All posts by Keith Braithwaite

APRIL 12, 2025 CLUB MEETING; Post 2 of 2, 5:00PM – Thank You, Wrap-Up

This is Post 2 of 2, marking the conclusion of today’s MonSFFA meeting.

5) THANK YOU

We are grateful to Keith Braithwaite for his efforts on this afternoon’s programming, and thank, too, all of our contributing participants, plus everyone who helped to plan and run today’s meeting. Finally, of course, we thank all of you who joined us, both physically in the meeting hall and here on ZOOM; don’t forget to comment on today’s get-together (www.MonSFFA.ca). 

6) NEXT MONTH’S MEETING: 

The club meets next on Saturday, May 10, from 1:00PM-5:00PM! We hope to see you live and in person at that time, or if you’re from out of town, online via ZOOM. MonSFFA meets downtown regularly at Le Nouvel Hotel, 1740 Rene-Levesque Ouest (corner St-Mathieu), in the “Maisonneuve Room” (unless otherwise indicated).

7) SIGN-OFF

Thank you all for taking part today. We appreciate the enthusiastic involvement of our members, and we hope you will all join us again next month! Thus, with today’s main topic soon to slither into our dreams, we’ll say… sssssso long!

APRIL 12, 2025 CLUB MEETING; Post 1 of 2, 12:30PM – Introduction and Agenda

1) INTRODUCTION

Welcome to MonSFFA’s April 2025 meeting! This is Post 1 of 2, providing an outline of today’s MonSFFA meeting, and our agenda for the afternoon. A closing post will go up at 5:00PM, marking the end of the meeting.

Despite that blizzard earlier in the week, it is Spring! Take note that we have again been moved into the “Faubourg” room by the hotel, in lieu of our usual “Maisonneuve” room; the Faubourg is just down the hall from the Maisonneuve.

But of course, this is of no consequence to our out-of-town members, who can, and we hope will take part, as always, via ZOOM from the comfort of their own homes. So do join us for a few hours of sci-fi fun! Today’s proceedings will be getting underway shortly.

To join our ZOOM-chat and take part this afternoon, see the instructions, immediately below (Item 2), to join in and participate online.

Our programming agenda begins at 1:00PM; the meeting will conclude at 5:00PM. This opening post has gone up 30 minutes 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 the next MonSFFA event.

2) JOIN THIS AFTERNOON’S VIDEO-CHAT ON ZOOM!

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: 883 0121 6990
Passcode: 186757

3) MEETING THEME FOR APRIL 2025

Meeting Theme: In keeping with today’s scheduled presentation, and in honour of the Chinese Year of the Snake, members are asked to bring in for our display table a cool snake toy, SF&F-themed, if possible—rubber or plastic snakes, action figures, a game or puzzle; you get the idea!

4) THIS AFTERNOON’S AGENDA

Today’s programming agenda is as follows: 

1:00PMSssssnakes in SF&F!

We look at snakes, snake-like beings, and all things snake-tonishing in SF&F! And there are an awful lot of these slithering subjects!

2:30PMBreak

Club business, including discussion of upcoming group field trip, announcements, and raffle. 

3:00PMBreak

What are your top three very best SF&F novels, short fiction, films, and/or TV series? The crème-de-la-crème! We’re asking MonSFFen for their recommendations: the absolutely must-read/must-watch SF&F, best of the best, desert-island material! The stories in one, two, or all four of the categories we’ve outlined which you think others must read or watch before they die; the most memorable, thought-provokingly intelligent, important works of superior SF&F, of high entertainment value and overall quality! That stuff! Let’s discuss.

4:00PMFinal Thoughts and Wrap-Up!

We close the afternoon with final thoughts, questions, and commentary on today’s topics, or other subjects members may have to briefly share with the group. Your feedback, dear members, is always welcome!

5:00PMEnd of Meeting

Please Note: While we strive to keep on schedule, we do, sometimes, fall behind a little, or find ourselves having to reshuffle the order of items on the agenda for one reason or another, or reschedule planned presentations/discussions. Therefore, please understand that all programming is subject to change!

The meeting officially begins at 1:00PM! Thanks for joining us today, and enjoy the afternoon!

NEXT CLUB MEETING IS TOMORROW AFTERNOON, SATURDAY, APRIL 12!

MonSFFA’s next meeting is scheduled to take place tomorrow afternoon, Saturday, April 12, from 1:00PM to 5:00PM!

