Annual KaCSFFS Valentine Party!

Myxer.com's "Alien Spaceship Love"

An Out-of-This-World Kind of Love 
is this year's theme.

When? Saturday, February 18, 2012
What time? KaCSFFS meeting starts at 6:00. Party starts at 7:00. 

"Alien Love," by Scott Given

Where? The Writers Place, 3607 Pennsylvania, Kansas City, MO 64111-2820

Admission to the Party: $5 or 5 cans/boxes of non-perishable food per person, for Kansas City food pantries. (Or $1 and 4 cans. Or $2 and 3 cans. Or . . . you get the idea.)

What to Wear?

Party coordinator Sherri Dean advises: "Attire should be inspired by your fannish love, be it Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Anime--whatever it is, we've got a fan for that!"

Maybe The Voca People can inspire some local aliens!

And whatever you wear, make sure you can dance in it: "In addition to meeting and greeting with a wide variety of fans, there will be music, dancing, [and] karaoke," Sherri says.

MYOV!

There also will be "a Make Your Own Valentine station where you can make-n-take a card for a loved one, or give it to a new Valentine you just met! *Le sigh!*"

For recipes, look at the Wish Blog!

Food!

Don't plan on dinner here, but "we'll have light snacks and goodies," Sherri says, and encourages all club members who wish to do so to bring their own specialties. Many online sources (such as The Wish Blog, who furnished the photo at right), also offer great recipes.

We also will have "a non-alcoholic punch . . . for chasing away the thirsties." She adds. "Anything harder is BYOB, but please, nobody likes a sloppy drunk!"

Valentine Royalty card by Junkerman Jones

Royalty!

"Every Valentine celebration needs royalty to make the magic compete," Sherri concludes. "For the price of $1 you can nominate your favorite gal or pal for King or Queen. 

"In the fine KaCSFFS tradition, a woman can be a King, a man a Queen, or any combination thereof!

"Also, there's no limit to how many times you can vote, as long as each vote has a dollar with it. The winners will receive a nifty crown, a sash, and have their photo taken" for the KaCSFFS Blog (right here, folks!) and Facebook Page. 

PHOTO/ART CREDITS: "Alien Spaceship Love" is offered as a wallpaper by Myxer. "Alien Love" is by artist Scott Given. See this piece and more of his artwork at Elfwood. The photo of The Voca People is from Broadway.com--be sure to watch their video and learn their amazing back-story! The luscious Valentine food photo--along with recipes for most of these delights (hint! hint!) is from The Wish Blog. Finally, the card with the Valentine Queen and King is designed by Junkerman Jones Events, and featured on their blog page. Many thanks to all sources!

Laser Rangers set to see . . . "Femme Fatale"

From David Sooby: In a last minute schedule change, Ken Keller will host our February Laser
Rangers session.  The "Femme Fatale" theme will feature "Body Heat"
(1981) and "Basic Instinct" (director's cut).

Food theme: Mexican

Date, time, and location remain the same as previously announced.

Laser Rangers! The February Program

Date: February 11:

Time: Around 4:15 p.m., “fan time”

Place: David Sooby’s home theater with 51-inch Samsung HDTV, a 5.1 Surround Sound Dolby Digital sound system, a full set of audiophile-grade speakers, and brand new seating for about 15 people without crowding.

Food Theme:   (fresh, theater-style popcorn available throughout the evening) Items appropriate for the mood of the evening (be sure at least some of it is edible!)

Captain Laser: Tracy Majkol 

The Program: “Singing in the Brains”: Cannibal! The Musical and Repo! The Genetic Opera

Cannibal! The Musical 

Before dinner, view the first movie. This 1993 film is the brainchild of Trey Parker, who wrote, directed, and stars (as Alferd Packer) in the film. It derives at least some of its inspiration from the ill-fated Donner Party of pioneers, who got lost in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in 1846, and resorted to cannibalism to survive.

In this movie “the sole survivor of an ill-fated mining expedition tells how his taste for gold was replaced by that of human flesh,” according to the IMDB website.

Watch the trailer . . . if you dare!

Repo! The Genetic Opera

After supper, step from the past into a frightening future. 

Created in 2008 and first shown in a flurry of international film festivals, this movie features more than one person you’ve heard of, and voices worth respecting. Stars include Alexa Vega, Paul Sorvino, Anthony Head, Sarah Brightman, and Paris Hilton at what must have been the apex of her acting career.

The IMDB synopsis: “A worldwide epidemic encourages a biotech company to launch an organ-financing program similar in nature to a standard car loan. The repossession clause is a killer, however.”

There's an available trailer for this one, too.

