Our October 14 club meeting will feature a Halloween theme!

We are tasking club members with the creation of a Halloween-themed table centrepiece—a Jack-o-Lantern, perhaps, a spooky gravestone, cats, bats; use your imagination! And, consider adding something sci-fi to your scary creation!

A visit to your local dollar store might provide a few props to utilize as part of your centrepiece!

Bring your finished creations in to our October “Halloween” meeting; your spooky centrepieces will be used to decorate the tables in our meeting room! Online participants may showcase their creations over ZOOM!

MonSFFA will be visiting the Montreal Aviation Museum (MAM) on Saturday, September 9! Our plan is to meet at the museum about 10:30AM so as to begin our visit at 11:00AM. Note that the MAM closes at 2:15PM, summer hours having concluded.

Admission is $12, less for students, and for children 6-12. Entry is free for MAM members and Canadian Armed Forces veterans.

Getting to the Montreal Aviation Museum (MAM) by Car:

The MAM is located in “The Old Stone Barn” on the Macdonald Campus of McGill University in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue (see map, below). It’s out in the middle of a large, open field between Highways 40 and 20, at the western tip of the Island of Montreal!

Because of current roadwork in the area, which includes weekend road closures, note that the museum may not be accessible from Highway 40 on September 9. The Macdonald Campus can, however, be accessed by car from Highway 20 via either Morgan Road (Exit 42) or Saint-Pierre (Exit 39) and Lakeshore Boulevard. (Note that Lakeshore becomes Sainte-Anne west of Maple Street.)

From the 20, travel south on Morgan Road to the lake front and turn west onto Lakeshore; or, travel south on Saint-Pierre and turn east onto Sainte-Anne, which will become Lakeshore after Maple Street. Enter the Macdonald Campus and make your way north via campus streets to arrive on Poultry-Cottages Road, which crosses over Highway 20 and will take you to the entry lane leading to the museum (watch for the direction signs).

Getting to the Montreal Aviation Museum (MAM) by Public Transit:

We recognize that it’s a bit of a hike out to Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue by Metro and bus, but we hope this won’t dissuade you from joining us for this club field trip! We are deploying what cars and drivers we can to help make the trip a little easier for transit riders.

The 211 bus departing from Lionel Groulx Station seems the best option for those traveling from Montreal. This bus will take you all the way to Terminus Macdonald on Lakeshore Boulevard, which is the end of the line. Aim to arrive at Terminus Macdonald by roughly 10:00AM. From there, it’s about a 30-minute walk through the campus grounds and over Highway 20 along Poultry Cottages Road to the museum.

If need be, we will dispatch a car to the terminus at about 10:30AM to pick up any MonSFFen who have made the trip on the 211. It’s but a short 5-minutes to the museum by car, rather than the 30-minute walk! Please contact Cathy Palmer-Lister (president@monsffa.ca) in advance of Saturday to let her know that you plan to be waiting at the terminus.

Meanwhile, Keith Braithwaite can provide a lift for up to three people, and will be waiting early Saturday morning at the taxi/car drop-off/pick-up loop behind the Angrignon Metro station. He will be driving a white, late-model Honda Civic, and he will wait until 9:30AM. No longer! He’ll be able to take up to three club members—first come, first serve—to the museum. If you plan to avail yourselves of this ride, contact Keith (veep@monsffa.ca) in advance of Saturday so that he knows to look for you.

It is our intention to enter the museum as a group at 11:00AM.

We hope to see many of you at the MAM on Saturday morning, September 9!

CLUB FIELD TRIP 2023

MonSFFA will be visiting the Montreal Aviation Museum (MAM) on Saturday, September 9! Our plan is to meet at the museum about 10:30AM so as to begin our visit at 11:00AM. Note that the MAM closes at 2:15PM, summer hours having concluded.

Please also note that in wrapping up our August 12 club meeting, both the physical and online gatherings, we erroneously promoted September 9 as the date of our next club meeting. More accurately, September 9 is the date of the next club event, that being our field trip to the MAM.

