Dec 12 Meeting, Post 1 of 7: Opening

This is post 1 of 7 related posts which together make up our December 12, 2020, DIY, Virtual MonSFFA Meeting.

Attention all personnel… Maintain “Red Alert!”

1) SEASON’S GREETINGS

We begin with wishes to all MonSFFen, their families, and the club’s friends for a very Merry Christmas, a Joyful Holiday season, and a Happy New Year that we desperately hope will be better than this one!

2) GOING VIRAL!

Since our last virtual meeting in mid-November, Canada’s COVID-19 numbers have relentlessly increased and are stubbornly resisting any appreciable diminution, despite, it seems, all efforts at curbing their growth. The Atlantic bubble has burst, B.C. and the Western provinces are experiencing record escalations in cases, and Ontario is now regularly surpassing Quebec’s frightening daily numbers, with Toronto supplanting Montreal as the nation’s hot zone. Even remote and once coronavirus-free Nunavut is reporting outbreaks. Hospitals across the land are at or have surpassed capacity, and doctors and nurses, who have been battling the virus since March, are exhausted!

As a salve to our collective anxiety, Premier Legault put forth a “moral contract,” allowing limited deconfinement, and thus Holiday gatherings over the Christmas Eve-Boxing Day weekend, but shortly thereafter was compelled to withdraw the offer as Quebec’s numbers continued to spiral ever upward and very real fears of overwhelming the already fragile medical system took hold. Calls for a “short-circuit” full lockdown to stop the virus’ spread are mounting, with advocates pointing out that the Holiday season would be the opportune time to enact such a strategy as schools and many businesses are already closed for a couple of weeks and commerce tends to slow down in early January anyway.

Canadians, meanwhile, are buoyed by the recent news of several vaccine candidates now either under review or approved for use by Health Canada, with an initial roll-out imminent. But have too many of us relaxed our vigilance regarding mitigation protocols with a cure now in sight, or is it that many are simply tired of all the restrictions under which we’ve been living for the better part of a year, now? In the most delusionally extreme instances, some have convinced themselves that the virus is not as deadly as authorities claim, or even that it’s a hoax and doesn’t exist at all, justifying in their minds the ignoring of safety protocols! Such may be a factor in the coronavirus’ resilience against our efforts to stamp it out. We are all moving indoors and in closer proximity to each other as winter arrives and this, too, is certainly a factor in the virus’ robust persistence. We must not relax our guard quite yet.

The pending vaccines are good news, to be sure, but it will take time to produce and distribute the millions of doses required to inoculate the country, and indeed, the world. Prime Minister Trudeau has speculated that it could be September of next year before an ample number of Canadians will have been vaccinated.

So we’ve got months to go yet before we can breathe a sigh of relief, during which time we must find it within ourselves to soldier on a while longer, continuing with all recommended mitigation protocols—the wearing of face masks, the practise of social distancing, the washing of hands thoroughly and often, use of a hand sanitizer, refraining from even modest gatherings, remaining isolated at home and venturing out only on essential errands.

Stock an empty shelf with books to read during the coming winter months, set up your Netflix queue, Zoom or some such with family and friends often, play your favourite games, and exercise your creative side with craft projects, suggestions that can only help make the months of isolation pass more quickly.

3) INTRODUCTION

As we gather online for this month’s virtual club meeting, in place of the downtown Christmas Dinner/Party that is our December tradition, and to which we will return post-COVID, we take a moment to beseech club members to please take all possible precautions in order to keep yourselves as protected from infection as can be. It is especially important that we not let up on those safety protocols so that we may all make it through this adversity.

This is our ninth virtual MonSFFA meeting and the last of 2020. Today’s get-together will unfold right here on the club’s Web site over the course of the afternoon, beginning with this first post, and followed by subsequent posts at 1:30PM, 1:45PM, 2:30PM, 3:00PM, and 4:00PM, with a concluding post at 4:30PM. All content will also be available concurrently on MonSFFA’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/MonSFFA), however, note that the interface best suited for taking in this meeting is this very Web site.

In addition, our mid-meeting Zoom session has been expanded for this virtual gathering and will begin early, at 1:30PM, and run until the meeting concludes. In order to provide some element of the face-to-face Dinner/Party that we would have been hosting were it not for current circumstances, we’ll be trying our hand at selected Zoom versions of some of the presentations we’re posting in tandem on our Web site. Through this augmented Zoom session, folk will have opportunity to hear directly from the presenters on their given topics, pose questions, discuss, and generally chat. It being that most wonderful time of the year, our focus today will be on the seasonal and festive.

