IN MEMORY OF STEVEN STHOLE


Many of you will recall that Steven Sthole was the Elephant Talk FAQmaster for a number of years and indeed the present FAQ has long suffered since Steven stepped down from the role. Below I'm publishing Steven's farewell letter sent to the KrimsonNews site. On February 24, 2006 he passed away from cancer. Sleep calmly, Friend.


"FAQman" - A Goodbye To All That
Wednesday, October 31, 2001


Hi, it's Steve Sthole here. I just thought I'd drop you all a line and let you know I've decided to move on as the ET FAQmaster. Having said that, it seems obvious that my old moniker of "FAQman" will no longer fit, so Mr. Crimson and I will be coming up with a new nomenclature for me. Since I have literary aspirations of my own, perhaps "StevenKing" might work.... (you know, as in "Steven, fan of King Crimson... oh, never mind).

Anyway, my departure from ET-land leaves me with mixed feelings. There's a sense of slight accomplishment from the past three years, as well as sadness over the departure. I have certainly encountered some nice people along the way, including ET fans from many countries. One high point I'd like to mention was receiving an autographed copy of Vladimir Kalnitsky's fine book, 'The Russificated King Crimson' and discovering he mentioned me in the Forward! Vlad cited me and the ET FAQ as an influence in researching his Russian-language book on the Crimson King. I was very flattered and impressed.

I plan on remaining with KrimsonNews, and I let Mr. Crimson know he can expect a review from me on the upcoming KC show in Denver next month. Mr. C. reports he has received many positive comments on my KC/Tool review, and this gratifies me as well.

It seems unlikely I would have ever have come on board as KCNN's first correspondent (after Mr. Crimson), had I not also been involved with the ET FAQ. But the time has come for FAQman to "move on", as Robert would say. (But StevenKing lurks somewhere in the shadows...)

Cheers.