Monthly Archives: November 2025
INVITATION TO MonSFFA’S 2025 CHRISTMAS DINNER & PARTY!
INVITATION TO MonSFFA’S 2025 CHRISTMAS DINNER & PARTY!
With our best wishes of the festive season extended to all, MonSFFA formally invites its members, their families, and the club’s friends to our 2025 Christmas Dinner & Party!
We will gather at 7:00PM on Saturday evening, December 6, at the Bâton Rouge Grillhouse & Bar located within Complexe Desjardins, downtown Montreal (Metro Place-des-Arts). The restaurant is accessible from within Complexe Desjardins, and from the street, 180 rue Ste-Catherine, Ouest.
The entrance from Complexe Desjardins is the easier one to use if you have mobility issues.
Metered parking is available on nearby streets, or paid parking within Complexe Desjardins itself.
In keeping with our tradition, we will celebrate the season over dinner and drinks, and hold our traditional fund-raising Christmas-gift raffle—tickets are only $1.00 each, so buy a bunch, and the gift-wrapped prizes are plentiful!
Do join us for an evening of camaraderie and good cheer!
A COMET IS EXPLODING NEAR THE NORTH STAR
Space Weather News for Nov. 24, 2025
https://spaceweather.com
https://www.spaceweatheralerts.com
A COMET IS EXPLODING NEAR THE NORTH STAR: Golden Comet ATLAS (C/2025 K1) is breaking into multiple fragments–four and counting–as it brightens near the North Star. Fresh images suggest even more pieces may form soon. Sky maps and movies @ Spaceweather.com.
Jean-Louis Trudel (1967 – November 18, 2025)
Jean-Louis Trudel (1967 – November 18, 2025)
Jean-Louis was a frequent guest at Con*Cept. I also knew him through his work with CSFFA which awards the Aurora and Boréal.
He was only 58 when he died recently in Lithuania, where he was working as an author in residence. –Cathypl
from Wikipedia français and in English below.
Né le 10 juillet 1967, Jean-Louis Trudel est diplômé en physique, en astronomie, et en histoire et philosophie des sciences. Depuis 1994, il a signé 28 livres sous son nom, dont deux romans de science-fiction, deux recueils et vingt-quatre livres pour la jeunesse. Il a également cosigné cinq livres et plusieurs récits avec Yves Meynard sous le nom de plume Laurent McAllister.
En collaboration avec Paula Johanson, il a réuni une anthologie de nouvelles, Tesseracts 7, pour l’éditeur canadien-anglais Tesseract Books en 1999. Ses nouvelles en français sont parues dans Imagine… et Solaris, et dans d’autres revues ou collectifs, au Canada comme en Europe. Ses nouvelles en anglais sont parues dans des anthologies au Canada et aux États-Unis, ainsi que dans des revues comme ON SPEC et Prairie Fire. Il s’adonne aussi à la traduction et à la critique littéraire.
Il a obtenu le Grand Prix de la science-fiction et du fantastique québécois en 2001, plus un Prix Boréal et plusieurs Prix Aurora. Il a aussi été vice-président puis président de SF Canada, l’association canadienne des écrivains de science-fiction. Il a organisé plusieurs fois le congrès Boréal, un rassemblement annuel de créateurs et d’amateurs francophones de science-fiction ou de fantastique au Canada qui remet les Prix Boréal.
À partir de 2004, Jean-Louis Trudel enseigne l’histoire à l’Université d’Ottawa. Il a été chargé de cours au Département des sciences historiques à l’Université Laval entre 2020 et 2023[1].
Jean-Louis Trudel meurt le 17 novembre 2025 à l’âge de 58 ans alors qu’il se trouve en résidence d’auteur à Vilnius en Lituanie[2].
Jean-Louis Trudel (1967 – November 18, 2025) was a Canadian science fiction writer. He was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and lived in Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal before moving to Quebec City, Quebec in 2010. He taught history part-time at the University of Ottawa.
While he wrote mainly in French, he authored a few stories in English, published in such venues as Asimov’s Science Fiction (January-February 2020), On Spec and Tales of the Shadowmen. Other stories in English and other languages (Greek, Portuguese, Italian, Russian) have appeared in translation.
Most of his books, for adults and young adults, are science fiction, but a few titles may also be classed as fantasy. A long-time contributor to Solaris magazine, he is also a science-fiction critic and historian.
Under the collective name Laurent McAllister, Trudel and Yves Meynard have written three young adult books as part of an ongoing series, as well as several stories.
He received several literary distinctions, including the “Grand Prix de la Science-Fiction et du Fantastique québécois” in 2001 and several Prix Aurora awards.[1]
Trudel died on November 18, 2025, at the age of 58.
INVITATIONS TO CLUB’S HOLIDAY EVENTS; LATEST ISSUE OF IMPULSE NOW AVAILABLE!