As we cannot yet safely assemble in person, this December virtual meeting has been prepared especially for you, MonSFFA’s membership. Sit back, check out each of the afternoon’s posts, scroll down leisurely through the proffered content, and enjoy!

And don’t forget to comment on what we’ve presented. Let us know what you think of specific topics or the meeting overall. Your input helps us to tailor these virtual meetings for maximum interest and enjoyment.

You may also wish to Zoom with us during the course of the meeting. To join our expanded Zoom session, beginning at 1:30PM, click here: This Afternoon’s MonSFFA Zoom

If you’re not fully equipped to Zoom by computer, you can also join in by phone (voice only); in the Montreal area, the toll-free number to call is: 1-438-809-7799. If you’re from out of town, find your Zoom call-in number here: International Call-In Numbers

Have this information on hand as you may be asked to enter it:

Meeting ID: 852 4130 1716

Passcode: 429167

4) MEETING AGENDA

In This Afternoon’s Virtual Meeting:

1:00PM, Post 1 of 7 (Opening)

1) Season’ Greetings

2) Going Viral!

3) Introduction

4) Meeting Agenda

5) Opening Christmas Coronavirus Parody Song

6) Trivia Challenge for the Festive Season

7) Keith’s Must-See List for the Holiday Season

8) A Second Christmas Coronavirus Parody Song

1:30PM, Post 2 of 7 (Zoom!)

9) Expanded Zoom Session Begins (Runs Until End of Meeting)

1:45PM, Post 3 of 7 (Holidays Special!)

10) Presentation: MonSFFA Holidays Special

2:30PM, Post 4 of 7 (Chanukkah!)

11) Presentation: Introduction to Chanukkah

3:00PM, Post 5 of 7 (Break)

12) Mid-Meeting Break (Milk and Cookies, Display Table, Raffle, Continuing Zoom)

4:00PM, Post 6 of 7 (Joy!)

13) Presentation: The Many Ways of Joy

4:30PM, Post 7 of 7 (Closing)

14) Answers to Trivia Challenge!

15) Another Christmas Coronavirus Parody Song

16) Thank-You!

17) A Final Parody Song

5) OPENING CHRISTMAS CORONAVIRUS PARODY SONG

Many talented and witty songwriters/performers have been providing, throughout this COVID-19 crisis, gentle comic relief to us all, filking well-known rock and pop hits. Whenever given, we’ve credited by name these creators.

This juicy opening number, “WTF 2020,” is by L.A.-based actress/singer Whitney Avalon (twitter.com/whitneyavalon). As the title hints, the lyrics are a tad indelicate and may be considered unseemly by some, but it’s an amusing, well executed song. That said, we felt it prudent to stifle the problematic language, given that some of our audience today may well have present in their households and within earshot young children. At the same time, we’ve tried to maintain as much as possible the spirit of the piece:

Look up Whitney’s original, unfiltered song online if you want the full monty!

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Christmas movies and television specials are not generally considered SF/F, but any story centered on a jolly old elf capable of hitting every household on the planet to deliver so many gifts in one night has got to be rocking some kind of time-altering technology, right? Sounds sci-fi to us! And magical creatures like flying reindeer and snowmen come to life by means of an old silk hat must certainly be categorized under the fantasy heading!

Many sci-fi television series have featured episodes that play on Holiday themes, from The Twilight Zone (“Night of the Meek,” “Five Characters in Search of an Exit,” among others) and animated Batman (“Christmas with the Joker,” “Holiday Knights”) to Quantum Leap (“A Little Miracle,” “Promised Land,”) and Doctor Who (“The Christmas Invasion,” “A Christmas Carol,” “Last Christmas,” to name a few)!

Test your knowledge of Christmas and Holiday films, TV specials, and things festive with this sci-fi flavoured trivia challenge; answers will be provided in our closing Post 7 of 7 at 4:30PM this afternoon. Good luck!

1) In the atrociously bad 1964 “Yuletide science fiction fantasy” Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, what are the names of the two Earth children kidnapped by the Martians?

A) Victor and Donna B) Willie and Sue C) Billy and Betty D) Linus and Lucy

2) 1978’s Star Wars Holiday Special included an animated sequence entitled “The Faithful Wookiee,” which introduced a new character to Star Wars canon. Name that character:

3) Name the Canadian animation studio that George Lucas enlisted to produce this “Faithful Wookiee” cartoon:

4) Which of these groupings does not belong?

A) Kimar, Momar, Bomar, and Girmar C) Chochem, Hargo, Rigna, and Lomas B) Gimmel, Nun, Hey, and Shin D) Voldar, Stobo, Shim, and Torg

5) What is the clever postal code created by Canada Post for the North Pole?

