{"id":11515,"date":"2020-06-06T13:00:31","date_gmt":"2020-06-06T17:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/?p=11515"},"modified":"2020-06-06T07:25:02","modified_gmt":"2020-06-06T11:25:02","slug":"post-1-of-6-june-6-diy-virtual-monsffa-meeting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/?p=11515","title":{"rendered":"Post 1 of 6: June 6 DIY Virtual MonSFFA Meeting"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>This is post 1 of 6 related posts which together make up our June 6, 2020, DIY, Virtual MonSFFA Meeting.<\/p>\n

1) SYMPATHIES<\/strong><\/p>\n

We begin with a heavy heart, for we have lost one of our own to COVID-19. Our good friend and fellow MonSFFAn Alice Novo passed away just a couple weeks ago. Alice had been dealing with other health issues these past few years, as most of you know, and thus was particularly susceptible to the virus.<\/p>\n

We are cognisant of others within our circle, too, who are also dealing with complications brought about by this virus, and at this time, we are respecting their privacy while hoping, praying<\/em> that their ultimate outcome is a good one. Others of us have lost family members to COVID-19 and we wish them to know that they have our sincere sympathies.<\/p>\n

Alice is mourned by her family and friends, including her beloved son, Alex, and brother Fernando (\u201cFern\u201d), who most of us know through our mutual affiliation with this club.<\/p>\n

Alice and Fern joined MonSFFA at about the time we were starting to shoot the club\u2019s fan film, Beavra<\/em>, in the early 2000s, if memory serves, and I recall their enthusiasm and keen interest as they jumped right in as part of the cast and crew. They were a wonderful addition to our ranks and I have enjoyed their friendship ever since.<\/p>\n

When we needed to cast a youngster in one of the roles, Alice suggested her pre-teen son, Alex, who performed marvellously. This family was a friendly and fun bunch, I remember thinking at the time. Over the years of MonSFFA\u2019s meetings and field trips and conventions and the club\u2019s summer barbecues and Christmas parties, I always looked forward to spending a few hours with Alice and Fern.<\/p>\n

Fern and I share an appreciation of classic cars and hotrods, and the customized vehicles built for use in sci-fi movies and TV shows. And also of Bigfoot stories! Alice and I shared in particular an appreciation of classic rock, our tastes remarkably in sync in that respect. Some years back, when the club was holding its Christmas parties at a downtown bar that has since closed, I would serve as DJ, and I remember Alice complimenting me on more than one occasion for the music I\u2019d selected. I\u2019m glad she enjoyed the tunes.<\/p>\n

One never knows what to say to friends grieving for a lost loved one, only that whatever we say will seem an inadequate salve to the utter sadness and grief that envelopes them at such a time. So I\u2019ll say just this: Alex and Fern, the day will come when the great sorrow that you now feel will slowly begin to give way to fond memories of, respectively, your mom and sister. The day will come when thinking of her will bring not tears, but a smile. Alice, you were one of the friendliest, warmest, kindest, most delightful and good-humoured people that I\u2019ve known in all my years of involvement with SF\/F fandom, and I will miss you. A lot. Rest in peace.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2) INTRODUCTION AND MEETING AGENDA<\/strong><\/p>\n

The club\u2019s Executive hopes this post finds everybody managing as well as they can through the current quarantine. As things prudently begin re-opening, remember to continue following best recommended safety practises in order to help minimize an anticipated second wave of infections. Our area remains one the hardest hit in the world<\/em>, so don\u2019t let down your guard! To those of you who might be deemed \u201cessential workers,\u201d please take extra caution to keep yourselves as protected from infection as possible!<\/p>\n

This is our third virtual MonSFFA meeting. It will unfold right here on the club\u2019s Web site over the course of the afternoon, beginning with this first post, and followed by subsequent posts at 1:30PM, 2:30PM, 3:00PM, and 3:45PM, with a concluding post at 4:45PM. All content will also be available concurrently on MonSFFA\u2019s Facebook page (www.facebook.com\/MonSFFA<\/a>), however, the interface best suited for taking in this meeting is this very Web site.<\/p>\n

