May 8, 2013 marks 25 years since the passing of Robert A. Heinlein.

Rather than a cause of sadness, this milestone reminds us of the strength and lasting impact of Heinlein, his wisdom, and his works, and how they are, and will, reach into the future. Heinlein has never been out-of-print, and thanks to the Citizen of the Galaxy graphic novel program, is poised to reach out to a new generation in a new way.

Following Robert Heinlein’s death in 1988, his wife, Virginia “Ginny” Heinlein continued to work on his estate and his legacy. Though she was left with a comfortable inheritance on which to live, Ginny lived quite simply, working hard to build the estate and her husband’s publishing legacy to the point where it would not only be self-sustaining, but would allow their shared dream of humankind’s future in space to be supported and encouraged in substantial ways.

Ginny Heinlein’s efforts on behalf of Robert’s legacy thrive today in six forms:

• The Heinlein Prize Trust
• The Heinlein Archives
• The Heinlein Chair at the USNA
• The Heinlein Society
• The Heinlein Foundation
• The Virginia Edition of the Complete Works of Robert A. Heinlein

The Heinlein Prize Trust represents the bulk of Heinlein’s literary and financial estate. We are dedicated to to encourage and reward progress in commercial space activities, and to support and encourage educational endeavors.

To that end, The Heinlein Prize Trust:

Created the Heinlein Archives, a publicly accessible, electronic archive of Robert A. Heinlein’s manuscripts, papers, personal records, photographs, and more in the Heinlein Archives. This online Archives is open to the public who may download any of almost 200,000 pages of Heinlein material at a nominal fee.

Has awarded The Heinlein Prize® for accomplishments in commercial space activities, with a substantial cash award to:

• Peter Diamandis in 2006
• Elon Musk in 2011

Given awards to numerous business start-ups, and research programs, working in areas related to commercial space activities, including latest winner of the 2013 Heinlein Space Commercialization Award.

Sponsored and supported international space activities competitions in Europe with the Flight Into the Future competition, and in Asia with the Flying Into the Future competition.

Supported educational activities including:

• Lesson Plans for the Heinlein Society’s Educators CD
• Worked with World Space Week on creating translations of The Heinlein Guide into English, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Czech, and Malaysian
• Reached thousands of students in multiple countries with the Have Space Suit – Will Travel program.

Continue support of the Heinlein Chair at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, founded by Virginia Heinlein, and now supported by the Heinlein Prize Trust.

Supported the writing and research of the Heinlein Biography, by the first Heinlein Scholar, William H. Patterson, Jr.

Supported the Virginia Edition Publishing Company in the production of the 46 volume definitive collector’s edition of the complete works of Robert A. Heinlein.

Authorized and supported the Citizen of the Galaxy graphic novel.

The Heinlein Society, founded by Virginia Heinlein, is a non-profit organization, operated by unpaid volunteers, dedicated to Heinlein’s principle of PAY IT FORWARD.

The Heinlein Society has established programs to:

Hold blood drives – Robert Heinlein was a devoted supporter of blood drives, blood donations having saved his own life. Heinlein Society-sponsored blood drives are some of the largest and most successful in the world.

As well as the Educators CD and Lesson Plans, the Heinlein Society sponsors two scholarships for college students majoring in engineering, math, or physical sciences (e.g. physics, chemistry), or in Science Fiction as Literature, with hopes to sponsor more and larger scholarships in the future.

Supports and encourages research and writing on Heinlein and his works, including supporting the Heinlein Journal.

Participate in and support Heinlein-themed panels at science fiction conventions.

The Heinlein Foundation is the foundation which supports the Butler Public Library, in Heinlein’s hometown of Butler, Missouri. The Heinlein Foundation and Butler Public Library operate from funds received from a few Heinlein titles, plus public support. Your donations of money and books are welcomed.

Butler Public Library is home to the Heinlein Room, with books and collections. Visitors are welcome.

The Virginia Edition is a landmark publishing project, publishing the complete works of Robert A. Heinlein in versions as close to the original, or intended, versions as possible. Along with Heinlein’s books and short stories are new, informative introductions, plus volumes of never previously published works, such as television scripts, and volumes of personal correspondence. These archival volumes are made to last. One day, it is to be hoped, the Virginia Edition may grace the library shelves in Luna City, and beyond.

It is from those letters, Virginia Edition Volume 41, page 36, that you may find this quote from Heinlein on his view, rarely expressed in public, on his own genuine belief in an afterlife…

“If, when I die, I am hauled up for judgment before an Omnipotence in a white nightshirt and a long beard, I would find such outcome most surprising. But my own utter extinction I would find much more surprising. Either this universe is extremely complex and not at all by accident –or I’ve been having an awfully bad dream and will wake up and find that I Myself am in charge.” – Robert A. Heinlein to his editor for Stranger in a Strange Land, April 9th, 1961.

