Minutes, 1997-12-07
Recorded by Eli Bohmer Lebow
Sent to hrsfa-announce Fri, 12 Dec 1997 21:42
[see also the supplement]

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Minutes, HRSFA general meeting
1997-12-07 18:07; Julian day 2 450 790.5
Sever 110
Reference edition
Recorded by Eli Bohmer Lebow

The room reservation certificate proved useful in booting out an Ec (or
something) section.

The abolition of 7pm SIG is contemplated, but they don't exist, so it's
not necessary.

We need to be planning for the Alumni 10th anniversary Party in February.
Claudia (i think) is talking to alums about this.

Aaron volunteers to be a member of the committee that organizes the alumni
party.  He then tries to resign.  Kyle and i overturn his resignation. 

"Fuck Kyle" PSIG is founded.

The book list (Ciaraldi/Arisia) is nearly complete.  Igor's not here to
tell us more.

Kyle talked to Ty, who would probably be able to tell us how much the
donation is worth.  Kyle continues, "If Arisia ever establishes contact
with the outside world" (here he is interupted by laughter from Kelly,
a sad, hollow, cold laughter) "we'll know what's going on."  Kyle will
email Ciaraldi about his Ramada receipt.

HRSFA's website: Of the three possibilities Brooke has made (yay Brooke!),
#1 is right out.  There is no clear preference between #2 and #3.  (Both
can be made Lynx-accessible.)  HRSFA loves Brooke for her efforts. 

We decide to have a list of "Books you should not die without reading",
and a list of "Books you should definitely die without reading".  Kyle
volunteers to work on the latter.  Email him  if you have
suggestions for books (i.e. sci-fi and fantasy books) that should go on
the list.  Also email him if you don't have access to "The Eye of Argon",
one of the worst science fiction stories ever written (possibly the
worst); it is so bad that is is funny.

Chris Hall is not here.  Brooke needs to buy a membership.  Kyle and
others take her eight dollars and promise to get a card for her, using
whatever means necessary to induce Chris to give her one . 
(Actually they were more specific about what forms of violence they would
use but i forgot to write them down.)

Apparently the website (on the HRSFA account) has somewhere in it the
combination to our library.  [It has since been removed, or rather, found
not to have existed.  So rest reassured.]

If you want to submit file for HRSFA's ftp site, please do.

FUSION:  will happen, probably in February.  Arisia is the same as always,
incompetent and incommunicado.  Fusion may use the OFA money.  Kelly will
send the check to the UC soon.  Art is coming.  There will be a meeting of
Fusion; email Kelly  if you want to suggest a particular time
for the meeting.  Aaron suggests that if we're poor, especially if we go
into the red, we could get a UC grant.  He suggests in particular giving
him all our money temporarily so that we'll be in the red, we get some UC
money, he gives our money back.  This proposal is thoroughly scoffed at.
But we decide to look into the possibility of getting UC money without
trusting Aaron that much.

The first meeting after InterSession is the nominations meeting.  Nominate
yourself or anyone else for any office by emailing Kyle, or by nominating
them at the meeting.  [It occurs to me that some of you were not on
the mailing list last year for various reasons, and may not quite
understand why various people stand up and do things at meetings (i
cartainly didn't understand this, when i was a freshman), and would
benefit from a list.  So:
	Co-chair Susan Marie Groppi
	Co-chair Kyle Niedzwiecki
	Treasurer Chris Hall
	Editor-in-Chief Kelly Stage
	External Secretary Aaron Landry
	Internal Secretary Eli Bohmer Lebow
Kyle will send out fuller explanations of the roles of these officers.
There are also some offices not explicitly mentioned in our constitution:
	Puppet dicator: Chase Tingley.
	Muppet Dictator: Yoda.
	Scapegoat: Igor Teper.
	Mascot:  The all-female, formerly bitty, orange fish.
	Sgt.-at-Arms: Matt Ender.  (Not an elected position.)
	Minister of Love: Lori Ricard.  (Not an elected position.)(The
Minister of Love also appoints all members of the Ministry of Love, but i
don't have the list.)
	Minister of Death: Eliot Marks.]
Proxy nominations (i.e., nominations by emailing Kyle) are anonymous so
have no shame in nominating yourself.  Nominations must be in one week
before the elections meeting, which is the meeting after the nominations
meeting.  We decide that the nominations meeting (which, by the way, is
the _next_ meeting since there are no meetings in reading, exam, or
intersession periods) will be the first Sunday after intersession.  [This
turns out to be February 1.  While i'm at it, i'll include the relevant
aspects of Harvard's calendar:
	December 17 (Wednesday) -- January 1 (Thursday), Christmas break.
	January 2 (Friday)(ha!) -- January 13 (Tuesday), Reading perdiod.
	January 14 (Wednesday) -- January 23 (Friday), Exam period.
	January 19 (Monday), Dr. King day, University holiday.
	January 24 (Saturday) -- January 27 (Tuesday), Intersession,
although the Handbook for Students doesn't actually _say_ that.
	January 28 (Wednesday) -- Registration for continuing
undergraduates.  First meeting of Spring classes.
	February 1 (Sunday) -- HRSFA nominations meeting.
	February 4 (Wednesday) -- Study cards due.
	February 8 (Sunday) -- Deadline for proxy nominations.
	February 15 (Sunday) -- HRSFA elections meeting.]

