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The WSFA Journal August/September 2007
Adrienne Ertman, Editor Official newsletter of the Washington Science Fiction Association Comments? Contributions? Contact ! Contents July First Friday Minutes (Adrienne Ertman, Secretary)July Third Friday Minutes (Adrienne Ertman, Secretary) August First Friday Minutes (Adrienne Ertman, Secretary) August Third Friday Minutes (Adrienne Ertman, Secretary) WSFA July 1st Friday Minutes Meeting called to order at 9:16 pm. Three short of quorum, so no votes/ official business. Minutes read. Treasurer's report: $12, 415.14 in account, $15, 802.06 in CDs; statement should be in soon, so CDs should be higher soon. Capclave Present: After 25 calls to three numbers, Bill talked to a hotel rep! Codes aren't being handed out (the hotel is still in franchise transition); they say "we don't know" about setting up a special website. People should call their reservations in and say they're with Capclave to get the con rate. Secretary needs to talk to webmasters about website? Barry says we have 100 members! Cathy is contacting possible program participants, and encourages WSFA members to contribute panel suggestions. It's your con too! Capclave Future: no report. Capclave Far Future: Turtledove will be at the Library of Congress book fair. Datclave: Bob says, "nothing yet"; Bob, Mike and Bill need to "do some exploring" – information possibly by Labor Day. Entertivities: Beauty and the Geek jokes are made at the Entertivities chair's expense. Publications: Adrienne announced the deadline for the WSFA Journal; reminder that it's the club's journal. No news from the webmasters or Future Washington. Rules has no news. Awards: GO VOTE! Voting closes at the end of the month. The Committee to Actually Discuss Science Fiction plans to discuss the July Asimov's after the meeting. Lee Strong reports that the trustees committee is napping until next Spring. Old Business: only incorporation. New Business: A question was raised for consideration: will WSFA be meeting at Nippon? No new people. Announcements – Barry reports that Capclve memberships are available for $50. Chuck Devine has two pieces showing at the Maryland Federation of Art gallery on State Circle in Annapolis. There will be a reception on Sunday, July 15th from 3 to 5 PM. Lee Strong says that any covered wagons on the roads are probably his agency moving to Illinois (Lee does not plan to move with them). Additionally, his spellchecker corrects the agency's acronym to HOSED, and finally, his cataracts surgery will be on the 17th and 30th of July, "all the better to see you". "Lee One-Eye" jokes and fantasy puns ensue. Meeting unanimously adjourned at 9:40 PM. Attendees: Charles Divine, Adrienne Ertman, Cathy Green, Jack Henegan, Bill Lawhorn, Brian Lewis, Bob MacIntosh, Walter Miles, Sarah Mitchell, Barry Newton, Judy Newton, Elaine Normandy, George Shaner, Lee Strong, Ivy Yap, Madeleine Yeh. WSFA Third Friday minutes, July 20, 2007 Meeting called to order at 9:15 PM. Treasurer's report: $12,415.04 in checking account. Capclave Present: Colleen reported that Capclave attendees phoning the hotel to reserve a room do not need a code, but do need to mention they're attending Capclave. Cathy asked members to give her any ideas for programming they would like to see. Membership numbers could be higher; encourage your friends to buy memberships early and often. Capclave Future: No news. Capclave Far Future: No news. Entertivies: Several people planned to pick up Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows after the meeting: Brian Lewis at the Fair Oaks B&N, Drew and Cat Bittner at the Arlington Borders. Publications: The Journal is always hiring. The current location of the paper archives of the Journal were discussed. Webmasters are dealing with the Nippon '07 website, and will focus their attentions on long-term WSFA website redesign plans once the bulk of the Worldcon work has been completed. Colleen and others suggested that the redesign improve the calendar of events and remove frames from the website. The webmasters are actively soliciting design suggestions and artwork (such as logos) for the website from WSFA members. Club support always appreciated! Gayle and Paul reminded the meeting they can be reached at , but a "good" subject line must be used to get past their spam filters. (Hint: "hi" is not a good subject line.) Future Washington: waiting for news from Mike Walsh. Rules Committee: updates aren't on website yet because, claims Webmaster, "Nippon is eating my brain." Our sympathies. Awards Committee: Only five members had voted