Minutes, 9.18.02 From: Kaitlin Branson Heller Date: Thu Sep 19 2002 - 23:58:58 EDT --------------------------------------------------- "We're losing all the Vietnamese people!" - Warren We chased out the strays and found the chalk, which we proceeded to play with. Early HRSFen held inappropriate conversations. Multiple freshmen showed. Dennis wallowed in the slowly gathering glory of B5. The Sergeant at Arms opened the meeting. "Please pay attention to the nice man over here." - Ender HRSFA introduced itself to the newcomers through the mediating agents of Co-Chairs Dennis Clark and Cassia Martin. After shaking everyone's hand vigorously and offering them its business cards, HRSFA declared its interest in science fiction, fantasy, games of all kinds, fandom, cookies, weirdness, non-weirdness, Star Trek, non-Star Trek, Buffy, movies, and fun in general. Then the lights failed. "We are a crack team of military experts." - Dennis HRSFA has a number of large, pan-HRSFAn events every year, but the majority of time in the group is spent in SIGs, which are small and informal groups of people who want to do something in particular. Anything in particular, really. You can start your own SIG, and "we will be behind you 100%. Or at least 65." We also have three mailing lists: hrsfa-announce, hrsfa-discuss, and hrsfa-social. The first one is used for important business, or at least business that wears a big shiny badge and claims to be important, such as meeting announcements or invitations to large events. The second is used for more informal discussions of anything sci-fi related, and the third is a "Hey y'all! Let's go play / have dinner / see a movie tonight!" sort of list. (Usage of the word "y'all" is not required.) To get on any of these lists, go to www.hrsfa.org and follow the signup instructions. ************ BIG EVENTS ************ ++ From January 24 to January 26 of next year, the third VERICON will take place. VeriCon is our annual convention, run right here at Harvard by us and for everyone. We have panels, games like Live-Action Clue and Capture the Flag with Stuff, an animefest, and lots of Cool Guests. This convention already features Patricia C. Rede, Judd Winnick, Charles Vess, and lots of others. Rebecca is our con chair this year, and she's looking for volunteers to run the art show and various events as well as to manage our Cool Guests! Rebecca McKeown (rmckeown@fas.harvard.edu) ++ FUSION is less an event than a sandwich, and much less a sandwich than a nifty sci-fi publication. Kartik is our beloved Editor-in-Chief, and he's looking for submissions. The comp process is very simple: as he says, "Come and see me and say, 'Hey, I like science fiction' and you're in." Anything that's fit to print - short stories of all kinds, poems, comic strips - should be given to Kartik with all speed. Kartik Venkatram (venkatr@fas.harvard.edu) We tried to set up the slide projector for Mr. Marc Abrahams, editor of the Annals of Improbable Research. We tried some more. Dennis: Anybody know any knock knock jokes? Kaitlin: Knock knock! HRSFen: Who's there? Kaitlin: Cthul! Unwitting HRSFen: Cthul who? ... *GROOOOOOAN* We finally succeeded in setting up the projector. Mr. Abrahams began his presentation for the Igs. ++ The 12th First Annual IGNOBEL AWARDS will be held on Thursday, October 3, at 7:30 pm, in Sanders Theatre. The Igs, as they are affectionately known, are a joyous occasion on which Nobel laureates, college students, scientists, economists, and paper airplanes come together to blow trumpets and celebrate achievements that cannot, or should not, be reproduced. Past winners of the Igs include a study of injuries due to falling coconuts, a report on glee in the experience of preschool children, and a patent for a "circular transportation facilitation device". HRSFA gets 5 free tickets to the Igs, and more will be subsidized. Dan is our liason to the ceremony; Claudia is trying to organize a singing chorus for the stage. "1200 people throwing paper airplanes for an hour and a half is really impressive, and we hope you'll be a part of that." - Mr. Abrahams Dan Bartlett (bartlet@fas.harvard.edu) ++ In February, or some date that resembles February, we hold the MASQUERADE. Originally, this was an anti-Valentine's Day dance, but it has drifted farther and farther from that day. The music and costumes are fun and unusual. Some people show up in a t-shirt and jeans and claim to be an obscure movie character; others show up as the Princess Bride (complete with crown), in a themed group (Alice in Wonderland characters, for example), or as the X-Men character Mystique (painted solid blue). "Speaking of painting oneself blue ..." - Aaron ++ The WYLD HUNT is conducted at the full moon nearest to Hallowe'en. A volunteer freshman straps antlers on his or her head and leads the rest of us, all as scantily clad as we can bear and painted blue, screaming and howling on a hunt through the streets of Cambridge. When the stag is caught, we carry its corpse triumphantly home and eat it. ++ The MYLD HUNT takes place in the spring and is vaguely based on an English fox hunt. Arrayed in the finest apparel, we stroll leisurely after the fox through the yard, until we catch him and retire for tea and a civilized game of croquet. Dennis: All hail Kronos. HRSFen: Hail Kronos! ++ The HOURS are celebrated in honor of Kronos, the god of time. These ceremonies take place once in the fall and once in the spring, at Daylight Savings Time. To celebrate, we walk solemnly around the yard dressed in black, chanting, and carrying candles. There