MIT Writers series: Ellen Kushner and Somone Nameless talked.  Rory didn't
go, we don't think anyone went.

Jason saw Anime over Thanksgiving.

SIGs:--

* Star Trek met.  Who went?  No one we know of.

* Writers' SIG hear a story by Igor.  It was good.  They plan to meet this
Thursday. [I assume this has already happened.  The minutes are later than
usual.]

* Bizarreness: If you see a Python, contact Matt Ender.  It's lost/

* PSIG: Saw Desperado.  The Infidels, the rivals of their slot, plan to
make a habit of meeting in PSIG's slot.  Chris may or may not get in
touch with them to talk about this.

* X-files meeting tonight.  ["Tonight" meaning the night of the meeting.]
X-files will be meeting officially, in that they are now an official SIG.

* Anime SIG exists, but it doesn't do anything.  We count the members,
there are more than five, so Anime still officially exists.  Jason Morrow
is appointed leader.

* Tom Lotze becomes leader of Bizarreness while Matt Ender is briefly
dead.

* The Minister of Love is still Lori Ricard.

* Siswai'aman (also called Gaming SIG):

Kyle finally, reluctantly, gives the floor to Aaron for the Siswai'aman. 
Aaron delegates to Kyle the task of describing Ravenloft. Ravenloft met. 
Aaron is dead.  Kyle escaped from the plant people, and picked up a (new)
nocromancer, an NPC.  They went to a cave.  Had a nap, if i read my
handwriting correctly.  One of them became a plant-man.  Some Boiling Oil
is there, with their name on it. 


Aaron delegates to Kyle the task of describing Lords of Chaos. Unhappy
with Kyle's performance, Aaron reasigns the task to Matt Ender.  What
follows is a mix of both.  Angers-og-Beanacht, or some squiggles in my
notes, is Kyle's new character. Kyle can't do an Irish accent, so the
character has a Cockney accent.  People are hailing Kyle et al as the
Lords of Chaos.  Bear Tabraga. 

Talismans of Power: We don't think it's met.

Vampires in Jerusalem: Chris Hall is hosed.  Steve Wallweave disappeared.
Matt Ender is leaving the city.

Champions: No activity.

Game-A-Thon: Will be in intersession.  Last year, it was 24 hours a day.
Some people slept (even while gaming).  This year it will be only 20 hours
a day, but it will run 4 days straight.  If you want to run a game (RPG or
other), contact Aaron .  Aaron lists lots of particular games
that are running.  Matt Ender is mad about when Intersession is since he
is likely to be in Florida at the time.  Aaron and Matt debate the merits
of Florida.  Aaron proposes holding GAT in Florida.  Kyle finds this
so funny, he slips on the lightswitch and turns off the lights.

* Robert Jordan SIG: I have nothing to say about this pathetic excuse for
a SIG.  Well, it was mentioned at the meeting.  It has never been a real
SIG. 

* Elvish Orthography is now an official SIG, with 8 members, of which i
have a list if anyone needs it.  Aaron is "leader in absentia".

* Kick-ass SIG kicked ass.  Or so i am told.

[While we're on the subject of SIG officialness, the following SIGs have
had their members counted and are definitely officially existing SIGs:
Anime, Babylon 5, BBC, Comics, Unofficial Cool Movie PSIG, Elvish
Orthography, Ig Nobels, Milk & Cookies, Siswai'aman, Star Trek, Writers',
and X-files.  Magic: The Gathering is (i insist) technically a subSIG of
the Siswai'aman.  Robert Jordan, Fuck Kyle, Kill Kyle, Kill Shane, and
Kick Ass SIGs definitely don't exist.  Other SIGs or potential SIGs,
including Apathy, Bizarreness, Hercules/Xena, Mentos PSIG, Munchies,
MST3K, and Typesetting Quality have not had their members counted.  I
think i can say that H/X and TQ have not had an Official Count of eight
members and thus do not exist officially, but the rest of the
questionable SIGs predate my term as Internal Secretary and may well have 
had eight members at one point and five members at all times in between,
for all i know.  If anyone rounds up 5 paid members for the murky SIGs or 
8 for the nonexistent ones and sends me the list i will happily declare
the SIG in question to be officially extant.]

Meeting ended munchiless at 18:56.