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wossname ([personal profile] wossname) wrote2014-07-31 09:38 am
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WOSSNAME -- 2nd issue -- July 2014

WOSSNAME
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
July 2014 (Volume 17, Issue 7, post 2)
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INDEX:

01) MORE QUOTES OF THE MONTH
02) EDITOR'S LETTER
03) ODDS AND SODS
04) DISCWORLD CONVENTION NEWS
05) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS
06) MORE IMAGES OF THE MONTH
07) CLOSE

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01) QUOTE OF THE REST OF THE MONTH

Or quite possibly the quote of the year!

"I'd like to do a Tomb Raider/Wee Free Men mash-up where Lara is armed only with a frying pan and a bottle of 'Special Sheep Liniment'."

– Rhianna Pratchett, 20th July 2014 via Twitter

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02) LETTER FROM YOUR EDITOR

Wotcha, all! This is a very quick round of updates, coming at the very end of the month. As I am in a rush, and haven't been near a Hex much in the past fortnight, I'll just say a quick apology to the various readers whose emails I haven't had a chance to reply to yet. Soon, soon. And now, on with the show...

– Annie Mac, Editor

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03) ODDS AND SODS

3.1 NEW DISCWORLD ALES: WE'LL DRINK TO THAT

New Discworld-inspired and officially licenced ales for Roundworld! Apparently the first of these will be available in Wetherspoon's pubs for the next few weeks. Cheers!

First up is Modo's Midden, a golden ale by the Boathouse Brewery, priced at £3.14 a bottle:

"Dwarves are regarded as some of the best brewers on Discworld. Invited to try his hand at the Boathouse Brewery (as compensation for damage caused to the lawns), Unseen University's head gardener, Modo, spent long hours in the brewhouse preparing and crafting his beer. A steady stream of under gardeners arrived with ingredient-laden barrows, causing more than one student to wonder what exactly would emerge and whether the brewhouse would survive. The resulting beer serves as one of the finest examples of dwarven brewing excellence and Modo has been seen feeding his legendary compost heap with a bottle or three when it's feeling a little flat.

"Tasting Notes: An honest, earthy and refreshing golden ale with a classic aroma of cedar and herbs. On the palate a light lemon/grapefruit flavour develops under the cedar for a truly distinctive character. The beer leaves a rounded taste in the mouth wanting you to take more."

http://tinyurl.com/mb457g9

...and then there's Invalid's Restorative, priced at £2.10 per bottle:

"A deep golden ale, brewed by golems who can resist the temptations of its strength. Matured in oaken casks used for aging Jimkin Bearhugger’s finest dram. The purest mountain spring water is shipped in from Llamedos and blended with floor malted barley, just a dash of black malt and a blend of Progress and Pilgrim (hops rather than travellers). The long oak aging imparts vanilla notes to the aroma, and the residual spirit lends a hefty kick to this splendid ale... Whiskey barrels are used for transporting the beer (they have plenty!) and this imparts a distinctive taste which, in true Bearhugger fashion, is aged for 8 minutes to keep up with the massive demand..."

http://tinyurl.com/ntm7cmn

3.2 WORLD WIDE DISCWORDS

The marvellous Michael Quinion of World Wide Words has featured Discworld in not one but two posts recently! Here are the entries for thaumaturgy (in which the UU Thaumometers get a look-in):

http://tinyurl.com/nplh974

...and for geis/geas, which of course quotes the Feegles:

http://tinyurl.com/lzg895t

3.3 REVIEW: GOING POSTAL

By Will Duquette on patheos.com:

"So last night I finished reading Terry Pratchett’s Going Postal to my wife and kids. Going Postal is in an odd category: it’s a full-fledge novel that I have only ever read aloud. I read it to Jane when it was first released, and now to Jane and my kids. Jane and I loved it on the first reading, and I’m glad to say that it held up on the second reading. In fact, I might go so far as to say that Going Postal is one of Pratchett’s best, and it’s certainly one of my favorites, in part because it is so unlike the various other Discworld sub-series... One of the things I especially like about this one is the variety of scenes with Lord Vetinari. We usually see him through the eyes of Sam Vimes, Commander of the City Watch; and so we usually see the Vetinari’s manner when managing Sam Vimes. But Vetinari is a skilled manipulator, and his manner with Moist is somewhat – different..."

