworld fan energised and enlightened! In a tenuous tribute to
this year's forthcoming Roundworld events, the Spring Fling shall
curtsey to the Queen's Jubilee and, er, squat thrust to the Olympics
with a Mr Shine Him Diamond/Gods theme. May trolls and deities
abound!"

http://www.discworldemporium.com/

13.4 NADWCON 2013 UPDATES

The new official convention logo!

http://tinyurl.com/77suwbn

Some cautionary hotel news:

Because we keep getting asked and since we now have the hotel
contract signed I have created an official event for 2013. Start and
end times are subject to change based on programming and we will
update these to reflect the official opening and closing ceremony.

It is out intention to have the opening ceremony mid to late
afternoon to allow those traveling on the 5th to attend. The closing
ceremony will most likely be from 3-4pm. I expect there will be some
programming items prior to the official opening ceremony.

I will endeavour to get the dates prominently displayed on FB front
page.

Richard,
Chair, NADWCon 2013

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

14) DISCWORLD GROUPS MEETING NEWS

The City of Small Gods Terry Pratchett Fan Club meets on the last
Thursday of the month from 6.30pm at the Ed Castle, 233 Currie St,
Adelaide (South Australia). Details, discussions and organisation of
extra events (such as play outings) are held on their email mailing
list, so do sign up at:

https://groups.google.com/group/adelaide-discworld-fans

*

The next meeting of the Broken Drummers, London's original Discworld
meeting group, will be from 7pm on 2nd April 2012 at the Monkey
Puzzle, 30 Southwick Street, London W2 1JQ.

http://www.steeljam.co.uk/brokendrummers/

*

Drummers Downunder meet on the first Monday of every month in Sydney
at Maloneys, corner of Pitt & Goulburn Streets, at 6.30pm. The next
meeting will be on 2nd April 2012. For more information, contact
Sue (aka Granny Weatherwax) on kenworthys@...

*

Perth Drummers meet on the traditional of first Monday of the month.
The next meeting will be from 6pm on 2nd April 2012 at The Vic
Hotel, 226 Hay St, Subiaco. For more information contact:

Daniel Hatton at daniel_j_hatton@...

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

15) ACTION REPLAY: PTERRY'S UPDATED BIOGRAPHY AT PJSM PRINTS

In case you missed this, the biography page was updated last year by
Colin Smythe. Well worth a read, as are Colin's collected convention
reports!

http://www.pjsmprints.com/biography/terrypratchett.html

http://www.colinsmythe.co.uk/terrypages/tpemailnews.htm

(not http://www.colinsmythe.co.uk/terrypages/tpconventions.htm as
given on the PJSM bio page)

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

16) IMAGES OF THE MONTH

16.1 Covers! For Dodger! Both the UK and the USA versions:

http://tinyurl.com/6nzklzx


16.2 "My name is Tom Broadbent. I'm a photographer..." Broadbent's blog
about his Pterry photoshoot for Bizarre magazine (see also Around
the Blogosphere) includes two lovely shots!

http://tinyurl.com/88ja7p5


16.3 A great-looking larger image of last year's UK Nanny Ogg postage
stamp:

http://tinyurl.com/7x2lsvp


16.4 ...and some fabulous Paul Kidby Discworld art:

Rincewind in Fourecks: http://tinyurl.com/7aogzwv

Conina (wow!): http://tinyurl.com/7wvusnj

Greebo, human form, opera-ready (wrowwwrrr!):

http://tinyurl.com/7goglsq

Death, the beekeeper: http://tinyurl.com/6mae54d

Vimes, with loaded dragon: http://tinyurl.com/75agry8

The Hogfather (stamp design): http://tinyurl.com/865nqmg

...and Victor Tugelbend, perfectly captured as a 50-50 blend of
Errol Flynn and Liam Neeson:

http://tinyurl.com/6otjcgx

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

17) "APOCALYPSE COW" ALMOST READY TO ROLL

Michael Logan, co-winner of the first Pratchett Prize, is looking
forward to seeing his finished book on the shelves:

"We aren't there yet. It's rather like climbing a mountain and
reaching a plateau near the top only to see another peak ahead. The
foreword by Terry Pratchett, dedications, author bio and
acknowledgements are all missing from the text, but the end is now
in sight, and to actually have something in my hand that looks like
a book feels wonderful. The cover was exactly as I expected, and
looks very striking, but I was also pleased with the spine, which
looks very funky, and the prominent quote from Sir Terry on the
back, saying the book made him 'snort with laughter'. Even if the
book bombs, knowing I made the man considered one of Britain's
foremost humorists laugh gives me a sense of achievement that will
remain with me for the rest of my life..."

http://tinyurl.com/78qxc9k

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

18) DISCWORLD AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE

Blogger easyondeyes on Jingo:

Ever since I read my first Terry Pratchett I was completely bowled
over by his storytelling; from the style of it to the content of it,
I found it riveting and the love has not waned. I love the way he
takes simple things we know and turns them on their head or twists
them till everything is facing the other way; and how even his
twisted and undeniable humour cannot hide the gentle, unbending
wisdom that runs through his tales. I wouldn't care if Pratchett
wrote for 5-year olds I'd still read his books... Jingo is a book
about everything and nothing.  No, I'm not getting philosophical on
you. But unless people fighting over an uninhabitable island that
grew out of the sea is an everyday incident for you then yes, it is
about nothing.  And yet, the metaphor is one that cannot be
missed.... as the crisis is brought to strangely unexpected
solutions (yes, more than one and unexpected if you're not reading a
Pratchett novel) you can't help but wonder if there are some
unlikely heroes amongst us too who'll rise when we need them most
and miraculously everything will be just peachy..."

http://tinyurl.com/7c64jp9


Ashtoreth Eldritch had a self-described "Weatherwax Moment":

"What it is about semi-truck drivers that think they can be road
hogs just because they're in a huge, gas guzzling machine is beyond
me. Said driver had parked across two columns of spaces and most of
one of the driving aisles, and decided that he was going to move
forward after I had begun backing my car out of my parking space. I
stopped in the middle of the aisle, turned round and stared at him.
He blinked and crept forward an inch. I stared at him. He blinked. I
stared. He blinked. The wheels on the semi began to move backward
very slowly..."

http://tinyurl.com/8ygzc6l


Blogger ashsilverlock offers a Pratchett overview:

"Pratchett makes no secret of outside influences on his work: they
are a major source of his humour. He imports numerous characters
from classic literature, popular culture and ancient history, always
adding an unexpected twist. Pratchett is also a crime novel fan,
which is reflected in the frequent appearances of the Ankh-Morpork
City Watch in the Discworld series. Growing up, Pratchett cites his
earliest inspiration as coming from reading the works of H G Wells,
Arthur Conan Doyle and, in his words, 'every book you really ought
to read' – something which he later came to regard as the best
education he could ever have received. It was the fantasy genre
which always held a special interest for Pratchett, however, as
illustrated by the comments he made in his acceptance speech upon
being presented with the Carnegie Medal, one of the most prestigious
awards in literature... With millions of fans and conventions
arranged regularly to celebrate his work, Pratchett is one of the
few authors who seems to have an influence that reaches well outside
his writing. He is involved in charitable work, voices political
opinions (often controversially so) and is incredibly generous with
his time to both fans and collaborators..."

http://tinyurl.com/7un7cx3


Blogger Literary Tiger has fallen in love with tCoM, but most of all
with the Luggage:

"My favorite character (if you can call it that) is the sapient
pearwood luggage. It's like a loyal pet that follows Twoflower
everywhere. It carries all of Twoflower's things, and it can get
vicious if kept between it and its master. I confess that I probably
would not have chosen this book on my own. It was a book club pick,
but I'm glad I read it.  So, if you're in a humorous frame of mind,
stop by Discworld. Don't worry too much about all the different
things you will encounter, you'll get the hang of it soon enough..."

http://tinyurl.com/75sdwsp


Blogger Ginna offers a brief review of Monstrous Regiment:

"Okay, so I like Terry Pratchett a whole lot! And this book is one
of the reasons why. The story follows a girl named Polly in the war
weary land of Borogravia (in Pratchett's Discworld). Polly's brother
has been away on the front lines for some time, leaving her to take
care of the family business. But when Polly doesn't hear from Paul,
and she risks losing their inn if he doesn't come  home soon, Polly
decides that she can't sit at home anymore. She cuts off her hair,
calls herself 'Oliver,' and joins Sergeant Jackrum's peculiar band
of inadequate recruits. (I know a few of you are thinking 'this has
been done a million times,' but, trust me, you haven't heard this
story before! There are twists that make this book 1000% worth
reading.)..."

http://tinyurl.com/7sms5rt


Blogger bodastory only just discovered Pratchett and Discworld (by
way of reading Going Postal as a first try!), but has embraced both
with delighted enthusiasm:

"I read it straight away, despite having a backlog of oooohh at
least 12 other books 'to be read', and had to admit my friend was
right, he was an amazing author! Obviously I started collecting his
works straight away (no mean feat as I live in Spain but collect
books in my native English, hurrah for the internet!) and I soon
picked out my favourites. Strangely, even though it was my first,
'Going Postal' is not one of my favourites. I loved – and still
love – Vetinari, but my absolute favourite characters are Nanny
Ogg, Granny Weatherwax, Death, Mustrum Ridcully, Sam Vimes and, of
course, the unforgettable 'Nobby' Nobbs.

"Pratchett's dry observations about society, our worries and our
issues are hilarious, poignant and right on the ball. His books are
a mix of sarcasm, wit, magic and pure genius. They can be read as a
series or alone, and you can expect to find observations on ANY
subject, ranging from football, dancing, foreigners, Hollywood,
death, science, fairy tales, rock'n'roll, hierarchy, literature,
modern-day films and much more... A person who since 1983 has
written two books a year on average, sold over 75 million books
worldwide in thirty-seven languages, has an asteroid named after
them, was the UK's best-selling author of the 1990s, and is
currently still writing despite suffering from Alzheimer's disease,
is a genius in anyone's book..."

http://tinyurl.com/82mamrf


Blogger L.S. Engler is back, this time with a review of Moving
Pictures:

"One of my favorite things about Pratchett's writing is the nuance
he's able to accomplish. His humor and jokes are often subversive
and subtle, clever and underhanded. Most of the jokes and humor in
Moving Pictures, however, felt a little too obvious for my tastes.
As a matter of fact, the book itself felt that way. A parody of
Hollywood and the movie business, the writing is still smart, the
satire of such a pop culture entity searing, but it is one of the
earlier Discworld novels and I often feel that Pratchett hasn't
quite hit his stride yet with some of them. I was tempted to say
that perhaps the problem is that Hollywood is a distinctly American
phenom: Pratchett's British humor might be clashing a little with
the outrageous of an American product, but then I recall Witches
Abroad, which bring his characters to a very New Orleans setting,
and I thought that book was brilliant... Moving Pictures was still a
delight, though perhaps not the full tour de force as some of my
favorite Discworld tales. There is still an awful lot of clever
stuff going on here, some very nice turning of traditional
conventions and cliches onto their ears, and two main characters
that I found incredible real in the fact that I saw a lot of myself
in both of them..."

http://tinyurl.com/832v76h


Blogger The Raging Bibliophile wants a new ratings system, having
given Snuff more than five out of five stars:

"The best [Discworld] books are either the ones that are just
straight-up funny or the ones that tackle an issue with aplomb...
This is also not to say that I disliked the earlier books that
riffed on various plots from Shakespeare and the Greeks (Lords &
Ladies is terrific) but as Pratchett has gotten older, he's
started to turn his hand to social commentary. This is the first
book that I can remember (granted it's been many years since I
started the series and there are like 40 books) that, while quite
funny, tips the scales in favor of the social issues... I will say
that the funny is slightly lessened in this book as compared to
others. Sure, there's still something laugh-out-loud funny every
few pages – but there's a real seriousness to the tone of the
book and I'd be lying if I said that didn't catch me off-
guard... I found that the book demanded more from me than I
expected. Even the scenes of Sam watching Young Sam and reflecting
on what it is to be a father... there was an incredibly human
shading to all of it that touched something deep inside of me..."

http://ragingbiblioholism.com/2012/03/18/snuff/


Blogger Jen Dublin approves of Unseen Academicals:

"What I love most about Pratchett's writing style (aside from his
irreverent humor) is how Pratchett times the punch lines. His timing
builds anticipation so I wanted to keep reading. I knew something
was coming but I didn't know what which made this book fun to
read. And another aspect that I love about Unseen Academicals is
that it all comes together. The book has a plot and character
development. At times I wondered how Pratchett was going to tie all
together. Everything seemed to be a bit disorganized, but as I read
on everything made sense. The main characters are likeable (even
Lord Vetinari), and while there were a couple of slow spots, the
book provided a fast-paced read..."

http://dublinsreadingroom.com/2012/03/20/unseen-academicals/


Blogger jennieflower has mixed feelings about tCoM:

"This is the first novel in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series which
has sold over 20 million copies as a series since this book was
published in 1983.  I had never felt inclined to read a Terry
Pratchett novel before; I always thought that you needed to have a
lot of imagination to get along with them.  After reading The Colour
of Magic, I think I judged too harshly but it still wasn't my cup of
tea... I enjoyed the first story very much, it starts at the end of
the story and then goes back to how it unfolded.  The second story
was quite dramatic, but by the third I was quite bored..."

http://tinyurl.com/6r97f7b


...while blogger Lena Frank was thoroughly charmed by it:

"I admit when I first started, it took a bit to wrap my brain around
the eclectic style and imagery that Pratchett uses. Once I got into
the storyline though, it became a fun rollercoaster. Seriously, what
is there not to love about place & time distortions happening in the
middle of your storyline? His writing reminds me greatly of Douglas
Adams' work, as in they both make me laugh out loud and look
ridiculous wherever I'm reading..."

http://tinyurl.com/7gu62wl


Blogger and author Katie McDermott, aka A Thoroughly Good Blue,
offers a paean to Sir Pterry as author, Professor, *and* blackboard
monitor:

"Terry Pratchett is the reason I write because he taught me the fun
you can have with language. He taught me how important it is to
imagine how things should be and work towards them.He taught me a
lot about people. His presence as a member of staff in Trinity
College was the icing on the cake when [she was] choosing to study
here. His inaugural lecture last year was brilliant and this year
there was a questions and answers session with him and the head of
the English Department. Myself and my friends were sitting in the
front row, a meter, maybe a meter and a half from the genius
himself. Afterwards there was a wine reception and while a few
people monopolised his time, asking questions and that, we still got
a picture with him and got to hob-nob over glasses of wine in the
same room..."

http://tinyurl.com/7lob6ne


Blogger element119 liked Thud! so much that s/he reviewed it twice:

"Studying philosophy means that reading a light hearted work of
fiction is a breath of fresh air compared to reading the dense
original works of philosophers or even articles that comment on
their original work. Anyway, as usual, I stood in some bookshop with
a dumb look about my face. I had no idea what to get, I didn't know
what I felt like reading and everything just seemed so bleh. And
then I spotted Terry Pratchett's book, Thud! A smile crept over my
face, a smile of pure glee. Here and there in my childhood, I have
picked up Terry Pratchett's books and not a single one of them has
managed to disappoint me..."

http://tinyurl.com/75jhuaq

"Now it all sounds serious and political, and in a sense there are
serious messages within it. The historical aspect of the conflict
between the Dwarves and Trolls reminded me of the real world
irrational hate between ethnicities, one of the notorious ones being
the Hutu and Tutsi in Rwanda which ended in a horrific genocide. But
of course, it is not so one sided and dull, as Pratchett uses a
combination of humour and real world parallels which are quite
charming. The one thing I remember from the book clearly was a
Gooseberry, a device obviously named after the Blackberry, that is
owned by Samuel Vimes. It is also very much like a Blackberry in its
functions; setting alarms, events, telling the time and carrying out
mathematical calculations, except that it is not a simple machine,
but a box that contains a mystic imp that speaks. Much more exciting
than a machine with a screen..."

http://tinyurl.com/7bb3zfh


Blogger Janet Sketchley was happily slain by Mort:

"Thank you to my friends who've been suggesting I read Terry
Pratchett. Starting part-way through his Discworld series may not
have been the wisest idea, but Mort stands alone quite nicely and I
don't think I lost anything this way..."

http://tinyurl.com/7phn2kk


Blogger The Imaginarator hasn't finished Snuff yet, but so far
thinks it's, well, up to snuff:

"Finally got my hands on the latest Terry Pratchett novel for the
DiscWorld series. Ok it's been out since October last year but I
haven't had time to read it until today. I'm only about 60 pages
into the book and it's been an absorbing read. I've always loved
almost any book by Pratchett and this is no exception. The last book
I read was I shall wear midnight, the final book in the Tiffany
Aching and Wee Free Men 'trilogy'. That made me laugh till my
stomach literally ached. So I have high hopes for Snuff..."

http://tinyurl.com/7tuydoa


Blogger quorren is rapturous about Witches Abroad:

"The book dovetailed perfectly with my on-again-off-again book, My
Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me, a modern collection of
short stories with a fairy tale vibe.  Fairy tales have been having
a comeback lately, with two Snow White movies due out soon and two
TV shows.  I love being an armchair sociologist, so I've been
fascinated by the past recent years trying to figure out why
something in our collective subconscious was drawn to superhero
movies.  And what is now pulling us towards fairy tales? The two
genres do have their similarities, namely being a conflict between
good vs. evil resurgence..."

http://tinyurl.com/6u97yk9


Blogger Brook Kuhn reviews Wyrd Sisters:

"Granny Weatherwax is making her second appearance here, and brings
with her Pratchett's concept of 'headology', which largely comes
down to that if you insist that things work a certain way, most
people will believe you, and if you're stubborn enough about it, you
can usually bully the universe into agreeing with you, too. Magrat
is Pratchett's usual 'awkwardly normal-looking, even in the right
light' heroine, and parodies the new age witches. Granny Ogg is...
well, an old woman who likes to sing about hedgehogs when drunk.
I've read a fair share of Discworld books, and this is certainly one
of them. It's funny and clever, but never amazingly so. I enjoyed
it, but I didn't get into it the way I did some of the others..."

http://tinyurl.com/8yw6u5w


Blogger Labyrinth Librarian is back, musing on Moving Pictures the
novel, and the power of real-life moving pictures:

"I could, if I wanted, just start to catalog all the movie
references that Pratchett makes in this book, but that would be
ridiculous. Besides, someone has already done that for me, over at
L-Space, and even they say it's impossible to list them all. Suffice
it to say, if enough people remember it from classic cinema, then
it's in this book in one way or another. If it's a story told about
Hollywood and they heyday of the studio system, then it's in here
too. Whether you're an avid fan of the cinema or you just watch
whatever your friends are watching, you should be able to get a lot
of enjoyment out of this.

"The themes that Pratchett explores in this book are interesting,
too. One of these is the nature of fame. In one scene, the Patrician
of Ankh-Morpork, a man who holds the life of the city in his hands,
is seated next to Vincent and Ginger, the Disc's first movie
superstars. Even though the Patrician has worked hard to become the
ruler of the city, even though he is responsible for the lives and
well-being of everyone in it, he is still far less famous and
beloved than these two people who are famous just for standing in
front of a camera and saying things. And even though he knows this,
he still feels an odd thrill that he's actually sitting next to
them... As he does so often, Pratchett is using his world to comment
on our own, and in doing so is taking note of the immense power that
Hollywood has..."

http://tinyurl.com/7ry57nc


Blogger Ermilia aka Eliabeth (note spelling) Hawthorne gives Eric
four out of five stars:

"Eric has a few drops of very interesting wisdom like laughing at
the world to keep from losing your mind.  Humans are more devious
than demons as the demons take note from the humans on how to
dethrone their leader and how best to torture people in Hell.
Inspiration from literature includes Homer's Iliad and Dante's
Inferno. It's a cute, possibly young adult story and very quick to
read..."

http://tinyurl.com/7ph7x9h


Blogger Ms Walsh was pleased by Snuff:

"I enjoyed Vimes tearing through the country side bringing Justice
to all who thought that they were beyond the law. However I was
expecting a little bit more justice but they just seemed to be dealt
with within a sentence or two :( Although this is a 'Watch' story
they weren't in it that much – I generally like these stories
however this time it felt that they didn't add much to it. I know
all of this sounds a bit negative but I did enjoy it and spent the
entire afternoon finishing this book"

http://tinyurl.com/6qgnod6


...and so was her friend Nicholas Whyte:

"Latest of the Vimes sub-series of Discworld novels by Terry
Pratchett; once again, as in Thud, he takes Vimes out of Ankh-
Morpork and the story is the better for it. I really enjoyed the
combination of toilet humour (because poo is always funny) with cold
clinical rage against racial injustice; I got a little lost with
some of the topography of the river, but then there are not a lot of
authors who would simultaneously try and satirise both Jane Austen
and Mark Twain..."

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1893935.html


Professional photographer and blogger Tom Broadbent talks about how
much he enjoyed shooting Sir Pterry for Bizarre magazine:

"The shoot was at a bar in Mayfair, and Terry greeted us with a warm
handshake and an offer of a cocktail. Which I would happily have
accepted were I not about to shoot one of the grand old men of
fantasy. As Terry and the journalist started shooting the breeze, I
couldn't help but notice what my editor had decided to sit on. It
was a black sheep, that's not an analogy. There were real black
sheep all over the bar. I had to convince Terry to sit on one for my
photo. Had to. There was no other way we were both leaving this
place until he'd posed on a sheep for me..."

http://tinyurl.com/88ja7p5


Self-confessed fanboy Damian aka Damo, who is on the AusDWcon
(Nullus Anxietas) organising committee, offers his Hogfather-heavy
musings on lies to children:

"I've gone from child to parent with Christmas these past couple of
years co-habiting with my soon-to-be step-daughter. It changes
everything! I ate three mince pies before I was satisfied with the
'santa bite mark' I left on the pie left behind for him. Oh, the
sacrifice! And my reindeer dental print in the carrot had to be seen
to be believed. For Easter one year I created massive bunny
footprints on the carpet. A point. I have one. Ah yes, my point
being that to maintain these beliefs for our credulous offspring (or
step-offspring, or random children on the street) we lie to them.
Unashamedly and with delighted malice (or is that just me?)..."

http://tinyurl.com/78emxt2


Here be a fun blog-article by Vovatia, about Jenny Greenteeth
legends. Of course the Chalk version gets a look-in, too:

"While Jenny Greenteeth is probably the most famous name for this
river hag, she's known as Peg Powler in the Durham area, and Peg
O'Nell in other parts of England. The name 'Jenny Greenteeth' is
sometimes applied to duckweed, which forms a continuous mat over the
surface of water, hence creating the illusion of safety. In fact,
it's been suggested that the hag might simply be a personification
of the plant. Finally, I should mention that Jenny appears in Terry
Pratchett's The Wee Free Men, in which Tiffany Aching knocks her out
with a frying pan..."