6) What is the title of The Big Bang Theory episode in which Penny gifts Sheldon with a unique Christmas present: a restaurant napkin that Star Trek star Leonard Nimoy had used to wipe his mouth, and which he subsequently autographed to Sheldon at waitress Penny’s request?

A) “The Santa Simulation” B) “The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis” C) “The Holiday Summation” D) “The Cooper Extraction”

7) In the above-mentioned Big Bang Theory episode, when Penny presents her gift to Sheldon, what is she wearing on her head?

A) Foam reindeer antlers B) A red Santa Claus hat trimmed in white faux fur C) A tiara D) Nothing

8) How many ghosts appear to surly Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol?

9) Who does not belong?

A) George C. Scott B) Patrick Stewart C) Alastair Sim D) Jim Carrey E) Colin Baker F) Basil Rathbone G) Walter Matthau H) Michael Caine

10) While romancing Mary Hatch early in the perennial Christmas gem It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), what does George Bailey offer to throw a lasso around and gift to her?

A) A star B) The moon C) The sun D) A steer

11) In the Lost in Space episode “Return From Outer Space,” against his father’s express orders, young Will Robinson employs dangerous alien technology to matter-transfer himself across the gulf of space and back to Earth, materializing in a small town at Christmastime. His plan is to alert Alpha Control at Cape Kennedy of his family’s location on a distant, barren planet so that a rescue ship might be dispatched. But no one in town believes that he’s a member of the famous First Family in Space, long missing and now presumed dead! In what U.S. state is located the small town to which Will beams himself?

A) Connecticut B) Maine C) North Dakota D) Vermont

12) Because nothing says Yuletide like math, in “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” how many presents are given altogether?

13) In It’s a Wonderful Life, a distraught and suicidal George Bailey is certain that his family and friends would have been better off had he never been born, and in a chilling alternate-history sequence, his guardian angel, Clarence Odbody, allows him a look at just such a scenario in a bid to convince George otherwise. The two stop for a drink at a bar George finds markedly changed from the friendly watering hole he’d always known. He orders a double bourbon; what does Clarence order?

A) A flaming rum punch B) A vodka martini, shaken, not stirred C) A mulled wine, heavy on the cinnamon, light on the troubles! D) A beer

14) What are the names of George and Mary Bailey’s four children, erased from existence in the alternate history in which George was never born?

15) In the concluding act of Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, which character becomes the Martian Santa Claus?

16) In the original Christmas classic Miracle on 34th Street (1947), what is the name of the judge who presides over the hearing to determine if one Kris Kringle is a delusional old man who should be institutionalized or, in fact, the one and only Santa Claus, as he claims?

A) Henry X. Harper B) R. H. Macy C) Thomas Mara D) Fred Gailey

17) Name all of Santa’s reindeer!

18) Thurl Ravenscroft was, for decades, an uncredited but important contributor to 1966’s classic Holiday TV special How the Grinch Stole Christmas. What was his contribution to the production?

A) He directed the piece. B) He wrote the screenplay. C) He wrote the lyrics to the songs featured. D) He sang the memorable “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.”

19) The night before his famous transatlantic flight in 1927, aviator Charles Lindbergh stored his Spirit of St. Louis airplane in a hangar later repurposed as a film studio in which was produced what Christmas movie?

BONUS QUESTION! As a boy in 1919, It’s a Wonderful Life’s central character, George Bailey, works at a drugstore in his hometown of Bedford Falls. One day he finds is boss, Mr. Gower, grief-stricken at news he’d received by telegram, which caused him in distraction to inadvertently fill an order with a poisonous mixture of the wrong medicine. George tries to tell him of his mistake but the anguished man irately sends him on his way. When George returns later without having made the delivery, the druggist angrily berates him until the boy finally blurts out that Gower had made a terrible error. Gower realizes that George has saved the day and hugs the boy in thanks. What was the news that had so upset Mr. Gower?

7) KEITH’S LIST OF MUST-SEE VIEWING FOR THE HOLIDAYS!

Countless Christmas movies and television specials have been produced over the decades, with fresh installments added every year. There are far too many to watch over the typical Holiday season. Anyway, most of them are, to employ Sturgeon’s law, crap! But there are those few that bear repeated viewing, year after year, never ceasing to stir in one sentimental feelings entirely apt for this most wonderful time of the year. We all have our favourites, some fondly remembered from childhood, others more recent.

