Hi,

Phil - There was a "set of display boards at the back of the hall."? Wow - now that you mention it I do seem to remember there was something there I meant to go back and look at.

Most of the Eaton collection is not out for public viewing. The displays you see in my photos are most of what they had out for the Conference. There was the "Bradbury Cabinet", many wonderful classic Mars books in a display case, and the Arthur C. Clarke memorial display. Also, many various printing apparati.

I really like the ghost images around Fred and Betty too. That was a hard room to take photographs in - the lighting just was not camera friendly.

I also think this was one of the best conferences I have ever been to. So many wonderful authors and many opportunities to chat with them. And - any day we get to see Ray is a good day!

Mr. Dark - I know what you mean about missed opportunities. I have some really great ideas on what I should have done - once I am home. But y'all did get some great photos of Ray, Larry, and Fred together! I am impressed with all the photos we did get!

Let me tell you about one of my greatest missed opportunities that y'all will appreciate and agree how well I was NOT thinking clearly.....When I was in college I traveled to LA. One of my first stops was the Ackermansion. While down in Forry's basement I figured out which wall panel Ray's books were behind and asked Forry if I could look at them. He of course said yes and while I was marveling at all of Ray's first editions Forry went over to his desk. Then he called me over and handed me the phone and said: "Here's Ray - say hello". I think I managed to say something intelligible but I would not put money on that. It was the first time I ever spoke to Ray.
Once I got off the phone Forry asked me if I could stay in LA for another week and go with him and Ray to a screening of a newly found Lon Chaney film. I "could be their date". What did I do? I thought I should be responsible and I should get back to school for the start of the next semester and a week in LA was a long time... I am an idiot. It is rarely the things that you do that you regret... It is the things you don't do.

-Patricia

I wonder if anyone at the conference looked at (or photographed) those display boards...

Hey - I met this dude at the Mars conference just a few months ago.

Pohl, not Clarke.

Ilooked at those boards,but didn't photograph them. I wish I had. I dad ask someone to take my picture in front of two of them, so I have that (on another computer). The photos my wife took of you and I are in front of two of the boards, placed on the stage so people would have something cool to look at while we humble speakers presented... )

quote:

Originally posted by Mr. Dark:
...I looked at those boards,but didn't photograph them... )

The best I can offer is that I stopped with Mr. B and admired them but did not think to pull out my camera.

Two years on, and the book of the conference is NEARLY ready. Visions of Mars is being edited by Howard Hendrix, George Slusser and Eric Rabkin and is provisionally scheduled for release in July 2011.

(Howard is an SF author as well as a literary scholar. George was one of the first to write an academic study of Bradbury (THE BRADBURY CHRONICLES from Borgo Press). Eric is one of the leading scholars of "the fantastic" and has written influential papers on Bradbury.)

I am not (yet) privy to the final table of contents of the volume, but I submitted my conference paper for consideration.

Pre-ordering is already available via Amazon, and the publisher's web page is here.

Just back from the 2011 Eaton Conference, and I see that the book of the 2008 Eaton Conference is finally nearing publication. The table of contents is now online:

http://www.mcfarlandpub.com/co...id=978-0-7864-5914-8

Several Bradbury-related items in there, including one by yours truly.

I spoke to Howard Hendrix at the recent conference, and he said that publishers don't like "conference proceedings" volumes these days, so VISIONS OF MARS makes only passing reference to its Eaton Conference origins.

It was just announced that Ray's dear friend, Oscar-winning special effects artist Ray Harryhausen, along with science fiction writer Ursula K. Le Guin and Marvel Comics' Stan Lee, will be the recipients of Lifetime Achievement Awards at the 2013 Eaton Science Fiction Conference, to be held April 11-14, 2013 at the University of California in Riverside, California. Congratulations, Mr. Harryhausen!

http://www.locusmag.com/News/2012/07/eaton-awards/

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Richard,

Interesting to see THREE recipients named - it's usually been two per conference (because there's an Eaton Award for every year, but the conference is held in alternate years).

I will have to see if I can rustly up some pennies (and a paper proposal) to get there once again. The theme for the 2013 Eaton Conference is SF media... so I really ought to be there...

quote:

Originally posted by philnic:
Interesting to see THREE recipients named - it's usually been two per conference (because there's an Eaton Award for every year, but the conference is held in alternate years).

I will have to see if I can rustly up some pennies (and a paper proposal) to get there once again. The theme for the 2013 Eaton Conference is SF media... so I really ought to be there...

Phil: It could be that Ray H. will receive an award but will not be attending so they have a second award for the 2013 year? Hope to see you there.

If you click on the link below, it will take you to the official Ray Harryhausen website. If you scoll down a bit, it will also show you a few photos from Mr. Harryhausen's 92nd birthday party on June 29 of this year. I got a chuckle out of reading Mr. Harryhausen's quote about his birthday: "I have nothing to say." Mr. Harryhausen, like Ray Bradbury, is a Laurel and Hardy fan, and this of course is one of the funniest (and most well known) of Oliver Hardy's lines in some of the comedy team's films. It also brought back a memory of a long-ago science fiction convention held in 1996 just outside of St. Louis, Missouri called Archon, at which Ray Bradbury, Ray Harryhausen, Forest J Ackerman and Julius Schwartz were the guests of honor (other attendees included writers Wilson (Bob) Tucker and Greg Bear). In a panel headed up by Greg Bear, and at which the two Rays were the other panelists, Greg Bear (who was sitting between the two Rays) asked Ray Harryhausen, "It is rumored that Ray Bradbury was an incredibly obnoxious teenager due to his non-stop bad puns, jokes, and imitations of famous people. Any truth to that?" The two Rays turned to look at each other with smiles on their faces. Ray Harryhausen then slowly turned to the audience, and in his best Oliver Hardy voice, replied: "I have nothing to say." The audience roared with laughter.

http://www.rayharryhausen.com/news-events.php

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Richard,