Spring 1980 Destinies (Destinies, volume 7) edited by Jim Baen

Another foray into a long cancelled, fondly remembered magazine of
my teen years.

https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/forward-into-the-past
--
My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

James Nicoll wrote:

Spring 1980 Destinies (Destinies, volume 7) edited by Jim Baen

Another foray into a long cancelled, fondly remembered magazine of
my teen years.

https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/forward-into-the-past

The Spinrad essay looks like the origin of his novel "Russian Spring" in
which communism does fall, but the Soviets finesse the transition to capitalism rather better (or at least the oligarchs are far too smart to
go with a Putin like figure). The US isn't doing too well in the novel,
but there is redemption at the end. One of Spinrad's more optimistic
novels.

So before Card was an ignorant old curmudgeon he was an ignorant young curmudgeon?

I've never seen "Locksley Hall" referenced outside a literature course
or book on glaciers.

Asimov's early stories were terrible, but so was most of the field at
that time. The pulps were places where you could learn and be mildly
paid from time to time.

George Burns had the same sentiment about the end of Vaudeville:
"The kids have no place to go and be bad anymore".

William Hyde

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> wrote:

The Spinrad essay looks like the origin of his novel "Russian Spring" in >which communism does fall, but the Soviets finesse the transition to >capitalism rather better (or at least the oligarchs are far too smart to
go with a Putin like figure). The US isn't doing too well in the novel,
but there is redemption at the end. One of Spinrad's more optimistic >novels.

The Soviets never did transition to capitalism.... they went directly from communism to the end-stage of monarchy with the king owning everything.
They listened to Reagan when he said that private ownership was a great
thing, but they didn't realize (and I am not sure Reagan realized) that
private ownership needs to be kept private. The Russians handed off all
the factories and infrastructure to the people who had been running them in
the Soviet era and that turned out to be a bad thing.

Spinrad describes a world where the Soviets actually DID transition to capitalism and it could have happened and it could have gone well. But
what he describes is also very different than the Chinese moves toward capitalism too.

But the good news is that some of the eastern bloc nations did actually
take Spinrad's route and they are doing well.

Asimov's early stories were terrible, but so was most of the field at
that time. The pulps were places where you could learn and be mildly
paid from time to time.

I liked the early Asimov stories for what they are. They are tight and
direct. In no way are they sophisticated or subtle but you shouldn't
go in expecting that. He also managed to control his pun problem better
than some other SF writers of the era.

George Burns had the same sentiment about the end of Vaudeville:
"The kids have no place to go and be bad anymore".

This is a problem for musicians... there are good musicians and bad ones
but there is no route for anyone to work and move from one to the other
the way bar bands and theatre bands used to be.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.15
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On Tue, 26 May 2026 07:08:11 -0400 (EDT), kludge@panix.com (Scott
Dorsey) wrote:

William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> wrote:

The Spinrad essay looks like the origin of his novel "Russian Spring"

in

which communism does fall, but the Soviets finesse the transition to >>capitalism rather better (or at least the oligarchs are far too smart

to

go with a Putin like figure). The US isn't doing too well in the novel,

but there is redemption at the end. One of Spinrad's more optimistic >>novels.

The Soviets never did transition to capitalism.... they went directly

from

communism to the end-stage of monarchy with the king owning everything.
They listened to Reagan when he said that private ownership was a great >thing, but they didn't realize (and I am not sure Reagan realized) that >private ownership needs to be kept private. The Russians handed off all
the factories and infrastructure to the people who had been running them

in

the Soviet era and that turned out to be a bad thing.

Spinrad describes a world where the Soviets actually DID transition to >capitalism and it could have happened and it could have gone well. But
what he describes is also very different than the Chinese moves toward >capitalism too.

But the good news is that some of the eastern bloc nations did actually
take Spinrad's route and they are doing well.

Asimov's early stories were terrible, but so was most of the field at
that time. The pulps were places where you could learn and be mildly
paid from time to time.

I liked the early Asimov stories for what they are. They are tight and >direct. In no way are they sophisticated or subtle but you shouldn't
go in expecting that. He also managed to control his pun problem better
than some other SF writers of the era.

George Burns had the same sentiment about the end of Vaudeville:
"The kids have no place to go and be bad anymore".

This is a problem for musicians... there are good musicians and bad ones
but there is no route for anyone to work and move from one to the other
the way bar bands and theatre bands used to be.

