A number of zines have arrived in the mailbox. We start with the update to e-fanzines from Bill Burns:
Added today at https://efanzines.com are:
CyberCozen CCJul2024-v01
Purrmew PurrMew91
On the 14th, we convened at Maisonneuve Park near the Insectarium for our annual BBQ in the park. Dan Kenney took the following photos of the event. Click to view full size.
Something to keep in mind for next year: While the Viau metro is the closest to the site, it involves a fairly long walk uphill, which is a bit rough in the extreme weather. If you get off at Frontenac, you can get a bus, 185, that runs along Sherbrooke and will deposit you right in front of the park.
In particular for our out-of-town members and friends, and any who couldn’t make it to the Summer BBQ, MonSFFA will host an “e-Picnic” via ZOOM (www.MonSFFA.ca) on Sunday, July 28, beginning at 1:00PM—have your favourite summer snacks and libations on hand!
In addition to talking with friends online about any and all topics SF/F and fannish, we’ll have opportunity to view an album of photographs snapped by those MonSFFen who took part in our field trip to the Montreal Biodome last month.
Plus, we’ll invite folk to “show-and-tell” the group about any cool sci-fi destinations or events they’ve enjoyed on vacation during this first half of summer—conventions, museums, theme parks, shows! Share your experiences, and any photos, with the group!
And, we’ll take the opportunity to hold our very first meeting of the club’s Special-Interest Group (SIG) for Art. If you’re interested in sci-fi art, be sure to take part!
Host Keith Braithwaite will give a talk/workshop on “How to Create Sci-Fi Art Without Knowing How to Draw!”
MonSFFen and their families, as well as friends of the club, are invited to gather beginning at about 10:00AM today in Parc Maisonneuve for the club’s 2024 Summer BBQ!
Parc Maisonneuve, easily accessible by Metro (Viau, Pie-IX) or bus, is located in the city’s East End, adjacent the Olympic Stadium and the Botanical Gardens. Parking is available on site, or on nearby streets.
Our intention is to claim a picnic spot somewhere along one of the lines of trees in the park, not too far from the parking lot and the Chalet; our “Preferred Picnic Area” is indicated on the map (above; click on image to enlarge). Look for us within roughly that area.
So join MonSFFA for a relaxing day in the park! Friends, fun, food, and fire, the latter provided by the club’s new propane barbecue, which we’ll have on site for those who may wish to grill up a couple of burgers, sausages, and such! Bring your own refreshments, snacks, and any meats you may wish to barbecue. And don’t forget your sunscreen and a sun hat! Note that proper washroom facilities are located a short stroll away in the park’s Chalet.
MonSFFen and their families, as well as friends of the club, are invited to gather beginning at about 10:00AM in Parc Maisonneuve on Sunday, July 14, for the club’s 2024 Summer BBQ!
Parc Maisonneuve, easily accessible by Metro (Viau, Pie-IX) or bus, is located in the city’s East End, adjacent the Olympic Stadium and the Botanical Gardens. Parking is available on site, or on nearby streets.
Our intention is to claim a picnic spot somewhere along one of the lines of trees in the park, not too far from the parking lot and the Chalet; our “Preferred Picnic Area” is indicated on the map (above; click on image to enlarge). Look for us within roughly that area.
The weather forecast for the 14th is promising: sunny and hot! So join MonSFFA for a relaxing day in the park! Friends, fun, food, and fire, the latter provided by the club’s new propane barbecue, which we’ll have on site for those who may wish to grill up a couple of burgers, sausages, and such! Bring your own refreshments, snacks, and any meats you may wish to barbecue. And don’t forget your sunscreen and a sun hat! Note that proper washroom facilities are located a short stroll away in the park’s Chalet.
NOTE: Should the weather prove inclement on the 14th, and rains fall, the event will be shifted one week forward, to Sunday, July 21. If necessary, we will post a notice on the club’s Website of any change in the schedule by no later than 9:00AM, Sunday morning, the 14th.
We have an update from Bill Burns:
New today at https://efanzines.com
Bill
Click here to enjoy Impulse‘s July 2024 edition: ImpulseJuly2024(OnlineVersion)PDF
You may also visit the Impulse page of this Website to access this latest, as well as past issues of our club news bulletin.
