MonSFFA Website

Fanzines to share!

We have received zines to share with our members!

This is a new one to us, it’s from Sweden. The editor, Ahrvid Engholm, went to see Oppenheimer andbecame inspired!

FaiNZINE3  and Intermission141

The N3F sent us N3FReview202401in which quite a few books are reviewed, including A Wrinkle in Time which we’ve discussed a couple of times at MonSFFA.

Bill Burns sent us an update:


New today at https://efanzines.com are:

Rob Jackson’s Inca #23

Alexiad #132 edited by Lisa & Joseph Major

Rich Lynch’s You’re Still on My Mind #5, a letterzine companion to My Back Pages

Octothorpe #102, a regular fannish podcast by John Coxon, Alison Scott and Liz Batty, is now on line

Opuntia #565, edited by Dale Speirs

Heath Row’s The Stf Amateur, February 2024 (apazine bundle)

Bill Plott’s Sporadic #77 (2023 archive issue)

—
Bill

MonSFFA Website

Next Club Meeting is Set For This Saturday, February 10, on ZOOM!

The club’s next meeting is scheduled for this Saturday, February 10!

ATTENTION! IMPORTANT NOTICE:

Regrettably, we were unable to secure confirmation of our requested booking of the Lachine Legion’s meeting hall sufficiently in advance of our selected meeting date this month.
Rather than cancel the meeting outright, we have opted to instead hold our get-together entirely on ZOOM! The meeting will proceed as intended, but only online, as a video-chat on ZOOM.
So take note, we will not be gathering, this month, in our usual physical meeting hall in Lachine. We will be getting together on ZOOM!

THEME: We’ve chosen to attach a Mardi Gras theme to this month’s meeting! Mardi Gras celebrations are now ongoing in New Orleans, and conclude on February 13. SF/F cosplayers can certainly appreciate, and perhaps derive inspiration from the colourful, exquisite costumes of Carnival!

OUR AGENDA INCLUDES:

COLOURFUL, CRAZY MARDI GRAS!—As our meeting theme this month is Mardi Gras, we’ll offer a quick primer on the celebrations, focusing on the colourful, exquisite costuming and decorative flair of New Orleans’ famous Carnival. SF/F cosplayers may well find inspiration here, for everything from a fantasy Masquerade gown to a new Batman villain!

WORST MONSTERS!—We’ll discuss and debate which are the genre’s worst monsters! From the giants of Kaiju to those slimy, slobbering horrors from outer space, from the creations of mad science to the supernatural demons of the underworld, which do you believe are the most frightening, the most feared, and those to be avoided at all costs? In other words, which are the worst monsters? But we’re asking, too, which are the most laughably ridiculous, B-movie examples brought to the screen by cheap, poor-quality special effects? In every sense of the word “worst,” which do you rate as the genre’s worst monsters?

SCI-FI’S LOVABLE ROGUES, AND WHY WE LOVE THEM!—We ask who are the Han Solos of the genre, and why are they so damned compelling, interesting, and appealing, often more so than the ostensible hero of the piece? Are we naturally drawn to the bad boy, or girl, and if so, why?

PROGRAMMING IDEAS!—We’ll be polling MonSFFA’s membership for programming ideas; we want to hear from you, the members of this club, as to the kinds of topics you’d like to see on future meeting agendas! Your suggestions are encouraged and welcome!

So join us on ZOOM this Saturday, February 10. The meeting starts at 1:00PM, but our ZOOM-chat will be open a little in advance for those who wish to log on early.

Club members have received via e-mail the pertinent information needed in order to join in the conversation. Those details will also be posted on our Website (www.MonSFFA.ca) at noon on the 10th, well in advance of our 1:00PM official start-time.

 We hope to see you all online this Saturday, February 10!

MonSFFA Website

Meeting of Feb 10, zoom only

Due to circumstance beyond our control, we will meet February 10 by ZOOM only.  The link will be posted on our website just before the meeting. 

COLOURFUL, CRAZY MARDI GRAS!—Our meeting theme this month is Mardi Gras, aand we offer a quick primer on the celebrations, focusing on the colourful, exquisite costuming and decorative flair of New Orleans’ famous Carnival; SF/F cosplayers may well find inspiration here!

