Laser Rangers 2016 April Meeting Part 1

Game of Thrones Season 5 (Part 1)

Date: April 2, 2016
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: Kennos of Kayce
Food : Bowl of Brown. (We suggest browsing "Inn at the Crossroads" for ideas.)
Costume: Medieval

To learn more, please visit our Facebook Event Page.

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

Feature Presentation!
Game of Thrones Season 5

(2015, 300 minutes - the first five episodes) Directed by Various Directors

Starring: Peter Dinklage, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke, Kit Harington, Aidan Gillen, Charles Dance, Natalie Dormer, and more.

"It primarily adapts material from A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons, the fourth and fifth novels in George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, though it also uses elements from the third novel, A Storm of Swords, as well as the upcoming sixth novel The Winds of Winter. It also contains original content not found in Martin's novels. This season set a record for winning the highest number of Emmy Awards for a series in a single year, winning 12 out of 24 nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series"-Wikipedia

Watch a recap of the past seasons here!


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

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 to Discuss Barsk on Monday 3/28

The Book: Barsk, The Elephants’ Graveyard

Author: Lawrence M. Schoen

Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates

Date and Time: March 28, 2016, at 7:00 p.m.

Meeting Location: Barnes & Noble #2352, 2^nd Floor
11323 W 95th Street, Overland Park, KS 66214

Available from: Fine booksellers, including Barnes & Noble 

Barnes & Noble Overview:

The Sixth Sense meets Planet of the Apes in a moving science fiction novel set so far in the future, humanity is gone and forgotten in Lawrence M. Schoen's Barsk: The Elephants' Graveyard

An historian who speaks with the dead is ensnared by the past. A child who feels no pain and who should not exist sees the future. Between them are truths that will shake worlds.

In a distant future, no remnants of human beings remain, but their successors thrive throughout the galaxy. These are the offspring of humanity's genius-animals uplifted into walking, talking, sentient beings. 

The Fant are one such species: anthropomorphic elephants ostracized by other races, and long ago exiled to the rainy ghetto world of Barsk. There, they develop medicines upon which all species now depend. The most coveted of these drugs is koph, which allows a small number of users to interact with the recently deceased and learn their secrets.

To break the Fant's control of koph, an offworld shadow group attempts to force the Fant to surrender their knowledge. Jorl, a Fant Speaker with the dead, is compelled to question his deceased best friend, who years ago mysteriously committed suicide. In so doing, Jorl unearths a secret the powers that be would prefer to keep buried forever. Meanwhile, his dead friend's son, a physically challenged young Fant named Pizlo, is driven by disturbing visions to take his first unsteady steps toward an uncertain future. Note: as a title published between January 1 and December 31 2015, this book is eligible for a Hugo nomination. FURTHER NOTE! Hugo Nominations CLOSE 3/31!!

IMAGE: Many thanks to Amazon, for the cover image. 

Would You Vote for Any of These People?

Margene Bahm

Actually, it's kind of a trick question, because dues-paid KaCSFFS members probably won't have to vote for any of them. 

That's because we have a slate of self-nominations for the 2016-2017 KaCSFFS Board of Directors, but no challengers. In that situation, the Bylaws call for the self-nominees to take office automatically in April.

Earline "Cricket" Beebe

Unless a challenger self-declares for one of these offices (email Margene Bahm or the KaCSFFS email) during or before our April meeting, the following suckers selfless individuals will be the new KaCSFFS Board of Directors:

Director/President: Margene Bahm
Treasurer: Earline "Cricket" Beebe
Secretary: Bryan Thomas Schmidt
Communications Officer: Jan S. Gephardt

Bryan Thomas Schmidt

The position of ConQuesT Chairperson is currently still undecided, as is the fate of that office as a Board of Directors position. We've had several years to live with the 2012 Bylaws, and it has become clear that revisions are needed.

Jan S. Gephardt

We also have a new Registered Agent! William McCullough has agreed to take on that responsibility for us. The Registered Agent is an important but non-voting position on the Board, and must be held by a Missouri resident, because KaCSFFS is chartered in Missouri.

William McCullough

Many thanks to all of these individuals, who are willing to spend extra portions of their time and energy on behalf of our club!

IMAGES: The photo of Margene Bahm is from her personal Facebook Page. Many thanks to Keith Stokes's Midamericon Fan Photo Archive for the image of Earline (at Lonstarcon, the Texas Worldcon). The image of Bryan Thomas Schmidt is from his website. The photo of Jan Gephardt is one of her standard head shots, provided for this post. The image of William McCullough is from his personal Facebook Page. Many thanks to all!

But would it be as good as the original?

Might make for an interesting listen . . .

