What's more batshit than Orson Scott Card during a full moon?

[tikistitch]

Evidently, it's Larry Niven.

True tiki story: when we wuz a baby tiki, and living in SoCal, we were once reading Lucifer's Hammer on a public bus. (As, tiki was one of the few residents of SoCal to not own a car.) (And, we had pretty bad taste in SF as a kid.)

A friendly, older guy (evidently the only other carless resident of SoCal besides us and Ray Bradbury) saw the book and struck up a conversation. He said that he personally knew one of the book's authors, though, at this point, we have no recollection whether it was Niven or the coauthor, Jerry Pournelle. Anyways, he said his wife had (briefly) worked for the guy, and evidently spent a great part of her working life running around the author's desk, being chased by said author, who intended to fondle her boobies, she being a woman, and PC being years and years into The Future.

Comments

[annlarimer.livejournal.com]

I no longer feel bad for not reading past the first Ringworld book.

[aoi-no-neko.livejournal.com]

I don't know why they have to do that, the insurance companies already are

=(

[twotone]

Oh my shit.

I'm a little horrified that Pournelle describes that scheme as "politically incorrect" rather than, say, "horribly inhuman". Seriously, how far right do you have to be to dehumanize others THAT much?

[avalonjones.livejournal.com]

I was at a con in Virginia Beach, VA in 1984 or thereabouts, and got hit on by Harlan Ellison.

[tikistitch.livejournal.com]

I think you may have told me that story. But, if you're in the mood, it definitely bears repeating! I'd heard of Harlan the Harasser over the years, but had never had the honor of actually knowing a Harass-ee!!

[avalonjones.livejournal.com]

Well, I'd gone to this con with the couple I was living with at the time. I had signed in, and was waiting for them to finish signing in; I went to stand next to one of those tables that's the right height to lean on while you're standing. This older guy with messy graying hair, a fake tan, and a rumpled suit comes up, leans on the table by me, gives me this big, insincere-looking, "Hey, baby!"-like cheesy smile and says, "Hi!"

Not particularly wanting any company, I glared at him. "Hi," I said, and turned away.

A few minutes later, my companions had finished socializing and came over to my table. "What's wrong with you?" K asked; I must've looked pissed off (which I did a lot back then anyway).

I pointed to the suit-clad guy, now standing a fair bit away and talking to some other people. "That guy there was tryin' to hit on me."

"Do you know who that is??" K said. "That's Harlan Ellison!!"

"SO WHAT?!?" I said, a little too loudly.

(And my friend S, whom you also know, told me that she knows a gal who got groped by astronaut Wally Schirra at some sort of presentation he was giving...)

[tikistitch.livejournal.com]

I'd forgotten the fake tan bit! That just makes it more special!!

a gal who got groped by astronaut Wally Schirra at some sort of presentation he was giving...

EWWWWW!!! We have a friend who's a NASA collector, and he says one of the old Apollo dudes is regarded by everybody (including the *other* astronauts) as completely insane. Think it's not Schirra though - it might be Buzz Aldrin.

[avalonjones.livejournal.com]

And here I've been celebrating Buzz Aldrin's birthday all these years in honor of his (non)appearance on Monty Python's Flying Circus!

You know that John Glenn was a senator in Ohio, right? I used to work about a 5-minute drive from his apartment building!

[tikistitch.livejournal.com]

My dad used to work for a NASA contractor. So, we knew all the astronaut gossip! (Well, all the PG-rated stuff.) My dad was probably the only voter in America who was *dreaming* of a Jimmy Carter/John Glenn presidential ticket, "Because then both the president and the vice president will be ENGINEERS!!!"

I originally started college majoring in engineering. But, then I got better. And then, I ended up marrying an engineer. And, all our friends are engineers. The end.

P.S. Oh, and I had an uncle who played piano at that ratty bar/whorehouse all the right stuff air force dudes hung out at.

[avalonjones.livejournal.com]

You'd mentioned your uncle's piano artistry at that bar before! That's too cool--it's Tiki's Brush With Greatness! (Well... one of many...)

[jabberwockypie.livejournal.com]

I say we have Larry Niven and Orson Scott Card fight to the death. Who's with me?

[avalonjones.livejournal.com]

Only if they do it in lime jello!