This post closes today’s MonSFFA e-meeting. 

10) COTTINGLEY FAIRIES

In 1917, cousins Elsie Wright, aged 16, and Frances Griffiths, aged 9, lived in the English village of Cottingley, near Bradford, West Yorkshire, and claimed to have seen and photographed tiny fairies dancing amid the foliage around Cottingley Beck, a brook near their home.

Belief in things supernatural, like ghosts and fairies, were widespread in the early years of the 20th century, especially in English-speaking countries, and many high-profile citizens were adherents of Spiritualism, not the least of whom was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, prolific author of the popular Sherlock Holmes stories published in The Strand Magazine. Doyle, in fact, took an interest in the girls’ claims and interpreted their photographs as clear evidence of supernatural phenomena. His view was shared by many, but not all, with detractors pegging the pictures as clever fakes. Elsie and Frances maintained that they had seen fairies, and that their photographs were genuine.

Doyle, meanwhile, had secured permission to use the photographs to illustrate a magazine article he was writing about fairies, while associate Edward Gardner, a leading member of the Theosophical Society, an organization of Occultists, arranged for the cousins to take more pictures of the fairies in 1920. The tiny creatures would not show themselves if other than they two girls were watching, Elsie and Frances cautioned, so they were left to their own devices, returning later from the beck with fresh photographs.

Gardner and Doyle had a number of experts examine the photographs to determine if there was anything amiss, and were met with mixed opinion. But several of the experts had judged that no tampering with the photographic plates had occurred, noting, however, that this did not necessarily provide proof positive that fairies were real. The camera had simply recorded what was before the lens, and the fairies could have been paper dolls or some such positioned on branches and leaves.

Over the years, interest in the Cottingley Fairies waxed and waned, with later investigations launched to get at the truth of the matter, until finally, Elsie and Frances, now elderly women, put the question to rest in 1983, confessing that the whole thing had been a fraud. Their fairies were nothing more than drawings on cardboard rendered by the artistically inclined Elsie, copying illustrations of dancing girls in a children’s book of the day. She had drawn in wings, cut out the figures, propped them up in the garden with hatpins, and voilà: fairies!

Still, Frances insisted that they had actually seen the fairies, and unlike the others pictures, the last photograph taken was bona fide. Elsie did not concur, and remembered that the two felt embarrassed, at the time, to admit the truth, having fooled so many, including a brilliant man like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle!  “I can’t understand to this day why they were taken in—they wanted to be taken in.”

Both women died in the late-1980s. Lady Cottington’s Pressed Fairy Book (1994), by Terry Jones and Brian Froud, parodied their famous images, and prints of their photographs, along with the cameras used, and other associated material, now reside in the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford.

11) THANK YOU!

We sincerely hope you have enjoyed your time with us these past few hours and encourage you to visit www.MonSFFA.ca regularly for additional content.

We thank Kofi Oduro, Danny Sichel, Keith Braithwaite, and Cathy Palmer-Lister for their contributions to today’s programme. Thanks is extended, also, to all of our supporting contributors this afternoon.

And of course, to all who joined us today and took in our online get-together, we thank you for your interest and attention, and remind you to leave a comment!

12) NEXT MonSFFA e-MEETING

As club members are aware, our hoped-for return to in-person MonSFFA meetings has been stalled by lingering pandemic-related circumstances! We continue our search for an available, affordable meeting hall and are currently exploring a couple of new possibilities; we’ll keep you updated as to any notable progress.

And so, join us next month, on Saturday, June 17, beginning at 1:00PM, right here at www.MonSFFA.ca, for another in our series of MonSFFA e-meetings! We’ve booked a special guest speaker for the occasion who we think you will enjoy!

Please take note that we’ve moved this e-meeting from our usual second-Saturday-of-the-month one week ahead to the third Saturday so as to avoid conflicting with Scintillation, a local SF convention taking place this year over the June 9-11 weekend.

Also, note that a social event is open to MonSFFen, said event scheduled for Saturday, June 10. Any MonSFFen not attending Scintillation are welcome to attend this casual affair, which will take place from 2:00PM-6:00PM at the same West Island address that served as our 2022 Christmas Luncheon locale. (We will post on the site information about this event in the coming weeks; check back regularly!)

13) SIGN-OFF 

Until June, then, bask in the sunny, warm weather we’ve been experiencing of late, quaff a cold one, and keep well.