Thank you, Robert, for sharing your vision and your wisdom. We’ll keep working for a better future. We miss you.

Robert A. Heinlein:
July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988
Live with gusto, die with dignity.

The Heinleins’ Adopted Granddaughter Invents Medical Product

by Deb Houdek Rule

“When your hero adopts you at age 12, there’s little that seems out of reach.” —Amy Baxter, M.D.

Amy Baxter, the Heinleins’ adopted granddaughter, is gaining renown as the inventor of a medical device called Buzzy^®.

The Buzzy is designed to take the pain from injections, making it easier and less stressful for children, and adults, to get shots. Amy developed Buzzy for one of her own children, to lessen injection fear and pain. As a pediatrician herself, she approached the development of Buzzy from the perspective of both a mother and a doctor.

“As a pain researcher, I became interested in this issue when my son developed needle phobia after a horrendous set of shots at age 4. He showed no signs of getting over the fear, and it dawned on me that if nothing was done, as an adult he would leave my home a healthcare avoidant.” Her inspiration for the Buzzy came from two unrelated, but simple, moments. First, Amy realized if we hurt or bang our hand, we tend to shake it, creating vibration in the injured limb. Then, if burned, running cold water over the injury decreases the pain. Coupling these, she created the prototype Buzzy with an ice pack and vibrator. It worked. Placed “upstream” from the place the injection is to take place, Buzzy’s combination of cold and vibration successfully eliminates pain in as many as 97% of those who use it.

The Buzzy^® website describes how Buzzy works this way:

1. Gate theory, like running a burn under cold water.
2. Descending inhibitory controls, If you put your hand in a cooler to get an icy drink, your brain tries to dampen sensations everywhere, so your pain threshold goes up; you’re less sensitive to pain.
3. Distraction, when you pay attention to other sensations, curiosity overcomes anxiety and your brain allocates less attention to pain

Being a doctor, pain researcher, and long-time Heinleiner, Amy did things the right way in the right order. Rather than rushing to market with a cute product, a research grant was acquired which let her properly test the device and document results. With research to back her findings about Buzzy’s effectiveness, Baxter and her team began to design the device into a product that would appeal to children.

The surprise, Amy says, is how many others are using Buzzy, and applying it for uses she had not considered. “Possibly the best thing, though, is hearing about people using Buzzy in ways I never dreamed of. Shingles, laser hair removal, diabetes, arthritis shots, dialysis, fertility shots, splinters, clogged milk ducts, and even tickling a baby’s tummy to keep it from trying to roll off the changing table,” Amy says.

Amy Baxter and Buzzy, have been featured on several television programs, received awards, and are gaining ever more publicity. Just recently the Wall Street Journal gave Buzzy first billing in a story about big ideas in an article on innovation and creativity. Buzzy is the 2011 winner of the Medical Design Excellence Award. And the list is growing:

buzzy4shots.com/About-Us/websites.html

So, who is Amy Baxter, of whom I write with such familiarity, and describe as the Heinleins’ Adopted Granddaughter?

Amy and her husband Louis Calderon are old friends and fellow Heinlein fans. My husband, Geo Rule, and I (Deb Houdek Rule) met them through the Heinlein Society in 2003, the year Ginny Heinlein passed away. Amy, with her keen sense of empathy and beautiful, sharing soul, recognized me right away as a kindred spirit where the Heinleins were concerned. At the Heinlein Society dinner in Toronto, Amy nudged me and asked if I’d like to wear Robert Heinlein’s Annapolis class ring and Ginny Heinlein’s wedding ring for a while. Would I?! Amy handed both to me and I wore them for the remainder of the dinner. In 2005, at WorldCon in Seattle, Amy brought Ginny Heinlein’s emerald necklace and ring—given to Ginny by Robert—with her specifically so I could wear them to the Heinlein Society dinner.

Deb Houdek Rule, Amy Baxter, Geo Rule, Louis Calderon at the 2007 Heinlein Centennial

That sort of thoughtfulness and consideration is a hallmark of Amy and is one reason the Buzzy product she invented is perfectly suited to her. It’s not just a business or a device, but is something that makes things better and happier for others.

Tale of the Adopted Granddaughter

This is a tale Amy has only begun sharing recently, and she tells part of the story here for the first time. Here is Amy Baxter’s story of becoming and being the Heinleins’ Granddaughter:

The board came away from the tree, and time slowed down. As I fell backwards in space, still clutching the tree-house rung, I had no idea the broken ribs that followed would be one of the best things that ever happened to me.

