ONE-CLIQUE SHOPPING...

...or, have you heard of Franco Columbu? Or Bill Pearl? How about Al Dacascos or Bill Wallace?

Well, don't worry if you haven't. It's just a question of which subcultures you happen to move in. See, if I'd asked whether you'd heard of Arnold Schwarzenegger or Bruce Lee, you'd have thought I was mad. Not that I'm claiming to be sane...

If you're interested, Franco was Arnold's best buddy and training partner, is the same height as me (about 14 inches less than the Oak Who Walks, I reckon) but stronger than anyone (he held the world record for bench press). Franco would win the short men's category in the Mr Olympia, and pose off (that's the official term) against the tall men's winner. Whenever that was Arnold, Franco came second... but in '81, against someone else, he beat the tall guy. It was the first time that had happened.

What do I think of competitive body-building? Well ya know... Shaving your body hair, getting a, ahem, friend to rub oil onto your skin all over, then dressing in the skimpiest underwear you own: that's some kind of sport, don't you think?

Mike Resnick once commented that someone who wins a Hugo (he'd know) can be really proud, until they walk down the street and realize no one there will even have heard of the award.

Is there a point to this? Not really...

Oh, the previous post (below) mentions my next SF novel, almost as if I were writing in another genre. If that ever happened, such a book would have to appear under a pseudonym, don't you think? Names are such tricky things.

Enjoy your world, Pilots.