More information can be found at the Laser Rangers website. If you need directions to the program location, use the information inside the proscenium arch:

PHOTO Credits:

The poster images for the two movies are from the IMDB website: Look here for  Cannibal! Look here for Repo! The movie screen frame image used for the Laser Rangers contact information is courtesy of Psychology Today Online.

Are YOU "Ossifer" Material?

February Meeting is the time to Declare Candidacy!

KaCSFFS only accepts self-nominations.

It is a time-tested KaCSFFS tradition for those who want to be officers to speak for themselves. We only accept self-nominations.

At the February meeting (6:30 p.m. Feb. 18, 2012, at The Writers Place), self-nominations become open for the offices of:
     Director/President
     Secretary
     Treasurer
     Communications Officer
     2013 ConQuesT Chair

New incoming officers have the option of up to a two-month orientation period, when the outgoing officer helps get them oriented. KaCSFFS officers serve for one year. No one may hold two elected Board of Directors offices at the same time, but there currently is no Bylaws-mandated limit on the number of consecutive terms one may serve.

This slate of officer titles is different from past years, and so is the timing. Here's why: The Bylaws Committee has been laboring to complete a set of Bylaws that will comply with all federal and state regulations for a 501(c)3 corporation--including changing "Director" to "President" and adding a fifth elected person to the Board.

Members WILL have a chance to see, discuss, and vote on the new Bylaws before we hold elections in April! But some of the changes are not going to be optional, if we want to take advantage of the benefits of a 501(c)3 corporation (trust us--we DO!).

All dues must be paid by the March meeting (6:30 p.m. Mar. 17, 2012, at The Writers Place), if you want to vote.

Voting is scheduled for April (6:30 p.m. Apr. 21, 2012, at The Writers Place),.

PHOTO CREDIT: The "candidate" image is from the Dixie County website.

Laser Rangers Are "All Alone in the World" January 28

Date: January 28, 2012

Time: Around 4:15 p.m., “fan time”

Place: David Sooby’s home theater with 51-inch Samsung HDTV, a 5.1 Surround Sound Dolby Digital sound system, a full set of audiophile-grade speakers, and brand new seating for about 15 people without crowding.

Food Theme: TBA (fresh, theater-style popcorn available throughout the evening)

Captain Laser: Corey Barber

The Program: "Sad to be All Alone in the World"

Check the Laser Rangers website for more information.

The Before-Dinner Movie: 

Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967)

Stars Julie Andrews, James Fox, Mary Tyler Moore, Carol Channing, John Gavin, Jack Soo, Pat Morita, and others.

IMDB synopsis: "Millie comes to town in the roaring twenties to encounter flappers, sexuality and white slavers." 

Storyline: "In 1922 New York City, Millie Dillmount and Miss Dorothy Brown are just two of the girls living at the Priscilla Hotel for Single Young Ladies run by Mrs. Meers. 

"Orphaned, Miss Dorothy, just recently arrived, is a naive, old-fashioned girl from a seemingly privileged background who has aspirations to be a stage actress. From more modest means, Millie, in New York for three months, used to be old fashioned, but now has a new modern sensibility and look to match, complete with bobbed hair and dresses with hemlines above the knee. 

"Included in this new modern sensibility is Millie's goal of getting a job as a stenographer, with a quick promotion to being her wealthy boss's 'Mrs.'. Love is not to factor into the equation. She believes she's found the right employer in the form of chisel-jawed Trevor Graydon of the Sincere Trust Insurance Company." 

Written by Huggo  

Adapted from a hit Broadway musical, this movie is based on a now-classic musical theater standard that is in near-perennial production somewhere all the time, in regional, community, college, or high school theaters around the world.

This movie won an Oscar in 1967 for Best Music, Original Music Score. It was nominated for five others, as well.

The Laser Rangers take a dinner break between the two features of the evening, to share a potluck dinner and discuss the movie they have just seen, or get caught up on other events.

The After-Dinner Movie:

Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)

Directed by Frank Capra, this movie stars Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane, Raymond Massey, Peter Lorre, and manyothers.

IMDB synopsis: "A drama critic learns on his wedding day that his beloved maiden aunts are homicidal maniacs, and that insanity runs in his family."

Storyline: "Mortimer Brewster is a newspaperman and author known for his diatribes against marriage. We watch him being married at city hall in the opening scene. Now all that is required is a quick trip home to tell Mortimer's two maiden aunts. While trying to break the news, he finds out his aunts' hobby; killing lonely old men and burying them in the cellar. It gets worse." 

Written by John Vogel

As with Millie, it would be hard to enumerate how many productions of this play are put on each year by companies from regional equity to local high school. This is an enduring classic.

