For those participating on ZOOM, today, we open the floor to any club members who have “fancraft” projects to showcase—sci-fi scale models, SF/F woodworking or needlecraft, whatever genre-themed, hands-on project it may be that you are working on at present, or have recently completed. Share your fancrafting experience with the group!
Those not equipped to join our ZOOM chat for the show-and-tell may contribute by using this post’s “Leave a Comment” feature to type in a quick description of any such project on which they are currently working or have recently completed.
7) ZDENEK BURIAN’S 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA ILLUSTRATIONS
Keith Braithwaite is on vacation this week, but offers the following discovery, which may be of interest to this group; Keith writes:
While combing the Web for paleontological art some years ago for a presentation I was preparing, I came across a series of beautifully rendered monotone illustrations by artist Zdeněk Burian, produced for an illustrated Czech edition of Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
Burian (1905-1981) was an influential paleoartist whose dynamic canvases depicting prehistoric life set the template during the mid-20th century for the reconstruction of dinosaurs. His work, portraying the ancient beasts as active animals, anticipated and later embraced the Dinosaur Renaissance before the thinking of scientists like Robert Bakker became widely accepted.
Applauded worldwide for his paleoart, Burian’s paintings graced several books on prehistoric life published in the 1960s and 1970s. My high school’s library stocked a couple of these, and that’s how I became aware of his work. But as I discovered decades later, he was also a prolific book illustrator, turning out hundreds of illustrations for Czech editions of adventure novels by such renowned authors as Rudyard Kipling, James Fenimore Cooper, Jack London, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Edgar Rice Burroughs. But he most enjoyed illustrating Jules Verne.
His non-paleontological illustration work is not well known outside of his native Czechoslovakia (today, the Czech Republic and Slovakia). It should be!
Strikingly dramatic, painterly, and deftly crafted, the work that most captured my attention, of course, was produced for 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and absolutely deserves to be seen by a wider audience. So, this is my small way of doing just that, showing and telling all of you about Burian’s extraordinary illustrations of the Verne classic. (Click on an illustration to enlarge the image.)
We welcome, now, for a ZOOM chat our special guest, Olivia Atwater, who will speak on “Fantasy as Satire.” Olivia sent us this brief note:
Biography: Olivia Atwater writes whimsical historical fantasy with a hint of satire. She lives in Montreal, Quebec with her fantastic, prose-inspiring husband and her two cats. When she told her second-grade history teacher that she wanted to work with history someday, she is fairly certain this isn’t what either party had in mind. She has been, at various times, a historical re-enactor, a professional witch at a metaphysical supply store, a web developer, and a vending machine repairperson.
Fantasy as Satire: Though you can write a satire in just about any genre, fantasy lends itself particularly well to the idea for reasons both structural and psychological. Olivia Atwater discusses a few well-known examples of satire within the fantasy genre, and elaborates on why they succeed so well at their aims.
Across the width of the country, Canada is experiencing an unprecedented wildfire season, with over 400 forest fires burning, about half of these vast and out of control. Firefighters are overwhelmed in the face of this scorching onslaught. Canadian crews have been augmented by teams and equipment from the U.S., France, Spain, and countries as far away as South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
The season started earlier than usual this year, and with a hot, dry summer forecast, in almost every province and territory, fires may well burn for weeks to come, and perhaps longer. Predictions are that this wildfire season could extend through July and August!
Some 3.5 million hectares of Canadian forest has already been reduced to ashes, roughly 13 times more than the typical ten-year average, as communities in the path of monstrous columns of advancing flame were evacuated. Homes have been destroyed, thousands of people displaced, and a pall of acrid smoke and haze descended upon Canadian cities and towns at various times these past couple weeks, drifting south, as well, to blanket the American Northeast. People were advised to avoid strenuous activity outdoors, such was the elevated degree of smoke in the air. About ten days ago, New York City recorded the worst air quality levels in the world! Rain and shifting winds seem to have since mitigated the worst of what was playing out as a truly apocalyptic scenario one might expect only in an over-the-top science fiction/disaster movie.
This view is not of the John Carter Bridge in Barsoom City! This is the 59th Street Bridge and Roosevelt Island Aerial Tramway in New York City, about ten days ago!
Climate change, the science tells us, is at the heart of the extreme weather and environmental conditions—storms, flooding, heat waves, drought—that we are likely to experience regularly in the years to come. But in a more direct way, we are to be held responsible, at least with regard to these forest fires; most were ignited by the carelessness of people—a casually tossed cigarette butt, improperly extinguished campfire, etc.