9) MORE OF YOUR SF/F TOP-TEN LISTS!

Last month, we asked club members to prepare a SF/F top-ten list on any science fiction, fantasy, horror, or fannish topic—for example, top ten classic Star Trek episodes, or top ten Hugo-winning novels, or top ten movie monsters, spaceships, comic book superheroes; the choice was left to each club member as to specific focus.

We ended that segment of programming short of time to accommodate all of the lists on hand, and so we’ve scheduled time during this meeting to present those few lists on which the clock ran out last month! One has been posted below, a couple more will be presented, now, as part of our ZOOM chat.

Whenever we schedule this semi-regular feature, we ask each participant to present their list, either by sending it to us in advance of our virtual get-together to be included as part of the SF/F Top-Ten Lists post, or day-of, live via ZOOM. We ask our list-makers to include, perhaps, a few illustrative images which can be shared with the group as they impart their top-ten. And, we ask that they be prepared to field questions and/or, perhaps, defend their choices!

Those unable to join our video chat today may still submit in writing their own SF/F top-ten list via this post’s “Leave a Comment” option. Include a quick description or outline of each of your entries and explain why you’ve included each, and why your fellow genre fans might also enjoy the selections you’ve listed.

MY TOP TEN COOL-SOUNDING SCI-FI CHARACTER NAMES

By Leonard Lang

10) Captain Nemo—Jules Verne’s mysterious scientist/inventor is the first major SF character that I can remember who wasn’t white—he’s Indian royalty, son of raja. So, he was ahead of his time, in that respect. Nemo reserved a special hatred for Imperialism, and especially of the British Empire, which drove him to vengeance. Plus, he commanded a really boss, technologically advanced submarine, not exactly the kind of watercraft common in the late 19th century!

9) Bernard Quatermass—Nigel Kneale’s penultimate scientist/hero, head of the British Experimental Rocket Group and star of the influential BBC science fiction serials of the 1950s, and the subsequent Hammer films, among other adaptations, was unwavering as he faced sinister threats from outer space. Bernard Quatermass just sounds so like a scientist’s name, like science fiction personified!

8) Kal-El—I’ve always liked Superman’s Kryptonian name!

7) Logan 5—A Sandman turned runner in Logan’s Run. Any name that includes a number is definitely a cool-sounding sci-fi name!

6) Indiana Jones—Any name that includes a geographical component is absolutely a cool name! The whip and fedora don’t hurt, either!

5) Duncan Idaho—He of the Dune series; like Indiana Jones, a name that includes a geographical component is cool, and this one rolls off the tongue with a particular pirate-like swagger!

4) Spider Jerusalem—A comic-book version—the cyberpunk Transmetropolitan series—of gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson, his name combines that aforementioned geographical component with the name of a bug; too cool!

3) Sabetha Belacorus—Simply the coolest name for a fantasy anti-heroine! A thief, she was the love interest of Locke Lamora, of the Gentleman Bastards, until she left Camorr on unknown business. There’s more, but we don’t have the time!

2) Darth Vader—there are a lot cool-sounding sci-fi names in Star Wars, enough to fill up a whole other top-ten list, but I’m going with Vader, here, because the moniker positively drips with menace, as any good villain’s name should!

1) Zaphod Beeblebrox—Just an unquestionably science fictioney, cool, wonderfully funny name conjured up by Douglas Adams for his Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series.

Time for a break! News, displays, & raffle prizes!

Get your Bheer & Chips! It’s time for the break!

NEWS

In case you missed it, here is the map of the Metro that was posted on May 4th. Thanks to Josée who sent in a pic.

Upcoming Meetings and Events

Our June meeting will be on the THIRD Saturday, June 17th, to avoid a schedule conflict with Scintillation and MonSFFA member Phyllis’ birthday party, to which all our members are invited. The party will be June 10 at the same hall where we had our Christmas party.

You won’t want to miss our June 17th meeting–we have a writer guest appearing via Zoom. Our thanks to Danny for arranging her appearance. 

 Olivia Atwater writes whimsical historical fantasy with a hint of satire. She lives in Montreal, Quebec with her fantastic, prose-inspiring husband and her two cats.  She has been, at various times, a historical re-enactor, a professional witch at a metaphysical supply store, a web developer, and a vending machine repairperson.

