January 17, 2015

Sf & F Literati Meets January 26, 2015

Date: January 26, 2015-7:00 p.m.
AuthorJohn C. Wright
Publisher: Tor Books
Available fromFine booksellers, including Barnes& Noble
Meeting LocationBarnes & Noble #2352, 2nd Floor
11323 W 95th Street, Overland Park, KS 66214

Overview from Barnes & Noble:
John C. Wright burst upon the SF scene a decade ago with the Golden Age trilogy, an innovative space opera. He went on to write fantasy novels, including the popular Orphans of Chaos trilogy. And now he returns to space opera in Count to a Trillion.


“After the collapse of the world economy, a young boy grows up in what used to be Texas as a tough duelist for hire, the future equivalent of a hired gun. But even after the collapse, there is space travel, and he leaves Earth to have adventures in the really wide open spaces. But he is quickly catapulted into the more distant future, while humanity, and Artificial Intelligence, grows and changes and becomes a kind of superman.” 

It's also time to begin preparing for next month:

Come with ideas for the next group of four selections!

Date: February 23, 2015-7:00 p.m.
TitleThe Rapture of the Nerds
Author: Cory Doctorow and Charles Stross
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates LLC
Available fromFine booksellers, including Barnes & Noble
Meeting LocationBarnes & Noble #2352, 2nd Floor
11323 W 95th Street, Overland Park, KS 66214

Overview from Barnes & Noble:
Welcome to the fractured future, at the dusk of the twenty-first century.

"Earth has a population of roughly a billion hominids. For the most part, they are happy with their lot. Those who are unhappy have emigrated, joining the swarming densethinker clades that fog the inner solar system with a dust of molecular machinery so thick that it obscures the sun. 

"The splintery metaconsciousness of the solar system has largely sworn off its pre-post-human cousins dirtside, but its minds sometimes wander…and when that happens, it casually spams Earth’s networks with plans for cataclysmically disruptive technologies that emulsify whole industries, cultures, and spiritual systems. A sane species would ignore these get-evolved-quick schemes, but there’s always someone who’ll take a bite from the forbidden apple.

"So until the overminds bore of stirring Earth’s anthill, there’s Tech Jury Service: random humans, selected arbitrarily, charged with assessing dozens of new inventions and ruling on whether to let them loose. Young Huw, a technophobic, misanthropic Welshman, has been selected for the latest jury, a task he does his best to perform despite an itchy technovirus, the apathy of the proletariat, and a couple of truly awful moments on bathroom floors.

"Rapture of the Nerds is a brilliant collaboration by Cory Doctorow and Charles Stross, two of the defining personalities of post-cyberpunk science fiction."

IMAGE CREDITS: the cover image for Count to a Trillion is from the Bewildering Stories review blog. The cover image for The Rapture of the Nerds is from Amazon

Warm up to January at our Monthly Meeting 1/17/2015

What: Monthly KaCSFFS Meeting
When: Saturday, January 17, 2015
     5:30 p.m. - Open Board Meeting upstairs; food setup downstairs
     6:30 p.m. - General Meeting
Where: The Writers Place, 3607 Pennsylvania Ave., Kansas City, MO 64111

Think Warm Thoughts--and Share Them!
We're actually supposed to have a fairly nice weekend, but in January even the nice ones are chilly in Kansas City. That doesn't mean we can't be warm at heart, though!

Make the new year friendlier by smiling at everyone you see at the meeting--especially the new faces in the crowd. Of course we love our old friends, too, and our monthly meetings are a great place to reconnect.

Bring Warm Food--And Share It!
January has been our traditional month for the Annual Chili Cook-off, but other warm things are welcome as well: warm cornbread, freshly-baked cookies, hot cocoa, etc. And of course a beverage of your choice.

As ever, KaCSFFS provides plates, cups, napkins, and plastic utensils, but the "what to put in them" is up to you!

Will Ken Finally Get to Interview Ty?
They've tried to do it several times already--will President Ken Keller actually get to interview Ty Gephardt this month? Come to the meeting and find out! Ken also is accepting suggestions for other interesting KAXFEN to interview!

IMAGE CREDITS: Many thanks to Wallpaper Wide HDhttp://wallpaperwidehd.blogspot.com/2014/05/smiley-face-wallpaper.html for the smiley faces image, and to Wikimedia Commons for the photo of the bowl of chili. 

January 08, 2015

KC Horror Book Club January 2015 Meeting

Sparrow Rock

By Nate Kenyon

Details:
Date and Time: January 10, 2015 (Saturday) from noon to 1:30.
Location: The Green Room Burgers and Beer
Address: 4010 Pennsylvania Avenue, Suite D, Kansas City, MO.
Event Notes: 

Come and discuss Sparrow Rock and grab some food too.

"Six highschool students have survived nuclear war in a high-tech bomb shelter, but they are not alone. Mutated insects are hungry and the human survivors are the only prey."

-Leisure Books & Good Reads.com


Check the Facebook Event Page for more information.

Please contact Earline Beebe for more information on the Facebook event page.
Image from: Amazon.com. Published by Leisure Books.

January 06, 2015

Laser Rangers 2015 January Meeting

Marvel’s The Past Through Tomorrow
Date: January 10, 2015
Time: 4:50pm
Location: 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 upgraded seating for about 15 people without crowding.
Captain Laser: ?
Food: Ice Cream
Costume: Super Hero

To learn more, please visit our Facebook Event Page.


Short features will be shown before each feature. Don't miss them!

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

(2014, 136 minutes) Directed by: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo

Starring: Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders, Frank Grillo, Emily VanCamp, Hayley Atwell, Robert Redford, Samuel L. Jackson

After the cataclysmic events in New York with his fellow Avengers, Steve Rogers, aka Capt. America (Chris Evans), lives in the nation's capital as he tries to adjust to modern times. An attack on a S.H.I.E.L.D. colleague throws Rogers into a web of intrigue that places the whole world at risk. Joining forces with the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and a new ally, the Falcon, Rogers struggles to expose an ever-widening conspiracy, but he and his team soon come up against an unexpected enemy.-IMDB

Watch the trailer here!

~~~~~
After the first feature, please join us for a potluck dinner. Bring something to share. It can follow the theme, or be something you prefer.
~~~~~

Feature Presentation!
X-Men: Days of Future Past

(2014, 131 minutes) Directed by: Bryan Singer

Starring: Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Halle Berry, Anna Paquin, Ellen Page, Peter Dinklage, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart

The X-Men send Wolverine to the past in a desperate effort to change history and prevent an event that results in doom for both humans and mutants.-IMDB

Watch the trailer here!







The home of the Laser Rangers is located about four 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.

IMAGE CREDITS: The information for all of these shows come from the invaluable IMDB. The movie posters come from Wikipedia or the movie's respected distributors. 


The movie screen frame image used for the Laser Rangers contact information is courtesy of Psychology Today Online. Many thanks to these websites!