The home of the Laser Rangers is located about two miles north of the Kansas Speedway, NW of the intersection of I-70 and I-435 on the Kansas side of the Greater Kansas City area.


For the exact address and directions, e-mail David Sooby at the email address given here.

PHOTO/IMAGE CREDITS: The information and movie poster image for Thoroughly Modern Millie come from the movie's page on the IMDB website. The information and movie poster image for Arsenic and Old Lace come from that movie's page on the IMDB website. The movie screen frame image used for the Laser Rangers contact information is courtesy of Psychology Today Online. Many thanks to these websites!

SF&F Literati Meet January 23, 2012

SF&F Literati meet at the Oak Park
Barnes & Noble Booksellers.

Join SF&F Literati, the KaCSFFS Book Club!
SF&F Literati meet every fourth Monday of the month at the Barnes & Nobles Booksellers at Oak Park Mall in Overland Park. The book group will meet at the 2nd floor nearest the windows, they will have the area set up for us. 

The January selection is
The Unincorporated Man.

January's book is 


The Unincorporated Man by Dani & Eytan Kollin
Overview from B&N:
     "The incredible has happened.  A billionaire businessman from our time, frozen in secret in the early 21st century, is discovered in the far future and resurrected, given health and a vigorous younger body. He awakens into a civilization in which every individual is formed into a legal corporation at birth, and spends many years trying to attain control over their own life by getting a majority of his or her own shares. Life extension has made life very long indeed.
     "Justin Cord is the only unincorporated man in the world, a true stranger in this strange land. Justin survived because he is tough and smart. He cannot accept only part ownership of himself, even if that places him in conflict with a civilization that extends outside the solar system to the Oort Cloud.
     "The Unincorporated Man is a provocative social/political/economic novel that people will be arguing about for decades."

February Selection Available Now: 

Start reading the February selection NOW!

Order your copy of the February selection now! The group discusses  I am Number Four, by Pittacus Lore February 27, 2012.

Overview from B&N: Nine of us came here. We look like you. We talk like you. We live among you. But we are not you. We can do things you dream of doing. We have powers you dream of having. We are stronger and faster than anything you have ever seen. We are the superheroes you worship in movies and comic books—but we are real.

Our plan was to grow, and train, and become strong, and become one, and fight them. But they found us and started hunting us first. Now all of us are running. Spending our lives in shadows, in places where no one would look, blending in. we have lived among you without you knowing.
But they know.
They caught Number One in Malaysia.
Number Two in England.
And Number Three in Kenya.
They killed them all.
I am Number Four.
I am next.


Locator map:

View Larger Map


PHOTO/IMAGE CREDITS: The image of the Oak Park Barnes & Nobles store is from the store locator website. Images of the covers of The Unincorporated Man and I am Number Four are from their respective pages on the Barnes & Nobles Booksellers website.

Informative, Relaxed, and Tasty!

KaCSFFS Kicks off its Meeting Year January 21, 2012

We're back at The Writer's Place for
another meeting on 1/21/12.

Location: The Writers Place
3607 Pennsylvania
Kansas City, MO 64111-2820

(Map at end of this post)

Time: 6:30 p.m.

Informative!

For the program, The X-Ray Delta One Podcast group is taping a panel discussion about views of Fandom and how it is changing. The panelist list was still being worked out at publication time.

Cassandra offers Massage Therapy at
Be Well on 39th.

Relaxed!

Prepare for bliss, at the hands of Cassandra Schultz, Massage Therapist! Cassandra will be available all evening to give massages just like the ones she gives at Be Well on 39th, a local holistic health center. 

"Manual muscle manipulations [are] used to decrease pain, stress, and tension, and increase immunity and body awareness," she writes on her website. She specializes in Reflexology and Craniosacral Therapy.

If you like what you experience at the meeting, you can book an appointment with her later, at 816-456-7945.

Tasty!

The January meeting hosts the Third Annual KaCSFFS Chili Cookoff! Bring your best chili, and take on all comers! 

Here are the rules for this year's event:

1. The tasting starts AFTER the meeting.

2. Each chili will receive a number, on a card placed in front of its pot.

3. The club will provide spoons and tasting cups for samples.

4. Tasters vote for their Top Two (2) chilis by marking a ballot.

5. Ballots will be tabulated by Board Members who did not bring chili.

6. The Top Three Chili Cooks will be covered in glory and lauded in the presence of all!

If you choose not to bring chili, please consider bringing crackers, cornbread, butter, cheese, sour cream, or other things that go with chili. You also could bring dessert!  And as always, bring your own drinks, ice, etc. as you prefer!

Do YOU have a great chili recipe? Show us your stuff!