We will convene at our downtown meeting locale, Le Nouvel Hotel, 1740 Rene-Levesque Ouest (corner St-Mathieu).

Please take note: we will be gathering on this occasion, as we did last month, in the “Faubourg” meeting room, just down the hall from our usual “Maisonneuve” room.

Out-of-towners, as always, may join our ZOOM-chat (www.MonSFFA.ca) and take part in the meeting from the comfort of home!

On the Agenda:

Sssssnakes in SF&F!

In honour of the Chinese Year of the Snake, we offer an extensive review of snakes, snake-like beings, and all things snake-tonishing in SF&F! And there are an awful lot of these slithering subjects!

Your Top Three!

What are your top three very best SF&F novels, short fiction stories, films, and television series? The crème-de-la-crème! We’re asking MonSFFen for their recommendations: the absolutely must-read/must-watch SF&F that they believe the best of the best! Desert-island material! The stories in one, two, or all four of the categories we’ve outlined which others must read or watch before they die; the most memorable, thought-provokingly intelligent, important works of superior SF&F, that which is of high entertainment value and overall quality! That stuff! Let’s discuss.

and more…

Meeting Theme: In keeping with today’s scheduled presentation, and in honour of the Chinese Year of the Snake, members are asked to bring in for our display table a cool snake toy, SF&F-themed, if possible—rubber or plastic snakes, action figures, a game or puzzle; you get the idea!

Spring is here, the snow is gone (we hope!), and so we’re looking to see as many of you as possible at our downtown meeting hall! Bring a friend! See you all there on Saturday, April 12, 1:00PM-5:00PM!

Please Note: While we strive to keep on schedule, we do, sometimes, fall behind a little, or find ourselves having to reshuffle the order of items on the agenda for one reason or another, or reschedule planned presentations/discussions. Therefore, please understand that all programming is subject to change!

NEXT CLUB MEETING THIS SATURDAY, APRIL 12!

MonSFFA’s next meeting is scheduled to take place this Saturday, April 12, from 1:00PM to 5:00PM!

We will convene at our downtown meeting locale, Le Nouvel Hotel, 1740 Rene-Levesque Ouest (corner St-Mathieu).

Please take note: we will be gathering on this occasion, as we did last month, in the “Faubourg” meeting room, just down the hall from our usual “Maisonneuve” room.

Out-of-towners, as always, may join our ZOOM-chat (www.MonSFFA.ca) and take part in the meeting from the comfort of home!

On the Agenda:

Sssssnakes in SF&F!

In honour of the Chinese Year of the Snake, we offer an extensive review of snakes, snake-like beings, and all things snake-tonishing in SF&F! And there are an awful lot of these slithering subjects!

Your Top Three!

What are your top three very best SF&F novels, short fiction stories, films, and television series? The crème-de-la-crème! We’re asking MonSFFen for their recommendations: the absolutely must-read/must-watch SF&F that they believe the best of the best! Desert-island material! The stories in one, two, or all four of the categories we’ve outlined which others must read or watch before they die; the most memorable, thought-provokingly intelligent, important works of superior SF&F, that which is of high entertainment value and overall quality! That stuff! Let’s discuss.

and more…

Meeting Theme: In keeping with today’s scheduled presentation, and in honour of the Chinese Year of the Snake, members are asked to bring in for our display table a cool snake toy, SF&F-themed, if possible—rubber or plastic snakes, action figures, a game or puzzle; you get the idea!

Spring is here, the snow is gone (we hope!), and so we’re looking to see as many of you as possible at our downtown meeting hall! Bring a friend! See you all there on Saturday, April 12, 1:00PM-5:00PM!

Please Note: While we strive to keep on schedule, we do, sometimes, fall behind a little, or find ourselves having to reshuffle the order of items on the agenda for one reason or another, or reschedule planned presentations/discussions. Therefore, please understand that all programming is subject to change!

NEXT CLUB MEETING SOON: SATURDAY, APRIL 12!

MonSFFA’s next meeting is scheduled to take place a little over a week from now, on Saturday, April 12, from 1:00PM to 5:00PM!

We will gather at our downtown meeting locale, Le Nouvel Hotel, 1740 Rene-Levesque Ouest (corner St-Mathieu) in our usual “Maisonneuve” meeting room.

Out-of-towners, as always, may join our ZOOM-chat and take part in the meeting from the comfort of home!

On the Agenda:

Sssssnakes in SF&F!