is no open flame in the yard, so we do not burn a clock. This clock will need a bearer. Anyone interested in being the clockbearer - and we do mean ANYONE - should talk to Kaitlin. Kaitlin Heller (kbheller@fas.harvard.edu) ++ The fall and spring PARTIES are places for general fun, games, and hanging out with HRSFen amid munchies. At the fall party, we have a SCAVENGER HUNT. Items on the list have, in the past, included peace in the middle east, a piece of the Lampoon castle, and Stephen Jay Gould. ++ The HRSFA LIBRARY is located in Pforzheimer House in the Quad. Soon we will gather around Rebecca, our beloved librarian, and clean it. You can have the combination if you buy a membership. ************ MEMBERSHIP ************ Tony Vila is selling memberships year-round for only $7. However, if you buy a membership now, you will get 0% A.P.R., pay only $5, and receive an original cast recording of Surely You're Joking, Mr. Rogers. You also get discounts, no matter when you buy the membership: - 10% off at Your Move Games - membership at Pandemonium Books for only $1, which we'll pay you back - subsidies for HRSFA events Tony Vila (avila@fas.harvard.edu) ****** SIGS ****** >>> BUFFY / ANGEL / SMALLVILLE SIG gets together to watch these shows, often when they're not even on the air. The season previews of Buffy and Smallville will be Sept. 24; Angel begins Oct. 5. Charles Woodworth (cwood@fas.harvard.edu) >>> GAMING SIG meets quite often, and is generally called by anyone who feels like playing games for whatever reason. Games include Mafia, Diplomacy, Cataan, Chez Geek, Kill Dr. Lucky, Scrabble, Clue, Dance Dance Revolution, and pretty much whatever else someone wants to try. In association with Gaming SIG, a Mage RPG will be running this semester. Contact Kaitlin if interested. Charles Woodworth (cwood@fas.harvard.edu) Tony Vila (avila@fas.harvard.edu) >>> WRITER'S SIG is for anyone who wants to try their hand at writing or to work with others on their stories. Attendees typically meet over a meal and bring their work, which everyone discusses as helpfully as possible. Kartik Venkatram (venkatr@fas.harvard.edu) >>> READER'S SIG is a reading group. Interested parties decide on a story or short book to read and then converge to discuss it. Material can be just about anything. Dennis Clark (dclark@fas.harvard.edu) Kowarsky stood up. "We are NOT Enterprise SIG. We are NOT Star Trek SIGlet. We are NOT Star Trek Siggy Thingy. There are some people who think it's okay to forget where you came from. ... With the help of Paramount, Star Trek SIG will rise to its former glory." >>> STAR TREK SIG would have met at 8 o'clock, but X-Men prevailed. The episode will be shown again on Saturday, at which time it will be taped for later watching. This SIG does in fact watch Enterprise, but it has secret plans for the rebirth of Next Generation. David Kowarsky (kowarsky@fas.harvard.edu) Dennis blinked. "Now, for those of you who hate Star Trek, back when it was the dawn of the third age of mankind ..." >>> BABYLON 5 SIG is only pretending to be a SIG. Nevertheless, it will convene on Monday nights this year to watch all of B5. Allllllll of B5. Dennis Clark (dclark@fas.harvard.edu) >>> Jason returned from the depths to resurrect MST3K SIG, whose future had been in doubt. Last year we ripped Dungeons & Dragons (the movie) to shreds, and the year before we terrorized The Fantastic Four (never actually released!). This year we will find still greater fodder for our rapier-like wit. Jason Morrow (jmorrow@fas.harvard.edu) >>> COOL MOVIE *IG is the people's SIG, and it likes Cool Movies. This is a loosely defined term, which has applied to Hong Kong action films, Tron, Run Lola Run, and classics like The Usual Suspects. If you want to watch a movie - even an obscure one - tell Dev and Starr, and they might just be able to get it. Dev Purkayastha (purkayas@fas.harvard.edu) Rebecca Starr (starr@fas.harvard.edu) >>> BIZARRENESS SIG. Do you like to play hide and seek in Widener Stacks? Do you fish for squirrels in Harvard Yard, or hold a telepathy table to make all those French students jealous? Or do you just sit in your room and read H. P. Lovecraft? Warren: Pssst! Kaitlin! Who runs Stating the Obvious SIG? Kaitlin: Tse Wei. Warren: He's not here. Kaitlin: No, he's not. Warren: Stating the Obvious SIG would like to point out that it exists. >>> BBC SIG meets infrequently. Claudia would like to offer her giant library of tapes to anyone who wants to borrow them, in the hopes that this SIG may live on. Her collection includes Red Dwarf, Dr. Who, The Prisoner, The Avengers, and billions of others. Claudia (padme@bantha.org) HRSFen: (mumble mumble mumble.) Kaitlin: What about Milk & Cookies? Dennis: That's MINE, and that's NEXT! >>> MILK AND COOKIES SIG usually meets of a Saturday night around a fireplace in a room with big comfy chairs and couches. We bring stuffed animals and sometimes wear pajamas. We then read short stories or selections from books to one another as we eat milk and drink cookies. "Wait. Strike that. Reverse it." Dennis Clark (dclark@fas.harvard.edu) >>> MUNCHIES SIG was imminent. The meeting broke up in chaos and confusion as the lounge was invaded. The Sergeant at Arms closed the meeting. "We're going that way." - Ender We adjourned to the Claverly JCR to devour munchies and watch X-Men. Recorded September 19, 2002. Kaitlin Heller Infernal Secretary _______________________________________________ hrsfa-announce mailing list hrsfa-announce@hcs.harvard.edu http://lists.hcs.harvard.edu/mailman/listinfo/hrsfa-announce