We promised you a map:


View Larger Map 


PHOTO/IMAGE CREDITS: The photo of The Writers Place is from their website. The photo of the Be Well on 39th building is from their website. The image of the rulebook, Da Rules, from the Fairly Oddparents cartoon came from a forum on the Notebook Review website.  Left and center chili bowl images came from Wikimedia Commons, and the bowl with oyster crackers is an image from The Chili Guy's website. The promised map is from Google Maps.

Holiday Celebration Rescued!

KCin2016 Saves Christmas!

KCin2016 a (not-a) bid for the Worldcon in 2016 will be hosting the KaCSFFS meeting at 6:30 p.m., December 17 at The Writers Place.

We will be sharing Chocolate (Belgian! yum) and Cheese (Dutch!) and regaling you with tales of our adventures in Amsterdam.

This will be primarily a social hour type meeting, BYOB. and visit with us. Non- members are welcome. Please bring items that you wish to share with others for the party. Remember to bring your own drink and ice.

Don't forget to bring non-perishable food items for the KC Food Pantry! This is the third of three food drive collections. Let's show Kansas City that KaCSFFS cares!

Special Movie Promotion with SWAG!
Sarah Martin & Caitlin Higgins, of Allied-THA, will give a short presentation, hand out promo items, and take pictures of willing members holding the promo items for the film THE DARKEST HOUR

Give ConQuesT for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and/or the Solstice!

ConQuesT 43 memberships are still available at a good discount, and they would be a perfect fit for anyone who loves science fiction, fantasy, Steampunk or horror.

Use the handy form at right to reserve memberships for all your phannish friends NOW! You won't want to miss it!

Our newly-announced Guests of Honor are Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, authors of the famed Liaden Universe® books. (Check out the David Mattingly animation of their cover for Ghost Ship!).

Toastmaster is our own Susan Satterfield. Editor Guest of Honor is Gardner Dozois; Artist Guest of Honor is Ursula Vernon, and Fan Guest of Honor is Tim Miller, of FenCon fame.

SF&F Literati End Their Reading Year, and other News

News and Notes from SF Fandom


SF&F Literati Discuss Robert Asprin's Dragons Wild

November's featured book is Robert
Asprin's Dragons Wild.

SF&F Literati meet every fourth Monday of the month at the Barnes & Nobles Booksellers at Oak Park Mall in Overland Park.


Overview from the Barnes & Nobles website:
     "First in a brand new series from the New York Times bestselling creator of the Myth and Phule novels:
     "A low-stakes con artist and killer poker player, Griffen "Grifter" McCandles graduated college fully expecting his wealthy family to have a job waiting for him. Instead, his mysterious uncle reveals a strange family secret: Griffen and his sister, Valerie, are actually dragons.
     "Unwilling to let Uncle Mal take him under his wing, so to speak, Griffen heads to New Orleans with Valerie to make a living the only way he knows how. And even the criminal underworld of the French Quarter will heat up when Griffen lands in town."

There will be no meeting in December, because the fourth Monday falls on December 26, and complications seem inevitable. This should give everyone plenty of time to read the selection for January 23, 2012. It is The Unincorporated Man, by Dani and Eytan Kollin.

New AboutSF Volunteer Coordinator
KaCSFFS Member Ben Cartwright announced a while back that there is a new Volunteer Coordinator for the KU-based educational outreach project, AboutSF. He wrote:
     "I hope that everyone in KaCSFFS will join me in welcoming Isaac Bell as the new volunteer coordinator for AboutSF! Isaac is a first-year Master’s student in the Composition and Rhetoric track in the department of English at the University of Kansas. He is an alumnus of both the 2011 Science Fiction Writers Workshop and the Intensive English Institute on the Teaching of Science Fiction provided by the Center for the Study of Science Fiction.
     "Isaac has worked as a Digital Executive Producer at KMBC Channel 9, and as a Senior Web Producer at the Lawrence Journal-World. Isaac’s creative work includes stories in both volumes of the Crimson Pact anthology.
     "I feel that Isaac’s skills and experience make him a perfect fit for the AboutSF coordinator position.
     "I want to personally thank all of the individuals and organizations (including KaCSFFS folks) I’ve had the opportunity to work with while being the AboutSF coordinator. I will continue to help produce the AboutSF podcasts as a volunteer, and I look forward to all of Isaac’s exciting plans for AboutSF.

New Books Announced
The blog has received a couple of new-book announcements recently, from friends of KaCSFFS.