Meanwhile, in another sign of an impending Armageddon, authorities are warning Quebecers to remain on guard for rabid racoons migrating across the border from Vermont! Steer well clear of any unusually aggressive racoons you may encounter on the hiking trail or in your backyards, wildlife experts advise.
This afternoon, we welcome a special guest speaker on the topic of “Fantasy as Satire,” and recall some of the voyages of the Enterprise. We’ve also prepared for you a sci-fi trivia quiz (below).
All of this and more is on the agenda today! And so, let us begin…
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: 851 4737 3414
Passcode: 246023
3) MEETING AGENDA
Here is the agenda for this afternoon’s get-together:
As always, all scheduled programming is subject to change.
4) TWO-FOUR SCI-FI TRIVIA QUIZ
Those long, languid days of summer have arrived, and again do we enjoy an afternoon poolside, or better, a day at the beach, where we can dive into a good beach read. We relish farmer’s markets, an outdoor concert on a warm evening, vibrant neighbourhood street festivals, and of course, a cold one quaffed with friends on a downtown terrace. “Summertime,” as the song evokes, “and the livin’ is easy…”
With that vibe in mind, we offer this afternoon a little light entertainment in the form of a trivia challenge. Our Two-Four Sci-Fi Quiz is so named in honour of that penultimate Canadian backyard barbecue refreshment, a case of two-four!
Your challenge is to correctly answer all 24 of the following SF/F-related questions? Good luck, and, of course, play fair; no resorting to Google or another search engine for the answers! You can ask a friend for help, however, as long as your friend’s name isn’t Siri or Alexa!
1) Fill in the blank! These SF/F titles are missing a single word: The ______ Tree; Haunted______; Dinosaur ______; and Without a ______. What is that missing word?
2) First seen in the opening minutes of Star Wars (1977), what is the name of this CR90 corvette, employed as an Alderaanian diplomatic cruiser and rebel blockade runner?
3) Which of these characters does not belong? A) Jaime Reyes, B) Samuel “Sam” Guthrie, C) Dan Garrett, D) Theodore “Ted” Kord
4) Most Worldcons have been held in the U.S.; how many have been held outside of the United States?
5) Who played youngster David MacLean in the original Invaders From Mars (1953), in which the vanguard of a Martian invasion force lands in the boy’s hometown?
6) The novels Omnivore (1968), Orn (1970), and OX (1976) constitute which SF trilogy?
7) What is the title of the fifth Indiana Jones movie, scheduled to premiere later this month, on the 30th?
8) “They Were Looking For Chicks…To Go All The Way!”—the marketing campaign of which sci-fi movie employed this tag line? A) Teenagers from Outer Space (1959), B) Mars Needs Women (1968), C) Earth Girls Are Easy (1988), D) Invasion of the Saucer-Men (1957)
9) How many Worldcons has Canada hosted?
10) The Humanx Commonwealth, an organization similar to Star Trek’s Federation of Planets, is featured in the science fiction stories of which writer?
11) What two sentient species jointly administer the Humanx Commonwealth?
12) Which of these men develops psychohistory, a fictional algorithmic science that allows general predictions to be made of the future in Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series? A) Harrison Bergeron, B) Harry Harrison, C) Harry Mudd, D) Hari Seldon
13) Who played Camie Loneozner in the original Star Wars (1977), only to see her scenes excised from the final cut?
14) Match the robots (left column) with the science fiction titles in which they appear (right column).
15) Who played astronomer Dr. Stuart Kelston in the original Invaders From Mars (1953)?
16) The protagonists of the science fiction novel Icerigger (1974) crash-land on what frozen world?
17) “Derelict of Space” (1939), “Meteor” (1941), “Tyrant and Slave-Girl on Planet Venus” (1951), and “The Red Stuff” (1951)—who wrote these science fiction short stories?
18) Which of these science fiction characters does not belong with the others? A) Ethan Frome Fortune, B) Hellespont du Kane, C) Raymus Antilles, D) Skua September
19) Rudolph Martin, Gary Oldman, Frank Langella, and Nicolas Cage—other than their profession, what do these actors have in common?
20) With regard to the horror genre, what do the towns of Rockbridge, Midwich, Haddonfield, and Antonio Bay have in common?
21) André Morell, Andrew Keir, Brian Donlevy, and John Mills have all played which acclaimed scientist-hero?
22) In which Canadian province is set American International Pictures’ 1976 B-movie The Food of the Gods?
23)The Lady of the Sorrows (2002) and The Battle of Evernight (2003) are the second and third books, respectively, of Australian fantasy writer Cecilia Dart-Thornton’s Bitterbynde trilogy. Name the first book in this series.
