Laser Rangers 2016 October Meeting

Blood & Death

Date: October 8, 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: Jessica G.
Food: Horror
Costume: Scary

To learn more, please visit our Facebook Event Page.

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

I Sell The Dead

(2009, 85 minutes) Directed by: Glenn McQuaid

Starring: Dominic Monaghan, Larry Fessenden, Angus Scrimm, Ron Perlman

"The film is a period horror comedy about grave robbing."-Wikipedia

Watch the trailer here!








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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.
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Feature Presentation!
Crimson Peak

(2015, 119 minutes) Directed by: Guillermo del Toro

Starring: Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Tom Hiddleston, Charlie Hunnam, Jim Beaver

"In the aftermath of a family tragedy, an aspiring author is torn between love for her childhood friend and the temptation of a mysterious outsider. Trying to escape the ghosts of her past, she is swept away to a house that breathes, bleeds - and remembers."-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!

Rob Howell shares a report on DodecaCon

Olathe, KS writer Rob Howell has graciously allowed us to share his report on DodecaCon 4, held this past weekend in Columbia, MO. For his complete comments, see his blog, "Howell's Howls." 

"This past weekend I went to DodecaCon 4 in Columbia, MO. Despite some huge challenges for the con organizers, I had a great time.

One of those challenges is perhaps the worst thing that could ever happen to the con organizers a couple of weeks ago. They lost one of their daughters to complications from sickle-cell anemia. How they continued is beyond me, but despite their grief they kept smiling and working. Kudos to Toni Westbrook-Taylor and Randy Taylor for somehow plowing through.

"Knowing that makes it no surprise that many of the things they wanted to organize ahead of time did not have a chance to get done. Despite this added work and extra adjustments on the fly, they managed to get things covered reasonably well.

"A second challenge was the fact that the original football schedule had this weekend marked as one without a home game for Mizzou. The schedule changed. If you know Columbia, you know it’s awful for traffic in the first place for such a small town (the I-70 / US-63 is one of the worst interchanges I’ve ever seen, even counting some in places like Boston and Montreal). Home games, shockingly enough, makes traffic problems get worse.

"Not only that, many of the people who might have come to the convention, especially students, were at the game or tailgating. I’m sure this dampened attendance from last year.

"Finally, the other complication was the site itself. It was held in the big aisles in the middle of Parkade Mall. This meant extra security and less than ideal room arrangements. Still, they made it work, though they got an extra curveball on Sunday morning when the mall decided it was that morning they needed to paint new parking lines in the lot, meaning half the spots were roped off. I actually liked my spot in terms of how I was arranged, along a wall with an electrical outlet.

"There were other issues, too, that I’m aware happened but not any details of what happened.

Andy Waldron gets his costume weapon checked at DodecaCon 4. Photo by Kiet Le Design

"And yet, people had fun.

"I was on two panels and moderated two others.  I like moderating panels where I’m not an expert on the topic, but still can periodically add things . . . . 

See Liz Schulte's books on
her Bat Country website.

"I did make some good new contacts, as usual. I’ve some potential plans to do a show in Columbia in December. Also, I had a great conversation with Liz Schulte about some of the differences between writing fantasy and writing romance, even if it’s a genre romance.

"My favorite new work that I saw, by the way, came from Scott Schmidt and his Steele Vs. comic book series. How did I never think of having mounties fight monsters?

Mounties fight monsters in the
Steele Vs. comic book series

"DodecaCon did two things I thought were really cool, though I couldn’t take advantage of one because I eat low-carb. They came along throughout the day and offered us food. Bagels for breakfast, spaghetti for dinner, periodic candy bits, and then also brought us water as needed. It did not match the variety of things at many con suites, but bringing it around to people stuck at booths was very nice.

"The more important thing was how much they reached out to the local jr. high and high schools. Friday for most of the day busloads of students came to the con. I’m guessing that the schools relaxed dress codes, as many of them came in costumes. Some of their parents joined them. From a merchant perspective, it was mostly just work with no real chance of sales, but it is the kind of thing that I think keeps all of this sort of thing going . . . . 

"Despite all of the challenges, it was much bigger con than I expected and I think it will be even better in a year where things aren’t conspiring against it." 

Rob Howell, author

MANY THANKS, Rob, for sharing your con report with us! As noted above (see the ". . . ." markings), this is not a complete transcript. If you'd like to read all about Rob's panels and other observations, please read his complete report on "Howell's Howls." 

Rob Howell is the author of the World of Shijuren series. Thee titles have been published so far. Read about them or buy them on Amazon.

IMAGES: Many thanks to DodecaCon for the 2016 convention banner; to the MU Tigers athletics page for the tiger logo; to Kiet Le Design for the costume programming photo (see a large and wonderful album of costumes from the con on Kiet Le Design's Facebook page! Great pix, Kiet!); to Liz Schulte's Bat Country website for her Bat Country button; to Comic Vine and Pistol Whip Press for the Steele Vs The Ghost Walker cover image; and to Rob Howell's Amazon Author Page for the photo of him. 

Combined agenda for major meeting September 17, 2016

Monthly KaCSFFS Meeting
Combined with ConQuesT meeting
Where: The Writers Place, 3607 Pennsylvania, Kansas City, MO 64111
When: Saturday, September 17, 2016
4:00 ConQuesT meeting--ALL Members welcome! 
Dinner Break: 6-7:00 p.m. 
Business Meeting: 7-7:30 at the latest
Break-out Sessions: 7-9:00 p.m.