Recuperating from the various injuries wasn’t as bad as it could have been, since the age of 2 I had been a voracious reader. The one caveat was the now complete dependence on my dad to bring me books, rather than the freedom to hunt and gather at the local library. One day, instead of the usual library stack, he brought me a single bookstore-bought (!) copy of Have Space — Suit Will Travel. “Read this,” he said. “That’s the stupidest title for a book ever. Where are my Three Investigators books?” “You’ll get them when you finish this.” Tough love indeed. Protests were useless, so I read my first Heinlein. Then another. Then several others, and I hatched my plot to write the Best Fan Letter Ever. I read the essay “Inside Intourist” in Expanded Universe, and gleaned that “Gospodin Heinlein and I have no children…,” so logically I assumed they also had no grandchildren. Bingo! I wrote and asked the Heinleins if they would like a granddaughter.

I found out from Granma years later that the Heinleins had gone to Sweden with the intent of adopting a child. They got there, and as she described it, “chickened out.” Shortly thereafter my missive arrived, so my timing was excellent. He put my picture above his printer, and that was sort of that. Every summer from 1980 until he died in ’88, I was supposed to go visit, but each summer he came down with some horrible life threatening illness; aneurysm, peritonitis, etc. They sent me new editions autographed “Granpa Heinlein,” and I spoke once or twice to him on the phone, but as with most fans my correspondence was primarily with Granma.

Amy writing to Ginny Heinlein, 1990, about Heinlein's Children, from the Heinlein Archives, courtesy of the Heinlein Prize Trust

Granma was happy when I transferred from Dartmouth to Yale, happy that I entered medical school, and spontaneously arranged for me to transfer to UCSF when I was dating a Berkeley man. Over the years our relationship became quite as sound as any grandmother/granddaughter relationship, with the added overlay of me being her concierge physician. She disliked all doctors but me, she said, and resisted getting medical care unless I was there or approved by phone.

One of Amy's letters from the Heinlein Archives, courtesy of the Heinlein Prize Trust

With 2 1/2 small children, life got a bit more complicated. In January of 2003 we went to visit her and introduce her to #3, her namesake redhead Jill Baxter Heinlein Calderon. She had grown more disillusioned with her retirement community life, and on that trip she decided to purchase the house next to us in Virginia so we could outfit it for her. She planned to move over the summer, but passed away the following Saturday morning.

There are few better examples of the concept of Pay It Forward working so well and beautifully in all directions, past, present, and future. Robert and Ginny Heinlein would be justifiably proud of their adopted granddaughter and the work she is doing.

You can read some of Amy’s correspondence with her adopted grandparents, the Heinleins, in the online Heinlein Archives, provided by the Heinlein Prize Trust. Main correspondence files are at these locations:

http://www.heinleinarchives.net/upload/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=1088
http://www.heinleinarchives.net/upload/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=1064
http://www.heinleinarchives.net/upload/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=974

Article by Amy Baxter about the first Heinlein Prize^® awarded to Peter Diamandis:
http://www.heinleinprize.com/2010/12/first-heinlein-prize-award-ceremony/

Article about the Heinlein Prize Trust Have Space Suit — Will Travel program visiting Amy’s children’s school:
http://www.heinleinprize.com/2012/05/hssw-paideia/

A piece Amy Baxter wrote as a tribute to the Heinleins is the concluding chapter in the Requiem volume of the Virginia Edition of the Complete Works of Robert A. Heinlein.

Visit the Buzzy^® website for more information, and to order a Buzzy^® of your own.

www.buzzy4shots.com

Amy’s bio from the Buzzy website:

Dr. Amy Baxter is Chief Executive Officer of MMJ Labs and inventor of Buzzy® and Bee-Stractors™. After graduating from Yale University and Emory Medical School, she completed Pediatrics Residency and a Child Abuse Fellowship at Cincinnati Children’s, and Pediatric Emergency Medicine training at Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters in Virginia. When she’s not thinking of new ways to use Buzzy®, Dr. Baxter is director of Emergency Research for Pediatric Emergency Medicine Associates at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Scottish Rite, and a Clinical Associate Professor at Georgia Health Sciences University.

As a founding board member of the Society for Pediatric Sedation, Dr. Baxter lectures nationally and internationally and publishes on pain and procedural sedation. Dr. Baxter is on the Pediatrics Board for Medscape; she is currently NIH funded to research immunization needle pain relief in children. She invented Buzzy after experiencing first-hand the indifference of the healthcare system to children’s pain and suffering. Buzzy grew from a desire to put inexpensive pain control in the hands of parents and patients. Although Dr. Baxter enjoys conducting research and business meetings over IPAs, she looks forward to gardening, cooking Thai food, attending more science fiction conventions, and hanging out with her incredibly tolerant husband and three children again.

With several days yet before the funding date of March 31st, pledges continue to come in from over 260 backers pledging amounts of up to $3000.00 each in support of this publishing project.

Citizen of the Galaxy will be the first graphic novel adapted from Robert Heinlein’s Virginia Edition, which is the complete and definitive 46 volume collector’s set of all of Heinlein’s works. This project is approved by the copyright owner, the Heinlein Prize Trust, and will be produced with the support of the Virginia Edition Publishing Company.