24) Who played army commander Colonel Fielding in the original Invaders From Mars (1953)?
We meet today, 17th of June, 13:00h. The invitation to Zoom will appear in the introduction post right at 13:00h.
Guest Speaker: Author Olivia Atwater
Olivia Atwater writes whimsical historical fantasy with a hint of satire. She lives in Montreal, Quebec with her fantastic, prose-inspiring husband and her two cats. She has been, at various times, a historical re-enactor, a professional witch at a metaphysical supply store, a web developer, and a vending machine repair person.
Fantasy as Satire: Though you can write a satire in just about any genre, fantasy lends itself particularly well to the idea for reasons both structural and psychological. Olivia Atwater discusses a few well-known examples of satire within the fantasy genre, and elaborates on why they succeed so well at their aims.
Joe Aspler: These are the Voyages…: There have been many fine ships named Enterprise. In this presentation, I will summarise their origins, their history, their battles, and the exploration that they carried out.
Discussions: August meeting at the Legion in Lachine, what are we reading or watching, or creating!
Raffles: Nine prizes are on offer to lucky winners!
This month’s roundup: • Star Trek vs. Star Trek vs. Star Trek – Part IV • About TR-3B (the advanced plane that does not exist) Our usual tidbits from the Web. – Your editor, Leybl Botwinik
In 1917, cousins Elsie Wright, aged 16, and Frances Griffiths, aged 9, lived in the English village of Cottingley, near Bradford, West Yorkshire, and claimed to have seen and photographed tiny fairies dancing amid the foliage around Cottingley Beck, a brook near their home.
Locale where occurred the supposed sightings, and photographing of the Cottingley Fairies.
Belief in things supernatural, like ghosts and fairies, were widespread in the early years of the 20th century, especially in English-speaking countries, and many high-profile citizens were adherents of Spiritualism, not the least of whom was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, prolific author of the popular Sherlock Holmes stories published in The Strand Magazine. Doyle, in fact, took an interest in the girls’ claims and interpreted their photographs as clear evidence of supernatural phenomena. His view was shared by many, but not all, with detractors pegging the pictures as clever fakes. Elsie and Frances maintained that they had seen fairies, and that their photographs were genuine.
Frances amidst a grouping of fairies.
Doyle, meanwhile, had secured permission to use the photographs to illustrate a magazine article he was writing about fairies, while associate Edward Gardner, a leading member of the Theosophical Society, an organization of Occultists, arranged for the cousins to take more pictures of the fairies in 1920. The tiny creatures would not show themselves if other than they two girls were watching, Elsie and Frances cautioned, so they were left to their own devices, returning later from the beck with fresh photographs.
Elsie with the so-called “Leaping Fairie.”
Gardner and Doyle had a number of experts examine the photographs to determine if there was anything amiss, and were met with mixed opinion. But several of the experts had judged that no tampering with the photographic plates had occurred, noting, however, that this did not necessarily provide proof positive that fairies were real. The camera had simply recorded what was before the lens, and the fairies could have been paper dolls or some such positioned on branches and leaves.
Over the years, interest in the Cottingley Fairies waxed and waned, with later investigations launched to get at the truth of the matter, until finally, Elsie and Frances, now elderly women, put the question to rest in 1983, confessing that the whole thing had been a fraud. Their fairies were nothing more than drawings on cardboard rendered by the artistically inclined Elsie, copying illustrations of dancing girls in a children’s book of the day. She had drawn in wings, cut out the figures, propped them up in the garden with hatpins, and voilà: fairies!
Still, Frances insisted that they had actually seen the fairies, and unlike the others pictures, the last photograph taken was bona fide. Elsie did not concur, and remembered that the two felt embarrassed, at the time, to admit the truth, having fooled so many, including a brilliant man like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle! “I can’t understand to this day why they were taken in—they wanted to be taken in.”
Both women died in the late-1980s. Lady Cottington’s Pressed Fairy Book (1994), by Terry Jones and Brian Froud, parodied their famous images, and prints of their photographs, along with the cameras used, and other associated material, now reside in the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford.
11) THANK YOU!
We sincerely hope you have enjoyed your time with us these past few hours and encourage you to visit www.MonSFFA.ca regularly for additional content.
We thank Kofi Oduro, Danny Sichel, Keith Braithwaite, and Cathy Palmer-Lister for their contributions to today’s programme. Thanks is extended, also, to all of our supporting contributors this afternoon.