by July 20th. In light of this, Paul Haggerty made a motion to move the voting deadline from August 1st to August 19th, the Sunday following August Third Friday. Sam Scheiner suggested that the original deadline had been set by the awards administrator, so the administrator should be responsible for moving or not moving the deadline during discussion; this was considered an unfriendly amendment and was not added to the original motion. The club voted in favor of Paul's original motion with many ayes, two nays, and three abstentions. The Committee to Actually Discuss Science Fiction: in Bill's absence, it was decided that the small press nominees would be discussed after the business meeting. Trustees: No report. Old business: the club is still trying to reach John Pomerantz to discuss the incorporation issue. New business: no new business. Two new faces: David Salisbury and Alex Slate (his second meeting) Announcements - Judy and Sam Scheiner shared their adventures in Australia, where Judy broke her foot on a trek to Ayres Rock, curtailing their itinerary; jokes about "tripping over a koala" ensued. Judy and Sam give props to the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia, which airlifted Judy to the Alice Springs Hospital. Despite this, they had a great time during their four weeks in Australia, adding, "kangaroo meat is really tasty." Paul Haggerty reminded members to read and vote on the WSFA Small Press Award-nominated stories. They are available at http://wsfasmallpressaward.org/ . If you are having difficulty accessing the stories, contact . Drew and Cat Bittner report that the San Diego Comic-Con will be a business expense this year. Colleen Cahill announced : On July 25, 2007, 12:10 pm * Mary Pickford Theater: the LCPA What If ... Science Fiction & Fantasy Forum and the Motion Picture, Broadcasting, & Recorded Sound Division present To the Mysteries of India, Tibet, and Beyond: The Worlds of Talbot Mundy. A presentation by Brian Taves. Author, Talbot Mundy: Philosopher of Adventure, Editor, Winds From the East: An Anthology of Stories, Articles, and Poems by Talbot Mundy. A book signing will follow and copies will be available for purchase. In 1895, 16-year-old Talbot Mundy fled the Victorian upbringing of his native England for a life of adventure. He crossed the entire northern frontier of India, into Tibet, spent four years in Africa, and traveled the Middle East in the wake of World War I. Colonial odysseys of the time led most writers to echo Rudyard Kipling's support of British imperialism, Sax Rohmer's "yellow peril," or Joseph Conrad' bleak "heart of darkness." Not Mundy. His fantasy-adventure books challenged assumptions of Western cultural superiority in favor of Eastern religious teaching and feminism. His ground-breaking fiction in the 1910s through the 1930s was influential in his own time and is still widely read. An excerpt from the 1953 movie, KING OF THE KHYBER RIFLES, adapted from one of Mundy's best-known novels, will be included in the presentation. Future Programs: September 6th, 2007: 12:10pm-1:00pm Dining Room A, Madison Building. Dr. Michael K. Brett-Surman. Palobiologist at the Smithsonian Institution. Title to be announced. Please send any questions to . Lee Strong reports on cataract surgery for his right eye. Now that he has glass in his eye, is Lee a cyborg? Elizabeth Twitchell solicited advice about going to Star Trek: the Experience or Star Trek: the gift shop on her upcoming trip to Las Vegas. Mike Walsh commented on the July 7th Nature, which celebrated the 50th anniversary of the "many worlds" theory. Mike Bartman reported that the Brazilian space program launched a missile intended for use in microgravity experiments. Barry reported on recent news of formaldehyde-contaminated FEMA trailers. Meeting unanimously adjourned at 10:01 PM. WSFA First Friday minutes, August 3, 2007 Meeting called to order at 9:21 PM. Minutes read. No treasurer's report. Capclave present reported that con members can now book hotel rooms through the website, but there may be an issue with adding Thursday or Monday room nights to your booking; see Colleen Cahill if you want to do this. We really need members, so tell all your friends! "Flyer special" $40 rate through Worldcon. Cathy Green still wanted program ideas; her goal was to email participants around mid-August with panel ideas. We had about 40 participants as of August 3rd. Hotel construction should be done by the end of August; the hotel encouraged a walk-though at that time. No Capclave future report. Capclave far future reported that Far Future Guest of Honor Harry Turtledove will be