The spirit of TANSTAAFL was at work among fans and supporters to develop this Heinlein classic into a graphic novel. Heinlein supporters from around the world stepped up to indicate they believe adapting Heinlein’s works into high-quality, true-to-the-story graphic novels will help introduce a new generation of readers to the works of Robert A. Heinlein.

Citizen of the Galaxy Kickstarter Page

This project will feature some of the best and fastest-rising talents in the graphic novel industry including award-winning, veteran artist Steve Erwin. Steve has worked on some of the biggest comic titles such as Batman, Deathstroke the Terminator, and Star Trek. After more than a decade drawing primarily for DC Comics, Steve served as the Art Director for an international promotions manufacturing company designing, storyboarding commercials and creating concept work for many different products. Among the properties Steve worked with were: Star Wars – Episode One; Godzilla; Batman & Robin; DC Comics Superheroes; Universal Monsters; Rugrats; Looney Tunes; Hasbro Toys; Superman – The Animated Series; and Batman Beyond.

Citizen of the Galaxy is an important Heinlein tale to pass on to future generations for many reasons, chief among them the story is Heinlein’s anthem against slavery, its continuing existence and its spread. The message of freedom and equality is told through the eyes of young Thorby, a battered slave boy with no idea of his history or origins. Throughout the story, Thorby finds both the good and bad in his fellow humans, and experiences a number of different – yet each valid – ways people may live. His own mission becomes spreading freedom, and fighting slavery, throughout humankind and the galaxy.

Citizen of the Galaxy is one of Heinlein’s most highly regarded YA science fiction novels. A Lesson Plan for Citizen of the Galaxy was funded by the Heinlein Prize Trust as part of its extensive educational programs. The Citizen of the Galaxy Lesson Plan, designed and written by Robert James, Ph.D., himself an educator and published author, is available to teachers and educators on the Heinlein Society’s Educators CD.

Lesson Plans for other Heinlein stories and novels are available on the Heinlein Society’s Educators CD, with some available directly on the Heinlein Prize Trust website.

If the Citizen of the Galaxy graphic novel proves to be a success, adaptations of other novels by Robert A. Heinlein™ will follow.

Citizen of the Galaxy will be the first graphic novel adapted from Robert Heinlein’s Virginia Edition, which is the complete and definitive 46 volume collector’s set of all of Heinlein’s works. This project is approved by the copyright owner, the Heinlein Prize Trust, and will be produced with the support of the Virginia Edition Publishing Company.

In the spirit of TANSTAAFL, to create this Heinlein classic as a graphic novel, a reader-supported approach is being taken using Kickstarter to take pledges to fund the project.

Citizen of the Galaxy Kickstarter Page

Sponsor levels with pledges of from $5.00 to $5000.00 are being accepted. The project’s Kickstarter completion date is March 31, 2013.

The goal of this project is to raise $26,400 before the end of March 2013. The pledge money will be used to print high-quality copies of the graphic novel, pay for shipping and distribution, promotion, and miscellaneous supplies/expenses that will be required to complete the project.

The Heinlein Virginia Edition Kickstarter project seeks to broaden Heinlein’s enduring legacy and influence by translating the works of one of the greatest literary writers into the medium of graphic novels. The Robert Heinlein: Citizen of the Galaxy graphic novel project seeks to illustrate Heinlein’s classic story for a new generation to discover as well as for existing fans to rediscover. If Citizen of the Galaxy is successful other Heinlein titles from his Virginia Edition, the complete and definitive collection of all of Robert Heinlein’s published works, will be considered for adaptation into graphic novels with artists such as Terry Moore (Strangers in Paradise, Echo), Guy Gilchrist (The Muppets, Nancy), and Colleen Doran (Spider-man, Wonder Woman).

Press Release from the Virginia Edition Publishing Company

Variations on a Theme publishing announces the release of THE BLACK HOLE PROJECT by G. David Nordley and C. Sanford Lowe in print and ebook.

The Black Hole Project is a full-length 371 page novel created from the popular Analog Science Fiction and Fact series originally published in 2006 and 2007.

• “Kremer’s Limit” appeared in the July/August 2006 issue
• “Imperfect Gods” appeared in the December 2006 issue.
• “The Small Pond” appeared in the March 2007 issue.
• “Loki’s Realm” appeared in the July/August 2007 issue.
• “Vertex” appeared in the September 2007 issue.

The Black Hole Project is available in print and Kindle ebook format at Amazon.com, and in print at other specialty bookstore retailers.

The Black Hole Project on Amazon.com

The Black Hole Project…

Schemes may unfold in an instant, and be communicated in minutes. But when such schemes involve the rearrangement of the heavens, some time is required.

What if you could warp spacetime, experiment with quantum gravity, and convert mass into energy with unprecedented efficiency? You could, if you made a micro-black hole, a black hole which could be used as a power source, or as a weapon. Whoever had the black hole would be invincible.