We cannot yet meet face-to-face as we usually do, of course, and so this June virtual meeting has been prepared especially for you, MonSFFA\u2019s membership. Sit back, check out each of the afternoon\u2019s posts, scroll down leisurely through the proffered content, and enjoy!<\/p>\n

In This Afternoon\u2019s Virtual Meeting:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1:00PM, Post 1 of 6<\/strong><\/p>\n

1)\u00a0 Sympathies<\/p>\n

2) Introduction and Meeting Agenda<\/p>\n

3)\u00a0 Coronavirus Song Parody<\/p>\n

4)\u00a0 Quiz Challenge, Intro<\/p>\n

5)\u00a0 Name That Tune!…<\/p>\n

1:30PM, Post 2 of 6<\/strong><\/p>\n

6)\u00a0 Journalism in SF&F<\/p>\n

2:30PM, Post 3 of 6<\/strong><\/p>\n

7) Mid-Meeting Break (Now With Experimental Zoom Meeting!)<\/p>\n

3:00PM, Post 4 of 6<\/strong><\/p>\n

8) COVID-19 Art<\/p>\n

3:45PM, Post 5 of 6<\/strong><\/p>\n

9) SF&F Plagues and Diseases, Part III\u2014The Cures<\/p>\n

4:45PM, Post 6 of 6<\/strong><\/p>\n

10) Another Coronavirus Song Parody<\/p>\n

11) Answers to Quiz Challenge<\/p>\n

12) Yet Another Song Parody<\/p>\n

13) Thank-You!<\/p>\n

14) Closing Song Parody<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

3) CORONAVIRUS SONG PARODY<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s summer! Time for a Beach Boys tune. Well, not quite a Beach Boys tune (www.Facebook.com\/jonpumper<\/a>):<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/MyCoronaHome-JonPumperBeachBoysCoronavirusParodySong.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

Kudos to Jon Pumper for this one, and to the talented creators of the other parody songs we\u2019re showcasing today; whenever given, we\u2019ve credited by name these creators.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

4) QUIZ CHALLENGE, INTRO<\/strong><\/p>\n

David Bowie\u2019s popular 1969 tune Space Oddity tells the tale of astronaut Major Tom, who ventures outside of his space capsule, only to become stranded in orbit before drifting off through the heavens, his future undetermined.<\/p>\n

At the time, many wedded the song to the Apollo 11 moonshot, and, indeed, Space Oddity was released to coincide with the historic moon landing. Some reviewers took the song as, plainly, the story of an astronaut who finds himself stranded in space, a possible scenario much discussed in 1969 as NASA prepared to land a man on the moon. Others have read more into the composition, taking the song to be a space-age representation of the disillusionment of \u201960s youth. Still others saw it as a drug-induced astral trip!<\/p>\n

Bowie himself had stated that Space Oddity was influenced by the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey<\/em>, the song\u2019s title a play on the movie\u2019s. \u201cI was very stoned when I went to see it, several times,\u201d he disclosed, \u201cand it was really a revelation to me. It got the song flowing.\u201d<\/p>\n

A short, promotional film designed to spotlight this new singer\/song-writer\u2019s talents included an early version of Space Oddity in which Bowie, as Major Tom, is seen stepping through the hatch of his spaceship, relaying to Ground Control that he is \u201cfloating in a most peculiar way,\u201d and that \u201cthe stars look very different today.\u201d He encounters two beautiful, enigmatic women\u2014angels, higher spiritual entities, aliens, transcendent human beings, perhaps\u2014who encirclement him. The astronaut requests of Ground Control, \u201cTell my wife I love her very much,\u201d and suddenly, communication is broken. Fearing that \u201cthere\u2019s something wrong,\u201d Ground Control repeatedly calls \u201cCan you hear me, Major Tom?\u201d<\/p>\n