43 years ago this month (March 1, 1973), Pink Floyd released their magnum opus. If you now feel old, well . . . sorry about that. KaCSFFS is, in fact, older, having been founded 45 years ago, in 1971. 

Okay, now you may feel even older, depending on where you were then.

But we couldn't resist having a little "Dark Side" fun on the anniversary month. 

IMAGE: Many thanks to ETS Only, for this image. 

It's a Meeting Marathon! March 19, 2016

What: Monthly KaCSFFS Meeting

Where: The Writers Place

3607 Pennsylvania Ave., Kansas City, MO 64111

When: Saturday, March 19, 2016

3:00 ConQuesT Meeting, with PIZZA!

5:30 Board of Directors—open meeting

6:00 Doors open for setup and pre-meeting socializing.
7:00 Regular meeting begins

Food Theme: Comfort food and favorite snacks

Bring Card- or Tabletop games to play after the meeting.

Special ConQuesT Meeting - 3:00

In an effort to get as many KaCSFFS members to attend as possible, the ConQuesT committee will meet in a special session at the Writers Place this Saturday. 

ConQuesT is coming in May! We need your input! Margene Bahm has even offered a bribe reward to anyone who goes to the ConQuestT meeting: free Waldo Pizza! Come see what your concom is up to, and enjoy a free snack.

Here is our President/Director's bribe to ConQuesT Meeting-goers: Free Waldo Pizza!

Board of Directors Meeting - 5:30

The important decisions keep coming. Everyone is welcome to sit in on BoD meetings. After all, it's your club, and the BoD is supposed to serve your best interests. Sometimes we have to hear from you to know what those are.

Regular Meeting - 7:00

If you want to become a part of the active KaCSFFS community, pay your dues on Saturday night! Dues for a regular, voting KaCSFFS membership are $25 per year, due each March, via check or cash (you may buy a membership online via the form on the sidebar at right, but plan on a $2 handling fee, thanks to PayPal). If all goes according to plan, you should receive your new membership card when you pay your dues.

You might also consider becoming a candidate for one of our offices. KaCSFFS Bylaws have always specified that candidates must nominate themselves. No railroading, no "drafting" the unwilling. You have to place your own head in the noose name on the ballot. 

The officers of KaCSFFS are: President/Director, Secretary, Treasurer, Communications Officer, and ConQuesT Chairperson (for chairperson of the 2017 convention, in this case). We will vote for announced candidates via absentee ballot or in person at the April meeting, if there are any contested elections. If only one person self-nominates for each position, they get the honor automatically.

We also are seeking a new Registered Agent: Diana Bailey has stepped down, citing health and family issues. The Registered Agent is a non-voting Board position. Because KaCSFFS is incorporated in Missouri, the Registered Agent must be a Missouri resident, who is able to attend meetings regularly and conduct occasional business for the club outside of meetings. 

Food and Games 
After all the business has been done, it'll be time to kick back and relax with each other. To help facilitate that, we'd appreciate it if members bring a favorite card- or tabletop game, and/or your favorite comfort food to share.

IMAGES: The photo of The Writers Place is from The Writers Place website; ConQuesT Prime header is from the ConQuesT website; the Waldo Pizza image is from Groupon, and the photos from the June '15 and November '15 meetings are by Jan S. Gephardt.

Laser Rangers 2016 March Meeting - UPDATED DATE!!!!

Here Be Dragons

Date: March 5, 2016!!!! (Right around the corner!)

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: MIA (Eaten by Dragons)
Food: Fish
Costume: Viking Warrior

To learn more, please visit our Facebook Event Page.

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

How to Train Your Dragon

(2010, 98 minutes) Directed by: Chris Sanders & Dean DeBlois

Starring: Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, T.J. Miller, and Kristen Wiig

The story takes place in a mythical Viking world where a young Viking teenager named Hiccup aspires to follow his tribe's tradition of becoming a dragon slayer. After finally capturing his first dragon, and with his chance at at last gaining the tribe's acceptance, he finds that he no longer wants to kill it and instead befriends it.-Wikipedia

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!
How to Train Your Dragon 2

(2014, 102 minutes) Directed by: Dean DeBlois

Starring: Jay Baruchel, Cate Blanchett, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, T.J. Miller, and Kristen Wiig, Djimon Hounsou, Kit Harington

Five years after the Viking village of Berk and the dragons made peace, they now live together in harmony. Hiccup goes on adventures with his dragon, Toothless, as they discover and map unexplored lands. Now 20 years old, he is being pressed by his father, Stoick the Vast, to succeed him as chieftain, although Hiccup remains unsure if he is ready for this responsibility.-Wikipedia

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!