To create such power you’d need mass and energy from four star systems, coordinated over light years and decades. You’d need to overcome fear mongers, and the politicians who feed on them, and battle saboteurs every step of the way.

But if you’re Dr. Hilda Kremer, you’ll fight anyone, even your own father, to make it happen.

The Black Hole Project is a high-tech, hard science fiction adventure covering light years in the quest to create the ultimate source of power.

Nominated for both a Hugo and a Nebula for his novella, “Into the Miranda Rift” (Analog, July 1993), author G. (Gerald) DAVID NORDLEY is a four-time winner of AnLab, the Analog reader’s award for best story or article of the year. G. David Nordley is an astronautical engineer whose second career is writing. His main interest is the future of human exploration and settlement of space, with stories typically focusing on the dramatic aspects of individual lives within the broad sweep of a plausible human future. His research also fuels nonfiction articles. G. David Nordley was most recently Science Author Guest of Honor at MarsCon, March 1-3, 2013 in Bloomington, Minnesota.

G. David Nordley’s first novel published by Variations on a Theme publishing was TO CLIMB A FLAT MOUNTAIN, released August 2012.

Upcoming publications by G. David Nordley and Variations on a Theme publishing include AFTER THE VIKINGS, an anthology of Mars-themed short stories, and a (untitled) nonfiction publication of technical and scientific articles.

More on G. David Nordley’s awards and nominations:
http://www.sfadb.com/G_David_Nordley

Full list of G. David Nordley’s publications:
http://variationspublishing.com/2013/03/g-david-nordley-bibliography/

Upcoming convention appearances for G. David Nordley:
http://variationspublishing.com/nordley/

Co-author of The Black Hole Project, C. Sanford Lowe, (pen name of Candace S. Lowe) is formerly a newspaper reporter in Boston, a deputy sheriff in Arizona, and an airline pilot in New Mexico. Lowe currently works in IT at Stanford University. She is a winner of the best short story for the New England Science Fiction Association. When not writing, she collaborates on experimental music with her husband, and tutors students studying English as a second language.

VARIATIONS ON A THEME PUBLISHING (variationspublishing.com) is a Minnesota-based publisher of SCIENCE FICTION and NONFICTION titles by professional, established authors. With publishing terms and royalties extremely favorable to our authors, Variations on a Theme has a goal of bringing professional science fiction authors’ backlists back into print, and to present new titles by favorite authors.

Says author G. David Nordley of working with Variations on a Theme:

­Variations on a Theme is a great example of the next step in the evolution of publishing. By combining the ebook with print, it services both the avant-guarde and the traditional fiction-consuming market. Variations and similar companies are to access-to-readers what SpaceX is to access-to-space.  I’m privileged to be a small part of this revolution in entertainment.  —Gerald “G. David” Nordley

The premier publishing line by Variations on a Theme is science fiction, emphasizing hard science fiction. Coming in 2013 will be more publications by author G. David Nordley (see above). In April 2013, a science fiction novel reprint, Time’s Fool, by Grant Carrington, will be published. A short story collection of previously published stories by Grant Carrington will follow later in 2013, with a new novel by Grant Carrington, tentatively titled The Price of Knowledge, to be released in early 2014.

In nonfiction, Variations on a Theme has published a master work of film history and criticism, WHO Won?!? An Irreverent Look at the Oscars: 1927-1943 (Volume 1), by Robert James, Ph.D. Dr. James is the scholar who discovered the lost manuscript of Robert A Heinlein’s first novel, For Us, the Living. He also has written much of the introductory material to the Virginia Edition of Robert A. Heinlein’s complete works. Volume 2 of WHO Won?!? is scheduled for release in mid-summer 2013.

For further information, as well as print resolution graphics and photographs, please visit:
variationspublishing.com

I decided it’s time for that embargo to come to an end. I have over thirty years worth of stories of this often bizarre business. Correct that to Business, with a capitol B.

So what is it I’ve done in these past 30+ years? In the final analysis, I’ve arranged electrons into interesting patterns, flung them into the ether, and seen them vanish.

Wow. There’s a lifetime accomplishment to boast about! Every bit of work in over thirty years time has vanished into electrons. But the stories, and the fun I had gathering them, remain, so I’ll put them online where they’ll be… well, um… arranged into interesting patterns of electrons.

Tales of Television: How It Began

As with many things in life, plans change and evolve. In junior high school I wanted to be a computer programmer. By my senior year of high school I was intending to go into aerospace engineering with a glimmer of hope I might get into the NASA space program. That was 1976-77, however, and there wasn’t much of a space program. I talked, somewhat half-heartedly, to the Air Force. They were far less than half-hearted. Not only were they not interested in adding women to their ranks – this was the point where they might tolerate but certainly not encourage women – they certainly weren’t interested in a female with bad eyesight.