Relieving the pain associated cost viagra<\/a> with arthritis often becomes the main challenge when treating the condition, so as with sexual weaknesses. Of course, it is a serious matter as cialis price appalachianmagazine.com<\/a> well. This class of medicine also includes Tadalafil, Vardenafil and Avanafil compositions. tab sildenafil<\/a> Men, who buy viagra no prescription<\/a> are experiencing spontaneous orgasm while in sleep after witnessing an erotic dream, are suffering from erectile dysfunction. <\/span>Was Major Tom somehow compelled to abandon his life on Earth, or did he switch off his radio and willingly set out on a new journey \u201cFar above the moon\u201d? Perhaps his unique perspective, looking down upon a troubled world from orbit, caused him such dismay\u2014\u201cPlanet Earth is blue \/ And there\u2019s nothing I can do.\u201d\u2014that he chose to quietly drift away into space.<\/p>\n

The song, and the astronaut\u2019s fate, remain open to interpretation.<\/p>\n

Major Tom reappeared a few times later in Bowie\u2019s career, reworked a little on each occasion.<\/p>\n

Space Oddity is probably one of the best known of pop and rock songs that tap into science fiction or fantasy, employing space motifs, sci-fi references, narratives, or SF\/F as metaphor.<\/p>\n

At a club meeting a few years ago, I hosted a game in which I challenged my fellow MonSFFen to identify, from just a couple lines of lyrics, a number of Genre-themed pop or rock songs. Reproduced, here, is a revised version of that challenge. I offer it in honour of our dear departed friend, Alice.<\/p>\n

Can you identify each of the 19 songs from these snippets of lyrics, as well as the singer or group most associated with each of the tunes? The answers will be provided at the conclusion of today\u2019s virtual MonSFFA meeting in Post 6 of 6, at 4:45PM:<\/p>\n

5) NAME THAT TUNE!…<\/strong><\/p>\n

1)<\/p>\n

In your mind you have abilities you know \/ To telepath messages through the vast unknown<\/p>\n

2)<\/p>\n

They got music in their solar system \/ They\u2019ve rocked around the Milky Way<\/p>\n

3)<\/p>\n

Crossed through the universe to get where you are \/ Travel the night riding on a shooting star<\/p>\n

4)<\/p>\n

Woke up this morning with light in my eyes \/ And then realized it was still dark outside<\/p>\n

5)<\/p>\n

I think your atmosphere is hurting my eyes \/ And your concrete mountains are blackin\u2019 out the skies<\/p>\n

6)<\/p>\n

I miss the Earth so much, I miss my wife \/ It\u2019s lonely out in space<\/p>\n

7)<\/p>\n

They\u2019ll split your pretty cranium, and fill it full of air \/ And tell you that you\u2019re eighty, but brother, you won\u2019t care<\/p>\n

8)<\/p>\n

(All day long, we hear him crying so loud) \/ I just want to be myself, I just want to be myself, I just want to be myself, be myself, be myself<\/p>\n

9)<\/p>\n

Mine\u2019s broke down \/ And now I\u2019ve no one to love<\/p>\n

10)<\/p>\n

Hey mom, there\u2019s something in the back room \/ Hope it\u2019s not the creatures from above<\/p>\n

11)<\/p>\n

Oh Space Dude in your space suit \/ Our love, it takes us to the moon<\/p>\n

12)<\/p>\n

Then the stranger spoke, he said, \u201cDo not fear \/ I come from a planet a long way from here\u201d<\/p>\n

13)<\/p>\n

On Mercury, they\u2019re crazy about my stellar rock \u2019n\u2019 roll \/ And I always sell out in advance at the Martian Astrobowl<\/p>\n

14)<\/p>\n

Life is too easy, a plague seems quite feasible now \/ Or maybe a war, or I may kill you all<\/p>\n

15)<\/p>\n

He was turned to steel \/ In the great magnetic field<\/p>\n

16)<\/p>\n

Tell me, did you sail across the sun? \/ Did you make it to the Milky Way to see the lights all faded<\/p>\n

17)<\/p>\n

Encounters one and two are not enough for me \/ What my body needs is close encounter three<\/p>\n

18)<\/p>\n

And with the top down, we\u2019ll cruise around \/ Land and make love on the moon (Would you like that?)<\/p>\n

19)<\/p>\n

Now it\u2019s been ten thousand years \/ Man has cried a billion tears<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>