I have extracted the paragraphs that are relevant to SF/F fans, the full article is available here: https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20240525-what-will-we-eat-on-the-moon-the-food-is-literally-out-of-this-world
The Moon may be the final frontier for mankind, but what will we eat when we get there? Pasta and protein bars made out of thin air are just the beginning.
In 2021, Nasa launched a Deep Space Food Challenge to discover new ways to create food in space with limited resources producing minimal waste, while also providing safe, nutritious and tasty food that can perform on a long-term deep space mission.
Solar Foods, based in Helsinki, is one of the eight companies that has reached the challenge’s final phase. Their remarkable concept: using space waste to create protein.
“We make food out of thin air, quite literally,” says Artuu Luukanen, Solar Foods’ senior vice president in Space and Defence. His company discovered an edible microbe in the Finnish countryside that grows by feeding on a mixture of carbon dioxide, hydrogen and oxygen. The result is a source of protein from bacteria. The protein can be blended with a range of flavours or textures to create various kinds of nutritious food, such as pasta, protein bars, alternative meats and even an egg replacement
“We started thinking about space food because in any space habitat, you have two key waste gases available: hydrogen and carbon dioxide,” Luukanen said. “So what we are talking about here is really not just a food manufacturing technology for space, but something that will be an integral part of the environmental control and life support system.”
Solar Foods’ protein can be turned into a paste or powder and blended with flour and more typical food ingredients to create protein enriched foods such as pasta, protein bars and even chocolate. Experiments are continuing to discover whether it can be mixed with oils and turned into something with a texture of a steak, using a 3D printer.
“””””””””””””
One thing that seems likely is that the future of space food will include fungi. Three of the six finalists in the Nasa Deep Space Food Challenge are working on ideas around fungi, including Mycorena of Gothenburg, Sweden, which has developed a system that uses a combination of microalgae and fungi to produce a mycoprotein (a type of protein that comes from a fungus, often used in alternative meat products).
“Fungi is very versatile,” explains Carlos Otero, who works in the R&D team at Mycorena. “It can grow on different substrates, it grows fast and you can design a small and efficient system capable of producing enough food for the crew. It is also very robust, resistant to radiation and easy to store and transport.”
This space food is all in a closed loop circular system, with an end product that can be 3D printed to create a food a little like the texture of a chicken fillet. An added benefit is that their protein source contains all the essential amino acids the human body needs to function.
MonSFFen and their families, as well as friends of the club, are invited to gather at about 10:00AM in Parc Maisonneuve on Sunday, July 14, for the club’s 2024 Summer BBQ
Parc Maisonneuve, easily accessible by Metro or bus, is located in the city’s East End, adjacent the Botanical Gardens and the Olympic Stadium. Parking is available on site, or on nearby streets.
Our intention is to claim a picnic spot somewhere along one of the park’s lines of trees, not too far from the parking lot and the chalet; our “Preferred Picnic Area” is indicated on the map (above). Look for us within roughly that area.
So join MonSFFA for a relaxing day in the park! Friends, fun, food, and fire, the latter provided by the club’s new propane barbecue, which we’ll have on site for those who may wish to grill up a couple of burgers, sausages, and such! Bring your own refreshments, snacks, and any meats you may wish to barbecue. Note that proper washroom facilities are located a short stroll away in the park’s chalet.
NOTE: Should the weather prove inclement on the 14th, the event will be shifted one week forward, to Sunday, July 21. If necessary, we will post a notice on the club’s Website of any change in the schedule by no later than 9:00AM, Sunday morning, the 14th.
We will also host an “e-Picnic” via ZOOM (www.MonSFFA.ca) on Sunday, July 28, beginning at 1:00PM—have your favourite summer snacks and libations on hand!
In addition to enjoying, with friends online, an afternoon of casual conversation on any and all topics SF/F and fannish, we’ll have opportunity to view an album of photographs snapped by those MonSFFen who took part in our Field Trip to the Montreal Biodome last month.
Plus, we’ll invite folk to “show-and-tell” about any cool sci-fi destinations or events they’ve enjoyed on vacation during this first half of summer—share your experiences, and any photos, with the group!
And, we’ll take the opportunity to hold our first meeting of the club’s Special Interest Group for Art. Host Keith Braithwaite will give a talk/workshop on “How to Create Sci-Fi Art Without Knowing How to Draw!”
Click here to view or download this post as a PDF flyer detailing MonSFFA’s July 2024 Events: Club’s July 2024 Events