The Air Force only had been a thought, not a serious plan. My high school, a small town school in northeast Minnesota, had nothing in the way of guidance programs and there was no Internet to search for “how to get a career in NASA,” so Plan B, or really Plan C, took over when I graduated. Aerospace engineering was a dead career path at that point in time, so I went into electrical engineering instead. Mostly this was because my older brother was an electrical engineer, and my mother pushed me that way. The community college which had the engineering courses leading to the University of Minnesota was nearby, only sixty miles away, so I could live at home, continue to take care of the farm and the farm work, and still go to college.

For two years I was the only female in all my math and physics classes.

None of the men in my classes even really talked to me. That was a little crushing, but I learned later on that was because they were afraid to talk to me! I was that elusive, frightening creature called a ‘female’ and they were unable to work up the gumption to talk to me, much less ask me out on a date. The nature of the intelligent male geek is more widely known now, but then, as an eighteen-year-old girl from a farm, it was a mystery to me.

My breaking point with electrical engineering came during a class on physics dynamics. It was a struggle for me, in large part because I had missed the prerequisite class so I was jumping into the middle of a very complex area. I recall very clearly, however, correcting the teacher on one point in which we were calculating the frame rate of a film camera shooting a man in slow motion on the moon. I may have had trouble with the coefficient of gravity portion of the equation, but I certainly knew the frame rate of a film camera and how to make it do a slo-mo! Then came the day when the teacher asked one of these twenty men in the class, all of whom wore pocket calculators strapped to their belts every day, the name of the fellow sitting next to him. That fellow was absent that day and this other one, who had sat next to him in every class for two straight years, did not know his name. I quit engineering the next day. I needed a bigger, brighter, more dynamic world for myself.

In the middle of all this, on a trip to Los Angeles, I registered my first television script with the Writers Guild. It was a spec script for Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, and – dang – it was a good script. The show was cancelled the very next season after a huge revision that did-in my story line. It was a tip-off, however, of where my real interests resided.

From there, I toyed with going into computer special effects for movies. One key problem with that was the field had not yet been invented. Maybe I could have been a pioneer in it, but there was always the problem of making a living to deal with. I then went into a television program at a Minnesota university for a year, and from there on into the Cinema-Television Production program at the University of Southern California (now called the School of Cinematic Arts). That’s right, the George Lucas/Star Wars film school. Never aim small. USC isn’t in Beverly Hills, though my apartment did have a ce-ment pond, and I drove a Firebird, not a truck. Still, the farm girl headed for Hollywood.

Day One, Class One, the teacher drew a dollar sign on the board and said, “That’s it. That’s the whole lesson.” It was a very pragmatic school who turned out people who really work in the Business. Artsy was fine, if it was marketable. It fit my Heinlein-based sensibilities quite well.

I got my first paid gig in television only a few months after starting at USC. It was videotaping a computer conference. I was, again, the only female in a room with nearly two hundred geek men. This bunch, however, had several “high-functioning geeks” (that’s what my husband, a computer guy, calls himself) and at every break I was surrounded by men fascinated by me and the television equipment. Funny thing was, I had studied so much higher math and computer science, I could pretty well follow what they were talking about in the conference. Still, once I had television truly in hand, that was that. Whatever form it took – writing, producing, directing, or anything else – I was in.

More Tales of Television…

The film is a brilliant example of the film editing concept of pacing, with The Hobbit being the example of a film without. My overriding fear during the film was that there will be an even longer Director’s Cut, though, perhaps the Director’s Cut this time will be a shorter version that moves along at a good pace.

In The Hobbit, during many parts, but particularly early on in Bilbo’s house the editing was so noticeable it pulled me entirely out of the story. I found myself anticipating the sequence of edits and shots. Editing should not be noticeable. There was one cut-away that almost slapped me in the face it was so poorly chosen, an extreme closeup of Gandalf’s pipe–a shot that was not even 2 full seconds long, and badly misplaced. It was the wrong angle, wrong matching eye position so it was also a jump cut, and it wasn’t part of the character being focused upon in the surrounding shots. It was the sort of editing choice I’d expect in an amateur YouTube video, not a professional production.

Why is this review titled Hobbit: The Musical? Because the film is. A musical, that is. There weren’t a great many song and dance numbers, but there were too many. During the interminable beginning portion of the movie, the Dwarves begin to sing, and—worse—do a full reenactment of “Whistle While You Work” from Disney’s 1937 animated classic, Snow White  and the Seven Dwarfs. Mercy. Recall that horrifying moment toward the end of the third Lord of the Rings movie when Aragorn starts to sing in that awful nasally way? This was more harmonious, but many factors of intensity worse.