WORST MONSTERS!—We discuss and debate which are the genre’s worst monsters, in every sense of the word “worst”. Got some pictures? We can share your screen!

SCI-FI’S LOVABLE ROGUES, AND WHY WE LOVE THEM!  Who are the Han Solos of the genre, and why are they so damned compelling, interesting, and appealing?

PROGRAMMING IDEAS!—We’ll be polling MonSFFA’s membership for programming ideas; we want to hear from you, the members of this club, as to the kinds of topics you’d like to see on future meeting agendas! Your suggestions are encouraged and welcome!

 

MonSFFA meeting from home

Meeting of February 10: The Raffle Prizes

RAFFLE PRIZES on offer for the Feb 10 meeting

Click the thumbnails to view full size image.

X-Men set of DVDs

Published January 1, 1981, won the Nebula prize for best non-fiction

Event Leviathan hardcover comic (the whole DC universe)


Awards: British Carnegie Medal, American Newbery Medal,  Hugo Award for Best Novel & Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book

Northguard comics #1 and #2 (Mark Shainblum and Gabrielle Morrissette)

Complete Box of 90 cards by Boris, includes the index.

Animated full length film based on novel by HG Wells

Three young survivors of vicious demon attacks dare to step beyond the crumbling safety of the wards,  risking everything in a desperate quest to regain the knowledge of the protective wards.

Collaborative novel by George RR Martin & John J Miller., a murder mystery set in the Wild Cards Universe.
MonSFFA Website

February 2024 Impulse Now Available!

The February 2024 issue of Impulse is now available!

To view or download this latest issue of Impulse, click here: February2024IMPULSE

Impulse is the monthly new bulletin of the Montreal Science Fiction and Fantasy Association (MonSFFA). The electronic version is available on this Website, and past issues are archived, here, as well (see Impulse page). Print copies are available at the club’s in-person meetings, and are distributed by postal mail upon request.

Astronomy News

Exoplanet WASP-69 b is followed by a staggeringly long tail

One hundred and sixty light-years from Earth, an exoplanet orbits the star WASP-69. Although it’s been previously studied, astronomers have just confirmed that the blazing-hot world is trailed by a 350,000-mile-long (563,270 kilometers) gaseous tail
By | Published: January 29, 2024
An artist's impression of exoplanet WASP-69 b orbiting its host star. Credit: Adam Makarenko/W. M. Keck Observatory
An artist’s impression of exoplanet WASP-69 b orbiting its host star. Credit: Adam Makarenko/W. M. Keck Observatory

WASP-69, given the formal name Wouri by the International Astronomical Union in 2019, is a K-type star somewhat like our Sun but slightly smaller. The planet with the tail, however, is much different from anything in our own solar system.

That’s because WASP-69 b, named Makombé in 2019 to match its host star (Wouri and Makombé are both rivers in Cameroon), is a hot Jupiter. This class of planet is defined by two major factors: its size similarity to our own gas giant planets and its close-in orbit around its host star.

WASP-69 b certainly fits the bill: It is about 10 percent bigger than Jupiter — though only 30 percent its mass — and orbits its star at a distance just less than five percent the distance at which the Earth orbits the Sun. This means the exoplanet is constantly scorched by stellar radiation to a degree that would make even Mercury sweat.

WASP-69 b was the subject of considerable attention in the summer of 2022 when it became one of the first targets of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

In new research published Jan. 9 in The Astrophysical Journal, a team led by astrophysicists at UCLA has revealed the planet’s atmosphere is escaping into space, creating a cometlike tail that stretches at least 350,000 miles (563,270 km).

READ MORE

Fanzines

Zines to share

Zines to Share!