http://vovatia.wordpress.com/2012/03/24/how-green-were-my-teeth/


Blogger Kelly offers thoughts on the demise of the "dead tree" book
and why e-readers will, for some of us, never replace the real
thing:

"I can see the appeal of an eReader, and i intend to buy one at some
point in the future. However, that having been said, I do much
prefer reading a paper book or magazine to reading off of a computer
screen by far. For me a new book this is just been published (say a
new Discworld novel by Sir Terry Pratchett) has an appeal and smell
that is unique..."

http://tinyurl.com/6sdldbm


...and finally we come to yet another snarfleworthy train-wreck from
J. Holsworth Stevenson. His reviews have been featured here before;
when it comes to pomposity, ill-disguised ignorance, bombastic
sententiousness and overweening self-importance — not to mention an
apparent lack of a sense of humour, plus cultural perceptions so
skewed that they nearly have to be read with a sideways squint —
Stevenson never fails to disappoint... but the weirdly wonderful
thing is that he usually includes sudden compliments in his dissing
dissertations, which makes the overall jumble something of an
entertaining read. This time around it's Good Omens, which he says
"does not have much to offer":

"There are occasional digs at aspects of organised religion or
pieces of theology that either Pratchett or Gaiman find obtuse, but
generally what these authors do is set out their own systematic
theology, and despairingly ask why God – or people, or religion
– is not like that. This does not make for entertaining writing,
for the most part. It does not even make for very provocative
writing, of the kind Pratchett came up with in Small Gods, for
instance..."

http://tinyurl.com/7emf84c

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

19) CLOSE

Here be an exciting article in Canadian weekly current affairs
magazine Maclean's, about latest gadget brightening the lives of
Milwaukee zoo orangutans. No, it's not an April 1st fake:

"Once a week, zookeeper Trish Khan brings out an old iPad for them
to play with. 'I downloaded a bunch of apps I thought might interest
them,' she says. One favourite is Doodle Buddy, a fingerpainting
program; they also like apps that turn the iPad into an instrument
that can be tapped like a drum or strummed like a guitar. 'They love
to watch videos,' she says. The adult female, MJ, 'loves David
Attenborough...' Milwaukee's project has been such a hit that zoos
across North America, including Toronto, are clamouring to get some.
'We've got about 20 zoos waiting,' says Richard Zimmerman, director
of the non-profit Orangutan Outreach, which is running a campaign
called Apps for Apes that aims to get more tablet computers to zoos.
Eventually orangutans in different zoos will be able to visit each
other via Skype or FaceTime — maybe even start Internet dating..."

http://tinyurl.com/7x45k24

A page containing some Orangutan Outreach's Apps for Apes project
live videos:

http://redapes.org/apps4apes


Meanwhile, in Dublin, St Joseph's Secondary School students were
delighted to meet a certain Professor:

"The students attended the 'Unseen University Challenge' in the
Biomedical Centre, Trinity College earlier this month. The challenge
was staff versus students and the subject was of course, the novels
of Terry Pratchett, who also adjudicated. In an example of 'the
student teaching the master', the quiz was won by the students, with
quizmaster Terry Pratchett recommending to the staff that they
should read more of the author's work in future. Afterwards
Professor Pratchett took questions from the audience..."

http://tinyurl.com/836cny7

We'll be back next week with your monthly Discworld Horoscope, late
breaking news, and some in-depth reviews. Stay tuned...

– Annie Mac

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

———————————————————————————————————
The End. If you have any questions or requests, write:
interact@...
———————————————————————————————————
Copyright (c) 2012 by Klatchian Foreign Legion

WOSSNAME
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
March 2012 (Volume 15, Issue 3, Post 2)
*****************************************************************

1) A MESSAGE FROM THE MASTER
2) REVIEW: THE AMAZING MAURICE PERFORMANCE PACK
3) YOUR DISCWORLD HOROSCOPE FOR FEBRUARY
4) LATE BREAKING NEWS, AND CLOSE

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

1) A MESSAGE FROM THE MASTER

Folks,

I made my first journey to the jungles of Borneo back in 1994 to
film the Jungle Quest documentary. We travelled by some god-awful
airline and stayed in some grotty accomodation, but we shot a decent
film in less than a week. Today Rob and myself embark on another
journey to Indonesia and will be travelling in what we hope to be
slightly more luxury and will be staying until... well, we're going
to stay until the job is done. And what is that job? Hmm... for
that you will have to wait to the Autumn to find out, for no less
significant reason than the BBC have thought it best to not tell us
the whole story until we get there. Though for a little catch up on
what's going on in what remains of the jungle, you might wish to
CLICK HERE:

http://tinyurl.com/8y5u4us

And each and every day during our travel preparations (including far
too many inoculations and hallucinogenic anti-malaria pills) we have
promised ourselves that we would take time out to write a decent
update on what we've been up to. Trouble is, we've been far too
busy to take any time out and so the update would entirely consist
of great tales of;

1. Editing Long Earth.
2. Editing Dodger.
3. Shopping for dashing jungle wear.
4. Eating.
5. Sleeping.

So we'll just have to keep you up to date via Twitter (at the bottom
of this page if you're not registered) and will email photos to
Transworld for the Facebook page and also to Jason Anthony for
Discworld Monthly. That is if we find decent WiFi and, well,
electricity.

Finally, we've left a decent stock of signed books with Sandra right
HERE:

http://www.paulkidby.com/books/index.html

but you'll obviously have to wait a few weeks if items do go out of
stock while we're away.

Bon voyage to us. We'll report back as and when we can.

All the best.

(signed) Terry Pratchett


To view the original message on the web, go to PJSM Prints:

http://www.paulkidby.com/news/index.html

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

2) REVIEW: THE AMAZING MAURICE PERFORMANCE PACK

by Annie Mac

"We're educated rodents, that's a fact
And an amazing cat
It's such a crazy act..."

The musical adaptation of The Amazing Maurice and his Educated
Rodents, by Matthew Holmes, is quite simply superb. It has a non-
formulaic freshness, an enthusiasm, an almost artless charm that
thankfully doesn't have that typical "has got West End written all
over it" identikit feel.

In his crafting of a school performance-level musical of TAMAHER,
Matthew Holmes has done an admirable job of condensing plotlines,
tinkering with characters, and other necessities that crop up when
one is interpreting a work in a very different medium from the
original (can you imagine how much longer the Lord of the Rings
films would have been if Peter Jackson and company had followed the
books exactly?). The original novel's philosophical and moral points
are untouched, but there are changes; for example, the character of
Malicia takes on multiple duty: where she was only a "co-star" in
the novel, here she's not only a part of the story and songs but
also serves as narrator, introducing the audience to the enhanced
rats of the Clan and setting the background of the tale, not to
mention a bit of typical Malicia-snarky editorialising: "...this is
a proper story with sub-text, narrative tension and social
commentary. Not to mention a bit of violence. But I'm getting ahead
of myself. I'm not even in this scene..."

TAMAHERtM features seven songs plus assorted pieces of instrumental,
incidental and scene-change music. The songs cover a variety of
genres and feels including finger-popping lightness ("Tell Them a
Tale"), military march ("Trap Disposal Squad"), louche swing ("Call
the Rat Catchers"), nervy intensity ("Something's Going Down"), and
the standouts, for me: the dark, emotive power of "We Stand as One",
the metal- and power-ballad-styled menace of "The Rat King's Song",
and the Celtic rock-influenced "Pipe the Rat". The lyrics are all
cleverly constructed, as high in quality as the music, and do a fine
job of advancing the narrative:

"Join the trap disposal squad,
It's a very dang'rous job,
Always hesitate, never take the bait
In the trap disposal squad..."

Sometimes the entire cast gets to sing ("Something's Going Down in
This Town", "Pipe the Rat"), or all the Clan rats ("We Stand As
One"). Bill and Ron, the evil ratcatchers, get their moment:

"Something nibblin' all the tasty fish?
Something widdlin' in your butter dish?
Gnawin' your vegetables?
Call the professionals..."

The Rat King gets an appropriately dark, disturbing number:

"I'm the creature in the night
I'm the noise beneath the floor
I'm the scratch and I'm the bite
I am tooth and I am claw
I'm the darkness in your mind
Scream revenge upon mankind..."

The official production pack includes a production overview, staging
suggestions, and costume ideas (lots of clever and thrifty
suggestions), plus – of course – the cast list and complete script
(book, lyrics and sheet music). Also included is an invaluable CD
with backing tracks for production use and demo tracks with pre-
recorded guide vocals for rehearsal reference (performed by Kaz
Simmons and Nigel Pilkington), plus a page explaining the
performance licence and how to get one online. The illustrations by
Mike Spoor, scattered through the booklet, are both useful and
attractive. The entire soft-cover pack is beautifully presented, and
seems to me to cover absolutely everything a school would need to
know to present the show.

I always promote Pratchett-related works, but having something that
stirs real passion in me makes it more a mission than a duty. At
approximately one hour's length, TAMAHER the Musical is a little
gem, and A & C Black's classy performance pack makes it easy to
translate to the stage for a young amateur cast. Highly recommended!

*

The Amazing Maurice performance pack is priced at £26.99 from A & C
Black (who kindly furnished WOSSNAME with a sample copy):

http://www.acblack.com/music/Musicals/books/list/51

Internationally, the performance pack can be obtained via Amazon:

http://tinyurl.com/d6lb4tm

For a listen to some of the tracks, and some available downloads,
go to http://www.terrypratchettmusicals.co.uk/

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

3) THE NEW DISCWORLD HOROSCOPE
by Fernando Magnifico

Buongiorno my friends! It is I, Fernando Magnifico, and I shall be
your astrologer this month, for the Lady Asterisk is indisposed as
an overly-affectionate squid has wrapped itself around her head and
will not let go.

My friends, Fernando knows well the difficulty many peoples has with
the making of the good living. As the small child, Fernando
remembers his sainted mama bringing home the washing and the mending
to earn the money to put bread on the table for Fernando and his
sisters Rosita, Dulcetta, Serena, Gracia, Elisabetta, little Effie,
and especially Delicata who has the wonderful personality but can
eat her own weight in lasagne. Many people stop Fernando in the
street and ask for the advice in making the money. Fernando's advice
is the same as his mama taught him, and it has never steered him
wrong: work hard, don't give credit to anyone but especially not
family, and invest in shares in treacle mines, for everyone needs
treacle.

"But Fernando," these people usually say, "all these things take too
long. Isn't there some way I can get rich quick?"

Do not be afeared, my friends, for with Fernando's and the star's
magnificente advice, you CAN get rich quick! No more will you have
to spend your time picking up inconsidered trifles from the gutters,
like Sir Harry King, or going up into the mountains on very sunny
days to extract the diamond teeth from the immobile trolls. Read on
for the secrets to getting rich quickly.

Ciao bella!

