Spotlight's on AboutSF at Saturday's meeting

A preview of the program for Saturday, April 16, 6:30 at the Writers Place:


"Saving the World through Science Fiction" is the motto of the educational resource center AboutSF.  How could a KaCSFFan do anything but cheer?

L-R: Benjamin Cartwright, Samantha Bishop Simmons, and Nick Bishop Simmons

Once the cheering subsides, however, we can learn more about it from Saturday night's program, presented by Benjamin Cartwright, Samantha Bishop Simmons, and Nick Bishop Simmons.  Ben is a new member of KaCSFFS.

On its website, AboutSF describes itself as "a resource center for speculative literature, science fiction, and education." It is headquartered at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, jointly sponsored by KU, SFWA, and SFRA.  It also is supported by Tor Books, the Heinlein Prize Trust, and individual donors.

Ray Bradbury, by Ed Emshwiller
Saturday's program will feature a
never-before-heard excerpt from an
interview of the sf master by
film historian John Tibbetts.

The program Saturday night will offer a broad overview of resources available through AboutSF, including the Speculative Speakers database, the podcast, and more.  It also will include an excerpt from a never-before-heard interview of Ray Bradbury, and a preview of AboutSF ConQuesT programming.

Ben is the current volunteer coordinator for AboutSF, overseeing various AboutSF projects and initiatives. He also produces the AboutSF audio podcast, designed as a way for fans, scholars, and authors to share stories and commentary with SF communities around the world. And if that wasn't enough, he also produces the Kansas Blotter Audio podcast, collecting recordings of Lawrence KS-area writers.

Samantha is currently in charge of communications at the Hall Center for the Humanities at KU.  She formerly held Ben's job at AboutSF, and also has worked in public education through public and university libraries.

Nick is a Ph.D. candidate at KU, working on a dissertation about philosophical issues regarding consciousness and our understanding of the physical world.

PHOTO CREDITS: Photos of Ben, Samantha, and Nick were provided by Ben; Ed Emshwiller's portrait of Ray Bradbury is the cover painting for Bradbury: An Illustrated Life, published by Donald M. Grant.

Three Important Announcements!

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Make sure you scroll down for all three!

The Barnes & Noble at Oak Park Mall is the
new home of the KaCSFFS Book Club.

1. New Home for KaCSFFS Book Club!
Starting April 25, The KaCSFFS Book Club will meet at the Barnes & Noble Booksellers at Oak Park Mall.  The book under discussion will be George R.R. Martin's Fevre Dream.  The group had to move because their previous location, the Borders Books at 91st and Metcalf, is closing.  They will continue to meet on their regular day--fourth Monday of the month--and at their regular time, 7:00 p.m.  Thanks, B&N!

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Flash your KaCSFFS Membership Card at
the Marrakech Cafe and get a 10% discount!

2. New Discount for KaCSFFS Members!
KaCSFFS Members now can receive a 10% discount when they eat at the Marrakech Cafe at 4116 Broadway in Westport, just a half-block off Westport Road.  This restaurant was a Fanivores location in February, and the reviews were generally terrific.

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3. Don't miss the Meeting on Saturday!

The food theme for the April 16 meeting is cupcakes and muffins.

Saturday is your LAST CHANCE to get a discounted ConQuesT 42 membership, if you are a dues-paid 2011-2012 KaCSFFS member.  The food theme is cupcakes and muffins, and the program after the business meeting will be "About SF," given by new KaCSFFS member Ben Cartwright.  Watch this blog for more details!
When: Saturday, April 16, 2011 and 6:30 p.m.
Where: The Writers Place, 3607 Pennsylvania Avenue, Kansas City, MO

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PHOTO CREDITS: Barnes & Noble store at Oak Park Mall: Barnes & Noble.com; 
Marrakech Cafe: Google Maps; The Writers Place: Examiner.com; chocolate cupcakes: Wikipedia; blueberry muffins: FunOkay.Com

Change of the Movies

OK,

There has been a couple of developments in the last few hours and the previous show featuring "A League of Their Own" and "Eight Men Out" has been postponed till the alternate Laser Rangers session, which will take place on April 30th at the same time a location perviously stated.

