All posts by Cathy Palmer-Lister

Awards

FAAn Awards

WINNERS (In order of presentation):

Best Fanzine Cover
Littlebrook #11 (Ulrika O’Brien)

Best Letterhack (Harry Warner Jr. Award)
Jerry Kaufman

Best Fanartist
Ulrika O’Brien

Best Fanwriter
Mark Plummer

Best One Shot/Special Publication
Daangerous Visions (eds. Sandra Bond, Rob Jackson, Pat Virzi)

Best Perzine
This Here… (ed. Nic Farey)

Best Genzine
Portable Storage (ed. William Breiding)

#1 Fan Face
Nic Farey

Click here to view The Incompleat Register 2022 Results Issue with full breakdown and notes.

 

Obituary

Godzilla Legend Akira Takarada Dies at 87

In Godzilla films there’s usually one star, and his name is literally the title: “Godzilla.” But actor Akira Takarada was a rare exception to the rule. Beginning with the original 1954 Toho film, Takarada became a familiar foe to the kaiju, appearing regularly over the first few decades of the franchise with multiple comebacks, all the way up to and including the 2014 Hollywood reboot. This week, Takarada died at the age of 87. No cause of death was given.

The official Toho Twitter announced the news to the world. “We are saddened to hear of the passing of Akira Takarada,” the tweet read. “May his memory continue to inspire the lives of many Godzilla fans.”

READ MORE

Astronomy News, Space Travel / Exploration

Our Long range sensors detect…

Interesting news items!

  • James Webb telescope fully focused
  • If we make contact with aliens, how will religion be affected?
  • Watch NASA roll mega Artemis I moon rocket out to the launchpad

James Webb: ‘Fully focused’ telescope beats expectations

Jonathan Amos
Science correspondent
@BBCAmos

Star
Image source, NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI Image caption, The test star has the ungainly name 2MASS J17554042+6551277. A red filter optimises the visual contrast

The American space agency has achieved a major milestone in its preparation of the new James Webb Space Telescope.

Engineers say they have now managed to fully focus the $10bn observatory on a test star. The pin-sharp performance is even better than hoped, they add.

READ MORE

If we made contact with aliens, how would religions react?

The discovery of life on another planet might seem incompatible with faith in a deity. Yet many theologians are already open to the existence of extraterrestrials, argues the writer Brandon Ambrosino.

In 2014, NASA awarded $1.1M to the Center for Theological Inquiry, an ecumenical research institute in New Jersey, to study “the societal implications of astrobiology”.

Some were enraged. The Freedom From Religion Foundation, which promotes the division between Church and state, asked NASA to revoke the grant, and threatened to sue if NASA didn’t comply. While the FFR stated that their concern was the commingling of government and religious organisations, they also made it clear that they thought the grant was a waste of money. “Science should not concern itself with how its progress will impact faith-based beliefs.”

The FFR’s argument might well be undermined, however, when the day comes that humanity has to respond to the discovery of aliens. Such a discovery would raise a series of questions that would exceed the bounds of science. For example, when we ask, “What is life?” are we asking a scientific question or a theological one? Questions about life’s origins and its future are complicated, and must be explored holistically, across disciplines. And that includes the way we respond to the discovery of aliens.  READ MORE

Watch NASA roll mega Artemis I moon rocket out to the launchpad

Ashley Strickland-Profile-Image

By Ashley Strickland, CNN

Updated 7:36 PM ET, Thu March 17, 2022

The NASA Artemis I stack, including the SLS rocket (right) topped with the Orion spacecraft, leaves the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 17.
The NASA Artemis I stack, including the SLS rocket (right) topped with the Orion spacecraft, leaves the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 17

(CNN)The Artemis I mission is another step closer to its lunar launch.

The massive 322-foot-tall (98 meters) stack, which includes NASA’s Space Launch System rocket topped by the Orion spacecraft, rolled out for its testing debut at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday.
The integrated stack, which sits on a mobile launcher, began its slow-moving crawl into launch position Thursday afternoon, with live coverage available on NASA’s website. The rollout officially began at 5:47 p.m. ET.
The rocket stack is seen inside the building before emerging on the crawler.
The rocket stack is seen inside the building before emerging on the crawler.
The 4-mile (6.4-kilometer) ride aboard one of the Apollo-era giant NASA crawlers from the assembly building to the launchpad could take up to 11 hours, according to NASA. The estimated arrival at the pad is around 4:30 a.m. ET on Friday.
Fanzines

New zines added to efanzines

Added today at https://efanzines.com are:

Arthur D. Hlavaty’s Nice Distinctions #34

Perry Middlemiss’ The Alien Review #3

Leybl Botwinik’s CyberCozen – February/March 2022

Octothorpe #53, a regular fannish podcast by Liz Batty, John Coxon and Alison Scott, is now on line

Guy H. Lillian III’s Spartacus #54

Henry Grynnsten’s Wild Ideas #21

Alan White’s Meanwhile in Sin City #2

—
Bill

Corona meetings from home

March 12, 2022, Meeting posts, in order

Missed our March meeting? Not to worry, here are all the posts in order. The Zoom portion of the meeting is under the members only tab in the upper menu. http://www.monsffa.ca/?page_id=21340

POST 1 of 8: Introduction, Quickie Quiz

Post 2 of 8: Sea-Monkeys and Other Wonders from the Back Pages of Comic Books

POST 3 of 8: Show-and-Tell

Post 4 of 8: Time for the Break!