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Adamant Hedgehog  21 Mar - 20 Apr

Hoggers, Fernando has the good news for you, for the stars say your
plan to get rich quick is to invest in the new golem factory, which
Fernando is molto fortunate to have the "inside scoop" as they say.
My friends, this factory is built in Istanzia, where there are the
many suppliers of the good quality clay at the reasonable prices.
The developers have made the special deal with the local government
that Miss Adora Belle Dearheart is banned from the country, so the
most excellente returns are guaranteed (except for acts of the gods,
like the factory being hit by lightning). My friends, the only tiny
roadblock remaining is finding the priest who is willing and capable
of animating new golems, but Fernando is assured that the developers
will solve that any day now.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Half-Eaten Sandwich  21 Apr - 21 May

My friends, we are all familiar with the amazing story of the Royal
Post Office, and how the Post-master General Moist von Lipwig, in
his hour of need, prayed to the goddess Anoia, who saw fit to lead
him to a lost fortune. My friends, it happened once, it could happen
again, and the stars tell Fernando that your best chances of getting
rich quick is to rattle the drawers for Anoia and perhaps throw in a
few tithes and donations. Fernando is not the religious man, but it
never hurts to have the Gods on your side, so Fernando suggests the
quadruple tithing this month.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Herne the Hunted  22 May - 21 Jun

Hernians, your secret to getting rich is one which has been tried by
many, but rarely with any success. But with the assistance of the
stars, you can strike it rich and be an Instant Winner!!![*] Listen
carefully to Fernando, for he knows this is so: your lucky number
this month is 63, except on Tuesdays, when it is 24. Green lottery
tickets are especially likely to be lucky, but avoid the red ones.
Your preferred game of cards is Hersheba Hold'Em (Fernando says,
never raise on a pair of sevens), and don't try crippling Mr Onion
this month.

[*] Disclaimer: it may take you a very long time indeed to become an
instant winner.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Wizard's Staff and Knob  22 Jun - 22 Jul

Staffies, Fernando hopes that you like the ocean, because the stars
say that your get rich quick plan is to trawl the Circumfence
looking for salvage. (What is Fernando saying? He is the most
magnificente astrologer, is he not, and he knows by consulting the
stars that you are fond of the ocean, especially the fishing part.)
My friends, salvage from the Circumfence is a good way to make the
much wealth very quickly: many a sailor has made the fortune after
salvaging chests of gold or the barrels of rarest spices from the
Brown Islands. It has to be quick, because the nation of Krull
considers that just because they built the Circumfence they have
exclusive right to collect salvage from it, and their patrols of the
heavily armed and magicked ships have a no-second chances attitude
to people found poaching from the Fence. So you can get rich quick
but you'll have to do it very fast. Trust Fernando, for this is so!

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Bilious, God of Hangovers  23 Jul - 23 Aug

Bilians, the stars are not entirely clear on your get rich scheme,
but do not be afeared, for Fernando is here to give you the
magnificente advice. The stars suggest that you should export the
finest Morporkian ales and lagers to Fourecks, or perhaps it is that
you should import the Fourecksian beer to Ankh-Morpork – sometimes
the stars are a little unclear which way these things should go.
Ankh-Morpork is the Queen of Cities, and Fernando would never say
anything against her, but it does have to be said that her beers
are, shall we say, somewhat of an acquired taste. Fernando has spent
much time in Fourecks, and you should listen carefully to him when
he says that even the most polite Fourecksian is unlikely to say "No
worries mate" if you offer them the beer that tastes like something
the cat with the bladder infection would make.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

My Uncle's Nose  24 Aug - 23 Sept

Nosers, Fernando can tell you that your plan to get rich quickly is
the oldest such plan in the book: marry someone wealthy. Yes my
friends, if it worked for His Grace the Duke of Ankh, it can work
for you too. Trust Fernando on this, there is someone for everyone,
except possibly Nobby Nobbs, for which we should all give thanks to
the Gods. Of course, to marry into wealth, it helps to be incredibly
beautiful or handsome, or famous, or both, like Fernando. But do not
be afeared, for Fernando has no plans to marry just yet my friends!
Fernando has too much love in him for just one person. He has tried
to settle down once before, it was a terribly sad story which
Fernando does not wish to speak of except to say that the poor woman
eventually regained the use of her legs, so you understand that it
is for everyone's safety that Fernando does not settle down in
marriage. (Although when Fernando tries to explain this to his
family back home, his sister Rosita always makes the snorting
sounds. Fernando tries not to pay attention to her nervous tic.)

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Small Boring Group of Faint Stars  24 Sept - 23 Oct

Boring'uns, the stars say that you have the great opportunity to
gain more wealth than you can possibly imagine, for your get rich
quick scheme is to sneak into Agatea and steal the very gold from
the streets! Of course, Fernando understands that the Agateans may
not be terribly pleased by this, and he hears that they do that
thing with the fine chainmail and the rock, but do not be afeared,
for with the stars' cunning plan, how can you fail? First, you must
assemble your team, starting with the Hon. Snedley Bridgeworth-
Hellebore-ffytch, who Fernando understands has just been released
from the Tanty. (If you are going to be the unlicenced Thief, having
the rich and powerful family is always an advantage.) You will then
need to assemble the rest of your team: the muscle, the forger, the
confidence trickster, the acrobat, and of course the sexy lady. Or
in these more equitable times, the sexy man. (Alas, Fernando is not
available, try to contain your disappointment.) With such a team,
you hardly need a plan – which is a good thing, my friends, for the
stars say that your first three plans are sure to fail and you will
have to improvise at the last minute.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Androgyna Majestis  24 Oct - 22 Nov

My friends, Fernando is the astrologer who is full of scruple, and
so he will always be the scrupley honest with you. In this case,
Fernando has the grave doubts about the wisdom of the stars, for
they are telling Fernando that your way to get rich quick is to
invest in the new Clacks Fortune Telling started by the Contessa
Monalisa di Numinosa. My friends, you know well how reluctant
Fernando is to be saying the bad things about the other members of
the Guild of Prognosticators, Soothsayers, Fortune-tellers,
Oneiromancers, Haruspices and Cunning-Men (divers wizards, witches,
priests, priestess and Mrs Cake exempted), especially one who is the
bella donna like the Contessa, but Fernando has always made the
needs of his readers the primo importance. My friends, it is with
the great regret that Fernando must warn you that in his
professional opinion, which is as you know magnificente, the
Contessa could not predict the future of a pint of cold beer in
front of Sergeant Colon on a hot day. Perhaps the stars are confused
by the presence of an unusual amount of utter nonsense flying
through the air through the clacks.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Spoons, a.k.a. the Greater and Lesser Spoons, 23 Nov - 21 Dec

Spooners, your plan to get rich quick is the pyramid marketing of
pyramids to Djelibeybi. My friends, Djelibeybi is well-known for
building pyramids. So how better to get rich than to sell pyramids
to Djelibeybi? Listen carefully to Fernando, who will tell you the
even better way: recruit others to sell pyramids to Djelibeybi, and
take a share of all their profits. Each person you recruit will pay
you $100 for each pyramid they sell. But it doesn't stop there –
they too can recruit people, who will pay you $50 per pyramid. And
anyone these second level marketeers recruit will pay you $25 per
pyramid they sell. And so forth – the scheme is sheer elegance in
its simplicity, as they say. My friends, if you recruit just eight
people, and they each recruit eight people, and they in turn each
recruit eight people, down just eight levels deep, and everyone
sells just one pyramid, you will earn over AM$17 million dollars
without ever selling a pyramid yourself! You hardly have to bother
selling pyramids, the money practically chases you down the street
and forces itself into your purse! What could possibly go wrong?

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Hoki the Jokester  22 Dec - 20 Jan

Hokians, your get rich quick plan is to sell the Brass Bridge to
newly-arrived visitors to Ankh-Morpork. This could be considered
just another Hokian jape or the practical joke, apart from the
transfer of moneys of course. Fernando does not judge, for it takes
all sorts, and what a world it would be if we were all the same.
Although if we were all the same as Fernando, that would be
magnificente, would it not? Perhaps *too* magnificente, for it is
not clear to Fernando whether the Disc could survive such a
concentrated amount of sheer magnificence... perhaps it is for the
best that so many peoples can only be charitably described as "no
Fernando". But do not be afeared, my friends, for Fernando is sure
you have the many wonderful qualities, even if they are not as
magnificente as Fernando's.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Big Chicken  21 Jan - 18 Feb

My friends, the stars tell Fernando that the get rich quick scheme
for Squawkers is to invest in the stock market. But which shares to
buy? Listen very carefully, for Fernando has consulted the stars,
the many business analysts, stock market experts, and the teen
tycoon Rudney Urch who made the killing on the Clacks (only not
literally you understand, the Morporkian is a funny language is she
not?). Pay no attention to stock in companies selling the doggy
treats over the clacks, even if the treats are made in the amusing
animal shapes. Ignore the safe, old-fashioned companies with the
steady business and good profits – your aim is to get rich quick,
not to save for your retirement. No my friends, for you the secret
of the stock market is to find out what CMOT Dibbler's next venture
will be, and immediately invest in his competitors. In this you can
do no wrong, trust Fernando in this, for he knows that it is so.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Lesser Umbrage   19 Feb - 20 Mar

Umbragians, Fernando has the good news and the bad news. The good
news is that your scheme for getting rich quick is tried and tested
and well proven, as many people have successfully used it to become
the "filthy rich", as they say in Morporkian. Such peoples as
Frenzied Earl Hargarth, Deranged Lord Harmoni, Nersch the Lunatic
and Laughing Lord Scapula have created a rather large fortune using
this simple plan, then used that to create a rather larger one. The
more observant among you will have noticed a certain pattern, and
Fernando can tell you you are correct: they are all former
Patricians of Ankh-Morpork. This brings Fernando to the bad news:
the plan involves overthrowing or assassinating the existing
Patrician, taking his place, and then ruling the city in the
paroxysm of corruption and incompetence until either the city is
bankrupted or you have been assassinated by the next would-be
Patrician. Or perhaps both. My friends, the stars give no guidance
as to which will be more difficult: overthrowing Lord Vetinari, or
getting away with it when Commander Vimes goes spare.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

4) LATE BREAKING NEWS, AND CLOSE

A political breakthrough of sorts in the UK's "war on Alzheimer's"
is making news. UK Prime Minster David Cameron issued a national
challenge on dementia at the Dementia 2012 conference:

"...committing to

* give a boost to dementia research,
* address quality of dementia care,
* increase public understanding of dementia
* and make communities more dementia friendly

"Alzheimer's Society has launched a landmark report at a conference
in London exploring how well people are living with dementia in 2012
in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Dementia 2012: A national
challenge presents new evidence on the experiences of people with
dementia, and pulls together existing evidence, statistics and
policy from a range of sources. These figures will be updated on an
annual basis by Alzheimer's Society...

"Alzheimer's Society is leading a dementia friendly communities
programme to support the changes we are calling for in the report.
Through the programme, we aim to support and give public recognition
to villages, towns, cities and national organisations who are taking
steps towards being more inclusive of people with dementia..."

http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/dementia2012

(page includes video of the announcement)


And in a related item:

"Yesterday evening MPs unanimously backed the Director of Public
Prosecutions' (DPP) guidelines on assisted suicide, endorsing the
non-prosecution of those who compassionately assist a loved on to
die at their request, a move that SPUC Pro-Life, an organisation
which opposes assisted dying, say 'effectively decriminalises
assisted suicide'. This endorsement of compassion for those facing
difficult decisions at the end-of-life is a landmark in the
evolution of greater choice at the end-of-life. The debate was
heralded, by Richard Ottaway MP (who tabled the motion) as the most
remarkable of his 24 years as an MP..."

http://tinyurl.com/7j6g9gy


The Winner of the Name a Street in Ankh-Morpork competition is "Dave
Vierling and the Guards! A close second place went to Zack Phillips
and at Terry's request both will have their street names
immortalised on the Compleat Discworld Mapp!"

http://www.facebook.com/pratchett

The winning entry can be viewed at http://vimeo.com/37568773


And that's our lot for March. Happy Soul Cake Holiday to all, don't
forget to set your clocks forward (or back, in Fourecks), and we'll
see you in April!