Seattle's Neptune Theater was bought and reconditioned 15 years or so
ago. What used to be a very elegant old-style movie theater became an entertainment venue.

I remember reading an article at the time pointing out that this would
help the local musical groups by providing a way up from bars to a
wider audience and possibly onward to national prominence.
--
"Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.15
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

begin fnord
kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) writes:

This is a problem for musicians... there are good musicians and bad ones
but there is no route for anyone to work and move from one to the other
the way bar bands and theatre bands used to be.

There's a note of this in the later seasons of "Treme": music clubs are closing, and new clubs moving into their place are being opposed by neighborhood groups who do not realize that if you're going to live in
New Orleans, you need to expect a certain amount of noise and urine.

--
Steve Coltrin spcoltri@omcl.org
"A group known as the League of Human Dignity helped arrange for Deuel
to be driven to a local livestock scale, where he could be weighed."
- Associated Press

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.15
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> writes:

On Tue, 26 May 2026 07:08:11 -0400 (EDT), kludge@panix.com (Scott
Dorsey) wrote:

William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> wrote:

This is a problem for musicians... there are good musicians and bad ones >>but there is no route for anyone to work and move from one to the other
the way bar bands and theatre bands used to be.

Seattle's Neptune Theater was bought and reconditioned 15 years or so
ago. What used to be a very elegant old-style movie theater became an >entertainment venue.

I remember reading an article at the time pointing out that this would
help the local musical groups by providing a way up from bars to a
wider audience and possibly onward to national prominence.

Around here (Bay Area) there are a lot of small venues, some public,
many private. There's a house party in Santa Clara, for instance,
that books indy artists for a 8-12 shows every summer. Backyard,
about 30 in the audience. $30 per person, all of which goes to the
band. A table is setup for the patrons to bring snacks, cookies,
guac&chips, etc. to share out. Most recent show was _The Live Oaks_;
they were very good.

Another venue near Gilroy, called the Barn, has two or three
shows a month each year, for the past 15+ years now. Seats up
to 80, and again the $30-$40 per-person cost all goes to the
band. It's a former winery barrel house, complete with stage,
professional lighting and an excellent sound reinforcment
system. The couple who own it even feed the band before the show.

Most recent show there was _Antsy McLain and the Trailerpark Troubadores_, always a fun performance.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.15
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Scott Dorsey wrote:

William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> wrote:

Asimov's early stories were terrible, but so was most of the field at
that time. The pulps were places where you could learn and be mildly
paid from time to time.

I liked the early Asimov stories for what they are. They are tight and direct. In no way are they sophisticated or subtle but you shouldn't
go in expecting that. He also managed to control his pun problem better
than some other SF writers of the era.

I certainly didn't mind reading, and rereading, "The Early Asimov". At
some point the stories start getting good, but even the first few have
some interest.

George Burns had the same sentiment about the end of Vaudeville:
"The kids have no place to go and be bad anymore".

This is a problem for musicians... there are good musicians and bad ones
but there is no route for anyone to work and move from one to the other
the way bar bands and theatre bands used to be.

A bar I used to attend in Texas had truly excellent musicians (and
sometimes comedians) upstairs, while downstairs the music was provided
from people who were sometimes slightly worse than I was. And I never
rose to the level of just bad.


William Hyde


--- PyGate Linux v1.5.15
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> writes:

Scott Dorsey wrote:

This is a problem for musicians... there are good musicians and bad ones
but there is no route for anyone to work and move from one to the other
the way bar bands and theatre bands used to be.

A bar I used to attend in Texas had truly excellent musicians (and
sometimes comedians) upstairs, while downstairs the music was provided
from people who were sometimes slightly worse than I was. And I never
rose to the level of just bad.

I visited sixth street in Austin about 20 years ago, and there was
a very wide variety of live music (Rock, Jazz, Pop(meh)) with either
no cover, or minimal cover.

Dunno if it is still the same.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.15
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

In article <GiDRR.3$OsVd.1@fx15.iad>, Scott Lurndal <slp53@pacbell.net> wrote: >I visited sixth street in Austin about 20 years ago, and there was

a very wide variety of live music (Rock, Jazz, Pop(meh)) with either
no cover, or minimal cover.

Dunno if it is still the same.

Austin is a special case and not like the rest of Texas... but what you
are seeing here are people from all over Texas and even the world who have worked themselves up to that point. Whereas what I am lamenting are the
lack of opportunities to work one's self up to there.
--scott


--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.15
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)