at the Library of Congress book festival and asked if WSFA is interested in taking our future Guest of Honor out to dinner that evening? It was suggested that the club provide transportation and pay for Turtledove and a guest. It was also suggested that Terry Pratchett and any other science fiction/fantasy authors who the club is aware will be at the book festival be invited. Datclave planned to take an August 25th road trip to check out hotels. Entertivities was getting back into things after the Entertivities Chair's recent absence. Publications reminded people that the WSFA journal is always accepting member contributions at . Website was looking into WordPress software for future club site upgrades. Future Washington sold about $230 worth of books in calendar 2006, so members were encouraged to go to Amazon.com and review the book. More publicity is good! By attracting attention, we move stock and come closer to our goal of selling copies! Mike Walsh emailed after the meeting to add, "FUTURE WASHINGTON, cloth ed = 153 sold::ppb = 483 sold. Note: these are computer figures not the result of a physical count." Rules committee announces that Sam has put the rules into PDF format and posted them to wsfa-forum on yahoogroups, and asks about the incorporation issue (which is still unresolved). Small Press Award committee contributed a report from their 3 August 2007 meeting, reproduced here: During the 3rd Friday Meeting in July an extension on the deadline for the WSFA Small Press Award was proposed, debated, and accepted. The new deadline is now August 19th. The purpose of this extension was to give WSFAns sufficient time to read, discuss, and cast their ballots. The WSPA committee then met after the WSFA business meeting. Items discussed:
Of further interest, as of today, To be specific: Cathy Green has made the offer that should 60% of the club's membership take part by reading the stories and casting their ballots, she will bake a chocolate cheesecake, which will be brought to the Sept. 7th (1st Friday) Meeting. If 75% of the membership participates, she will make both chocolate cheesecake and homemade fudge. If the near impossible happens and 100% of the club participates, the fudge will be individually packaged. These levels represent 24, 30, and 40 members respectively A mass e-mailing was sent out over the last two days giving each paid-up member of WSFA their username, password, and complete instructions on how to participate. If you did not receive your email, please see Paul after the meeting to check on the correctness of the email address we have on file. If your contact information is out of date, please give your current info to Colleen Cahill. Please read and vote! The Committee to Actually Discuss Science Fiction planned to discuss the Small Press Award nominees after the meeting, and announced plans to discuss Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at Third Friday. The Trustees had no announcements. In old business, the President is still trying to get in touch with Jon Pomerantz to resolve the incorporation question. In new business, Bill Lawhorn asked as a point of information whether the entertainment and activities committee could be formally renamed "Entertivities". This would take amending the bylaws, which starts with a 15 member petition submitted at a regular meeting. (See Article IX of the WSFA constitution for details) New people: WSFA welcomed Sandra Marshall to her first meeting. Announcements: Elizabeth Twitchell asks about things to see in Chicago during a work trip. Colleen Cahill announced that she'll be Terry Pratchett's
escort at the Library of Congress book fair. Also, if anyone knows of
award-winning black SF/F authors, please see Colleen. Colleen also promoted the
LCPA What IF... Science Fiction & Fantasy Forum presentation of Dinosaurs:
Fact versus Fiction by Dr. Michael Brett-Surman Lee Strong liked Harry Turtledove's latest alternate history Settling Accounts: In at the Death. The Confederate States is the first North American power to build a "superbomb" and nukes Philadelphia in the alternate World War II. No one notices the difference. Lee's agency is moving west more and more rapidly. The headquarters will officially move to Illinois on 14 August 2007. Stripping equipment out of the Alexandria offices to furnish the new offices gives the old place a rather barren look. Lee's eye surgery was successful and he no longer has to wear glasses for distance vision. He does wear reading glasses for books and computer work. Mike Walsh announced that WorldCon 2009 electronic balloting may be over, but paper ballots can still be