Nick Smith
Over the years, the meetings of the now-independent Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society got bigger. As some of the younger fans went on to their dream jobs, some related to…
There have been a number of science fiction and fantasy writers with ties to Caltech, but from the 1960s on, three have stood out, in terms of quantity, quality, and…
Starting in the 1930s, there was a haven for writers, artists, fans and anyone else who had too little money for the lives they wanted to live. It was a…
So, where was the science fiction of the nineteenth century, if Frankenstein was so influential? It existed, but it followed “Sturgeon’s Law” in that most of it wasn’t very good.…
What is a “fan” of something or someone? The standard dictionary definition is that the term is short for “fanatic,” someone obsessed with that someone or something. I must suggest…
One of the greatest overlaps between science and science fiction over the past century has been Caltech. Several great SF writers have spent part or all of their academic years…
Two centuries ago, this year, a single book created a whole new genre, that of what we now call science fiction. The book was Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley, but…
By the late 1930s, there were only a handful of Civil War veterans left in Pasadena. Unlike in earlier days, there were no big groups of them attending events, such…
…And I further declare and make known, that such persons of suitable condition, will be received into the armed service of the United States to garrison forts, positions, stations, and…
“Under a heavy fire carried his wounded commanding officer from the field.”– from the Medal of Honor citation of Thomas F. Ellsworth, 55th Massachusetts Infantry In mid-1863, Corporal Thomas Ellsworth…