There’s been much said about the film technique used of 48 frames per second (as opposed to film standard 24 frames per second). People complained of headaches. Because of these complaints, we did not go to the 3-D version, and the theater in which we saw the 2-D version was not equipped for 48 fps. So, seeing the blandest, most “normal” version of the film available, I still had to look away from the screen during most action scenes, or scenes with a great deal of movement. There is great deal of bad, seasick-making CGI special effects being done now, but of those I’ve seen, this was the worst. Any movement on the screen blurred to the point where I couldn’t tell what was taking place, and there was a staccato effect that was at least a tenth of a second long. Dreadful.

The movie isn’t entirely bad. Were I at home where I could fast forward through the dull parts, and through the repetitious gory/fighting parts, and have a more comfortable seat and a pause button, I would enjoy many aspects more than I did in the theater. For one thing, they start the film the day the first Lord of the Rings movie started, with the same characters and actors in the same settings. It was a delightful connection they made with that.

Revisiting some of the settings and characters was pleasant, particularly the Elves in Rivendell. I always get great landscaping ideas from them. This time it was trying to work out how to have water flow all around a gazebo. I’d have liked a bit more time in the Shire with the Hobbits seeing happy stuff. New Zealand, again, beautifully plays the role of Middle Earth.

Influences showed throughout the film, backwards (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) and forwards, in that I could see the influences in many parts of Harry Potter. Curiously, I also saw a great deal of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy in the early scenes with Bilbo. Bilbo in his dressing gown being very properly British in the face of bizarre, uncontrollable things happening all around him reminded me of no one so much as Arthur Dent.

So, in summation, when confronted by the question of whether we’ll go see the second movie in the theater, rather that waiting for it to be on tv, I did hesitate rather a long time, and wouldn’t commit. Maybe when the initial effect wears off I’ll be more enthused.

1. I’m just not going to do lights this year. It’s too much work and I don’t have time.
2. Christmas, bah! Waste of effort.
3. Anyhow, no one cares about my Christmas lights. Sure I’ve enjoyed them, and it’s kind of nice for the neighbors to know we have a little Christmas spirit…
4. Sure, I could put lights up before Thanksgiving and just not plug them in until after. It is nice and warm and no snow yet, so it would be easier.
5. But it’s really too warm to be thinking about Christmas lights. There should be snow on the ground to really get into the spirit.
6. Besides, I have to clean the house and prepare for Thanksgiving.
7. Thanksgiving is enough work for this season. I will not put lights up the weekend after Thanksgiving. No.
8. No. No lights this year. None. I’m too tired. We’ll just take a nice drive around the neighborhood and see everyone else’s lights.
9. Some nice lights up, but, really, when I go all-out, my display rivals any of the neighbors.
10.  Doesn’t matter, it’s too cold now to do lights. My hands get too cold. No lights.
11. Okay, maybe next weekend I’ll just put up the light-up snowman over the garage. Just one thing, quick and easy. But only that.
12. Of course, once I’ve hooked up the power and lights timer for the light-up snowman, I may as well run a string over the front of the garage, just for highlights, so the snowman doesn’t look so lonely.
13. What idiot tangled all my lights together last year taking them down? Don’t answer that.
14. I’m not untangling all these lights. No lights this year.
15. I guess this string isn’t too badly tangled.
16. Just this one string, but I’m not going to do any lights that require a ladder.
17. Only what I can reach from the little stepladder.
18. Of course, if I have to get the big extension ladder out for the snowman, maybe I could reach a few strings higher yet.
19. Well, those two strings are already hooked together, may as well add a third so it doesn’t end mid-way across the house.
20. I could just about reach the peak of the garage if I put the extension ladder full length and braced it against the front of the truck.
21. Let’s see, if I have a 15 amp circuit, how many strings of mixed regular and LED lights can I run off one plug…?
22. If I put the extension ladder full length in the back of the truck I could really reach high.
23. It would look better if I doubled the strings and mixed colored with white lights.
24. Hardly worth the effort with just these lights I already have, though. So, first I better drive into town and get some more lights.
25. LEDs are supposed to save energy. Ha! It just means I can string that many more together together without taking out the local substation!
26. Now we’re getting somewhere! If I shot fishing line attached to an arrow over that tree limb 60 feet up in that tree I could lift my reindeer and sleigh up to a really impressive height. Hmm…
27. Let’s do the house first. Maybe the 40 foot pine at the end of the driveway.
28. I can certainly use the top don’t-use-not-a-step step of the ladder if it’s against the pine tree. I’ll just hold onto the tree branches with one hand.
29. It’s not like I’m really scared of heights. Besides, I’ll land in the snow.
30. This gutter will hold my weight, won’t it?
31. Lights. I need more lights.
32. 600 feet of extension cords? Is that all I have? Who’s responsible for this oversight?
33. I’ve lost count of how many strings on this circuit. Oh, well, the extension cord is a little warm but not actually melting.
34. There’s an all-night drug store that sells Christmas lights, isn’t there?
35. Sure is pretty, but I am not doing this next year!

