Another e-zine

Every few months, it seems that another e-zine is launched giving local writers another possible entry-level professional market. Hot on the heels of New Ceres comes an e-zine aimed at the Young Adult SF&F market. Shiny is currently taking submissions.

January meeting

Happy new year everybody.

In case you were wondering, the January 07 main meeting of is being held in Leuven on Featherston street. For those of you new to the club, we usually hold the January meeting at a pub - the idea being to start the year on a jovial note. We will be back in Turnbull house in February.

As promised here are links to some of the online role playing games I play
for those who are interested in them

Gaia online

GAIA Online is the largest forum community on the Internet! What makes GAIA Online so unique is that each user can create their own virtual character and customize it through clothing and accessories located in virtual shops throughout the site. With constant updates and events, as well as an ever-growing community, there is always something fun to do or someone to talk to!

It's a fun new way to spend time online with your friends while making new ones through our unique and constantly expanding virtual world. Searching for anime and videogame links on the web, while interacting with those who share the same passion for Anime/Manga and Videogame related entertainment has never been more fun! The best part is SIGNING UP IS ABSOLUTELY FREE!

Endless Online
endless faq
Endless is a 2d anime based online mmorpg.
Once playing our online rpg you can become rich and famous,
fight evil monsters, become a hero or live as a normal citizen.

B5: The Lost Tales (Update)

I thought some of the B5 fans out there might enjoy this link to an update on the making of the show. Even includes some photos!

December Meeting

The December Phoenix meeting is on the 13th at the usual time and place. It is our annual end of year party and quiz. Bring along something to eat & drink for the party and bring your brains for the quiz.

A special quiz hint for blog readers. The superb Dead Like Me starts on Wed 6th at 9.30pm on Prime. It is worth watching in its own right, but if you need extra incentive, I can promise that there will be a question on it in the quiz. Give yourself an extra edge.

Meeting Confirmation?

Can anyone confirm, or deny, that the next Phoenix meeting is Thursday, 8 November?

Parlez-Vous Klingon?

The producer of a film about Star Trek fans who have learned to speak Klingon and who come together in annual conventions to converse in their second language has come to their defense. In an interview with the sci-fi publication Fortean Times, Alexandre Phillipe, who shot his film Earthlings: Ugly Bags of Mostly Water at a 2003 qep'a' (conference), rebutted those who accuse the Klingon speakers of wasting their time.

"Are sports fans wasting their talents watching football on TV? I don't think so," he said. "If it's meaningful to them to learn Klingon -- because they have a good time, because it's a great intellectual exercise, or because that's how they want to make friends -- who are we to say they're wasting their time?"

Besides, Phillipe observed, "The Klingon language is indeed a fascinating cultural and linguistic phenomenon. It's the first constructed language based on popular culture that has thrived to the point of being spoken in 55 countries around the world. So to me the question isn't: 'why spend any time learning Klingon when there are so many other languages around?' but 'why not learn Klingon?'"

Halloween in Miramar?

At the last meeting, someone mentioned to me that they knew of a house in Miramar that gets all decked out for Halloween...I am sorry, but could not remember who it was who told me this...so if that kind soul should see this message, please give me a shout. Would love to go see it!

-William

october meeting

EXTRA-SOLAR PLANETS

tonight we had John Fields come and give a really fun talk on what is a planet, how they find them and all that stuff
http://www.carterobservatory.org/

here are some group shots just before we started



see ya next time
KATH

Late notice, but for what it's worth...

In the spirit of tonight's meeting topic, I noticed an announcement in the Dominion Post that Christine Cole Hatley, author of a new book Bright Star: Beatrice Hill Tinsley, Astronomer, will be speaking at the National Library Auditorium tomorrow, Thursday, October 12 at 12:10pm.

The talk is about Ms. Hill Tinsely and other 21st-century New Zealand women scientists, and is presented in connection with the exhibition Butterflies, Boffins & Black Smokers: Two Centuries of Science in New Zealand.

A link to the book review in the NZ Herald:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/6/story.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=10402399

-William

Zombified

OK, so being unemployed does have it's benefits, including being off on a Friday morning so that I can attend the Wellington Zombie Walk. This is simply too unusual or me to pass up, especially since I am a huge fan of Halloween (being from the midwestern U.S.) and I'm hoping this will give me the monster dosage I need to get through October without it. I am on the fence about dressing up for it, though I could be convinced to wear a spooky skellie mask. Anyone else out there going to attend, by chance?