An extensive review of snakes and serpent-like beings in SF&F literature, comics, film, television, and elsewhere! There are many more than you might imagine!

Your Top Three!

What are your top three very best SF&F novels, short fiction stories, films, and television series? The crème-de-la-crème! We’re asking MonSFFen for their recommendations, the absolutely must-read/must-watch SF&F that they believe the best of the best, desert-island material; the stories in one, two, or all four of the categories we’ve outlined which others must read or watch before they die; the most memorable, thought-provokingly intelligent, important works of superior SF&F, of high entertainment value and overall quality! That stuff! Let’s discuss.

and more…

Meeting Theme: In keeping with today’s scheduled presentation, and in honour of the Chinese Year of the Snake, members are asked to bring in for our display table a cool snake toy, SF&F-themed, if possible—rubber or plastic snakes, action figures, a game or puzzle; you get the idea!

Spring is here, the snow is gone (we hope!), and so we’re looking to see as many of you as possible at our downtown meeting hall! Bring a friend! See you all there on Saturday, April 12, 1:00PM-5:00PM!

Please Note: While we strive to keep on schedule, we do, sometimes, fall behind a little, or find ourselves having to reshuffle the order of items on the agenda for one reason or another, or reschedule planned presentations/discussions. Therefore, please understand that all programming is subject to change!

MARCH 2025 CLUB MEETING; Post 2 of 2, 5:00PM – Thank You, Wrap-Up

5) THANK YOU

We thank club members Danny Sichel, Cathy Palmer-Lister, Keith Braithwaite and Joe Aspler for their contributions to this afternoon’s programming. And, we acknowledge, as well, 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, both physically at the meeting and here on ZOOM; don’t forget to comment on today’s get-together (www.MonSFFA.ca).

6) NEXT MONTH’S MEETING:

The club meets next on Saturday, April 12, from 1:00PM-5:00PM! We hope to see you live and in person at that time, or if you’re from out of town, online via ZOOM. MonSFFA meets downtown regularly at Le Nouvel Hotel, 1740 Rene-Levesque Ouest (corner St-Mathieu), in the “Maisonneuve Room” unless otherwise indicated.

7) SIGN-OFF

Thank you, everyone, for taking part today. We appreciate the enthusiastic involvement of our members, and we hope you will all join us again next month! Bye for now…

MARCH 2025 CLUB MEETING; Post 1 of 2, 12:30PM – Introduction and Agenda

1) INTRODUCTION

Welcome to MonSFFA’s March 2025 meeting. Oh! So that’s why the REM hasn’t been running as scheduled!

We are returning to our downtown meeting locale on this occasion, but of course, out-of-town members can take part, as always, via ZOOM. So do join us for a few hours of sci-fi fun! Today’s proceedings will be getting underway shortly.

Folks attending the meeting live and in person please take note: we are meeting in the “Faubourg Room” of Le Nouvel Hotel, today, rather than our usual Maisonneuve Room, which we are told is unavailable this weekend. The Faubourg is just down the hall from the Maisonneuve.

For those opting to join our ZOOM-chat and take part from the warmth and comfort of home, see the instructions, immediately below (Item 2), to join in and participate online.

Our programming agenda begins at 1:00PM; the meeting will conclude at 5:00PM. This opening post has gone up 30 minutes 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 the next MonSFFA event.

2) JOIN THIS AFTERNOON’S VIDEO-CHAT ON ZOOM!

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: 896 3074 3351
Passcode: 054089

3) MEETING THEME FOR MARCH 2025

St. Patrick’s Day rolls around again mid-March; in celebration, make like the Green Hornet, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, and the Green Lama—wear something green to the meeting!

4) THIS AFTERNOON’S AGENDA

Today’s programming agenda is as follows:

1:00PMThe Multiverse

An exploration of Marvel’s, DC’s, and other examples of “the multiverse” in SF/F!

2:00PMStories From the Sky

We recount some of the mythical stories behind the constellations of the night sky.

3:00PMBreak

Club business, announcements, and raffle

3:30PMTutorial: Crafting a Presentation!

We all have a favourite SF/F passion—a particular author, TV series, film, superhero, game, or sub-genre like steampunk or time travel! MonSFFA thrives on the varied interests and involvement of its members. You all have a panel discussion or presentation in you, and to that end, we offer a quick tutorial on preparing and giving a treatise on your favourite genre-related topic at a club meeting! 