hand-delivered to WorldCon 2007. Also, Howard Waldrop is blogging: he writes an entry on typewriter, which is transcribed to the website. Paul Haggerty announces that the Nippon 2007 site is a scifi.com site of the week. Meeting unanimously adjourned at 10:06 PM. Attendees: Colleen Cahill, Gayle Dixon, Adrienne Ertman, Will Frank, Cathy Green, Paul Haggerty, Bill Lawhorn, Brian Lewis, Sam Lubell, Sandra Marshall, Sarah Mitchell, Barry Newton, Judy Newton, Rebecca C. Prather, Judy Scheiner, Sam Scheiner, George Shaner, Alexander Slate, Steve Smith, Lee Strong, Gayle Surrette, Elizabeth Twitchell, Mike Walsh, Ivy Yap. WSFA Third Friday minutes, August 18, 2007 Meeting called to order at 9:20 PM. Minutes reading waived by many ayes and three nays. Treasurer's report: $12,445.14 in checking, plus $15,802 in CDs. Capclave Present announced plans an August 31st hotel walkthough. Programming was on schedule, and expected to have a schedule by mid-September. Programming will be held in two small rooms and one large room; one of the small rooms will be used for workshops, the other for programming. The large room will be used for panels likely to be very popular. Since both Guests of Honor are World Fantasy Award nominees this year, it was suggested we do something to honor them. Capclave Future had no news. Capclave Far Future said that Harry Turtledove was interested in doing dinner after the Library of Congress book fair (see August 3 notes); Terry Pratchett had also been invited. The Datclave road trip for August 25th is on. Entertivities had nothing at the moment; other club members mentioned a William Gibson signing at the Bailey's Crossroads Border's Books, recommended the movie Stardust, and mentioned possible movie remakes, including Revenge of the Nerds. In casting news, Zachary Quino (Sylar on Heroes) has been cast as a young Spock in the upcoming Star Trek prequel movie. Sam Lubell would like pictures from the May Reiters event if people have them. Publications: No news. Rules: Chair Lee Strong declared that the job of the Rules Committee was complete and moved that the committee be dissolved. Bill Lawhorn objected to dissolution because he liked to hear Lee talk. Lee rebutted that he could talk on other subjects. The motion was seconded and passed. Will Frank proposed a vote of thanks to the Rules Committee for their work; this passed with many yeas and one abstention. Mike Walsh jokes, "no more rules, man!" Small Press Award: Voting ends August 21st. Members were encouraged to vote, because Cathy Green has incentives. One member observed that 50% participation would beat participation in recent Presidential elections. The Committee to Actually Discuss Science Fiction planned to discuss Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in its entirety after the meeting. Trustees had no news. Old business: only incorporation. No new business. New people: WSFA welcomed new faces Chistopher Gildemeister, Sander Olsen, and Stewart Siaet. Announcements: Hostess Candy Madigan introduced her new-to-WSFA dog Henrietta the Chicken-Killer. Eva Whitley announced that former WSFAn Dave Chalker wrote (& did a number of other tasks, just check the credits) "Failure in F Minor" (a 48 Hour Film Project) available for view at www.youtube.com/davethegame, and did a new game that has just been published: GET BIT: "Our Origins Game Expo debut game, where you race against your friends to stay away from the mouth of a shark!" (buy it here: http://www.robotmartini.com/store/viewgame/21). Paul Haggerty announced a brief Small Press Award Meeting after the business meeting. Drew and Cat Bittner went to Comic-Con; Drew said that the episode of Pushing Daises he saw looks great, and that he had a great time at the Cartoon Voices panel. Cat got James Hahn's autograph! Will Frank encouraged WSFAns to check out the new season of Beauty and the Geek. The season begins on September 18th at 8 PM on the CW. Elizabeth Twitchell went to the ASAE convention in Chicago and really liked the city, which is good, since she'll be moving there in February. Mike Walsh will be at the the Bailey's Crossroads William Gibson signing Saturday August 19th and mentions that WSFA member Earnest Lilley looks like Gibson. Meeting unanimously adjourned at 9:55 PM. Attendees: Mike Bartman, Drew Bittner, Steven Chalker, Adrienne Ertman, Will Frank, Christopher Gildemeister, Erica Ginter, Cathy Green, Paul Haggerty, Bill Lawhorn, Ernest Lilley, Sam Lubell, Bob MacIntosh, Sarah Mitchell, Sander Olson, Steve Smith, Stewart Siaet, Lee Strong, Gayle Surrette, Elizabeth Twitchell, Mike Walsh, Eva Whitley, Ivy Yap, Madeleine Yeh. |