Fantasy as Satire: Though you can write a satire in just about any genre, fantasy lends itself particularly well to the idea for reasons both structural and psychological. Olivia Atwater discusses a few well-known examples of satire within the fantasy genre, and elaborates on why they succeed so well at their aims.

Missing Friends

MonSFFA is saddened to learn of the passing of member John Mansfield and MonSFFriend, Jaime Yip.

WARP

Danny and Val have WARP113 just about ready to hit the presses! The next issue, 114, will need your input! Write a review, a short story, draw a cartoon or create a puzzle! Don’t wait for the deadline.

DISPLAY TABLE

Wayne is working on the HMS Victory.

RAFFLE PRIZES

Click the thumbnails to view full size image.

​

​​

7) THE CASE OF THE LITERARY ARCHETYPE

It’s been almost 150 years since Arthur Conan Doyle created one of the most popular fictional characters in history. Sherlock Holmes and his associates have had an outsized impact on popular culture in many ways; how have they affected science fiction and fantasy?

Artist Sidney Paget (1860-1908) was the quintessential Holmes illustrator, having produced hundreds of drawings, gouache, watercolour, and ink-wash paintings for the Sherlock Holmes stories originally published in Strand Magazine. He lent the great detective his signature deerstalker cap and Inverness cape, and Paget’s image of Holmes remained a durable influence on subsequent interpretations of the character.

The Sherlock Holmes Canon

For your information and as an adjunct to this ZOOM presentation, listed here are the 62 Holmes stories authored by Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930), four novels and 58 short stories, published over a span of 40 years, from 1887 to 1927.

Novels

A Study in Scarlet (1887)

The Sign of the Four (1890)

The Hound of the Baskervilles (serialized 1901-1902; book, 1902)

The Valley of Fear (serialized 1914–1915; book, 1915)

Short Stories

Collected in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1892):

“A Scandal in Bohemia” (June 1891)

“The Red-Headed League” (August 1891)

“A Case of Identity” (September 1891)

“The Boscombe Valley Mystery” (October 1891)

“The Five Orange Pips” (November 1891)

“The Man with the Twisted Lip” (December 1891)

“The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle” (January 1892)

“The Adventure of the Speckled Band” (February 1892)

“The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb” (March 1892)

“The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor” (April 1892)

“The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet” (May 1892)

“The Adventure of the Copper Beeches” (June 1892)

Collected in The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1894):

“The Adventure of Silver Blaze” (December 1892)

“The Adventure of the Cardboard Box” (January 1893)

“The Adventure of the Yellow Face” (February 1893)

“The Adventure of the Stockbroker’s Clerk” (March 1893)

“The Adventure of the Gloria Scott” (April 1893)

“The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual” (May 1893)

“The Adventure of the Reigate Squire” (June 1893)

“The Adventure of the Crooked Man” (July 1893)

“The Adventure of the Resident Patient” (August 1893)

“The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter” (September 1893)

“The Adventure of the Naval Treaty” (October–November 1893)

“The Final Problem” (December 1893)

Collected in The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1905):

“The Adventure of the Empty House” (October 1903)

“The Adventure of the Norwood Builder” (November 1903)

“The Adventure of the Dancing Men” (December 1903)

“The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist” (January 1904)

“The Adventure of the Priory School” (February 1904)

“The Adventure of Black Peter” (March 1904)

“The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton” (April 1904)

“The Adventure of the Six Napoleons” (May 1904)

“The Adventure of the Three Students” (June 1904)

“The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez” (July 1904)

“The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter” (August 1904)

“The Adventure of the Abbey Grange” (September 1904)

“The Adventure of the Second Stain” (December 1904)

Collected in His Last Bow: Some Reminiscences of Sherlock Holmes (1917):

“The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge” (1908)

“The Adventure of the Red Circle” (1911)

“The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans” (1908)

“The Adventure of the Dying Detective” (1913)

“The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax” (1911)

“The Adventure of the Devil’s Foot” (1910)

“His Last Bow. The War Service of Sherlock Holmes” (1917)

Collected in The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (1927):

“The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone” (1921)

“The Problem of Thor Bridge” (1922)

“The Adventure of the Creeping Man” (1923)

“The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire” (1924)

“The Adventure of the Three Garridebs” (1924)

“The Adventure of the Illustrious Client” (1924)

“The Adventure of the Three Gables” (1926)

“The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier” (1926)

“The Adventure of the Lion’s Mane” (1926)

“The Adventure of the Retired Colourman” (1926)

“The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger” (1927)

“The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place” (1927)

Special-Occasion Stories:

“The Field Bazaar” (1896; written for an Edinburgh University fund-raiser)

“How Watson Learned the Trick” (1924; written for inclusion as a very tiny book in the library of a special miniature dollhouse built for Queen Mary)

6) MATHEMATICAL FICTION; IS MAGIC JUST ANOTHER SOURCE OF MATH?

