Space may be the final frontier, but we can’t go far on rocket fuel. Now, two scientists are working on a device that may one day make the “impulse engine” from Star Trek real.
Watch on Youtube:
For more info on the drive engine:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269207998_Theory_of_a_Mach_Effect_Thruster_I
Amazing prices on thousands of amazing stories by science fiction and fantasy authors from Asimov to Zelazny!
We’ve got plenty of inventory left over from past sales, plus lots of fresh stock, including items from the legacy of our late friend, collector, and club member Sylvain St-Pierre! And we’re clearing it all at our astonishingly low prices!
Piles of Paperbacks! Boxes of Books! An Astounding Assortment Available, Including…
Trade Paperbacks and Hardcovers! Anthologies and Specialty Books! Magazines and Comics! Plus DVDs! UNIMAGINABLE, UNBELIEVEABLE, UNBEATABLE BARGAINS!
Getty ImagesWhile Tolkien’s stories take place in the fictional realm of Middle-earth, the awe-inspiring landscapes of the books, films and TV shows are closer than you might imagine.
The first book in J R R Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Fellowship of the Ring, was released 70 years ago, in the summer of 1954. However, that’s not the only recent milestone for Tolkien’s legendarium: the second season of the epic TV series, The Rings of Power, was released on 29 August 2024.
As befits the ultimate epic fantasy series, the settings are gorgeous, ranging from bucolic, rolling countryside to plunging valleys and desolate deserts. And while Tolkien’s stories take place in the fictional realm of Middle-earth, the awe-inspiring landscapes of the books, films and TV shows are not as otherworldly as you might imagine. Many of them are based on real-world locations and visiting them brings to life both the landscapes themselves and the imaginary worlds they inspired Tolkien to create.
While writing The Lord of the Rings in the 1940s, Tolkien lived for a while at Stonyhurst College, a prestigious boarding school in Lancashire where his son was a teacher. The elder Tolkien was known to walk often through the woodlands and rolling hills of the surrounding Ribble Valley, and is thought to have taken inspiration from the place while creating the Shire, the rural homeland of the hobbits.
Today, fans can explore the area on the Tolkien Trail, which opened in 2002 and takes hikers through the very landscapes that inspired the author. The route starts in the village of Hurst Green at the atmospheric 17th-Century Shireburn Arms pub, where Tolkien was a regular. It then winds for around seven easy miles through undulating farmland, past the grand buildings of Stonyhurst College, and across historic landmarks like Cromwell’s Bridge, an overgrown packhorse bridge once used by Oliver Cromwell in the English Civil War.
See the rest of this story, complete with gorgeous photographs of LotR sites. https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20240917-a-tolkien-trail-where-to-find-the-real-life-middle-earth
From the N3F:
Update from Bill Burns on e-fanzines
New today at https://efanzines.com are:
Bill
5) THANK YOUWe thank club members Joe Aspler, Cathy Palmer-Lister, Mark Burakoff, and Keith Braithwaite for their contributions to this afternoon’s programming, with a nod, as well, to all of our contributing participants, and everyone who helped to plan and run this meeting. Finally, of course, we thank all of you who joined us here in person, and on ZOOM; don’t forget to comment on today’s get-together (www.MonSFFA.ca).
In place of our regular club meeting, next month, we are pleased to invite all MonSFFen, their families, friends, and the general public to the long-awaited return of our Super Sci-Fi Book Sale, on Saturday, October 19; doors open to the public from noon to 3:30PM.
Spread the word! Please let your family, friends, and neighbours know about this book sale!
Folk volunteering to help with set-up are asked to arrive early, at 10:00AM, and we thank you in advance for your help!
Thanks for taking part, today; we hope to see everyone at the book sale next month!
1) INTRODUCTIONWelcome to MonSFFA’s September 14, 2024 meeting! This afternoon’s proceedings will be getting underway shortly. We are meeting live and in person at our meeting hall in Le Nouvel Hotel, downtown! 
For those joining us online, today, see the instructions, below (at the end of this post), to join in and participate on ZOOM.
Our programming agenda begins at 1:00PM; the meeting will conclude at 5:00PM. This opening post has gone up shortly before the meeting’s start time to allow folk to gather online at their leisure.
A closing post will go up at 5:00PM to officially thank today’s presenters/discussion moderators, and to publish the date of our next event.