– Annie Mac

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

———————————————————————————————————
If you have any questions or requests, write:
interact@...
———————————————————————————————————
Copyright (c) 2012 by Klatchian Foreign Legion

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
WOSSNAME
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
SPECIAL EDITION: A NULLAS ANXIETAS FUNDRAISER
April 2012 (Volume 15, Issue 4, Post 1)
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Special announcement for WOSSNAME readers in Fourecks!

The Australian Discworld Convention is having a fundraiser in
Melbourne on Friday 27th April (this coming Friday), showing The
Avengers movie which is being released in Australia this week.

Date:  Friday, 27 April
Time:  6:30pm
Place: The Palace Cinema, Westgarth

http://www.palacecinemas.com.au/cinemas/westgarth/

Address: 89 High Street, Northcote

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=89+high+street+northcote+australia

Price:  $20.50 adult, $18.50 concession

Old-timers may remember it as the much beloved, Valhalla Cinema,
home of the  24-hour science-fiction marathons and Friday night
Blues Brothers.

You can book tickets ahead of time here:

www.trybooking.com/BJBV

That region of Northcote is full of funky eateries, cafes, bars and
other  places where one can exchange money for goods and services.

It's also convenient to public transport (walking distance from the
Westgarth  and Merri train stations, slightly longer walking
distance from the St  George's Rd tram line, and a hop skip and jump
from stop 28 from the #86 High  Street tram). Less convenient for
private transport: parking in the area is  painful but not
impossible.

Be there or be an equal-sided quadrilateral thing!!!

-- Steven D'Aprano, occasional Assistant Editor

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

———————————————————————————————————
The End. If you have any questions or requests, write:
interact@...
———————————————————————————————————
Copyright (c) 2012 by Klatchian Foreign Legion

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
WOSSNAME
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
SPECIAL EDITION: HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIR PTERRY!
April 2012 (Volume 15, Issue 4, Post 2)
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

INDEX:

01) EDITOR'S LETTER
02) "THE LONG EARTH" CONTEST
03) A MOST WONDERFUL PAUL KIDBY PICTURE...
04) CLOSE

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

01) A LETTER FROM YOUR EDITOR

First off – as it says in the title of this special post –
WOSSNAME wishes a very, no, extremely, no, ridiculously happy 64th
birthday to Sir Terry!! With multiple exclamation marks!!! And may
there be many, many more!!!!

(Note that I stopped at four exclamation marks; enthusiasm has its
limits when the men in the white coats are lurking, muhahahaha...)

Today's missive is short and simple, as normally the main monthly
issue would be out by now (don't arsk). We hope to send you all the
usual news, bits, bobs, thrills and spil–, erm, monthly features
while the calendar still says April, but birthday greetings just
couldn't wait... right? So for now, there are only two items. Read
on...

– Annie Mac, Editor

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

02) "THE LONG EARTH" CONTEST

In its final days now, but there's still time to enter!

From Transworld's Lynsey, via Pterry's official Facebook page:

To win a very rare proof copy of The Long Earth email your name,
address and the answer to the question below to this address:

discworld@...

Q: Terry started writing about the Long Earth in 1986 playing around
with a few ideas ahead of Discworld going stellar. What was the
original working title?

The winners will be picked on 1st May.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

03) A MOST WONDERFUL PAUL KIDBY PICTURE...

...of one of the most iconic Music With Rocks In album covers in
Roundworld history, lovingly parodied by the incomparable Discworld
artist. Here be Mr Kidby's take on the Beatles' famous Sgt Pepper's
Lonely Hearts Club Band cover photo. Apart from the Band With Rocks
In itself, who take the original roles of the four Beatles – Glod,
Cliff, Buddy, and the Librarian – a host of our favourite Discworld
denizens are included, from Death of Rats Nobby Nobbs and Susan to
the UU Faculty, Lord Vetinari, assorted Watchmen and Guild heads,
the Lancre Witches, the Canting Crew, and yes, a very familiar-
looking multiverse-spanning bearded gentleman at the back. Even Lu-
Tze and the New Firm get a look-in. Enjoy!

http://tinyurl.com/7lzzasx

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

04) CLOSE

Right, we'll see you some time in the next 72 hours or so...

– Annie Mac

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

———————————————————————————————————
The End. If you have any questions or requests, write:
interact@...
———————————————————————————————————
Copyright (c) 2012 by Klatchian Foreign Legion

WOSSNAME
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
April 2012 (Volume 15, Issue 4, Post 3)
********************************************************************
WOSSNAME is a free publication for members of the worldwide
Klatchian Foreign Legion and its affiliates, including the North
American Discworld Society and other continental groups. Are you a
member? Yes, if you sent in your name, country and e-mail address.
Are there any dues? No! As a member of the Klatchian Foreign Legion,
you'd only forget them...
********************************************************************
Editor in Chief: Annie Mac
News Editor: Fiona (not Bruce) Bruce
Newshounds: Vera, Mogg, Sir J of Croydon Below, the Shadow
Staff Writers: Asti, Pitt the Elder, Steven D'Aprano, L.C. Thomas
Convention Reporters: Mithtrethth Hania Ogg et al
Staff Technomancer: Jason Parlevliet
Book Reviews: Drusilla D'Afanguin
Puzzle Editor: Tiff
Bard in Residence: Weird Alice Lancrevic
DW Horoscope: Lady Anaemia Asterisk, Fernando Magnifico
Emergency Staff: Jason Parlevliet
World Membership Director: Steven D'Aprano (in his copious spare
time)
Copyright 2012 by Klatchian Foreign Legion

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

INDEX:

01) QUOTE OF THE MONTH
02) LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
03) "CHOOSING TO DIE" NOMINATED FOR A BAFTA
04) PTERRY FOR HAY FESTIVAL
05) ANOTHER YEAR, ANOTHER SPRIG OF LILAC
06) "SNUFF" IS LIBERTARIAN AWARD FINALIST
07) PTERRY AND ALZHEIMER'S NEWS
08) SIR PTERRY ON THE WIRELESS
09) DISCWORLD GAMES NEWS
10) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS
11) DISCWORLD ARTS AND CRAFTS NEWS
12) "TROLL BRIDGE" NEWS
13) DISCWORLD CONVENTION NEWS
14) DISCWORLD GROUPS MEETING NEWS
15) ACTION REPLAY: WIZARDS AND THAT THING THEY MUSTN'T DO
16) IMAGES OF THE MONTH
17) WHERE THE MULTIVERSES MEET: AUTO-HARMONISING LIKE AGNES
18) AROUND THE BU CAMPUS: WWVD?
19) DISCWORLD AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE
20) CLOSE

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

01) QUOTE OF THE MONTH

"He's always been a genre of his own; it looks like fantasy, but
what he is really doing is satirising our recognisable world. There
is a loyal readership who are not that affected by fashion."

– publisher Marianne Velmans on Pterry's appeal

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

02) LETTER FROM YOUR EDITOR

There is so much going on in the Pterryverse lately that it's hard
to keep up! More than two dozen assorted Pratchett releases this
year, awards nominations, awards awarded, Twitter tweets and
Facebook teasers and, well, it's enough to make a news-collector's
head spin. Among other highlights, Snuff comes out in paperback on
the 7th June, the same day as The World of Poo (in hardcover,
though): 7th June. Two weeks later – 21st June – sees the
publication of The Long Earth.

Even Transworld themselves admit 2012 is a bumper Pratchett year:

"Publishing director Marianne Velmans said the packed publishing
schedule was a result of 'it all coming together—things that we
had been working on for years. Plus [Terry] has been particularly
energetic and creative for the past year.' She said the aim behind
rejacketing the Discworld novels was to 'refresh the backlist; all
the other brand authors have B-format paperbacks, not A-format, so
this was an excuse to go back and refresh and clean them up a bit.'
She added that Pratchett has a large, loyal following, 'but we feel
that with Snuff he reached out to a new readership. Since he was
knighted, since he has done these very visible documentaries, he has
been regarded in a different way.' On the publicity side, Velmans
said Pratchett would do 'a few select things, but big things'."

(the above paragraph is taken from _http://tinyurl.com/7co7wlv_)

On Pterry's Facebook page, there's a new synopsis of Dodger from
Lynsey at Transworld:

"To celebrate Dodger being published on the 13th Sept here is a
little synopsis of the book:

"Dodger is a tosher – a sewer scavenger living in the squalor of
Dickensian London. Everyone who is nobody knows Dodger. Anyone who
is anybody doesn't. But when he rescues a young girl from a
beating, suddenly everybody wants to know him. And Dodger's tale
of skulduggery, dark plans and even darker deeds begins..."

http://www.facebook.com/pratchett

And let's not forget the current Pratchett Prize winners –
Apocalypse Cow and Half Sick of Shadows – which will be available
from 10th May 2012, priced at £14.99 each! WOSSNAME wishes every
success to the two Logans...

Elsewhere, in The Guardian's "Reading Room", a request for vampire
literature recommendations, Carpe Jugulum gets not one but two
mentions, including the wonderful quote "I'm sure Granny Weatherwax
would give the shiny, sparkly Cullens very short shrift!":

http://tinyurl.com/c79grtm

Now, on with the show!

– Annie Mac, Editor

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

03) "CHOOSING TO DIE" NOMINATED FOR BAFTA

Having already picked up this year's Royal Television Society award
for best documentary, "Terry Pratchett: Choosing to Die" is in the
running for another major gong:

"Four sensitive and moving films compete in the Single Documentary
category: 9/11: The Day That Changed The World goes behind the
scenes through the memories of America's key decision makers to
show, minute by minute, how they struggled to manage the assault on
their nation; The Fight of Their Lives revolves around the infamous
world championship bout between Nigel Benn and Gerald McClellan in
February 1995; Terry Pratchett: Choosing to Die – in which he
considers how he might end his life having been diagnosed with
Alzheimer's in 2008 and explores the realities of medically-
assisted death; We Need To Talk About Dad (Cutting Edge) follows a
family who are reunited to confront terrible events from their
past...."

http://tinyurl.com/7nmyb7j

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

04) PTERRY FOR 2012 HAY FESTIVAL

The 2012 Hay Festival looks like it's going to be a wide-ranging
smorgasbord of events:

"The 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens will be
celebrated by a personal portrait from his great-great-great
granddaughter, the author Lucinda Dickens Hawksley, and biographers
Claire Tomalin and Simon Callow. Featured authors include Terry
Pratchett, Lionel Shriver, Salman Rushdie, Martin Amis, Victoria
Hislop and Ian McEwan..."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-17649842

And the most relevant bit:

Terry Pratchett talks to Rob Wilkins

"The brilliantly inventive creator of Discworld discusses his work
and life", including The Long Earth!

Event 279
Wednesday 6 June 2012, 5.30pm
Venue: Barclays Pavilion
Price: £7.25

To book:

http://tinyurl.com/cvstcfr

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

05) ANOTHER GLORIOUS 25TH, ANOTHER SPRIG OF LILAC

Yes, we're barely a month away from Lilac Day again! Bruce Not Bruce
of Bugarup University writes:

"I'm wondering if we could lobby Google for a Wear the Lilac Day
Google doodle? Info from the site: 'Who chooses what doodles will be
created and how do you decide which events will receive doodles?'