Break-out Sessions
Star Trek 50th Anniversary Discussion led by Carol Doms on the main floor.

Live Interview via Skype with Keith Shaw, Discussion led by Jan S. Gephardt, regarding Shaw's Neworld Papers books, The Historian's Tale and The Warrior's Tale. Please join us in the Library for this program.

Dues-paid members will ALL get their Membership Cards at this meeting. We will had out cards to all members in attendance, then mail cards to all other members. Earline Beebe will coordinate this group effort, working from her master roster. We'll set up on the Mezzanine for this session.

Finally, please bring your board games or tabletop games, to share in the upper floor lobby.

IMAGES: Many thanks to the ConQuesT website for the ConQuesT 48 logo, and to iPulpfiction for the Historian's Tale cover.

Happy Birthday, Star Trek!

A life-changing show for many of us, Star Trek turns 50 today.

May it live long and prosper.

IMAGE: Many thanks to David Fitzsimmons of the Arizona Daily Star, and to Danny Tyree's "Cagle," for sharing it (read Tyree's post, while you're at it--well worth it!).

Laser Rangers September 2016 Meeting

Feel Better After World Con

DELAYED: September 10, 2016 September 24, 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: Huddled In A Corner
Food: Comfort Food 
Costume: Bright 

To learn more, please visit our Facebook Event Page.

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

Home

(2015, 94 minutes) Directed by: Tim Johnson

Starring: Jim Parsons, Rihanna, Steve Martin, Jennifer Lopez, Matt Jones

"The story takes place on planet Earth, where an alien race called the Boov invade the planet. However, a girl named Gratuity "Tip" Tucci manages to avoid capture, and goes on the run with Oh, a fugitive Boov."-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!
Tomorrowland

(2015, 130 minutes) Directed by: Brad Bird

Starring: George Clooney, Hugh Laurie, Britt Robertson, Raffey Cassidy, Tim McGraw, Kathryn Hahn, Keegan-Michael Key

"In the film, a disillusioned genius inventor and a teenage science enthusiast, embark to an ambiguous alternate dimension known as "Tomorrowland", where their actions directly affect the world and themselves."-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!

Help make the Reviewer's Reading Circle Series a success!

Explore the Neworld 
Before the September 17 Meeting!
In our ongoing mission to help writers find new audiences and make our meetings more interesting, KaCSFFS is introducing our new Reviewer's Reading Circle Series with a special appearance September 17, 2016 by author/publisher Keith Shaw, via Skype. We plan to use KaCSFFS' recently-acquired projector and screen for this interview.

The regular monthly meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. September 17, 2016 at The Writers Place in Kansas City. The LIVE INTERVIEW with Keith Shaw will start about 7:00 p.m.
This is a break-out session for people interested in discussing the Reviewer's Reading Circle offering of the month, the Middle-Grade and YA-targeted Neworld Papers. 

The Reviewer's Readers Circle Series aims to highlight an author each month and offer free review copies to our dues-paid members, with a follow-up discussion session at each meeting, to encourage our members to contribute reviews of these works to Amazon, Goodreads, and other review sites, INCLUDING our own KaCSFFS BLOG. 

We are pleased to lead off with a pair of interesting titles that already have garnered some stellar reviews.

Neworld Papers: The Historian's Tale is brimming with action, adventure, and a touch of New Adult romance grounded solidly in thought-provoking science fiction.

Is revealing the truth worth the disruption of a society?

Fallon lives in a peaceful world that has no concept of war, or murder, or even love. It is a society that prohibits histories and pledges itself to "The Service of Today and the Building of Tomorrow."

Just weeks before he reaches adulthood, Fallon is torn from his sheltered life as a ward of the state. He is drawn into a subversive group that needs his secret talents and he quickly becomes a chronicler of discoveries that threaten to destroy the very fabric of Neworld.


Can Fallon handle the weight of the new responsibilities thrust upon him while he navigates relationships with the feisty redhead Aidan and raven-haired beauty Lenore? (synopsis courtesy of iPulpFiction.com)

Neworld Papers: The Warriors' Tale is a sprawling adventure that takes Fallon and his friends from one end of Neworld to the other… and beyond.

Four months after writing The Historian's Tale, Fallon withdraws from day-to-day operations of the Movement as he struggles with a crucial question. If he reveals the cache of weapons in the armory, will it mean the salvation of his people or the end of Neworld?

Meanwhile, Missus Grier and the Movement prepare to break out of their underground confinement and Lenore moves topside to spread the historian's message across the length and breadth of Neworld. (synopsis courtesy of iPulpFiction.com)

Keith Shaw's iPulpFiction publishes original speculative fiction for all ages and offers Popular Publications The Black Mask Pulp Story Reader. These are not magazine reproductions. "iPulpFiction.com is out to preserve the literary legacy of an entire class of American literature. We have created newly edited story manuscripts with restored covers and story headers based upon the original black and white artwork," according to the web page devoted to these editions.

IMAGES: Many thanks to iPulpFiction for the Neworld Papers cover art, (covers by Dug Nation) map, and logo.