Today’s programming agenda is as follows:
1:00PM – Report on Worldcon 2024
MonSFFen who attended the 2024 Worldcon in Glasgow, Scotland, offer a report on the convention, sharing anecdotes and photos with the club.
2:00PM – Montreal’s Bid for Worldcon 2027!
Did you know that Montreal is bidding to host the Worldcon in 2027? We offer an update on the latest bid news.
2:15PM – Tom Swift and his Science Fiction Book Series
Originally slated for last month’s meeting but, regrettably, postponed, we are pleased to bring you, now, this primer on the numerous Tom Swift sci-fi/adventure books, published in various series from the 1910s to the present day. The adventures of the original Tom Swift and later, his descendants, introduced many a young lad to science fiction, and in its nascent years, helped to popularize the science fiction genre.
3:15PM – Break!
Raffle, announcements, brief discussion of club business.
3:30PM – What’s in a Name?— Thoughts on Naming SF&F Characters
Flash Gordon, Honor Harrington, Clark Kent, Sarah Conner, Valentine Michael Smith, Buffy Summers, Bernard Quatermass, Harley Quinn, and Darth Vader—some names simply roll off the tongue with a certain ease, a je ne sais quoi, and just sound so cool, and ideal for a given character! But why are the names of some of our favourite genre characters so much more memorable than others? Is there a psychology at play, a particular trick, method, or talent involved when naming characters? Whether writing a novel, short-story, or screenplay, how do writers come up with a memorable name that so perfectly fits their character? How does a skilled wordsmith evoke a square-jawed hero or plucky heroine, a dark, pitiless villain, or a brilliant scientist type? And what about alliteration: pro or con?
To take part in this afternoon’s meeting online, join our ZOOM video-chat, which will run throughout the next few hours. Simply click here and follow the prompts: This Afternoon’s MonSFFA 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: 834 3821 6963
Passcode: 279266
MonSFFA NEXT MEETS TOMORROW AFTERNOON, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14Meeting Theme: Cool science fiction and fantasy names! We ask MonSFFen to consider which character name from SF&F literature, or film and television strike them as classic, the most memorable, or the utmost in cool SF&F names?
1:00PM – Report on Worldcon 2024
MonSFFen who attended the 2024 Worldcon in Glasgow, Scotland, offer a report on the convention, sharing anecdotes and photos with the club.
2:00PM – Montreal’s Bid for Worldcon 2027!
Did you know that Montreal is bidding to host the Worldcon in 2027? We offer an update on the latest bid news.
2:15PM – Tom Swift and his Science Fiction Book Series
Originally slated for last month’s meeting but, regrettably, postponed, we are pleased to bring you, now, this primer on the numerous Tom Swift sci-fi/adventure books, published in various series from the 1910s to the present day. The adventures of the original Tom Swift and later, his descendants, introduced many a young lad to science fiction, and in its nascent years, helped to popularize the science fiction genre.
3:15PM – Break!
Raffle, announcements, brief discussion of club business.
3:30PM – What’s in a Name?— Thoughts on Naming SF&F Characters
Flash Gordon, Honor Harrington, Clark Kent, Sarah Conner, Valentine Michael Smith, Buffy Summers, Bernard Quatermass, Harley Quinn, and Darth Vader—some names simply roll off the tongue with a certain ease, a je ne sais quoi, and just sound so cool, and ideal for a given character! But why are the names of some of our favourite genre characters so much more memorable than others? Is there a psychology at play, a particular trick, method, or talent involved when naming characters? Whether writing a novel, short-story, or screenplay, how do writers come up with a memorable name that so perfectly fits their character? How does a skilled wordsmith evoke a square-jawed hero or plucky heroine, a dark, pitiless villain, or a brilliant scientist type? And what about alliteration: pro or con?
James Darren
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Darren
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0201626/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
Fandom will mostly remember James Darren as Vic Fontaine in DS9, but I’m just old enough to remember the teen idol of Goodbye Cruel World. I don’t remember ever seeing Gidget but certainly remember knowing about it. There was a time when there was no way to escape the beach movies.
James Earl Jones
Known to fandom as the voice of Darth Vader, James Earl Jones had a long career in movies https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000469/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
Famous for his strong authoritative voice, it’s interesting to know he took acting lessons to control his stammer.