My Troubles with Time

Benson Grayson has a new e-book, My Troubles with Time. It is available for $1.99 in the e-version for Kindle from Amazon. Here is his description:
     "The story concerns a friendless physics professor who goes back to December 1941 in a time machine he has invented, seeking to become famous by destroying the Japanese fleet which attacked Pearl Harbor. Against all odds he succeeds. Rather than being hailed as a hero, he is arrested and sentenced to death by a U.S. Navy Court Martial for mistakenly sinking the Japanese vessels prior to their launching their attack.”

The author has previously published seven books on history and international affairs, but this is his first fiction project.

The Worker Prince
Bryan Thomas Schmidt's new book, The Worker Prince, is the first book in a trilogy. It is available from his website in paperback, for $14.95, or as an e-book for $3.99. Here is his description:
     "What if everything you thought you knew about  yourself  and the world turned out to be wrong?
      "For Davi Rhii, Prince of the Boralian people, that  nightmare has become a reality. Freshly  graduated from  the prestigious Borali Military Academy, now he’s discovered he was secretly adopted and born a worker. Ancient enemies of  the Boralians, enslaved now for generations, the workers of Vertullis live lives harder than Davi had ever imagined.
     "To make matters worse, Davi’s  discovered that the High Lord Councillor of the  Alliance, his uncle Xalivar, is responsible for years of abuse and suppression against the workers Davi now knows as his own people.
     "His quest to rediscover himself brings him into conflict with Xalivar and his friends and family, calling into question his cultural values and assumptions, and putting in jeopardy all he’s worked for his whole life. Davi’s never felt more confused and alone. Will he stand and watch the workers face continued mistreatment, or turn his back on his loved ones and fight for what’s right? Whatever he decides is sure to change his life forever."

If either of these titles intrigues you, please follow the links and check them out!

IMAGE CREDITS:
Many thanks (again) to Barnes & Noble Booksellers for the cover illustration of Dragons Wild. The cover for My Troubles with Time is courtesy of Benson Grayson. The cover for The Worker Prince is from Bryan Thomas Schmidt's website.

More than Plenty's in Store at KaCSFFS Thanksgiving Meeting!

November 19 Meeting is Packed with Special Features

Come to The Writers Place for the November meeting with a Food Pantry donation; cash or your checkbook, in case you see artwork you can't resist; and a side dish or dessert to share for the potluck Thanksgiving dinner!

Bring non-perishable food items for
the KaCSFFS Food Drive!

Food Pantry Donations
Before you feed yourself, give some thought to feeding others! KaCSFFS continues its three-month food drive. Any non-perishable food item is appreciated! Some popular and healthy suggestions include canned fruit, vegetables, soup, meat (such as tuna or ham), etc., or peanut butter, beans, rice, pasta, and baby food. Disposable diapers and wipes, as well as toiletry items also are usually welcome!

Thanksgiving Visual Feast
Talented local and regional artists who work in the science fiction, fantasy, horror, and/or Steampunk genres will display their work for your viewing pleasure and purchase--just in time for the holidays! This display will be set up on the Mezzanine and second floor. It will be available for viewing all evening. Don't miss it!

This is some of the artwork displayed for last August's "Art Night." See what
our talented artist friends have in store for Thanksgiving!

Earline Beebe and Jan Gephardt enjoyed a good visit
at the 2010 KaCSFFS Thanksgiving Dinner. 

Thanksgiving Dinner
After a short meeting starting at 6:00, it will be time to eat. Enjoy the talents of the best cooks in KaCSFFS, and relax for a pleasant conversation at the table. 

If you plan to bring a side dish or dessert to complement the KaCSFFS-furnished turkey and gravy, please contact Diana Bailey so she can coordinate. Bring your own drinks, if you have something particular in mind. 

KaCSFFS provides plastic tableware and disposable cups, as well as the turkey and gravy.

John Tibbetts will read from
his new book after dinner.

After-Dinner Reading by John Tibbetts

A special treat awaits us after dinner, when the noted local film critic, writer, interviewer, and KU professor of film, John Tibbetts, presents a reading from his new book, The Gothic Imagination: Conversations on Fantasy, Horror and Science Fiction in the Media. 

This book was only published last month. It includes an interview with KaCSFFS friend and Honorary Member Wilson Tucker.

Tibbetts is a charming and entertaining speaker. We think you will enjoy his presentation!

PHOTO CREDITS: The food pantry illustration is courtesy of the First Baptist Church of Medford, WI. The photo of the "August Art Night" display is by Neelix (Tracy Majkol), and is used with his permission. The photo from the November 20, 2010 Thanksgiving Dinner is by Ty Gephardt, and is used with his permission. The cover illustration for The Gothic Imagination was provided by Barnes & Noble Booksellers. Many thanks to all of them!