'A group of Googlers get together regularly to brainstorm and decide
which events will be celebrated with a doodle. The ideas for the
doodles come from numerous sources, including Googlers and Google
users. The doodle selection process aims to celebrate interesting
events and anniversaries that reflect Google's personality and love
of innovation.'

'How can Google users/the public submit ideas for doodles?'

'The doodle team is always excited to hear ideas from users - they
can email proposals@... with ideas for the next Google
doodle. The team receives hundreds of requests every day, so we
unfortunately can't respond to everyone. But rest assured that we're
reading them :)'"

It's undoubtedly too late for this year, but Pratchett fans could
start a request campaign for next year.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

06) SNUFF IS LIBERTARIANS' AWARD FINALIST

We already know it's a *librarians'*  favourite, so why not...

"A Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett (winner of a Prometheus Award
for Night Watch, also set in Discworld), Snuff blends comedy,
drama, satire, suspense and mystery as a police chief investigates
the murder of a goblin and finds himself battling discrimination.
The mystery broadens into a powerful drama to extend the world's
recognition of rights to include these long-oppressed and disdained
people with a sophisticated culture of their own."

http://tinyurl.com/d3c4al7


"Science fiction features lots of characters who find their own way
in the universe, regardless of what megacorps or governments try to
tell them. So it's not surprising that one of the best ways to find
some of the most exciting new reads is to pay attention to the
Prometheus Awards for the best libertarian SF books. The six
Prometheus finalists for 2011 have just been announced, and they
include Terry Pratchett, Vernor Vinge, and some other great
authors..."

http://tinyurl.com/cmhx6rz

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

07) PTERRY AND ALZHEIMER'S NEWS

7.1 UK GOVERNMENT TO DOUBLE DEMENTIA RESEARCH FUNDING

From an article in Pharma Times:

"The Cameron government has pledged to more than double annual
funding for research into dementia and neurodegenerative diseases to
over £66 million by 2014/15. The commitment was announced by Prime
Minister David Cameron as part of a broader dementia challenge that
will build on England's existing National Dementia Strategy to
drive up diagnosis rates, raise public awareness of the condition
and improve the quality of care for people living with dementia. The
financial boost will raise to an estimated £66.3 million the
combined value of funding for dementia research from the National
Institute for Health Research (NIHR), the Medical Research Council
and the Economic and Social Research Council... The pledge comes
against a backdrop of recent criticism that the UK has been punching
below its weight in dementia research, with high-quality output but
a relatively neglected research base that lags behind higher-profile
categories such as cancer, stroke and heart disease...

"Besides the hike in research funding, the government will be
widening opportunities for people with dementia to take part in
research. Inviting patient consent to participate in dementia
research will become part of a quality marker for memory clinics.
The goal is to recruit 10% of patients into clinical trials for
dementia. Compared with other conditions such as cancer, the level
of public engagement in dementia research – whether through
donation or direct participation in studies – is low, the
challenge document points out..."

http://tinyurl.com/d864zpx


2. ALZHEIMER'S STILL IGNORED IN THE CONSULTING ROOM?

From an article in the Daily Mail:

"Over the past few years, Shirley had watched her husband change
from a bright, animated and capable man to someone who seemed
confused about where the local shops were. But despite repeated
trips to their family doctor, they had been sent away and told Mick
had stress or depression. 'For three long years, we tried to get
Mick's GP and specialists to listen to my concerns,' says Shirley.
'Now, finally, we knew the reasons for my husband's behaviour —
and could make plans, and see what could be done for him.' This
couple's journey to diagnosis has been harrowing, but theirs is far
from an isolated case. A study by the Alzheimer's Society found that
half of people with Alzheimer's will never receive a formal
diagnosis, and of those who do, two in three will wait longer than a
year...

"...this bleak picture is compounded by surveys and studies which
consistently testify to the paucity of diagnostic provision and care
in this country. A survey published in the Journal of International
Medical Research in 2004 revealed just 21 per cent of UK citizens
eligible for drug therapy are being treated. France treats 77 per
cent of its Alzheimer's patients. Similarly, 73 per cent of patients
in Italy and 56 per cent in Spain are being treated with
acetylcholinesterase anti-dementia drugs, such as Aricept... 'The
earlier a person is diagnosed, they more they are able to make
decisions while they still have the capacity, particularly about
their care,' says Professor Clive Ballard, director of the
Alzheimer's Society. 'It also means they are active for longer, and
the longer they are active, the better their quality of life and
health, and the better they and their carers feel. Yet diagnosis is
simply taking far too long.'..."

http://tinyurl.com/cj42emh

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

08) SIR PTERRY ON THE WIRELESS

A lovely post-Snuff BBC interview with Our Favourite Author, as
captured and posted (as an embedded YouTube file) by blogger
Catherine Dignan:

http://tinyurl.com/74c4tth

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

09) DISCWORLD GAMES NEWS

9.1 THE GAME THAT NEVER WAS

Ever heard of "Watch Out! A Discworld Game", by Bernard "Cunning
Artificer" Pearson & Trevor Truran? No? Well, that's not surprising.
It was a rejected test game created in the wake of the successful
"Thud!" game:

"Only thirteen test copies of this game were produced. Nine were
used in testing, and all sets got damaged in the testing process.
The other four sets were sold to Discworld collectors and regular
customers of The Cunning Artificer. A maximum of FOUR sets in
perfect condition exist. There is one for sale on eBay, making this
one of the rarest Discworld collectables ever produced... The game
set comprises of the following: Eight Watchmen, Eight Thieves, Forty
eight game tiles, which make up the board, Thieves Guild bag and
rule book... No one officially knows why it never got made.."

http://discworldfanatics.co.uk/watch-out/


9.2 "ANKH-MORPORK" TOURNAMENT REPORT
by Damo

The inaugural A-M tournament was held at Realm of Legends in
Croydon. I'd never been there before and I was in Geek Heaven as I
wandered through the doors carrying bags of Easter eggs, my
Librarian and two Ankh-Morpork Collector's Edition board games.
Realm of Legends is a fantastic space to play in. Massive tables
lined the main area of the shop, covered in intricate models and
landscapes. And in one corner, a medieval setting of painted grey
bricks, with four tables ready for some Discworldly fun. We had
chocolate. We had coffee. We had four tables. All we needed were
some players.

Our first game was just the committee members who were there. We
were obviously having enough fun to entice a random passerby who
wandered over, cried "Oh! Pratchett!" and didn't leave until the
end of the day.

Now we were running two games. The Librarian was eating the Easter
eggs. An actually invited guest joined us. More committee members
and a writer from the Wossname email newsletter turned up. By the
time we were in full swing, we had three tables full of mayhem.

In one turn, one competitor chuckled with true evil intent and then
stood up to play his turn (the chairs are REALLY low to the ground).
He played his entire hand in one go, paused, and then played a card
that allowed him to swap his hand with another player. "But you
didn't give me any cards!" she said. "I know!" he said, gleefully*.
He played two cards from her hand and sat back, hands behind his
head and a smug expression on his face. The next player looked
glumly at her empty hand, picked up five cards and nodded to the
next player.

In the end, committee member Sally won the golden turtle necklace
for most wins. Everybody else went away happy, full of chocolate,
with their own little silver turtle necklaces and Nullus bookmarks.
Most of us spent altogether too much money on gaming gear, mugs and
books.

The second round is to be played on the 6th May, still at Realm of
Legends. See http://www.facebook.com/NullusAnxietasIV/ for more
details.

*I know that you shouldn't use adverbs, but it fit so well in this
instance.

http://www.facebook.com/NullusAnxietasIV

[Editor's note: Actually, that should be "you shouldn't *over-use*
adverbs". Just saying.]


And the next round:

Ankh-Morpork Tournament II – Revenge of the Meople!

Again, we are at Realm of Legends,
(190/198 Mt. Dandenong rd, Croydon, Vic)
Time: 11-4
Cost: Gold-Coin Donation
Date: 6/05/2012


9.3 REVIEW OF "GUARDS! GUARDS!"

Guards! Guards! The Board Game
An Alternative Take
by Danny

I wanted to offer an alternative take on the Guards! Guards! board
game as a slight counterpoint to the reviews by Mogg & Steven
D'Aprano published in last month's WOSSNAME. We have only had the
chance to play the game twice, but it is definitely a game that
becomes quite fun once everyone playing has a basic handle on the
rules and the various parts of game play.

As noted in the previous reviews, Guards! Guards! is quite complex
and complicated – you need to have patient players who are prepared
to read the rule books in advance to try and get their head around
what's required. That being said, make sure you have downloaded the
extended rules and FAQ from www.guardsguards.com as they are quite
helpful at providing clarification, and the chart in the FAQ (from
Dec 2011) showing what each player can do on their turn is immensely
helpful. Considering the first edition is already sold out,
Backspindle Games are planning to do a re-write of the rulebook
before releasing the second edition, so with luck the new rules will
be laid out in an easier to comprehend fashion.

Once the big learning curve is overcome, the actual game play is
quite fun, especially as the players begin to be nasty to one
another. Placing saboteurs, deliberately running over someone with
the Luggage, infecting others with the pox, and summoning dragons to
make one section of the board virtually useless are good tactics to
annoy and confound your fellow players, and they'll probably do the
same back to you later.

Our games started off fairly slow as we worked out the game
mechanics, but by the time we were all up to our third spell run, we
had started to become significantly nasty to each other. Eventually,
the four player four hour game had a very close finish, with
everyone on their final spell run, with just one player lucking out
on the dice rolls to return their final spell.

Here's some strategy I was planning to save for myself the next time
I play, but I figure I'll share it here and just hope my future
opponents have forgotten it all by the time we come to play:

– early in the game, stick in your home quadrant and recruit as
many volunteers as you can, and earn money from your Guild. Each
volunteer deck has a tendency towards certain skills, so recruit
from all three. See the Guards! Guards! website & smartphone app for
the strongest volunteer in each skill.

– try and build up all your player attributes (charm, magic, guild)
as soon as you can – they will become very useful later in the
game. They are mostly boosted by recruiting specific volunteers, so
go out and recruit!  In my second game, I was on the final spell run
with only a Guild of 1 which meant I only had ONE chance to succeed
the Wizard's challenge (which requires a Guild roll of 9 – thus
meaning I needed to roll an 8 on the die). I risked it anyway, and
never managed to get that 8 before another player won.

– note that of the five spells you need to collect, two are on the
opposite side of the board, one in each of the neighbouring
quadrants, and one in your home quadrant. Leave the one in your home
quadrant until LAST – because it'll be harder to be sabotaged on
that final spell run, and there's fewer squares you'll need to move
to get to the University gates.

– Once you've returned all spells from a quadrant that isn't your
home one, and other players still need spells there, summon a dragon
(if you can). This makes that particular quadrant off-limits for so
many things and the players who do need the spells from there will
have to team up to defeat the dragon, thus delaying their actions
for a short while.

– Try and place a saboteur in each quadrant, and switch them around
occasionally. Consider not sabotaging someone on an early spell run,
saving it for later on.

– If you've got lots of money lying around, buy items and scrolls
and save the good ones – they can be quite useful later on,
especially ones that prevent others from sabotaging you on a spell
run, or allow you to move more squares that normal.

