Written by Fred Patten and published on the LASFS Rex Rotary, January 6, 1965. Intended for Apa L, Twelvth Distribution, LASFS Meeting #1430, January 7, 1965. Address: 1825 Greenfield Avenue, Los Angeles, California, 90025. Phone: GR 3-6321.

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I don't know how your New Year's Party was, but we celebrated the occasion in quite a fannish tradition here at our place; we had a publishing party. Not on New Year's Day itself, exactly; Al and I were recovering from our bout with the Lab's party after the LASFS Meeting. But all Saturday and Sunday, 1825 Greenfield became a fanzine factory once again.

The specific occasion was Stan Woolston's deadline for publication of TIGHTBEAM, the N3F's letterzine. That ran to 32 pages at 400 copies each itself; no inconsiderable amount. But it wasn't all. Last issue of TIGHTBEAM, Dick Eney put a rider along with it plugging Bill Donaho for TAFF. Stan and the Trimbles now felt that Jock Root and Terry Carr should get equal time, so we held a one-shot session to produce our own rider. All this took up the entire weekend. Besides Al & myself, Stan Woolston, and John & Bĵo (& Katwen), the attendees at this publishing party included Tom Gilbert, Dave & Katya (& Roy) Hulan, Dwain Kaiser, Earl & Gail Thompson, and for a brief while, John Hull and Dennis Smith, and Barney Bernard. I think that's everybody; people were in & out so much that it was impossible to keep track of everybody. Oh, yes, Lyn Stier too -- or was it the week before that she was over here?

Anyhow, it was both hectic and fun, as are most pubbing parties. About halfway through Sunday, Al had to take time out and correct a flock of his classes' term papers that'd been sitting here all Xmas Vacation. Katya and Bĵo joined in, and besides the correcting we got enough boner-type linos to keep us all supplied for some time to come. (I'd quote some, but I'd be poaching on Al's Apa L stock.) it's been a long time since we used to hold these pubbing parties regularly -- not since the SHAGGY sessions at the Fan Hilton ended. Those were the days. Sigh.

--BEING COMMENTS ON THE ELEVENTH DISTRIBUTION

Tom Gilbert -- All I can say is that things have come to a pretty pass when you're doing 2 pages for Apa F and only one for Apa L. And I note that while you did not have time to do more than one page for Apa L, you did somehow find time to justify the right-hand margins on it. Humph! ## Don't try to tell me about Vile Canards, boy; I was in that same back room along with you and Hank Stine, remember? It's too late now to claim you didn't try leaving only because you didn't want to leave; a fannish Historical Legend has already been established. ## What do you mean, "the Executive Committee almost never meets"? It meets every week, obviously.

Milt Stevens -- What I mostly remember about my college course in great literature is that, starting with Nathaniel Hawthorne, the closer to the present day you got, the more depressing the Great Novels got, until by the time we'd arrived at Hemmingway and Morris, I was wondering why all the characters in the story didn't slit their wrists in a blue funk in the first chapter and get it over with. Great literature doesn't make me feel at all inferior about my writing; obviously I don't have the literary talents of Slinger or Faulkner, but then I don't feel impelled to write the depressing Slice of Life material that they do, either, and I think I'm happier because of it. I know I'm happier reading sf than the current crop of best selling novels, great literature &/or otherwise, which is why I haven't read anything that might be considered a modern classic since leaving my English class.

Len Bailes -- I know the runes in The Hobbit have been corrected, but I've never tried to compare the original edition with the current one to see how they differ. As to the Puffin edition, the only copy I've ever seen is Forry Ackerman's, and I noticed that it was missing from his shelf the last time -- whether he moved it or it was stolen, I don't know. Anyhow, I think it included the maps, but I wouldn't swear to it. As I recall, it had everything except the color plates, and of course it has the revised text. My dream is to get the hardcover of the first edition, with its color plates and original chapter five, and the paperback for its revised text and Pauline Baynes cover. Unfortunately, all I can do right now is settle for the current hardback edition, which is an unhappy middle ground.

Dave Hulan -- Yes, the 35 copies does seem to be the Solution to our problem. So far, we've usually managed to distribute all the copies of a Distribution, but now the last few usually go to people who aren't awfully interested in Apa L, but who'll take a copy since nobody else wants the two or three left. This is the way it should be, I think; we aren't producing any great surplus, but if we should ever have an unexpectedly large turnout at a Meeting, we won't have to short anyone who really wants a copy of the Distribution. Possibly we'll even be able to entice Dian back into Apa L now, if we can guarantee that we won't ask her for any more than 35 copies -- assuming she really dropped out because she felt that 35 copies was just the first step to 40 copies, then 50 and upwards. ## As far as a LASFS Information Booklet goes, whatever happened to those copies of the first N3F Fandbook - the one defining fannish terms - that I turned over to the club Secretary either one or two administrations ago to be handed out to new guests? Were they ever used up, or are they just gathering dust in the Labyrinth somewhere?

Jack Harness -- You're doing so well on "The Labyrinth of Valeron" that I hope you keep it permanently, even if you did get it from Hank in the first place. When is Hank going to do another chapter of ALTERNATIVE, by the way?

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"I'd walk a mile for a Camel" ... Boyd Raeburn.
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Barry Gold -- As far as I know, damon knight hasn't done any reviewing since In Search of Wonder. He was supposed to do a second collection of his criticisms, Knight on Science Fiction, but he never finished compiling it, and Advent: Publishers finally returned the advance orders that'd been sent in for it. In any case, knight hasn't been reviewing regularly for any magazine since the late '50's at least. I wish Fred Pohl or Joseph Ferman would hire him as a regular reviewer for F&SF or one of the GALAXY mags; he'd be so much better than the guest reviewers that come & go constantly. ## Well, I hope you either run out of colored paper or get a darker ink.

John & Bĵo Trimble -- The party was great, and the one-shot was fun -- may all 1965 be like it. You've got my support for your LA in '67 or '68 bid. ## Any time you want to illustrate "Over the Sea to Skye", I'll gladly restencil it for you, leaving lots of space for easier reading and using ordinary paper. This is assuming you want to republish it for general fandom, besides submitting it for regular publication somewhere. ## Gee, no room left to draw a beastie. Well, I don't leave blank backs to my fanzines, anyway -- and how did my name get on your list?