POST 5 of 8: What Are You Reading/Watching?

Post 6 of 8: Your SF/F Top-Ten Lists

Post 7 of 8: Sci-Fi Balderdash, Sorta, Kinda…

POST 8 of 8: Answers to Quickie Quiz and Wrap-Up

 

Astronomy News

Watch the skies tonight, possible auroras!

Space Weather News for March 13, 2022
https://spaceweather.com
https://www.spaceweatheralerts.com

CME SPARKS GEOMAGNETIC STORM: As predicted, a CME hit Earth’s magnetic field today, March 13th, sparking a moderately-strong G2-class geomagnetic storm. Depending on conditions in the CME’s wake, the storm could spill into March 14th. If it does, sky watchers in northern-tier US states might be able to see auroras after local nightfall. Stay tuned to Spaceweather.com for updates.

Aurora Alerts: Sign up for Space Weather Alerts and get instant text notifications when geomagnetic storms are underway.
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Above: First contact with the CME ignited bright auroras over Nome, Alaska. Photo credit: John Dean. Monitor the aurora photo gallery for more sightings.

MonSFFA Website

Post 4 of 8: Time for the Break!

Get your green bheer and chips! It’s time for the break!

Catch up on club news and view the display table and raffle prizes.
NEWS

MonSFFA has learned of the passing of Maureen Whitelaw, a long-time member. She has not been well for a very long time. My only good picture of Maureen shows her sitting beside Alice, another member that we lost to Covid.

DISPLAY TABLE

Click to view Wayne’s models full size
The Raffle Prizes (Click to view full size)

Mecha Japanese Capsule Toy, donated by Brian Knapp
Stug III Neko Girl, Japanese Capsule toy, donated by Brian.

 

From Sylvain’s legacy: A set of Dr Who Trading cards

DiscWorld, the Luggage, ClareCraft, Woolpit Suffolk sticker under base, from Sylvain’s legacy

Full box, Tom Kidd trading cards, Sylvain’s legacy

Young Miles by Lois McMaster Bujold, hardcover, pages a bit yellowed, Sylvain’s legacy

Sequel to King Kong, being released just nine months after and is the second entry of the King Kong franchise. Sylvain’s collection

Hollywood Science: Hollywood’s depiction of scientists and their work; how accurately these films capture scientific fact and theory. Sylvain’s Collection http://cup.columbia.edu/book/hollywood-science/9780231512398

Three issues of Mad Magazine from the 1970s, including January 1978 – their very first Star Wars parody.

Astronomy News

GEOMAGNETIC STORM WATCH (G2-CLASS)

Space Weather News for March 11, 2022
https://spaceweather.com
https://www.spaceweatheralerts.com

GEOMAGNETIC STORM WATCH (G2-CLASS): Earlier today the sun launched a full halo CME into space. The storm cloud is expected to hit Venus on March 13th followed by Earth later the same day. NOAA forecasters say that G2-class geomagnetic storms are possible when the CME arrives. Full story @ Spaceweather.com.

Aurora Alerts: Sign up for Space Weather Alerts and get instant text notifications when geomagnetic storms are underway.
[] 
Above: A full halo CME is heading for Earth. Image credit: the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO).

Awards, CSFFA / Aurora Award / Hall of Fame

Aurora Awards: Nominations open

Join the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association, to nominate and vote for the Aurora Awards. Also, you get a great deal in reading material when the nominations are announced! https://prixaurorawards.ca/   CPL

Aurora Awards
Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association

NOMINATIONS ARE OPEN FOR 2022 AURORAS

Nominations are now open to CSFFA members and will close on March 26th at 11:59 pm EDT. You may select/change/remove items at any time until nominations close.

All twelve categories are open this year and members may select up to five different works in each category. Select works from the dropdown lists, which are sorted by title. If you want to remove an item that you have chosen, select the blank line at the top of the dropdown list. You must click the Update button at the bottom of each nomination form to save your selections. Your choices will be displayed on your nomination central page.

You don’t have to nominate in all categories. Nominate those works that you enjoyed, because this is your chance to have your favorite works from 2021 on this year’s Aurora Awards final ballot. The top five most-nominated works in each category will be selected to be on the final ballot.

Items on our eligibility lists have been submitted by publishers, authors, and fans, and verified by a team of CSFFA volunteers. To review what is eligible for this year’s awards you can go to our public eligibility page. Unlike our dropdown lists, these lists are sorted by author’s or creator’s first name.