From MonSFFriend Guy Lilian: Spartacus ,SPARTACUS no 70

An update from Bill Burns over at efanzines:

I received a flurry of fanzines following the snow, and here they all are at https://efanzines.com

Guy H. Lillian III’s Spartacus #70

Leybl Botwinik’s CyberCozen – Jan 2024

Andy Hooper’s CAPTAIN FLASHBACK #62

Christopher J. Garcia’s The Drink Tank #453

Octothorpe #101, a regular fannish podcast by John Coxon, Alison Scott and Liz Batty, is now on line

Bill Plott’s Sporadic #78, 78.1, 79 (2023 archive issues)

Opuntia #564, edited by Dale Speirs

Perry Middlemiss’s Perryscope #39 & 40

Christopher J. Garcia’s Claims Department #63, 64, 65

—
Bill

MonSFFA Website

Japan: Moon lander Slim comes back to life and resumes mission

Japan: Moon lander Slim comes back to life and resumes mission
By Kelly Ng BBC News
JAXA Render of Slim's orientation
JAXA
Jaxa produced this render of Slim to show the awkward landing orientation that pointed the solar cells away from the Sun

Japan’s Moon lander has resumed operations after being shut down for a week due to a power supply issue.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) said it re-established contact with the lander on Sunday, indicating that the glitch had been fixed.

Its solar cells are working again after a shift in lighting conditions allowed it to catch sunlight, the agency said.

It could not generate power when it landed on 20 January as the solar cells pointed away from the Sun.

With the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (Slim) spacecraft, Japan became only the fifth country to achieve a soft touchdown on the Moon after the US, the former Soviet Union, China and India.

READ MORE

Collecting, Fandom

Rare Star Wars Jawa figure found in loft sells for £19,500

That’s a little over 33 000$ Canadian. Start looking through your basements and attics!

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-68118326

Excalibur Auctions Jawa figure
Excalibur Auctions The Jawa character, wearing a vinyl cape on Palitoy packaging, is considered one of the rarest 70s Star Wars figures

An “exceptionally rare” Star Wars figure found in a loft has outstripped its estimate after attracting worldwide interest at auction.

The Jawa character, complete with vinyl cape, is considered the “holy grail” of 1970s Star Wars figures, according to auctioneer Jonathan Torode.

It was snapped up by a UK collector for £19,500 during the Hertfordshire sale.

“I feel honoured to have handled another rare part of Star Wars toy history,” Mr Torode said.

“The Jawa figure is still the absolute ultimate for Star Wars collectors.”

It was the second time in six months that Excalibur Auctions, of Kings Langley, was able to show off such a sought-after collectible.

In July, it sold an identical Jawa figure for £26,670, including commission charges, after it was found by the same owner among memorabilia packed away in boxes.

Each figure was estimated to attain £10,000 to £15,000.

The figure owner, who worked for Marvel UK between 1974 and 1979, received a range of gifts from the UK toy company Palitoy during the promotion of the Star Wars line in Marvel comics.

Only 10 to 15 examples of this type of figure were documented, Excalibur Auctions said, with the vinyl cape substituted for a cloth cape not long into production.

Awards

Hugo controversy in mainstream press

IN THE GUARDIAN.The Guardian’s report “Science fiction awards held in China under fire for excluding authors” includes quotes from Xiran Jay Zhao and Paul Weimer.

…No reason was given for the exclusions, which were only revealed on 20 January when the Hugo awards published the full nomination statistics for last year’s prize. Certain titles were listed as having been given votes, but were marked with an asterisk and the words “not eligible”, with no further details given….

…Concerns have been raised that the authors were targeted for political reasons, connected to the fact that the ruling Chinese Communist party exerts a tight control on all cultural events that take place inside its borders.

Dave McCarty, the head of the 2023 Hugo awards jury, wrote on Facebook: “Nobody has ordered me to do anything … There was no communication between the Hugo administration team and the Chinese government in any official manner.”

McCarty did not respond to a request from the Guardian for comment, but shared what he said was the official response from the awards administration team on Facebook: “After reviewing the constitution and the rules we must follow, the administration team determined those works/persons were not eligible.” He declined to elaborate on what the rules were.

READ MORE:

https://file770.com/hugo-controversy-hits-mainstream-news-a-chengdu-vice-chair-comments-in-social-media/

Montreal Science Fiction and Fantasy Association