1) INTRODUCTION
Welcome to MonSFFA’s August 17, 2024 meeting! This afternoon’s proceedings are soon to get underway. We are meeting live and in person at our meeting hall in Le Nouvel Hotel, downtown! For those joining us online, today, see the instructions, below (at the end of this post), to join in and participate on ZOOM.
Our programming agenda begins at 1:00PM; the meeting will conclude by 5:00PM. This opening post has gone up shortly before the meeting’s start time to allow folk to gather online at their leisure.
A closing post will go up at 5:00PM to officially thank today’s presenters/discussion moderators, and to publish the date of our next event.
2) MEETING THEME FOR AUGUST
MonSFFen are asked to offer their top picks of the genre’s coolest gizmos and gadgets, as seen on TV or in the movies, or from within the pages of SF/F literature. For the purposes of this list, we’ll define a gizmo or gadget as a technological or magical device small enough to hold in one’s hands or carry on one’s person—a Star Trek phaser or tricorder, for example, Thor’s hammer (assuming, of course, you are sufficiently worthy to wield it!), a magic wand, Excalibur, a lightsaber, Batman’s utility belt, or a Bat-a-Rang—you get the idea. So, as cool a technological marvel as may be the starship Enterprise, the Batmobile, the Seaview, the Millennium Falcon, Clarke’s Orbital Tower (space elevator) or Niven’s Ringworld, they are too big to qualify for this list! Which gizmos or gadgets do you think are among the coolest, and why? We ask club members to come prepared to contribute an item or two to our list!
3) THIS AFTERNOON’S AGENDA
Today’s programming agenda is as follows:
1:00PM – Game: Bug-Eye Bet!
We resurrect a game created by our late friend and fellow club member, Sylvain St-Pierre, in which still photographs and video clips from SF/F movies or TV shows are shown to players, who must then answer a series of questions focused on the minute, inconsequential, trivial details of that which they have just seen! Bets are placed on how accurate will be their recall of said details.
1:45PM – Tom Swift and his Science Fiction Book Series
A primer on the numerous Tom Swift sci-fi/adventure books, ranging from the 1910s to the present day. The adventures of the original Tom Swift and later, his descendants, introduced many a young lad to science fiction, and in its nascent years, helped to popularize the genre.
2:45PM – Break!
Raffle, announcements, brief discussion of club business, including upcoming book sale and preliminary plans for club’s Christmas Dinner and Party 2024.
3:00PM – The Multiverse
We examine the concept of “the Multiverse” in science fiction, including those famously depicted in both Marvel’s and DC’s comic book superhero stories.
4:00PM – Sci-Fi’s Coolest Gizmos and Gadgets!
MonSFFen offer their top picks of the genre’s coolest gizmos and gadgets, as seen on TV or in the movies, or from within the pages of SF/F literature. For the purposes of this list, we’ll define a gizmo or gadget as a technological or magical device small enough to hold in one’s hands or carry on one’s person—a Star Trek phaser or tricorder, for example. Which gizmos or gadgets do you think are among the coolest, and why? We ask club members to come prepared to contribute an item or two to our list!
Please Note: While we strive to keep on schedule, we do, sometimes, fall behind a little, or find ourselves having to reshuffle the order of items on the agenda for one reason or another, or reschedule planned presentations/discussions. Therefore, please understand that all programming is subject to change!
4) JOIN THIS AFTERNOON’S VIDEO-CHAT ON ZOOM!
To take part in this afternoon’s meeting online, join our ZOOM video-chat, which will run throughout the next few hours. Simply click here and follow the prompts: This Afternoon’s MonSFFA Meeting on ZOOM
If you’re not fully equipped to ZOOM, you can also take part by phone (voice only); in the Montreal area, the toll-free number to call is: 1-438-809-7799. From out of town? No problem; find your ZOOM call-in number here: Call-In Numbers
Also, have this information on hand as you may be asked to enter it:
Meeting ID: 824 9474 2228
Passcode: 204149
The sci-fi fun begins at 1:00PM! Thanks for joining us today, and enjoy the meeting!
5) THANK YOU