We continue on ZOOM with an exploration of “Mathematical Fiction,” described as a genre of creative fiction in which mathematics and mathematicians play an important role. Edwin A. Abbott’s Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions is, perhaps, the most familiar example.

Mathematical Fiction might not be popular but has been around since 1884,” says Kofi Oduro, this segment’s presenter. “We will discuss how this can be relevant in many sci-fi/fantasy-based worlds and check some work on databases that keep track of it. How do we conceive such a world and what differences can we use to alter it from our world?”

Those not equipped to join our ZOOM discussion may contribute, nonetheless, by using this post’s “Leave a Comment” feature to ask questions and type in commentary.

 

Before we begin, sad news; club member John Mansfield has passed away.

MonSFFen were stunned by news of John having passed on April 19, just a few months before he was scheduled to attend Pemmi-Con as Fan Guest of Honour. John had been keenly involved with Winnipeg’s successful bid to host Pemmi-Con, the 15th North American Science Fiction Convention, or NASFiC, a conclave which takes place whenever the Worldcon is held outside of North America, as it will be this year. Pemmi-Con will mark the first time a NASFiC unfolds in other than a U.S. city, and John would surely be proud to have played a part in seeing that honour bestowed upon Winnipeg!

As of this writing, details of his passing are scant; we understand he was under hospice care when he died. Not that long ago, he had been regularly participating in MonSFFA’s monthly e-meetings, which he made a point of praising as a splendid means of bringing fans together from across the land during the pandemic, and after. He strongly encouraged the club to continue hosting these online get-togethers.

A veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces, John served his country for 26 years and was involved in SF/F fandom for decades, dating back to the mid-1960s, when he attended his first SF con. He was active in OSFS, the Ottawa Science Fiction Society, in the early days of that organization, and was, in subsequent decades, involved with clubs and conventions in New Brunswick, Alberta, and of course, Manitoba. He travelled to many an SF, Star Trek, and gaming convention, as well as to numerous Worldcons.

He was probably happiest as a con-runner, and chaired, first, Winnipeg’s winning bid to host the 1994 Worldcon, for which he was awarded an Aurora, then the Winnipeg Worldcon itself, ConAdian. He was also in the mix for the next two Canadian Worldcons, Toronto’s Torcon III in 2003, and Montreal’s own Anticipation in 2009. John was a tireless booster of Canadian fandom and encouraged many to join in the fun and get involved in organizing conventions, large and small.

For many years, too, he ran his specialty shop, Pendragon Games and Hobbies, in Winnipeg, and in the wake of his passing, was acknowledged by many of the local gamers as pivotal to the creation and development of a robust gaming community in the city.

John Mansfield certainly made his mark.

He will be missed by, in particular, his wife, Linda, and family, to whom we extend our sincerest condolences.

***************

We have also lost gentle, genial, ConCept Green Room hostess Jaime Yip, who had recently entered palliative care.

MonSFFA extends sincere condolences to Jaime’s family and close friends. She was one of Montreal fandom’s most welcoming, friendliest faces.

1) INTRODUCTION

For the coming few hours, we invite you to enjoy this, MonSFFA’s May 2023 e-Meeting!

These e-meetings were instigated by MonSFFA as a response to the lockdowns and isolation measures imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and for the record, the World Health Organization (WHO) has now officially declared the COVID crisis over. Not that the coronavirus, in all of its variant forms, has been eradicated—it may still yet pose a periodic threat to those most vulnerable—but the presence of the virus is no longer regarded as a global medical emergency.

One of the images from the Cottingley Fairies series of photographs (1917, 1920) is featured in the splash cards introducing each of our posts, today, and we’ve included a brief history of these famous photographs in our final post, which will come up at 5:00PM.

This afternoon’s agenda is a busy one, so let’s get right to it!

2) 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: 835 0035 6712
Passcode: 412323

3) MEETING AGENDA

Here is the agenda for this afternoon’s get-together:

As always, all scheduled programming is subject to change.