– Don't worry too much about guild abilities, or passing on the
pox. During our four player game, we rarely passed close enough to
another player to warrant using these, but it was worth giving it a
shot when the situations arose. Especially for the alchemist's
planting of firewater, which can be amusing when it blows up.

– Being hit by the luggage isn't all that bad – and it could be
advantageous if you were planning to go towards the nearest hospital
in any case!

Bonus rules from the designers to make the game run a bit quicker:

– Everyone starts with the first spell already returned. This
should be one of the two from the opposite quadrant (meaning you
have four to return, one from each quadrant)

– In the latter stages of the game, player attributes (charm,
magic, guild) can be bought for $10 for 1 point. This would
definitely have helped me in my game (see above) if I'd know about
the rule.

If you ever get stuck on a rule interpretation, or have questions,
contact the designers via Twitter (@guardsguards) or Facebook, I've
found them to be very helpful and quick in responding!

All in all, the game can be a lot of fun, but it is by no means a
quick game to play or understand. I suspect that if the same few
people played it often enough, then everything would proceed much
more quickly, but when almost all players are newbies, it can take
some time to understand the basic rules and game play.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

10) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS

10.1 REMINDER: GUARDS! GUARDS! IN CHIPPING SODBURY

The Sodbury Players will be performing their production of Guards!
Guards! in May.

When: 16th-19th May 2012
Time: 19:30, except for 19th May: 22:30 (hmm, bit of a late start...
- Ed.)
Venue: Chipping Sodbury Town Hall, Broad Street, Chipping Sodbury,
S. Gloucestershire
Tickets: £8 (concessions £7)
Box Office: 0844 332 0230 or tickets@...

http://www.sodburyplayers.org.uk/


10.2 REMINDER: THE TRUTH IN DURHAM

The Shoestring Theatre Company will present their production of The
truth next week!

When: Thursday 3rd May to Saturday 5th May 2012
Venue: Stanley Community Centre, Tyne Road, Stanley, Durham DH9 6PZ
Time: Performances start 7:15pm
Tickets: £5 (£4 concessions)

For more details, email shoestringtc@... or ring 0776 675 1048

www.theshoestringtc.co.uk


10.3 REMINDER: MASKERADE IN HAYLING ISLAND

Hayling Island Amateur Dramatic Society (HIADS) will be presenting
Maskerade next month.

When:Sat 19th May — Sat 26th May
Venue: Station Theatre, Station Road, Hayling Island PO11 0EH
Time: 7:45pm
Tickets: £7

http://www.hiads.org.uk


10.4 MORT IN GUILDFORD

Merrow Dramatic Society present their production of Mort in May.

When: 16th-19th May 2012
Venue: The Electric Theatre, Onslow Street, Guildford, Surrey GU1
4SZ
Time: 7.45pm (Saturday matinee 2.30pm)
Tickets: £11.50, concessions £10.50 and all Saturday matinee
tickets are £9.50. Buy 10 and get the 11th free!

Box office number: 01483 444789
Email: electrictheatre@...

Tickets can be booked over the phone on 01483 44789 or online on the
Electric Theatre website (a small booking charge does apply).

"Are you an avid Discworld Fan? Then have your picture taken with
your favourite character after the show!"

http://www.guildford.gov.uk/article/9655/Mort


10.5 HOW TO STAGE A PRATCHETT PLAY, LEGALLY

Thinking of putting on a Terry Pratchett adaptation at your local
am-dram society or school? Here be a guide sheet, courtesy of Colin
Smythe, for the current channels to go through for permission...

With immediate effect, all requests for permission to produce the
following of Terry Pratchett's novels as adapted by Stephen Briggs,
in English and in translation, should be sent to Stephen Briggs' and
Terry Pratchett's agent, Colin Smythe:

Wyrd Sisters, Mort, Guards! Guards!, Men at Arms (published by
Corgi)

The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, Johnny and the Dead
(published by Oxford University Press)

Requests by email: cpsmythe@...

Requests by post:
Colin Smythe Limited
38 Mill Lane, Gerrards Cross, Bucks SL9  8BA
phone +44 (0)1753 886000
fax +44 (0)1753 886469

www.colinsmythe.co.uk

Nation, adapted for the stage by Mark Ravenhill, is published in two
versions: that of the play prior to its first performance at the
National Theatre, London, published by Corgi, and an edition for
schools, published by Heinemann in their New Windmills series,
publishing the revised version and  with additional material for
schools. Requests to perform either version  should be sent, before
commencement of rehearsal, to Casarotto Ramsay & Associates Ltd,
Waverley House, 7-12 Noel Street, London W1F 8GQ. No performance
may be given unless a licence has been obtained, and no alteration
may be made in the title or to the text of the play without the
author's prior written consent. Applications should be sent to:

rights@...

Other adaptations of Terry Pratchett's novels are published by
Methuen Drama (part of A & C Black), and Samuel French. For copies
and details of Methuen's Pratchett plays (Going Postal, Jingo,
Monstrous Regiment, Night Watch, Interesting Times, The Fifth
Elephant, The Truth, all adapted for the stage by Stephen Briggs):

http://www.acblack.com/books/search/pratchett

and for their application form:
http://www.acblack.com/images/Drama/MethuenDramaForm.pdf


A&C Black Publishers Ltd publish (and control licences for) the
following Terry Pratchett musicals, adapted and with music by
Matthew Holmes and suitable for school productions:

The Amazing Maurice & His Educated Rodents

Johnny & the Bomb (publishing in August 2012)

For more information:

http://tinyurl.com/7ujthd9

http://www.terrypratchettmusicals.co.uk/

http://www.acblack.com/musicals

In case of difficulty please contact music@...

Samuel French publications: Making Money, Carpe Jugulum, Maskerade
(all adapted for the stage by Stephen Briggs), and Lords and Ladies
(adapted for the stage by Irana Brown):

https://samuelfrench-london.co.uk/books/making-money
https://samuelfrench-london.co.uk/books/carpe-jugulum
https://samuelfrench-london.co.uk/books/maskerade
https://samuelfrench-london.co.uk/books/lords-and-ladies

To contact Samuel French:
https://samuelfrench-london.co.uk/contact

All companies wishing to have extra publicity for their productions
should notify Lynsey Dalladay at Transworld, who administers the
Terry Pratchett website; the information they supply will appear on
the EVENTS page of the site.

Contact: L.Dalladay@...

www.terrypratchett.co.uk

General enquiries can also be sent to:
Discworld@...

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

11) DISCWORLD ARTS AND CRAFTS NEWS

Some lovely paper products are available on the Cunning Artificer's
charming website!

Choose from the like of an Igor Donor Card (£11.50), Ankh-Morpork
Passport (£10.00), a set of Unseen Academicals Foot-the-ball Cards
(£8.00; mounted for display, £25.00), a Thieves Guild Receipt Book
(£9.95), marvellous Hogswatch Greeting cards (£5.00), Luggage
Labels (£10.00), and more:

http://tinyurl.com/7rw4axm

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

12) "TROLL BRIDGE" NEWS

A report from the UK Discworld Fanatics site:

"The team at Snowgum Films have started filming the Troll Bridge at
last. I have highlighted their progress over the past few weeks, The
set looks amazing and the guys have been uploading more images of
the set and and rehearsal prior to shooting as well. Earlier they
posted on Facebook 'Rise and shine people! This bridge isn't going
to film itself!' I bet the guys behind it thought this day would
never come. Troll Bridge aims to be the largest scale short film in
history. Using resources garnered over eight solid years of
dedication, love, sweat, and tears – Troll Bridge has already
begun exceeding expectations as to what should be anticipated from a
short form production. With the scale of Lord of the Rings, the
absurdity of Monty Python, and the intimacy of Into The Wild –
Troll Bridge relishes the opportunity to present the Disc in all the
grandeur and depth of character she deserves."

http://discworldfanatics.co.uk/troll-bridge-filming-begins/

It ate'nt the Hobbit Production Diaries, but... here be some Troll
Bridge production iconographs. Things are looking very good indeed:

http://t.co/Jlk6LBJM


...and from the Snowgum gang themselves:

"After five amazing days of shooting, principle photography for
TROLL BRIDGE is officially wrapped! Huge love and thanks goes out to
our amazing cast, crew and supporters! Special mention goes out to
Inspiration Studios for their camera equipment and advice, Wicked of
Oz Studios for graciously helping us build a whopping great bridge
in their studio space, and Quality Theatre Supplies for making it
possible for us to construct a stupidly huge green screen!

"We went into this project with some pretty big aspirations – and
we can honestly say that they have been met and exceeded in every
way. The quality of art, performance and composition caught in the
camera is beyond our wildest dreams, which is testament to the ever
growing talents of our dedicated cast and crew. We really have a
great movie here. Now excuse us while we all fall down in an
exhausted heap. And then onwards... to post-production!"

On the subject of the many requests for the semi-legendary Run
Rincewind Run being made available to buy in DVD and/or Blu-Ray
form: "If we did it (Run Rincewind Run! that is), we'd be looking
at $30 for DVD and $40 for blu-ray). We would need to obtain the
rights to the music, which would be the only tricky (expensive)
thing here. We'd need to reach a certain number of confirmed
orders before proceeding. So if you want a copy of the awesome Run
Rincewind Run then post a comment here or on their social networking
sites and lets see if we can convince them to make it happen..."

http://tinyurl.com/cpdd49e

...and on the subject of donations:

"Since completing the funding drive for Troll Bridge, we've been
inundated with further requests to give us money to put towards the
film. For us, we're in a conundrum. We had enough money to make the
film when we hit $45,000 on Kickstarter. When we hit $82,000 at the
close of the drive, we had enough money to make the film of our
dreams. But far be it for us to convince people otherwise when cash
is on the table. We're still in production, and as such we'll
continue accepting contributions. We'll find a use for the money in
Troll Bridge while we're still in a position to spend money on it
and continue improving the quality of production. Filmmaking is
expensive, so the sky is somewhat the limit in what we can accept
and utilize. Refusal of such generosity at this point seems
insane..."

To donate, and for further information, go to:

http://www.snowgumfilms.com/trollbridge/backing.html

(page includes donate button)

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

13) DISCWORLD CONVENTION NEWS

13.1 DWCON 2012 NEWS

From Richard at Discworld Fanatics:

This is the other news I wanted to mention from the DWCon
newsletter. The reason being is there is a lot of fan art for
Discworld and we here at Discworld Fanatics are trying to feature
fan stuff as much as possible. So this is something that should
interest a lot of people. Therefore, to demonstrate how varied and
copious Discworld artists (and their art) are, the DWCON have
arranged an Exhibition of `so-called' Fan-Art to be held at the
2012 Discworld Convention at the Hilton Metropole Hotel, Birmingham.

Under the guidance of my Acting Lance-Deputy Curator – Mr. Keith
Stewart [Keith_art on his Convention badge] the exhibition is open
to all those Convention Members who are attending and can lug their
work along. For further details email keith:
negotiable.affections@...

Works will be open to scrutiny by all the Discworld Art-lovers
attending and every Conventioneer will have one vote to select the
piece they feel contains the qualities the Gods would be most
pleased with [Or whatever piece you like best]. The lucky 1st, 2nd &
3rd placed artists will of course get the Praise of the Gods heaped
upon them [yeah, a lousy rosette – but its better than a poke in
the eye with a bolt of lightning!] So; Get Exited – Get Creative
– Get lopping-yer-ear-off-artistic!'

http://discworldfanatics.co.uk/discworld-art-exhibition/


13.2 UU CONVIVIUM 2012 NEWS

As the days get shorter, and the weather colder, we hope that your
anticipation for the Unseen University Convivium is ramping up! Ours
certainly is – to quote the Librarian – "Oook! Oook! Eeek!
Oook!"