Happy 100th Birthday Woodrow Wilson Smith, aka Lazarus Long; Ernest Gibbons; Captain Aaron Sheffield; “Happy” Daze; His Serenity Seraphin the Younger, Supreme High Priest of the One God in All His Aspects and Arbiter Below and Above; Proscriber Prisoner No. 83M2742; Mr. Justice Lenox; Corporal Ted Bronson; Dr. Lafe Hubert; and others. Oldest member of the human race.

“It takes a hundred years or so to realize just how good life is.” – Lazarus Long

First appearing in Methuselah’s Children, the oldest living member of the long-lived Howard Families, Woodrow Wilson Smith/Lazarus Long started the spread of the human race to the stars. In his next appearance, 2000 years later, in Time Enough For Love, Lazarus reminisced about his long life and adventures, returning at the end to the place he was born, meeting himself as a child.

One of Heinlein’s most memorable characters, Lazarus Long reappeared several more times later novels, The Number of the Beast, The Cat Who Walks Through Walls, and To Sail Beyond the Sunset.

Titles available on Amazon.com:

My goodness… with as many things having to do with Heinlein and his legacy I’ve been involved in (Heinlein Archives, Heinlein Society, Heinlein Prize Trust, and more), I didn’t think a book set could cause a squeeing fangirl reaction for me, but the Virginia Edition did!

The Virginia Edition is exciting and beautiful, and I’m pleased and proud to have it in my home.

Here’s how it came about…

The set just arrived is actually the second set my husband and I bought. Years ago, in 2007, we bought a Library Edition to donate to Robert Heinlein’s hometown library in Butler, Missouri. At the time we figured it was a good place to have “our” Virginia Edition set live. It would go to a good cause, enrich many lives, and we could drive down and ‘visit’ it every few years. But we haven’t been to Butler since–though we’re still very pleased to have a VE set we donated live there–and, with the collection completed and hearing the reactions of other VE owners, the craving was too strong to deny.

The Great Arrival started far too early in the morning for us, with the doorbell ringing. It was FedEx and they left a note about a delivery, but did not leave the boxes. As anxious as we were to have the books, we were glad to know the Virginia Edition is not being left unattended on doorsteps, or out in weather.

The next morning, when the doorbell rang, we were ready and signed for our delivery. The Virginia Edition came in three boxes totaling 22 pounds. At least that’s what the FedEx deliveryman said, they seem heavier to me. The packing is strange. It all works, but it struck me as a little odd. Three boxes of different sizes containing more boxes which had no rhyme or reason to which books were in which of the three boxes.

No matter, though, as all the books arrived in good shape, well packed and protected. And – bonus – lots of good boxes for the cats to enjoy!

I cleared shelf space and started unpacking the books. By chance, the first of the inner boxes I opened contained volumes 22-26 and they were shrinkwrapped all together. It turned out they were the only ones shrinkwrapped in a group. Every other book was individually shrinkwrapped. It was a bit of a chore to free the volumes from their wrapping. Eventually, I used a knife to nick the paper-side of the plastic open, as I was being excruciatingly careful not to damage the leather bindings! Though it was pesky to get the shrinkwrap off each individual book, I offer my absolute kudos to the publisher for shipping them this way. Each book was protected from damage, including water, very well.

How hard it was to resist sitting down and opening each book to read as I unpacked them. Every Heinlein fan will understand that reaction. These books are a treasure not meant to languish on a shelf as decor (with my apologies to our Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire collection) but need to be read and loved. And they will be. The new content is compelling and interesting. I know several people who are reading the set through in its entirety, in order. One VE collection owner commented to me that he’d use his weight allowance to take the Virginia Edition to a new colony world! How true, and how appropriate. Perhaps our set will one day occupy treasured shelf space in the Luna City Library. It’s a wonderful thing to contemplate.

Then, while unpacking, came a moment of panic. Volume #42 wasn’t there. I resisted the impulse to send the email about it being missing and bravely continued to unpack the rest. Thank goodness! Volume 42 was packaged out of order and was in another box. The labels on the interior boxes indicated this was correct and expected.

At last the complete Virginia Edition was on the shelves of its new home. As soon as I took the last photo, Geo Rule snatched up the volume with the Campbell/Heinlein correspondence, volume #39, as that’s one of the volumes he had a significant hand in bringing about. I got lost for a while in the Time Enough For Love volume. While I’ll still be taking an old, tattered paperback copy of these books to the lake, or to read in the tub, I will be pulling out the Virginia Edition copies to read and savor.

I hope our Virginia Edition collection becomes a gift to the future, and I hope it’s the sort of future the Heinleins dreamed of!

You can order your own 46 volume, limited collector’s Virginia Edition at www.virginiaedition.com.

Deb Houdek Rule
October 1, 2012