1) INTRODUCTION
Welcome to MonSFFA’s May 2025 meeting! The days are warming, the rains are falling, the are birds singing, the flowers, pushing through the earth, sunward, and the last of the Tempos have come down in neighbourhoods across the city: true signs of 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.
As always, our out-of-town members can take part in today’s meeting 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: 848 5184 6478
Passcode: 603289
3) MEETING THEME FOR MAY 2025
Meeting Theme: We will be discussing, during the course of today’s meeting, our annual club field trip, upcoming in June! We welcome your suggestions as to which museum, exhibition, or interesting locale to visit this year.
4) THIS AFTERNOON’S AGENDA
Today’s programming agenda is as follows:
1:00PM – Section 31 (Game)
How well do you know your sci-fi spaceships, aircraft, and vehicles? As a Section 31 agent, you will be required to covertly gather information on various of these as potential targets, and this afternoon, we will test your ability to correctly identify a few!
2:00PM – The Cartoons of Tom Gauld: SF, Fantasy, Literature, and Commentary. And books!
We examine the art and humour of prolific cartoonist Tom Gauld, whose work covers a wide range: science, science fiction, fantasy, role-playing games, classic literature, politics, and more. Gauld happily combines different genres in a single cartoon. Vampire tropes… and modern politics; classic literature…and science fiction; fantasy…and the reality of television. Not only does Gauld love books, he also loves booklovers, and publishes in major newspapers and magazines, including The Guardian, The New Scientist, The New York Times, and The New Yorker.
3:30PM – Break
Club business, announcements, and raffle.
3:45PM – Discussion and Planning for Club’s Summer Schedule—Field Trip, Summer Barbecue-in-the-Park, August “Fancraft” Workshop
We will showcase and discuss potential destinations for our annual club field trip, upcoming on June 14! Welcome from the membership are suggestions as to which museum, exhibition, or interesting locale to visit this year. Further, we’ll lay out our plans for the club’s annual Barbecue-in-the-Park on Sunday, July 13, and work out the details of our planned “fancraft” workshop/meeting on August 16.
4:30PM – Final Thoughts
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!
5:00PM – End 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!
