JumpStart by Robb Armstrong for July 09, 2023

Asimov died of AIDS contracted from a tainted blood transfusion during heart surgery before blood safety protocols were in place. This fact was covered up for years because of early ignorance regarding AIDS. But in the second edition of the autobiography “I, Asimov” his widow revealed the true cause of death.

I just thought everyone should know.

Died on April 6, 1992 (aged 72) New York City, U.S.A.

Was Nicole born on January 1st ?

I got his autograph at a SF/Fantasy convention in Toronto… Maybe around 1970. He was #1 name there – at least as far as I was concerned. I didn’t ask for Anne McCaffrey’s autograph because I’d not read her books and thought it would be hypocritical. Then I wouldn’t read her books for fear I’d be angry with myself for not asking for her autograph if I loved them.

“Caves of Steel” was the first Sci-Fi book I read. Been hooked on Sci-Fi ever since.

I met Dr. Asimov several times. Brilliant writer, fabulous speaker and very, very funny. PhilCon isn’t the same without him.

Isaac Asimov is one of my heroes … I have a postcard from him, got to give him a kiss at a con, and my letter was one of the ones printed in the readers tribute issue after his death. The world still needs his scientific clarity, his wisdom, and his humor.

And Nicole, tell Marcus he wisely said “Babies are the enemy of the human race”!

Nicole must’ve been a very brainy baby.

That look of shock on Marcy’s face in the last panel…

I was in England for a couple of weeks. In a bookstore in Eton, I saw an original hardcover UK edition of I ROBOT. It was thousands of dollars. No surprise I did not leave with it.

That was actually the original script to the Sgt. Pepper movie, it just got badly butchered by misguided consultants before filming.

Wow! Really?

me, me…I want to hear the rundown!

I met Sir Arthur C. Clarke in my 20s while I was working in Sri Lanka. He actually reached out to meet us; we were oceanographers working in a U.S. Navy ship. Fascinating experience.

Toronto had the Worldcon in 1973. I’m told it was a really good one.

In the days before home computers Dr Asimov had his attic set up with 10 typewriters around a tablem each typewriter devoted to a single subject/book with two others as spares.

Nicole is seriously deranged.

I met Asimov in ‘88. He normally didn’t do SF conventions but since EveCon was on “his birthday”, he and the wife came out. I was in the elevator, in a Grim Reaper costume (with switchblade scythe) when they stepped in. I was star-struck. What do you say to the most prolific writer you’ve read? “Great Asimov costume, dude”. I got a smirk out of him! Later, my comedy troupe dumped a bucket of confetti on him.

I still have my copy of The Foundation Trilogy, purchased when I was a teenager from the Science Fiction Book Club. Cheesy book club edition, yes, but I still value it because Asimov autographed it at a science fiction convention in New York in the late 1970s.

Ah, this might be going a little too far. What next? Remembering her conception?

Is everyone here aware that National Science Fiction Day is celebrated on January 2nd, which is Asimov’s official birthday? (Side note: It also was my mother’s birthday.)

I think she dreamed it