In my case, there a handful that I absolutely must watch each December. They are, in my humble opinion, unrivaled classics that help spark in me annually something that I suppose must be the Christmas spirit. They warm my heart, bring a smile, elicit joy, and get me all fired up for tree trimming and gift wrapping and Christmas baking and all the other fabulous things associated with the festive season that I so enjoy.

Here’s my list, in no particular order:

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)—A perennial favourite on TV at Christmastime, this is the story of George Bailey, a fundamentally good and decent man who has always put his own lofty ambitions aside to accommodate his family and friends, all of this outlined in flashback through the first half of the film. Then Bailey finds that his small-town building and loan business is suddenly short $8000 on Christmas Eve! Scandal, ruin, and shame vested upon his wife and children are sure to follow, he fears, and despairing, he opts for suicide, convinced that his family and friends would be better off without him. His guardian angel is dispatched from Heaven to save him. The pacing is, perhaps, a little too relaxed for modern audiences but stick with it and you will be rewarded with a heart-warming, life-affirming, lightly comedic, part romance, part drama, and part science fiction movie. You read that right: science fiction! For in a chilling, noire-ish alternate-universe sequence, the angel seeks to show Bailey just how valuable a gift is life, allowing him to see how things would have played out for his family and friends had he never been born.

George Bailey (James Stewart) and his guardian angel, Clarence Odbody (Henry Travers), in It’s a Wonderful Life.

A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)—Peanuts was a favourite comic strip of mine growing up, so that probably plays a part in influencing my opinion of this simple, sincere, funny, moving, and endearing cartoon. In later years I came to appreciate the unassuming yet arresting artwork paired so beautifully with Vince Guaraldi’s outstanding jazz score and his unorthodox take on traditional Christmas music. Commentary on the rampant commercialization of Christmas is deftly handled with humour so as not to come across as too preachy. And when Charlie Brown asks in exasperation if there’s anyone who knows what Christmas is all about, Linus steps up with a wisdom beyond his years, making for a marvellously memorable moment.

Charlie Brown and Linus in A Charlie Brown Christmas.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)—The other animated Holiday special that is an annual must-see in our house brings to life the wacky world of Dr. Suess in vibrant colour. This is the enchanting tale of the dour Grinch’s emotional journey from wretched recluse and hater of all things Christmas to epiphany and jubilant embrace of the whole thing! Like A Charlie Brown Christmas, there’s an anti-consumerist message, here, avowing that Christmas “doesn’t come from a store,” but that it “means a little bit more.”

The Grinch and his much put-upon dog, Max, in How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)— Ludicrous plots, inane dialogue, stilted acting, ridiculously amateurish sets, costumes, and special effects, all on a dollar-store budget! If you enjoy cheap, low-rent flicks like Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959) and Robot Monster (1953), you’ll be thrilled to know that there exists such a so-bad-it’s-good movie for the festive season! Santa Claus and a couple of Earth children are kidnapped by Martians and brought to the red planet, whose leader seeks to bring Mars’ melancholy youth out of their doldrums. And thus does Santa Claus “conquer” his captors not with arms, but with the spirit of Christmas. No, really!

Miracle of 34th Street (1947)—The movies of my parents’ generation frequently aired on television when I was a youngster, affording me the opportunity to enjoy seasonal classics like this one, the light-hearted tale of a white-bearded old fellow named Kris Kringle, hired as a department store Santa Claus at Macy’s in New York City, who claims to be the real thing! A young Natalie Wood plays a little girl whose mother has brought her up to rebuff fanciful fairy tales of Santa Claus and the like, but over the course of the film, she comes to believe that the old man really is who he says he is, and so regains her lost childhood innocence. Her mother and the other adults at Macy’s are not quite so sure but they, too, eventually begin to come around. The centerpiece of the story is the court hearing instigated to determine if Mr. Kringle is, in fact, the one and only Santa Claus, as he claims, or is mentally ill and in need of hospitalization. His sympathetic lawyer is the mother’s romantic interest and there’s a love story playing out, here, as the principal plot unfolds. This is a feel-good film if ever there was one!

Natalie Wood, and Maureen O’Hara in Miracle on 34th Street.

Die Hard (1988)—An office Christmas party, garlands and decorations hung about, eggnog, hostages, gunfire, anti-tank missiles, explosions, and John McClane versus Hans Gruber! Must be Christmas at Nakatomi Plaza. A solid action movie that has been adopted by fans as a modern Holiday delight.

Bruce Willis as John McClane in Die Hard.

King Kong (2005)—Peter Jackson’s magnificent remake includes a scene of Kong and Ann cavorting on a frozen pond in New York City’s Central Park at Christmastime, which is enough to justify a Holiday viewing and permit one to get their Kong on!