Category Archives: Upcoming meeting

Upcoming meeting

Dr Who on the agenda for our July 10th Meeting

Doctor Who’s Who: A Guide to the Doctors Before Who and After Who

As we all know, many actors have played the role of The Doctor. Sources – fannish and canonical – tell us about the lives of the Doctors, from regeneration to regeneration.

But what do we know about the actors who have played The Doctor? What do we know about their careers before Who and after Who? Some became The Doctor very late in their careers, and some entered the Tardis early in their careers. Who did they play before and after Who? Who was in Shakespeare, who was in horror, who was in drama? Who appeared with the Welsh National Opera? Who wore a tea cosy on his head while commanding a gunboat in World War II?

Those questions and more will be answered in Doctor Who’s Who.

Comics / Graphic Novels, Upcoming meeting

July 10: Special Guest speaker!

MonSFFA is excited to welcome local comic book creator François Vigneault to our upcoming meeting!

François is a Montreal-based cartoonist whose works include the acclaimed sci-fi graphic novel TITAN (Oni Press, 2020/Editions Pow Pow, 2017), and the new monthly comedy series Orcs in Space(Oni Press, 2021) coming out on July 7th.François has been nominated for a number of awards (and has even won a few of them), and he was recently the recipient of a grant from the Canada Arts Council for his upcoming graphic novel Blue Moon, which he calls “a bit like The Bloody Chamber by way of Blade Runner.”

In addition to presenting his own work,François will be discussing sci-fi and fantasy in graphic novels, his artistic influences, the broader Montreal comic arts scene, and anything else the MonSFFA members would like to chat about!

TITAN is available in both English and French online and at your favorite local bookstore. Additionally,François is offering MonSFFA members free shipping on signed and sketched copies of his books through his ETSY shop with the coupon code MONSFFA21 (valid through July 31, 2021).

TITAN can be brutal and violent, but also thoughtful, tender, and filled with great heart. But most importantly, there is truth… It’s a powerful story that is strengthened by Vigneault’s simple but expressive art…Highly recommended.

—Charles de Lint, Fantasy & Science Fiction

A gripping, knotty, epic tale of exploitation and solidarity, and a stern reminder that rights are never given, only taken.

—Cory Doctorow,  author of Radicalized

One of my picks for the best books of 2020, TITAN is one of the best examples of the stellar work being produced in the Montreal comics scene.

—Mike Donachie, Toronto Star

 

Corona meetings from home, Upcoming meeting

Post 3 of 6: Time for a Break!

Get your bhere and chips, enjoy the displays and converse with your friends!

It’s time for the break!

CLUB NEWS

WARP 110 is available for download from our website:
http://www.monsffa.ca/?page_id=6915 Many thanks to Danny Sichel and Valerie Royall for this slick, new look!

 Display Table

The Display Table will be via zoom this week

Participation Prizes

3 or 4 names (depends on how many become involved) will be drawn from a hat. All you have to do is be here! But we really would like you to also leave comments on our website.

Click to enlarge

Mecha Japanese Capsule Toy, donated by Brian Knapp The USS Enterprise, model donated by Brian Knapp Romulan Bird of Prey, a model donated by Brian Knapp
1972 edition, good condition, but my name is cut out of it. Dust jacket a bit torn. Donated by Cathy Grand Prix 2005 de la science-fiction et du fantastique québécois, Prix Boréal 2005, Prix 2006 des lecteurs Radio-Canada A set of hand crafted magic wands in the colours of Hogwarts houses, made and donated by Josée Bellemare
Celestial Charts, Antique Maps of the Heavens by Carole Stott, donated by Cathy because I had two copies. Beautiful, full colour charts. Excellent condition. DVD, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Donated by Joe Aspler The first volume of the Wild Cards series edited by George RR Martin. Good condition, pages a little yellowed, and my name is cut out of it. Donated by Cathy


Upcoming meeting

June 12 MonSFFA Meeting

June 15, meeting starts at 13:00h.

This will be a busy meeting!
You may want to have snacks and
drinks close at hand so you don’t miss a thing!

Syd Mead, Visual Futurist

A presentation by Keith Braithwaite
 A Science Fiction Writer Walks into a Bar…

A Presentation by Joe Aspler
Show and Tell

Pyrography demo — Linzy Brown
Models: Brian Knapp and Wayne Glover

Upcoming meeting

Pyrographic demo at June 12th meeting

We have a busy meeting planned for June 12th.

As part of the show-and-tell segment, Linzy Brown will be giving a  live demonstration of pyrography–writing with fire!

If all goes to plan, her demo project will be available as a raffle prize!

There will be two presentations, and another session of show-and-tell.

 

 

Upcoming meeting

MonSFFA Meets on the 12th

MonSFFA Meets on the 12th

A SCIENCE FICTION WRITER WALKED INTO A BAR…
Presentation by Joe Aspler

A science fiction writer walked into a bar. Or a tavern or a saloon or a pub or a club or a lounge or a …..

From Lord Dunsany’s tales of Joseph Jorkens to The Prancing Pony in Bree to Ten Forward and Quark’s in the Star Trek Universe, a bar (lounge, tavern, club) is a convivial place to sip your whiskey and soda, quaff your ale, or enjoy your raktajino or blood wine. Listen to the tall tales of hard science fiction, or to the mysteries of magic swords. Have the wisest bartenders in the universe serve you drinks, from Guinan to Mike Callahan. Let Asimov’s alter-egos solve mysteries for you.