Taking the place for the meeting tomorrow will be what would've been the alternate Laser Rangers Session: "Young Martial Artists with Great Potential" featuring "The Last Dragon" and "Bulletproof Monk."

"The Last Dragon" stars Leroy Green, Laura Charles, and Eddie Arkadian, is directed by Michael Schultz, and written by Louis Venosta.

In this 1985 action movie extravaganza, a talented young martial artist who refuses to fight, is on a quest to become the greatest martial artist alive. To prove this, he must attain something called "The Glow." However, he must first defeat a long line of enemies to reach the top.

The short we will be showing is called "Real Tekken." This is a live action recreation of a video game.



The dinner theme is Chinese. (Don't forget your chopsticks!)

Our other feature is "Bulletproof Monk." This movie stars Sean William Scott, Chow Yun-Fat, and Jamie King. It was directed by Paul Hunter and written by Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris.

Released in 2003, "Bulletproof Monk" tell the story of an unlikely hero who picks a sacred scroll from the pocket of nameless Tibetan monk. Once the monk tracks down the thief, he takes it upon himself to train him as the next protector for the sacred scroll.

Dress theme (if so inclined): Chinese field shirt

Laser Rangers "Change the Rules" Saturday April 9

Welcome baseball season with the Laser Rangers April 9,
 watching A League of Their Own and Eight Men Out.

Well, they don't literally change their own rules.  The April 9 program is titled "Changing the Rules of the Game."

In honor of the start of baseball season, the movies of the night will be A League of Their Own, and Eight Men Out. Jessica Goodman is "Captain Laser" this month.

Theoretically, the group begins with social time around 4:15 p.m., and the first film starts about 4:45--but we tend to run on "fan time."

Laser Rangers is a small, informal group of movie buffs. One "ranger" is designated "Captain Laser," and acts as host for the evening.  Captain Laser also provides film notes, and makes sure the planned movies are there!

The home of the Laser Rangers is located about two miles north of the Kansas Speedway, northwest of the intersection of I-70 and I-435, on the Kansas side of the KC Metro area.  For directions, email David Sooby.

Our home theatre has comfortable seating for at least 15, and an audiophile-quality Dolby Digital 5.1 speaker system.

PHOTO CREDITS: The image for A League of Their Own is courtesy of the Orange County Register.  The image for Eight Men Out is from Movieberry.  The movie screen frame image for the Laser Rangers contact information is courtesy of Psychology Today Online.

KaCSFFS and the Science Fiction Hall of Fame

This is the Hall of Fame logo.

An open letter from Robin W. Bailey:

I'm pleased to let the group know that I'm once again serving on the induction committee for the Science Fiction Hall of Fame.

We have many new members who may not know that our club was instrumental in establishing the Science Fiction Hall of Fame.  In 1995 I approached the KaCSFFS membership with the idea of setting it up as the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.  The members were enthusiastic, but we needed a launching platform--a place--to establish it.

This is an example of the Science Fiction Hall of Fame
Telescope Award.

Several of us met James Gunn in Lawrence to discuss the proposal.  He signed on at once, and we agreed to make it part of the annual Campbell Conference, hosted by the Center for the Study of Science Fiction (CSSF).

We created a lovely plaque upon which the names of the nominees were placed.  The plaque featured beautiful engraved artwork by member Harold McEldery. We also created little trophies with actual working telescopes.  Ursula LeGuin says she watches whales with hers!

The Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame is housed in
the Frank Gehry Building with the Experience Music Project,
under the Space Needle (not visible in this view) in Seattle.
The SF Museum is on the left, under the silver part.

The Hall of Fame was widely hailed as a big success--enough so that it caught the eye of billionaire Paul Allen, who was about to launch a Science Fiction Museum in Seattle.  Allen's group, Vulcan Enterprises, approached us about acquiring the Hall of Fame.  They sent representatives to KU, and over dinner we discussed the possibilities.