As such, no standard club meeting, in-person or virtual, is scheduled for September. The next MonSFFA meeting will take place on Saturday, October 14 at the Lachine Legion Hall and, concurrently, online at www.MonSFFA.ca.

We regret and apologize for our error.

About the MAM

This local museum is known for its “hands-on passion” for Canadian aviation (focusing in particular on Quebec), the enthusiasm of its volunteer members, and for the airplane restoration projects it undertakes, including that of a WWII-era Fairchild Bolingbroke Mk. IV trainer/maritime patrol aircraft and light bomber.

In addition to the aircraft on display, the MAM features a collection of aviation artifacts, an art gallery, library, workshops, and a souvenir boutique!

Cost

Admission is $12; there are reduced prices for students and children aged 6-12. Entry is free for MAM members and Canadian Armed Forces personnel and veterans.

Location/Getting There

The MAM is located in the “Old Stone Barn” on the Macdonald campus of McGill University in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue. Because of current roadwork in the area, which includes weekend road closures, note that the museum will not be accessible from Highway 40 on September 9. The Macdonald campus can, however, be accessed by car from Highway 20 and Lakeshore Boulevard.

Public transit will take you as far as Terminus Macdonald on Lakeshore Boulevard; from there, it’s about a 30 minute walk through the campus grounds and over Highway 20 along Poultry-Cottages road to the museum. Frustratingly, there is a bus stop at the museum (bus stop code number 58586) but unfortunately, this line seems not to operate on weekends after Labour Day. So, transit users should check with the STM for the Metro and bus routes that will most efficiently deliver them to Terminus Macdonald, then walk that half hour to the museum. We will also do our best to organize car pools as an alternative, departing at 9:30AM from the Angrignon Metro Station; watch this space for updates.

We hope to see many of you at the MAM on Saturday morning, September 9!

9) THANK YOU

We thank for their contributions to this afternoon’s meeting Joe Aspler, Carly Terreault, Keith Braithwaite, Cathy Palmer-Lister, as well as all of our contributing participants. And, we thank you who attended, both here online, and physically in the meeting hall; don’t forget to comment on today’s get-together.

10) NEXT e-MEETING

MonSFFA meets again on Saturday, September 9, 2023. Make a note in your calendars; we hope to see you all again on that date.

11) SIGN-OFF

Until next time, then, safe travels, and keep watching the skies!

8) RECENT SF/F FILM AND TELEVISION

Barbie, Oppenheimer, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Season Two of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Season Three of The Witcher, and other sci-fi screen adventures—which have you been watching and enjoying lately? The floor is open to your quick reviews and comments! We also have a few trailers to screen, undoubtedly of interest to our membership.

This afternoon’s e-meeting is something of an experiment. If the technology is performing properly and all has gone well, you are viewing a live-stream of MonSFFA’s first actual, physical, in-person meeting in over three years, now underway. Follow along, and participate, by way of our ZOOM-chat.

Are you able to clearly see and hear today’s proceedings? Please take a moment to leave a comment as to how well this live-stream/ZOOM-chat is working from your perspective. It is our hope to be able to live-stream future club meetings, thereby creating hybrid events in which participation may take place both in-person and virtually.

7) BREAK!

It’s time for a break, during which we’ll conduct a little club business and hold our raffle. We’ll resume the programming schedule in 30 minutes with a group discussion of recent SF/F film and television offerings.

This afternoon’s e-meeting is something of an experiment. If the technology is performing properly and all has gone well, you are viewing a live-stream of MonSFFA’s first actual, physical, in-person meeting in over three years, now underway. Follow along, and participate, by way of our ZOOM-chat.

Are you able to clearly see and hear today’s proceedings? Please take a moment to leave a comment as to how well this live-stream/ZOOM-chat is working from your perspective. It is our hope to be able to live-stream future club meetings, thereby creating hybrid events in which participation may take place both in-person and virtually.