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/crywoof/2014/07/review-going-postal/



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04) DISCWORLD CONVENTION NEWS

4.1 REMINDER: WADFEST 2014

"This year's theme is heroes and villains... There will be trophies for the best dressed villain and best dressed hero, so get your sewing machine out and give it a go! If you're no good at sewing and you don't have anyone to help out, you can always hire a costume for the weekend. As well as special themed hero and villain games there will be all your usual Wadfest favourites, including smack the penguin. If it's your first time at Wadfest, why not take a look through the photos of Wadfests past to get an idea of what to expect?"

When: 15th to 17th August 2014
Venue: Wood Green, The Animal Charity, King's Bush Farm, London Road, Godmanchester, Cambridgeshire, PE29 2NH
Tickets: £25.00 per adult for the weekend including Camping and Events. Children under 16 go free when accompanied by a paying adult. To purchase tickets online, go to http://www.wadfest.co.uk/page2.html

http://www.wadfest.co.uk

4.2 EMILY WHITTEN'S CON-RUNNING GUIDE

My favourite Seamstress-of-sorts and influential Discworld superfan Emily Whitten presents her tips for running a fan convention:

"I don’t mean to say that if you aren’t my brand of OCD you can’t run a con. I’ve worked with con chairs and committee members who do things in ways that are completely opposite to my style, and they make it work very successfully. But they also are supported by at least some committee members who are more detail-oriented. Because really, somebody has to be. In my view, con-running is most successful when those involved possess a blend of an ability to imagine and organize the big-picture plans; practicality and careful attention to the smallest details; a keen social acumen; creativity and creative problem-solving; and a noticeable lack of ego (e.g. putting the success of the con and happiness of attendees and guests before any benefit they might hope to gain from running things). It’s nice when these traits are all present in the same person, but more commonly they are at least found in the combined talents of a successful committee... If you can manage it, to gain experience I recommend starting as a volunteer or a part of a larger team managing one area of a current con, and watching how the larger experience is managed while doing your part and working your way to positions of more responsibility over the course of more than one con. I also recommend talking in depth with any of the convention committee (or 'concom') who will take the time to show you the ropes and answer your questions. Tell them your goals for starting a con, and very often, they will be glad to help or point you in the right directions to learn...

"I worked daily with other Discworld fans passionate about the idea of creating the con and with an experienced group based in Arizona who regularly ran local cons there. I volunteered at conventions like Capclave and Balticon. I located concom at conventions I attended (like the UK Discworld cons) and asked them questions about how they ran their areas of the con. As one of the three U.S. Discworld con founders and core committee members, I wore several hats that might usually have been worn by several members of a concom because we didn’t have anyone else to wear them. (And let me note here that I definitely wasn’t the only one who did these things; I am only sharing my experience, but many, many people worked very hard on The North American Discworld Conventions and helped turn them into successful events. It really does take a village.) This whole experience took four years – which, actually, isn’t at all an unreasonable amount of time to allot for founding a con, although with an experienced team at hand, you can probably do it in two. But to have a successful first con, you really need to put in that time, along with an immense amount of your attention and efforts..."

http://tinyurl.com/mg7c5a2

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05) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS

5.1 REMINDER: MONSTROUS REGIMENT IN CHICAGO: FINAL PERFORMANCES

When: now, and up through 3rd August 2014
Venue: Lifeline Theatre, 6912 N Glenwood Ave, Chicago, IL, 60626 Telephone 773-761-4477
Time: evenings at 7.30pm on Thursdays and Fridays and at 8pm on Saturdays; matinees at 4pm on Saturdays and Sundays. The production runs two and a half hours with one intermission. The book will be on sale in the lobby.
Tickets: $40 for regular single tickets, $30 for seniors, $20 for students (with I.D.), and $20 for rush tickets (available half hour before show time, subject to availability). Group rate for 12 or more is available upon request. Tickets may be purchased at the Lifeline Theatre Box Office, 773.761.4477, or by visiting www.lifelinetheatre.com