And of course, to all who joined us today and took in our online get-together, we thank you for your interest and attention, and remind you to leave a comment!
12) NEXT MonSFFA e-MEETING
As club members are aware, our hoped-for return to in-person MonSFFA meetings has been stalled by lingering pandemic-related circumstances! We continue our search for an available, affordable meeting hall and are currently exploring a couple of new possibilities; we’ll keep you updated as to any notable progress.
And so, join us next month, on Saturday, June 17, beginning at 1:00PM, right here at www.MonSFFA.ca, for another in our series of MonSFFA e-meetings! We’ve booked a special guest speaker for the occasion who we think you will enjoy!
Please take note that we’ve moved this e-meeting from our usual second-Saturday-of-the-month one week ahead to the third Saturday so as to avoid conflicting with Scintillation, a local SF convention taking place this year over the June 9-11 weekend.
Also, note that a social event is open to MonSFFen, said event scheduled for Saturday, June 10. Any MonSFFen not attending Scintillation are welcome to attend this casual affair, which will take place from 2:00PM-6:00PM at the same West Island address that served as our 2022 Christmas Luncheon locale. (We will post on the site information about this event in the coming weeks; check back regularly!)
13) SIGN-OFF
Until June, then, bask in the sunny, warm weather we’ve been experiencing of late, quaff a cold one, and keep well.
Last month, we asked club members to prepare a SF/F top-ten list on any science fiction, fantasy, horror, or fannish topic—for example, top ten classic Star Trek episodes, or top ten Hugo-winning novels, or top ten movie monsters, spaceships, comic book superheroes; the choice was left to each club member as to specific focus.
We ended that segment of programming short of time to accommodate all of the lists on hand, and so we’ve scheduled time during this meeting to present those few lists on which the clock ran out last month! One has been posted below, a couple more will be presented, now, as part of our ZOOM chat.
Whenever we schedule this semi-regular feature, we ask each participant to present their list, either by sending it to us in advance of our virtual get-together to be included as part of the SF/F Top-Ten Lists post, or day-of, live via ZOOM. We ask our list-makers to include, perhaps, a few illustrative images which can be shared with the group as they impart their top-ten. And, we ask that they be prepared to field questions and/or, perhaps, defend their choices!
Those unable to join our video chat today may still submit in writing their own SF/F top-ten list via this post’s “Leave a Comment” option. Include a quick description or outline of each of your entries and explain why you’ve included each, and why your fellow genre fans might also enjoy the selections you’ve listed.
MY TOP TEN COOL-SOUNDING SCI-FI CHARACTER NAMES
By Leonard Lang
10) Captain Nemo—Jules Verne’s mysterious scientist/inventor is the first major SF character that I can remember who wasn’t white—he’s Indian royalty, son of raja. So, he was ahead of his time, in that respect. Nemo reserved a special hatred for Imperialism, and especially of the British Empire, which drove him to vengeance. Plus, he commanded a really boss, technologically advanced submarine, not exactly the kind of watercraft common in the late 19th century!
9) Bernard Quatermass—Nigel Kneale’s penultimate scientist/hero, head of the British Experimental Rocket Group and star of the influential BBC science fiction serials of the 1950s, and the subsequent Hammer films, among other adaptations, was unwavering as he faced sinister threats from outer space. Bernard Quatermass just sounds so like a scientist’s name, like science fiction personified!
7) Logan 5—A Sandman turned runner in Logan’s Run. Any name that includes a number is definitely a cool-sounding sci-fi name!
6) Indiana Jones—Any name that includes a geographical component is absolutely a cool name! The whip and fedora don’t hurt, either!
5) Duncan Idaho—He of the Dune series; like Indiana Jones, a name that includes a geographical component is cool, and this one rolls off the tongue with a particular pirate-like swagger!
4) Spider Jerusalem—A comic-book version—the cyberpunk Transmetropolitan series—of gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson, his name combines that aforementioned geographical component with the name of a bug; too cool!
3) Sabetha Belacorus—Simply the coolest name for a fantasy anti-heroine! A thief, she was the love interest of Locke Lamora, of the Gentleman Bastards, until she left Camorr on unknown business. There’s more, but we don’t have the time!
2) Darth Vader—there are a lot cool-sounding sci-fi names in Star Wars, enough to fill up a whole other top-ten list, but I’m going with Vader, here, because the moniker positively drips with menace, as any good villain’s name should!
1) Zaphod Beeblebrox—Just an unquestionably science fictioney, cool, wonderfully funny name conjured up by Douglas Adams for his Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series.
6) SHOW-AND-TELL