4:30PMFinal Thoughts and Wrap-Up!

We close the afternoon with final thoughts, questions, and commentary on today’s topics, or other subjects members may have to briefly share with the group. Your feedback, dear members, is always welcome!

5:00PMEnd of Meeting

Please Note: While we strive to keep on schedule, we do, sometimes, fall behind a little, or find ourselves having to reshuffle the order of items on the agenda for one reason or another, or reschedule planned presentations/discussions. Therefore, please understand that all programming is subject to change!

The meeting officially begins at 1:00PM! Thanks for joining us today, and enjoy the afternoon!

NEXT CLUB MEETING IS TOMORROW, SATURDAY, MARCH 8! NOTE CHANGE OF ROOM; SAME BUILDING, DIFFERENT ROOM!

MonSFFA’s next meeting is scheduled to take place tomorrow, Saturday, March 8, from 1:00PM to 5:00PM!

As winter recedes, we are returning to our downtown meeting locale, Le Nouvel Hotel, 1740 Rene-Levesque Ouest (corner St-Mathieu).

However, we have received a message from Le Nouvel, informing us of a change of meeting room. So, Please note that because our usual meeting room will be unavailable on this occasion, we will be gathering instead in the “Faubourg” room, just down the hall. Once again, tomorrow, we will be meeting in the Faubourg, rather than our usual Maisonneuve room.

Out-of-towners, as always, may join our ZOOM-chat and take part in the meeting from the warmth and comfort of home!

Meeting Theme: St. Patrick’s Day rolls around again in about a week; to celebrate, make like the Green Hornet, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, and the Green Lama—wear something green to the meeting!

On the Agenda:

The Multiverse: An exploration of Marvel’s, DC’s, and other examples of “the multiverse” in SF/F!

Stories From the Sky: We recount some of the mythical stories behind the constellations of the night sky.

Tutorial – Crafting a Presentation: We all have a favourite SF/F passion—a particular author, TV series, film, superhero, game, or sub-genre like steampunk or time travel! MonSFFA thrives on the varied interests and involvement of its members. You all have a panel discussion or presentation in you, and to that end, we offer a quick tutorial on preparing and giving a treatise on your favourite genre-related topic at a club meeting!

and more…

Please Note: While we strive to keep on schedule, we do, sometimes, fall behind a little, or find ourselves having to reshuffle the order of items on the agenda for one reason or another, or reschedule planned presentations/discussions. Therefore, please understand that all programming is subject to change!

We hope to see all of you tomorrow, Saturday, March 8!

NEXT CLUB MEETING: THIS SATURDAY, MARCH 8! CHANGE OF ROOM NOTICE; SAME BUILDING, DIFFERENT ROOM!

MonSFFA’s next meeting is scheduled to take place this Saturday, March 8, from 1:00PM to 5:00PM!

As winter recedes, we are returning to our downtown meeting locale, Le Nouvel Hotel, 1740 Rene-Levesque Ouest (corner St-Mathieu).

However, we have just received a message from Le Nouvel, informing us of a change of meeting room. So, Please note that because our usual meeting room will be unavailable on this occasion, we will be gathering instead in the “Faubourg” room, just down the hall. Once again, this Saturday, we will be meeting in the Faubourg, rather than our usual Maisonneuve room.

Out-of-towners, as always, may join our ZOOM-chat and take part in the meeting from the warmth and comfort of home!

Meeting Theme: St. Patrick’s Day rolls around again in about a week; to celebrate, make like the Green Hornet, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, and the Green Lama—wear something green to the meeting!

On the Agenda:

The Multiverse: An exploration of Marvel’s, DC’s, and other examples of “the multiverse” in SF/F!

Stories From the Sky: We recount some of the mythical stories behind the constellations of the night sky.

Tutorial – Crafting a Presentation: We all have a favourite SF/F passion—a particular author, TV series, film, superhero, game, or sub-genre like steampunk or time travel! MonSFFA thrives on the varied interests and involvement of its members. You all have a panel discussion or presentation in you, and to that end, we offer a quick tutorial on preparing and giving a treatise on your favourite genre-related topic at a club meeting!

and more…

Please Note: While we strive to keep on schedule, we do, sometimes, fall behind a little, or find ourselves having to reshuffle the order of items on the agenda for one reason or another, or reschedule planned presentations/discussions. Therefore, please understand that all programming is subject to change!

We hope to see all of you this Saturday, March 8!