Here's a link:

http://www.myspace.com/wellingtonzombiewalk

Attention aspiring reviewers

The Australian Specfic in focus site is a site dedicated to the aim of being a comprehensive review site for Australian SF genre fiction. There is also a view to expanding this to being an Australasian site - i.e. including New Zealand.

Right now they are looking for reviewers. If you have any aspirations to being a reviewer, why not drop them a line. You don't have to be part of the Aussie publishing scene - in fact being independent is a big plus. It would be a great introduction to the wider reviewing scene, score some review copies and if you are a writer it will also be a way of getting your name recognised by the editing community.

Even if you are not a reviewer but just interested in books, you could just visit the site to read the reviews.

Upcoming Film Screenings...

There are some film screenings being put on by the Wellington Film Society that may be of interest to club members:

Young Frankenstein - Monday, 13 November @ 6:15pm

Barbarella - Monday, 20 November @ 6:15pm

Kiwi Animation (8 short films) - Monday, 27 November @ 6:15pm.

The films are shown at the Paramount Theatre, 25 Courteney Place. Note that you must be a member of the Film Society to attend. Visit http://filmsociety.wellington.net.nz/ to learn more.

EDIT/ADDITION: Another film of possible interest to fans, this one being screened as part of the NZ International Documentary Film Festival:

John Howe - There and Back Again - Tue, 26 Sept @ 12:30pm, and Thu, 28 Sept @ 8:40pm...showing at the Paramount Theatre.

gerry anderson figures at phoenix

for those who missed the meeting here are some pictures from the meeting

New Ceres

A new web 'zine was launched today. Something to read and a new local(ish) market for writers. It has the usual mix of short stories and non-fiction. It has the rather unusual premise, for a webzine, of a common shared universe. This is what they say...

Meet the world of New Ceres, an exciting and dangerous place. Its water is green and its inhabitants are sophisticates. New Ceres is precarious: its New Enlightenment constrains society as well as liberating old thoughts and literature and drinking customs. The planet plays interstellar politics to defend its independence and it recruits refugees from Old Earth and the conquered New Alliance planets to maintain some dangerous habits. On New Ceres you will find coffee houses and highwaymen, drinks, gambling and illegal hi-technology.

Steampunk Rayguns

Weta's latest offerings will satisfy the evil and nefarious among us...

"Issuing forth from the fetid and possibly incriminating imagination of Weta Workshop designer Greg Broadmore come RAYGUNS: Dr. Grordborts Infallible Aether Oscillators!"

Spotted on boingboing.com

Inspirational posters Star Trek style

This site has used Star Trek images to give an amusing spin to the much maligned motivational poster. There's a lot of fannish jokes and a couple of very slash-like references.


EXPENDABILITY
Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and Ensign Ricky are beaming down to the planet. Guess who's not coming back.

Phoenix in istanbul

So after nearly a month I have managed to get a few photos loaded from the meeting at cafe istanbul










see ya
kath

One Off Serenity Screening

There is a special screening of the movie Serenity being held on Friday the 23rd of June at 7pm right here in Wellington. This is in support of Joss Whedon's favourite charity, Equality Now, and to celebrate his upcoming birthday.

The screening will take place at Reading Courtenay Central. Tickets are $13, and are available through Mike Foster. Mike is the sole contact, you cannot buy tickets directly from the theatre. The contact email address is coravel(at)gmail(dot)com. There will also be t-shirts, costing $30. Because this is meant to be a fundraiser, donations are also welcome. Proceeds raised go to Equality Now. This is part of a worldwide event, check out the official website at Can't Stop the Serenity.

Payments need to be made by this Friday (the 16th) so that the deposit for the theatre can be paid.

Website Revamp

(Posted on behalf of Terence White)
Pam and Terence are looking at revamping the Phoenix website. We've got some ideas, but we'd like to see what everyone else wants. If anyone wants to submit ideas, logo's, links or media you can add them to this blog entry or send them to the following temporary address until the end of June.phoenix.sf.ideas@orcon.net.nz.
All mail will go directly to Terence's home email. This address will be disappearing into the ether on the 1st of July if the spammers get hold of it and will be replaced by some other form of communication.
Currently we are looking at a Content Management System (perhaps Mambo), and we see there is lots of interest in blogging, so maybe we'll do something with that. Also, seeing as the golden age of Sci Fi was the 50's, perhaps an obituary section somewhere. Maybe a calendar with upcoming events. And some section somewhere for book reviews. Definitely a space for the SIG's to post their monthly reports.
Cheers
Terence.