In the end, we decided not to sell the Hall of Fame outright to them.  However we did transfer certain rights to them, while retaining other rights ourselves.  2004 was the last year the SF Hall of Fame induction ceremonies were held at KU.  In 2005, the first induction took place in Seattle.

Okay--there's the Space Needle!  (We couldn't leave out the
Space Needle!)  From this view, however,  we're looking at
the part that houses the Experience Music Project.  The SFM
entrance is around the corner to the left.

The rest is fhannish history.  I've remained involved with the Hall of Fame since that time, serving for a while on both the museum's advisory board and on its HOF induction committee.  Now, with the dissolution of the advisory committee, I am on the induction committee only.

I've made a handful of visits to Seattle to see the Museum and Hall of Fame, and I've kept a close eye on it, but I haven't really reported to the club or communicated much about the Hall of Fame for a while.  I want to do a better job of that.

It should not be lost in the dark annals of time that the Kansas City Science Fiction and Fantasy Society played a huge role in the creation of what has become a remarkable and successful entity.  In my opinion it should be one of our proudest achievements, and not forgotten.  Certainly it is one of mine.  For more information, click on the highlighted links.

This is the entrance to the Science Fiction Museum
in Seattle.

Thank you, KaCSFFS and the CSSF!

PHOTO CREDITS: Hall of Fame Logo and picture of a Telescope Award are courtesy of the Midamericon Website.  The image of the Frank Gehry Building with both SFM and EMP is from the blog, The Omnivore.  The Space Needle view of the Gehry Building and EMP is from TripSketch.  The SFM entrance is courtesy of Vulcan, Inc.

Reserve your seat now for Vince & Kassie's Animation Festival

The theme for this year's Vince Koehler Film Festival is "Vince & Kassie's Animation Festival--and KaCSFFS members get "first dibs" on seating reservations, but for a limited time only!

The Vince Koehler Film Festival will be held in the
Kansas City Theater at the Doubletree Hotel in
Corporate Woods on July 16, 2011.

This will be the 15th Annual Vince Koehler Film Festival.  It is set for July 16, 2011.  The 2011 festival returns to animation, with a mix of new and older animated films, some of them short subjects, and others longer.  The collection will include a fair number of Oscar winners and nominees.  While the final lineup of films is not completely decided yet, you can get a glimpse of the committee's selections on the VKFF website (or check the graphic below).

The venue is new this year--the beautiful and acoustically functional Kansas City Theater at the Doubletree Hotel in Corporate Woods, Overland Park, KS.  Seating is limited to 60 only, which is why we need to take reservations.  KaCSFFS members and friends may reserve 1-2 seats only; the organizers request also please give the names of both attendees.  Email requests to lensman003@yahoo.com 

These are some of the films on the preliminary list for
"Vince & Kassie's Animation Festival," July 16, 2011:
Top L-R: The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello (2005,
(c) Madman Entertainment); Sintel (2010, (c) Blender Foundation);
Superman: The Mechanical Monsters (1941, (c) Fleischer Studios).
Bottom L-R: 9 original short film (2005, (c) Focus Features);
 Peter and the Wolf (2006, (c) BreakThru Peter Ltd.); Sky Captain and the World
of Tomorrow original short film (1998? (c) Paramount Pictures).

Here's a map to the Doubletree:

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News Notes for KaCSFFS Members

The weekend of March 19 was a busy one!  Here are a few updates to keep you on top of events!

ConQuesT 42

Brownies and other home-made
baked goods are always a big hit at the
ConQuesT Consuite.  Please plan to
contribute some goodies to
your convention in May!

• The call has gone out: now's the moment to volunteer and save money!  Members of KaCSFFS get a discount on their ConQuesT 42 membership, if they buy it by May 1.  Members of KaCSFFS who volunteer at ConQuesT 42 can save even more!  Sign up to volunteer today!
• At the March 19 Board of Directors meeting, the Board formally accepted John Platt IV as the new Chairperson of ConQuesT 42, following the resignation of Ann Lowenstein.  Platt also will serve as Chairperson of ConQuesT 43, as originally planned, so please be kind to him!
• Begin planning now to contribute baked goods to the Consuite!  Home-made goodies always go over well!