EXCITING NEWS! ANNOUNCING VIRTUAL GUESTS

Through the magic of the Omniscope we have the fantastic opportunity
to chat with some Discworld luminaries!

First and foremost, the man in the hat we all want to talk to –
Professor Sir Terry Pratchett himself! Sir Terry has kindly agreed
to join us for a call, and we are definitely looking forward to it!

Secondly, Professor Ian Stewart and Doctor Jack Cohen, co-authors of
The Science Of Discworld series, will join us for an enlightening
scientific discussion.

Our final virtual guest is the Cunning Artificer, Bernard Pearson,
proprietor of the Discworld Emporium and creator of artwork,
sculptures, stamps and currency.

Find out more about our guests (actual and virtual) at
http://ausdwcon.org/pages/guests

Many other additions and refinements of the Convivium programme have
recently been made – find out the full details at
http://ausdwcon.org/pages/programme

WIN A FREE, DELUXE ANKH-MORPORK!

Convivium Attendees have the chance to win a Deluxe Edition of the
"Ankh-Morpork" board game valued at $150, kindly donated by Treefrog
Games.

All you have to do to enter is purchase tickets or merchandise by
*MAY 15TH!* Every purchase gets you more entries into the prize
draw.

Full details on the competition are available at
http://ausdwcon.org/pages/winankhmorpork

DEADLINES ARE LOOMING LIKE MISS TREASON'S LOOM

As the Convivium approaches, so does the closing date for certain
items.

* Tickets to Gaudy Night can only be purchased up to JUNE 1ST. They
will not be available *at all* after this date, so if you wish to
attend our gala dinner, now is the time to buy!

Info: http://ausdwcon.org/pages/gala_dinner
Tickets: http://ausdwcon.org/gala_tickets/new

* The exclusive Convivium attendees-only t-shirt and scarf can only
be ordered up to JUNE 6TH. They will not be available to order *at
all* after this date.

http://ausdwcon.org/pages/exclusive_merch

* Winery and Gourmet Tour tickets are available online until JUNE
22ND. However, places are quickly running out, so get in fast to
secure your seat!

Info: http://ausdwcon.org/pages/tours
Tickets: http://ausdwcon.org/tours_tickets/new

* And of course, the Convivium Tickets for the entire convention are
available online until JUNE 22ND. After this date, you may be able
to buy at the door (depending on attendee limits), but it will cost
extra to do so.

Info: http://ausdwcon.org/pages/membership
Tickets: http://ausdwcon.org/memberships/new

ACADEMIC DISCUSSIONS GALORE

If you would like to discuss things and stuff with other fans,
please head over to our forums at http://ausdwcon.org/forums
You can also keep up to date by using social media:
UUC: http://twitter.com/UnseenUni http://facebook.com/UnseenUni
NA4: http://twitter.com/NullusAnxietas4
http://facebook.com/NullusAnxietasIV
https://plus.google.com/105712341206990016676

Yours academically,

The Faculty
Unseen University Convivium
University of Adelaide, July 6-8, 2012
http://ausdwcon.org


Editor's note: re Nullus Anxietas IV in 2013, there's currently a
Bands With Rocks In album covers competition. Do join in:

http://ausdwcon.org/forums/6/topics/498


13.3 WADFEST 2013 NEWS

Those of you who got April Fooled by the Wadfest site might want to
check back: there's no longer any sign of ~cough cough~ boy
wizards, but there *is* a zombie apocalypse! That's the theme of
next year's Wadfest, "After the Apocalypse", 11th-13th August 2013
at the usual Trentfield site. The weekend (a provisional date, as
it's so far off, but still already bookable) will feature "Fun and
Games for all the family, Live Thud, Walking Masquerade, Talent
Contest, Decorated Tent Competition, Smack the Penguin, Zombie Game,
Hunt the Haggis, and lots more for both Children and Adults".

Event tickets include entry and camping site for the weekend and are
£35 per adult. To purchase ahead:

http://www.wadfest.co.uk/tickets.html

For more information and updates, visit the Wadfest forum:

http://www.citywatch.info/phpBB2/index.php

http://www.wadfest.co.uk/


13.4 NOTFEST!

"The unofficial summer camping event for Discworld and Sci-fi fans
everywhere – will be held weekend of 10th -12th August 2012 at
Trentfield farm campsite, Church Laneham, Notts.

"Just to clear up any unfounded rumours that people may have – all
of the regular Wadfestians simply didnt want to miss out on our
annual camping holiday so in the course of the usual drunken chats
at last year's Wadfest we decided that we would all go and camp
anyway and just have a holiday with like-minded friends.

"We have Waddy's blessing and in no way, shape or form are we trying
to "organise" anything – Waddy has said he may even come along. As
it isn't an official event – and there are two fields at Trentfield
– John – the owner – said we should have a name that we all
book under so he can ensure he puts us on the same field and the
name we came up with was "Notfest"

"Friday 10th -Sunday 12th August are the dates – don't forget to
book under the "Notfest" name so we are all put in same field!"

To Book:
http://www.trentfield.co.uk/booking.asp

www.trentfield.co.uk

http://www.facebook.com/NotFest


13.5 2014 EASTERCON

Sir Terry Pratchett will be the guest of honour for the 2014
Eastercon. Eastercon 2014 will be held from 18th – 21st April
2014, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Glasgow:

http://www.satellite4.org.uk/

"Eastercon is the annual British National Science Fiction
Convention. It has been held over the Easter weekend every year
since 1955. Before 1955 it was usually held over the Whitsun
weekend. Eastercon attracts 800-1,200 fans of Science Fiction,
Fantasy and similar genres. Programme events usually include a fancy
dress competition, an Art Show, a large Dealers Room selling books
and other items, panels, quizzes, workshops, competitions and talks.
Items range from hard science through writing workshops to the fun
and silly. People are encouraged to take part."

http://discworldfanatics.co.uk/pratchett-news-snippets/


13.6 REMINDER: WINCANTON SPRING EVENT 2012

"The next Discworld event in our calendar will be on the 5th and 6th
May 2012 in our hometown, Wincanton. This event is cosier and more
relaxed than our Hogswatch weekends, but is nonetheless bursting
with active ingredients and Pratchetty goodness to keep the
Discworld fan energised and enlightened! In a tenuous tribute to
this year's forthcoming Roundworld events, the Spring Fling shall
curtsey to the Queen's Jubilee and, er, squat thrust to the Olympics
with a Mr Shine Him Diamond/Gods theme. May trolls and deities
abound!"

http://www.discworldemporium.com/

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

14) DISCWORLD GROUPS MEETING NEWS

The City of Small Gods Terry Pratchett Fan Club meets on the last
Thursday of the month from 6.30pm at the Ed Castle, 233 Currie St,
Adelaide (South Australia). Details, discussions and organisation of
extra events (such as play outings) are held on their email mailing
list, so do sign up at:

https://groups.google.com/group/adelaide-discworld-fans

*

The next meeting of the Broken Drummers, London's original Discworld
meeting group, will be from 7pm on 30th April 2012 at the Monkey
Puzzle, 30 Southwick Street, London W2 1JQ.

http://www.steeljam.co.uk/brokendrummers/

*

Drummers Downunder meet on the first Monday of every month in Sydney
at Maloneys, corner of Pitt & Goulburn Streets, at 6.30pm. For more
information, contact Sue (aka Granny Weatherwax):

kenworthys@...

*

Perth Drummers meet on the traditional date of first Monday of the
month, from 6pm at The Vic Hotel, 226 Hay St, Subiaco. For more
information contact:

Daniel Hatton at daniel_j_hatton@...

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

15) ACTION REPLAY: WIZARDS, WITCHES AND, UM, ROMANCE

"Why Gandalf Never Married", a Terry Pratchett essay originally
delivered as a speech at Novacon 15 in 1985 and republished with
permission on the web, is a fascinating ramble covering magic,
fantasy, women in fantasy, and yes, sex:

"While I was plundering the fantasy world for the next cliche to
pulls a few laughs from, I found one which was so deeply ingrained
that you hardly notice it is there at all. In fact it struck me so
vividly that I actually began to look at it seriously. That's the
generally very clear division between magic done by women and magic
done by men... Sorceress? Just a better class of witch. Enchantress?
Just a witch with good legs. The fantasy world. in fact, is overdue
for a visit from the Equal Opportunities people because, in the
fantasy world, magic done by women is usually of poor quality,
third-rate, negative stuff, while the wizards are usually cerebral,
clever, powerful, and wise. Strangely enough, that's also the case
in this world. You don't have to believe in magic to notice that.
Wizards get to do a better class of magic, while witches give you
warts...

"[Wizards are] all bachelors, and sexually continent. In this
fantasy is in agreement with some of the standard works on magic,
which make it clear that a good wizard doesn't get his end away.
(Funny, because there's no such prohibition on witches; they can be
at it like knives the whole time and it doesn't affect their magic
at all.) Wizards tend to exist in Orders, or hierarchies, and
certainly the Island of Gont reminds me of nothing so much as a
medieval European university, or maybe a monastery. There don't seem
to be many women around the University, although I suppose someone
cleans the lavatories. There are indeed some female practitioners of
magic around Earthsea, but if they are not actually evil then they
are either misguided or treated by Ged in the same way that a Harley
Street obstetrician treats a local midwife. Can you imagine a girl
trying to get a place at the University of Gont? Or I can put it
another way – can you imagine a female Gandalf..."

from http://www.ansible.co.uk/misc/tpspeech.html

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

16) IMAGES OF THE MONTH

Now here's an interesting instance of book classification, brought
to you by C.N.A. Bookshop, Bedford Centre, Johannesburg:

http://tinyurl.com/d2rjghs


The webcomic "Non Sequitur" offers a dilemma familiar to all readers
of a certain Lancre Witches novel:

http://tinyurl.com/78x92hr (click to enlarge)


On Paul Kidby's Facebook page, a series of iconographs showing the
Dodger cover art in progress:

http://tinyurl.com/cmpldyc

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

17) WHERE THE MULTIVERSES MEET

Probably not as melodic as Agnes Nitt's chord-singing, but still
Gyuto monks are capable of producing chord-like tones:

"Spectral analysis of a segment of the chord-like tone shows the
individual harmonics of the sound as multiples of the fundamental
frequency, and indicates that the spacing between the harmonics is
about 63 Hz. The harmonics at 315 and 630 Hz are accentuated,
showing that the first and second formants are centered at these
frequencies."

http://www.gemstone-av.com/mot.htm

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

18) AROUND THE BU CAMPUS: WHAT WOULD VIMES DO?

From Steven:

One of the most interesting things about Night Watch, in my opinion,
is  how good people (or at least not entirely bad people) can end up
doing  bad things: police brutality is more often due to fear,
confusion,  failure of leadership, and generally screwing things up
than due to  nastiness.

The recent pepper-spray incident at UC Davis is a good example. Lt
Pike  of the UC Davis police department[1] became an Internet meme
of a "bad  cop" for pepper-spraying peaceful protesters in the face
as they sat  quietly on the pavement. Well, the University's report
is in, and it  seems that Pike made a bad decision after being given
bad orders from  superiors who basically screwed up every way they
possibly could.

The only people here who didn't do anything wrong were, surprise
surprise, the protesters.

http://bradhicks.livejourna