Greetings Fellow Sci-Fi Fans:
The latest issue of Impulse (December 2025) is now available for viewing or download. More about that in a minute, but first things first:
INVITATION TO MonSFFA’S 2025 CHRISTMAS DINNER & PARTY!
With our best wishes of the festive season extended to all, MonSFFA formally invites its members, their families, and the club’s friends to our 2025 Christmas Dinner & Party!
We will gather at 7:00PM on Saturday evening, December 6, at the Bâton Rouge Grillhouse & Bar located within Complexe Desjardins, downtown Montreal (Metro Place-des-Arts). The restaurant is accessible from within Complexe Desjardins, and from the street, 180 rue Ste-Catherine, Ouest.
Metered parking is available on nearby streets, or paid parking within Complexe Desjardins itself.
In keeping with our tradition, we will celebrate the season over dinner and drinks, and hold our traditional fund-raising Christmas-gift raffle—tickets are only $1.00 each, so buy a bunch, and the gift-wrapped prizes are plentiful!
Do join us for an evening of camaraderie and good cheer!
Also…
VIRTUAL HOLIDAY GET-TOGETHER 2025!
We will also celebrate the season online, via our familiar ZOOM-chat! If you’re out of town or otherwise unable to attend our December 6 Dinner & Party, we would be pleased to welcome you to our Virtual Holiday Get-Together the following weekend, on Saturday afternoon, December 13, 1:00PM-4:00PM.
We’ll gather virtually on ZOOM to simply exchange season’s greetings, raise a glass in celebration, enjoy each other’s company, and the good cheer engendered by this particular time of year!
And now, let’s get to Impulse, the latest issue (December 2025) of which can be viewed or downloaded here, and has been distributed directly to club members by e-mail.
This and past issues of the club’s news bulletin are also archived on this very Website. Visit the “Impulse” page, or for this latest edition, just click here:
Impulse-December2025(OnlineVersion)PDF
NOVEMBER 8, 2025 CLUB MEETING; Post 2 of 2, 5:00PM – Thank You, Wrap-Up
5) THANK YOU
We thank Keith Braithwaite, Danny Sichel, Joe Aspler, and Cathy Palmer-Lister for today’s meeting programming. Thank you, as well, to all of our contributing participants, along with everyone who helped to plan and run today’s get-together. We also thank, of course, 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 EVENT:
The Season is upon us! We’ll be holding our annual downtown Christmas/Holiday Dinner/Party early next month, on Saturday, evening, December 6. More information to follow; we’ll advise everyone of our restaurant choice, etc. just as soon as things are confirmed! Check in here at MonSFFA.ca for updates.
We’ve also got a Virtual Holiday Get-Together planned, on Saturday, December 13, for those who can’t make it to our dinner/party.
7) SIGN-OFF
Thank you all for taking part today. We appreciate the enthusiastic involvement of our members, and we hope to see you all again next month! Until then, fare thee well, and take heed: winter is coming! Apparently tomorrow evening! Get your winter gear out of the closet; it’s that time of year, again!
NOVEMBER 8, 2025 CLUB MEETING; Post 1 of 2, 12:30PM – Introduction and Agenda
1) INTRODUCTION
Welcome to MonSFFA’s November 2025 meeting! We are gathering, today, in the “Faubourg” room of our downtown meeting locale, Le Nouvel Hotel, 1740 René-Lévesque Ouest (corner St-Mathieu).
But out-of-towners, as always, may join our ZOOM-chat and take part in the meeting from home!
Proceedings will be getting underway shortly.
To join our ZOOM-chat and take part online this afternoon, see the instructions, immediately below (Item 2).
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, and to preview next month’s 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 provide it:
Meeting ID: 861 7379 0718
Passcode: 754672
3) MEETING THEME FOR NOVEMBER 2025:
What SF/F topics interest you? Have on hand a few suggestions for next year’s programming!
4) ON THE AGENDA:
The Brief Life and Lasting Legacy of Matt Baker, “Good Girl Artist” Supreme!
A primer on the career of Golden Age comic book artist Matt Baker, celebrated as a master of “Good Girl Art.” His talent for drawing beautiful women as dynamic, expressive characters made him an in-demand artist in the romance, adventure, crime/detective, “Jungle Girl,” and of course, sci-fi and superhero genres, securing his place among the comic industry’s top-ranked artists during the Golden, or any other age!
Sci-Fi Balderdash! (Game)
We always like to include a fun and challenging game in our programming of the last meeting of the year, so…given only the title of an actual SF/F story, can you come up with a brief, two-sentence fake story synopsis for that title? Convincing enough to fool your fellow players? And, can you pick out the real synopsis from among the fakes?
Report on the 2025 Super Sci-Fi Book Sale
The club’s treasurer offers a brief report on our successful 2025 Super Sci-Fi Book Sale, held last month.