The KaCSFFS Meeting

"Trampire" by Robin W. Bailey
was published in this anthology.

• The 2011-2012 membership drive is off to a great start--more than 30 members signed up, either via the PayPal link at right or at the meeting.  Remember you can get discounts at several area merchants and at ConQuesT 42, if you are a member!
• The Author Readings were a hit!  We have recorded them to use in future podcasts.
• We hope that Susan Satterfield sells her wonderfully silly, Oz-inspired story, "A Bad Case of the Munchies" very soon!
• The other two stories presented Saturday night already have been published.  To read Robin W. Bailey's sultry-but-humorous "Trampire" for yourself, look for the Baen Books anthology, Fangs for the Mammaries, edited by Esther Friesner.
• Look for Sarah Frost's story, "Falls the Firebrand" in the March 2011 issue of Analog Science Fiction Science Fact magazine. 

Coming Soon

Don't forget Book Club on Monday, March 28 at 7 p.m. at the Borders Bookstore at 91st and Metcalf Avenue in Overland Park.  The group will be discussing Small Miracles by Edward M. Lerner.

     Also, it's not too early to order your copy of Fevre Dream by George R. R. Martin, for the April 25 meeting (same time and location).

Photo credits: Thanks to Borders online for book cover; thanks to WhatsCookingAmerica.net for the picture of the brownies!

Get Ready for the March 19 Meeting!

It's not quite on the Ides--but our theme is partly Martian.

The March meeting of KaCSFFS is an important one!  Please don't miss it!

The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m., at The Writers Place, 3607 Pennsylvania, Kansas City, MO 64111.  (See the map at the end of this post).

Yes, we pay dues in March, but we have to do it sometime--why not now?  Regular memberships are $25, and we are encouraging you to use the PayPal button at right---------->
Yes, right over there.

Use the PayPal button, and we'll have your membership card ready to go at the meeting.

You also may pay at the meeting, of course!  We'll accept checks or cash that evening.

Don't miss a single day of discounts at our friendly merchants, Prospero's Books, Vulcan's Forge, and Aquarius Books!

Also, take advantage now--if you haven't already--to buy your membership to ConQuesT 42 with the KaCSFFS Members' discount!

But that's certainly not all we're doing in March!  Here are some illustrated glimpses of other activities:

Bring Red or Orange Food to honor "the Martians among us" (!!)

We'll enjoy a 25-minute Author Reading of current works by
Robin W. Bailey, Sarah Frost, and Susan Satterfield.
They will definitely read aloud!

We'll call for volunteers to help out with the 40th Anniversary Celebration!
Also, for volunteers to help put on ConQuesT 42!

We'll have another FUNdraiser for the KC PODPeople podcast group.
We've almost reached our goal of enough money to get the equipment we need!
We can't stop now!!

So come to The Writers Place,
3607 Pennsylvania, Kansas City, MO 64111
6:30 p.m.

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So, now--you have no excuses.  Join us or you'll be missing a lot!

Photo Credits: Planet Mars, chilis, carrot cupcakes, oranges, Author Reading cartoon, 40th Anniversary decorations, Podcast image, photo of The Writers Place.  Many thanks for the use of all!

Laser Rangers Meet Saturday March 12!

The theme for March is "Trains, Trains, No Automobiles."

David Sooby acts as both host and Captain Laser.  For directions to the location, please email him as soon as possible, at:



The meeting begins around 4:15 ("fan time") for socializing.
The first feature starts around 4:45.  This month it's Throw Momma from the Train.

Between features, it's suppertime.  This month's food theme is Mexican food.

After supper, roll the second feature.  This month it's Silver Streak.

 

Join them for a fun program of movies and movie background information! Preview: April's theme is "Changing the Rules of the Game," with featured films A League of Their Own, and Eight Men Out.

KaCSFFS Dues are DUE in March

Just a reminder: KaCSFFS dues are due in March. You can pay in cash or by check at the March 19 meeting. Or, pay online using PayPal using the link on the right side of this page. Dues are $25 per member.