5.2 REMINDER: SOUL MUSIC IN KINGSTON

Youth Music Theatre UK, "the leading music theatre company for young people aged 11-21" and a favourite of Sir Pterry's, will present their new all-singing, all-dancing, all-Discworld production of Soul Music next month. "Directed by Luke Sheppard, (Associate Director RSC's Matilda), adapted by stand-up comedian Andrew Doyle with original music from WhatsOnStage Award-nominee Craig Adams (LIFT, Thérèse Raquin), and choreographed by Off West End Award-winner Cressida Carré (Titanic). Soul Music continues our association with Sir Terry Pratchett, and follows the success of our previous collaboration Mort The Musical."

When: 28th-31st August 2014
Venue: Rose Theatre, 24-26 High Street, Kingston, London, KT1 1HL
Time: 7.30pm
Tickets: £6–£26 including £1 booking fee per ticket. Plus £1.60 transaction fee per booking. Hurry, because all the "cheap seats" are already nearly sold out! To book online, go to:

www.rosetheatrekingston.org/visiting-productions/soul-music-terry-pratchett

5.3 NEW: MORT IN INVERELL, FOURECKS: AUDITIONS

From the Inverell Times:

"The Inverell Theatre Company is rising again after seven years in hibernation with a production of 'Mort'... 'when Chris [Newbigin] stepped forward and offered to direct the play, we thought the time was right to try again.'... Chris said she chose Mort because the play is accessible to many ages, and offers actors a chance to be really creative. 'Because it's a comedy, and because it's very good for character actors; for people who enjoy creating a role,' she said...

When: Thursday, July 31 at 7pm and Saturday, August 2 at 9am
Where: Inverell NECOM campus, 79 Moore Street, Inverell, New South Wales
Time: 7pm tonight (31st) and 9am on Saturday (2nd)

"Scripts will be provided and people will have time to digest the content before giving it a try. Positions are also open for set design and construction, costumes, make-up, and front-of-house staff..."

http://tinyurl.com/o8ttg3t

5.4 NEW: WYRD SISTERS IN SOUTHEND

"East Essex Players, who have recently celebrated their 50th anniversary, have decided to break away from their usual Earth based comedies to take on the fantasy of Pratchett's Discworld. 'We have performed a variety of comedy genres from Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit, to episodes of Fawlty Towers' says East Essex Players chairman Hazel Latcham, 'We are now looking forward to the challenge of a fantasy comedy that has a cult status.'"

When: 12th–15th November 2014
Venue: Dixon Studio, Palace Theatre, 430 London Road, Westcliff-on-Sea SS0 9LA
Time: TBA
Tickets: £11.50*, £10.50* *A £1.50 per ticket booking fee applies, capped at four per order. Groups of 10+ please call 01702 351135 to buy fee-free.
Box Office: 01702 351135. To buy online, go to link below and click on the button for the desired date:
http://tinyurl.com/qat2s74

http://www.eastessexplayers.co.uk/

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06) MORE IMAGES OF THE MONTH

Sir Pterry and Mr Baxter posing in front of Salisbury Cathedral. Which they plan to destroy in their next book:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BsluoZsIgAA373i.jpg:large

This is a photo from Roundworld – from London Ago, in fact – but I want to share it because it looks so like I imagine the Treacle Street Watch House of Ankh-Morpork Ago did:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BrhNKpuIcAAjUUe.jpg

The Fourecksian Hogswatch in July photoset, fresh from the iconograph imps this week. Includes the Stick and Bucket Dance:
http://cfphotographydesign.pixieset.com/hogswatch2014/

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07) CLOSE

And there you have it: all the news for July that we could find. I'm off to dig for gold, gold, gold. See you next month!

– Annie Mac

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The End. If you have any questions or requests, write: interact (at) pearwood (dot) info
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Copyright (c) 2014 by Klatchian Foreign Legion