6) DISCUSSION: MADELEINE L’ENGLE’S A WRINKLE IN TIME

For the next hour, we’ll be discussing author Madeleine L’Engle’s youth-oriented novel A Wrinkle in Time. Classed as a science/fantasy story, L’Engle’s work has been favourably compared to that of C. S. Lewis, who penned the Narnia books.

This afternoon’s e-meeting is something of an experiment. If the technology is performing properly and all has gone well, you are viewing a live-stream of MonSFFA’s first actual, physical, in-person meeting in over three years, now underway. Follow along, and participate, by way of our ZOOM-chat.

Are you able to clearly see and hear today’s proceedings? Please take a moment to leave a comment as to how well this live-stream/ZOOM-chat is working from your perspective. It is our hope to be able to live-stream future club meetings, thereby creating hybrid events in which participation may take place both in-person and virtually.

5) PRESENTATION: GENUINE HUMOUR FROM GENUINE SCIENTISTS

We open the afternoon’s programming with “Genuine Humour from Genuine Scientists,” a presentation on the wit, clever in-jokes, and spoofs of scientists, a group generally not associated with things comedic.

This afternoon’s e-meeting is something of an experiment. If the technology is performing properly and all has gone well, you are viewing a live-stream of MonSFFA’s first actual, physical, in-person meeting in over three years, now underway. Follow along, and participate, by way of our ZOOM-chat. (Note: the slides that our in-person audience will see during this particular presentation have been uploaded to this Website and are viewable below, if you wish a closer look.)

Are you able to clearly see and hear today’s proceedings? Please take a moment to leave a comment as to how well this live-stream/ZOOM-chat is working from your perspective. It is our hope to be able to live-stream future club meetings, thereby creating hybrid events in which participation may take place both in-person and virtually.

2) INTRODUCTION

Welcome all, to MonSFFA’s August 2023 meeting. This event marks our return to a regular, in-person meeting schedule—it’s been too long—and if the warp core doesn’t explode, will also mark our first live-streaming of an actual, physical club meeting. Everything, everywhere, all at once! Both in-person attendees, and technology allowing, virtual participants will be able to take part!

Today’s e-meeting departs from the usual in that it is something of an experiment. If the technology is performing properly and all has gone well, you are viewing a live-stream of MonSFFA’s first actual, physical, in-person meeting in over three years, now underway. Follow along, and participate, by way of our ZOOM-chat.

Are you able to clearly see and hear today’s proceedings? Please take a moment to leave a comment as to how well this live-stream/ZOOM-chat is working from your perspective. It is our hope to be able to live-stream future club meetings, thereby creating hybrid events in which participation may take place both in-person and virtually.

3) JOIN THIS AFTERNOON’S VIDEO-CHAT ON ZOOM!

To join our ZOOM video-chat, which will run throughout the next few hours, simply click here and follow the prompts: This Afternoon’s MonSFFA e-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: 820 4750 6798
Passcode: 974535

4) TODAY’S AGENDA

1) PRE-MEETING TESTING OF WIFI QUALITY FOR LIVE-STREAMING

This afternoon’s e-meeting will be something of an experiment. If the technology is performing properly and all goes well, you will be viewing a live-stream of MonSFFA’s first actual, physical, in-person meeting in over three years, about to get underway. Follow along, and participate, by way of our ZOOM-chat.

We’re starting the e-meeting a little earlier than usual, today, at 12:30PM rather than the usual 1:00PM. For the next half hour, we’ll be setting up and fine-tuning the live-stream and testing WiFi capacities. The meeting will officially open at 1:00PM.

We want to know if you are able to clearly see and hear today’s proceedings. Please tell us how things are coming across at your end, or take a moment to leave a comment as to how well this live-stream/ZOOM-chat is working from your perspective. It is our hope to be able to live-stream future club meetings, thereby creating hybrid events in which participation may take place both in-person and virtually.