But tourists beware! Coming from another land or a parallel universe does not give you immunity to bad food, evil spells, or errant battleaxes.

Upcoming meeting

Don’t miss our meeting on the 12th!

Don’t miss our meeting on the 12th!

SYD MEAD: VISUAL FUTURIST
Presented by Keith Braithwaite



We review the art of foremost “visual futurist” Syd Mead (1933-2019), regarded as one of the most influential industrial designers and concept artists of the modern age. He has been described as “the artist who illustrates the future,” and his outstanding design work, architectural drawings, and striking concept illustrations for the mid-20th century automotive, consumer electronics, and steel industries, and for some of Hollywood’s most prestigious science fiction films, have been termed “reality ahead of schedule.”

Mead’s sleek, ultramodern styling has defined a technological future that continues to influence contemporary designers and filmmakers, and this afternoon, we’ll post a gallery of some of his striking artwork, and concurrently as part of our Zoom session, offer a presentation on his visionary career, followed by a Q&A/discussion.

Corona meetings from home, Promotion, Upcoming meeting

Don’t miss our May 8th Meeting!

We have a great meeting planned!

Join us by zoom or right here on our website, May 8th at 13:00h.

First Presentation: Humour, Parodies, Puns in SFF, Joe Aspler

Space: The Final Frontier. Science fiction and fantasy have a long history of taking themselves seriously. Very seriously. All too seriously. There have been successful SF humourists of course. In recent months, I’ve talked about the fractured fantasies of Terry Pratchett and Tom Holt. However, humour in hard science fiction is rarer. A good parody is a joy to behold. There have been some good parodies …. And some not so good.IN this presentation, I’ll give some examples of humour, parodies, and puns in science fiction and fantasy. Professional warning: there is some real science and some real science jokes here as well.

Model Builders Show and Tell

MonSFFA counts among its members very enthusiastic model builders. Using Zoom, they will be showing off their creations and techniques.

Ontario class DDG HMCS James Bay DDG-285, Wayne Glover

Third Presentation: Starlost Episode Guide, Keith Braithwaite

Following on our March virtual meeting’s e-article about the creation of the ignominious, early-’70s, Canadian-made sci-fi program The Starlost, we offer a brief illustrated episode guide! Star SF writer Harlan Ellison created the series but famously walked off the show before the first episode had even aired, unhappy with budget cuts, the niggling and nonsensical changes made by producers to his pilot script, and what he characterized as the dumbing down of his concept. The resulting series was not well received and quickly tanked, earning from TV critics and fans alike an “honoured” place in the pantheon of truly bad sci-fi TV shows!

Obituary, Upcoming meeting

Meeting on the 10th of April

REMINDER:

The meeting on the 10th of April will be a celebration of life for Sylvain St-Pierre. We will begin at 1:00 on the website, http://www.monsff.ca

The Zoom session will open at 1:30. To participate, please email <president@monsffa.ca>

While we share reminisces on zoom, we will be posting re-runs of favourite presentations by Sylvain.

MEETING AGENDA

1:00PM, Post 1 of 6 (Opening)

1) With Heavy Hearts Do We Convene…

2) Today’s Meeting: In Memoriam

3) Meeting Agenda

1:30PM, Post 2 of 6 (Zoom; Hailing Frequencies Open!)

4) Zoom Session Begins (Runs Concurrently Until End of Meeting)

5) Web Site Presentation: Communication in SF&F, Parts 1 and 2

2:30PM, Post 3 of 6 (Break)

6) Mid-Meeting Break (Announcements, Zoom Continues)

3:00PM, Post 4 of 6 (For the Love of Books!)

7) Presentation: A Compendium of Unusual Books

4:00PM, Post 5 of 6 (Back-Yard Bugs Equals BEMs!)

8) Gallery: It Came From the Garden!

4:30PM, Post 6 of 6 (Closing)

9) Thank-You

10) Wish You Were Here: A Final Remembrance

Upcoming meeting

Door prizes on offer for MonSFFA meeting

Thanks to the generosity of our members, we have quite a few prizes to offer participants at our meeting on Saturday, the 13th. Depending on how many people participate, 3 or 4 names will be pulled from  a hat, and they will choose from among the following:

Click to enlarge

Next, a novel by Michael Crichton, donated by Keith Braithwaite. The USS Enterprise, model donated by Brian Knapp Romulan Bird of Prey, a model donated by Brian Knapp
Ten novelettes and short stories by various science fiction authors, together with a preface by the
editors. Condition: Good		 Grand Prix 2005 de la science-fiction et du fantastique québécois, Prix Boréal 2005, Prix 2006 des lecteurs Radio-Canada Donated by Joe Aspler, the Dr Who Official 50th
Anniversary Annual.
A set of hand crafted magic wands in the colours of Hogwarts houses, made and donated by Josée Bellemare From Cathy’s workshop, a dragon-headed letter opener, cut from padauk. DVD, Flash Gordon: A football player and his
friends find themselves fighting the tyranny of Ming the Merciless to save Earth. Stars Sam J. Jones, Melody Anderson, Max von Sydow, music by Queen. Donated by Joe Aspler