Plans for Next Year!
We look forward to the coming year and kick around ideas for meeting programming and club activities in 2026! Your input, club members, is encouraged and welcome!
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: TOMORROW, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 8!
MonSFFA’s next meeting is scheduled to take place tomorrow afternoon, Saturday, November 8, from 1:00PM to 5:00PM! This will be our last regular meeting of 2025; next month, we celebrate the Holiday Season with our traditional dinner/party.
As for tomorrow’s meeting, we will gather at our downtown meeting locale, Le Nouvel Hotel, 1740 René-Lévesque Ouest (corner St-Mathieu); find us in the “Faubourg” conference room.
Out-of-towners, as always, may join our ZOOM-chat and take part in the meeting from the comfort of home! MonSFFA club members will receive an e-mail this evening (Friday, November 7) providing the information needed to join our meeting’s ZOOM-chat and take part; this information will also be included in our opening meeting post, which goes up on our Website tomorrow at 12:30PM, shortly before the start of the meeting.
On the Agenda:
The Brief Life and Lasting Legacy of Matt Baker, “Good Girl Artist” Supreme!
A primer on the career of Golden Age comic book artist Matt Baker, celebrated as a master of “Good Girl Art.” His talent for drawing beautiful women as dynamic, expressive characters made him an in-demand artist in the romance, adventure, crime/detective, “Jungle Girl,” and of course, sci-fi and superhero genres, securing his place among the comic industry’s top-ranked artists during the Golden, or any other age!
Sci-Fi Balderdash! (Game)
We always like to include a fun and challenging game in our programming of the last meeting of the year, so…given only the title of an actual SF/F story, can you come up with a brief, two-sentence fake story synopsis for that title? Convincing enough to fool your fellow players? And, can you pick out the real synopsis from among the fakes?
Report on the 2025 Super Sci-Fi Book Sale
The club’s treasurer offers a brief report on our successful 2025 Super Sci-Fi Book Sale, held last month.
Plans for Next Year!
We look forward to the coming year and kick around ideas for meeting programming and club activities in 2026! As always, club members, your input is encouraged and welcome!
Meeting Theme: What SF/F topics interest you? Have on hand a few suggestions for next year’s programming!
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’re looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible at our downtown meeting hall for this November 2025 meeting! Bring a friend! See you all there tomorrow, Saturday, November 8, 1:00PM-5:00PM!
Solar activity to cause Aurora tonight
sky might be partly clear tonight, worth looking for aurora.
Space Weather News for Nov. 5, 2025
https://spaceweather.com
https://www.spaceweatheralerts.com
STRONG GEOMAGNETIC STORMS PREDICTED: Solar activity is suddenly high with multiple X-class and strong M-class solar flares since Monday. At least three CMEs are expected to graze or directly hit Earth this week, potentially sparking strong geomagnetic storms on Nov. 6-7. Full story @ Spaceweather.com.
CME impact alerts: Would you like an instant text message when the CMEs arrive? Sign up for Space Weather Alerts.
Above: An X1.8-class solar flare from sunspot 4274 on Nov. 4, 2025.
NEXT CLUB MEETING SET FOR THIS SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 8!
MonSFFA’s next meeting is scheduled to take place this Saturday, November 8, from 1:00PM to 5:00PM! This will be our last regular meeting of 2025; next month, we celebrate the Holiday Season with our traditional dinner/party.
We will gather at our downtown meeting locale, Le Nouvel Hotel, 1740 René-Lévesque Ouest (corner St-Mathieu); find us in the “Faubourg” conference 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:
The Brief Life and Lasting Legacy of Matt Baker, “Good Girl Artist” Supreme!
A primer on the career of Golden Age comic book artist Matt Baker, celebrated as a master of “Good Girl Art.” His talent for drawing beautiful women as dynamic, expressive characters made him an in-demand artist in the romance, adventure, crime/detective, “Jungle Girl,” and of course, sci-fi and superhero genres, securing his place among the comic industry’s top-ranked artists during the Golden, or any other age!
Sci-Fi Balderdash! (Game)
We always like to include a fun and challenging game in our programming of the last meeting of the year, so…given only the title of an actual SF/F story, can you come up with a brief, two-sentence fake story synopsis for that title? Convincing enough to fool your fellow players? And, can you pick out the real synopsis from among the fakes?
Report on the 2025 Super Sci-Fi Book Sale
The club’s treasurer offers a brief report on our successful 2025 Super Sci-Fi Book Sale, held last month.
Plans for Next Year!
We look forward to the coming year and kick around ideas for meeting programming and club activities in 2026! Your input, club members, is encouraged and welcome!
Meeting Theme: What SF/F topics interest you? Have on hand a few suggestions for next year’s programming!
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!