4) NAME THAT SF&F MOVIE!—A VISUAL QUIZ

At this moment, exclusively on ZOOM, we are running a visual quiz, challenging players competing against each other, and the clock, to identify science fiction and fantasy films based only on a single image taken from each.

If you are unable to join us on ZOOM for our quiz, you may, instead, enjoy this:

5) A BEAVRA SHORT STORY

Once upon a time, in a land far north, there lived a giant beaver named Beavra. He was a massive creature, towering over the tallest trees and buildings with ease. Beavra lived in the forests of Canada, and for years he had roamed the land, felling trees and gnawing on branches.

One day, Beavra caught sight of the CN Tower in Toronto, the tallest freestanding structure in the Western Hemisphere. For some reason, the tower caught his attention, and he decided he wanted to chop it down.

Beavra began to make his way towards Toronto, trampling through the forests and crushing everything in his path. When he arrived at the city, people were in a panic. They had never seen anything like Beavra before, and they didn’t know what to do.

Beavra was undeterred. He set his sights on the CN Tower and began to gnaw on the base of the tower with his powerful teeth. The tower shook and swayed, but Beavra was relentless. He kept gnawing and gnawing, and slowly but surely, the tower began to tilt.

People were running and screaming in the streets, but Beavra paid them no attention. He was determined to bring down the tower. Finally, with a tremendous creaking sound, the tower began to fall.

As the tower crashed to the ground, people watched in shock and awe. Beavra stood tall among the rubble, triumphant. He had accomplished what he set out to do, and he had made a name for himself as the greatest beaver in all of Canada.

From that day on, Beavra became a legend, a symbol of power and might. He roamed the land, felling trees and causing destruction wherever he went, always looking for his next challenge. And while many feared him, there were others who admired him, and who saw him as a symbol of the wild, untamed spirit of Canada.

The preceding short story was generated by ChatGPT from the following prompt:

Imagine a giant beaver named “Beavra.” He is essentially the Canadian version of Godzilla. Write a short story about Beavra chopping down the CN Tower in Toronto.

We found the plot simple, uninspired, predicable, and the prose comes across as grade-school level writing, in our humble opinion, akin to something a young student might hand in for a creative writing exercise. We did enjoy, however, the melodramatic description of Beavra as “the greatest beaver in all of Canada,” as well as his being perceived as “a symbol of the wild, untamed spirit” of the country.

And so, the staff over at MonSFFilms, the club’s fan-film division and producers of the club’s popular 2003 short, Beavra, are not too concerned about losing their jobs to an AI. Yet. 

As a final note, we asked ChatGPT to continue the story, and it developed a few novel touches: 

However, Beavra’s destruction did not go unnoticed by the authorities. The Canadian military was quickly mobilized to deal with the threat, and they arrived in Toronto armed with everything from tanks to helicopters.

At first, Beavra seemed unfazed by the military’s attacks. He swatted away missiles and shrugged off gunfire, his thick fur and powerful body protecting him from harm. But the military was not deterred. They continued to launch wave after wave of attacks, hoping to wear him down.

Beavra soon realized that he might have bitten off more than he could chew. He was tired and wounded, and he knew that he couldn’t keep fighting forever. As the military closed in, Beavra looked up at the sky, letting out a mournful cry.

But then, something miraculous happened. From the clouds, a giant eagle appeared, swooping down to land beside Beavra. The eagle was a majestic creature, with shimmering feathers and a piercing gaze.

“Beavra, you must stop this madness,” the eagle said, its voice like thunder. “You are causing too much destruction. It’s time for you to leave this place.”

Beavra looked at the eagle in surprise. He had never seen anything like it before. But something about the eagle’s words touched him, and he realized that he had been acting recklessly.

With a heavy heart, Beavra turned and lumbered away from the city, disappearing into the forests once more. The people of Toronto breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that the destruction was over.

As for Beavra, he roamed the forests in solitude, pondering the eagle’s words. He realized that he had been consumed by his own power, and that he needed to find a new purpose in life. And so, he began a journey of self-discovery, seeking out new challenges and experiences, and trying to find his place in the world.

Years later, people would tell stories about Beavra, the giant beaver who chopped down the CN Tower. But they would also remember him as a creature of great power and wisdom, who learned from his mistakes and sought to make amends for his past actions.