CUSFS Termcard for Lent Term 2003

All events start at 7.30pm unless otherwise specified. A summary is also available in calendar format.

Sunday Discussions, Other Events, and Things Of Interest

See also the semi-detached events page.

Saturday 18 January, 7:10pm   Film trip: The Two Towers   Warner Cinema
Joint trip with the Cambridge Tolkien Society to see the latest Lord of the Rings film (the middle of the trilogy). It is strongly recommended that you book your ticket beforehand - this can be done online at the Warner website. We will meet in the area just inside the cinema, where the ticket collection posts and food counters are, at 7:00pm. Comparable to Tolkien at his best.
 
Sunday 19 January   Discussion: Virtual Worlds   38 Lensfield Road, Room 9
Virtual Worlds are everywhere in SF. From Tron to The Matrix, Permutation City to cyberspace and the metaverse, SF has a lasting fascination with worlds which exist only inside a computer. What do these worlds tell us about ourselves and our relationship with the real world we live in? What is the real world anyway? And with science bringing true Virtual Reality closer, should we be afraid that so many SF virtual worlds are dystopias?
 
Tuesday 21 January, 8:30pm   CTS Discussion: The Two Towers   T4, King's College
After you've been to see The Two Towers, join the Cambridge Tolkien Society for a discussion of its merits. Loved it? Hated it? Go along and argue your position. It will certainly be a charged debate!
 
Thursday 23 January, 9:10pm   Film trip: Star Trek Nemesis   Warner Cinema
Join us for the latest in the long line of Trek films. It is strongly recommended that you book your ticket beforehand - this can be done online at the Warner website. We will meet in the area just inside the cinema, where the ticket collection posts and food counters are, at 9:00pm. There will also be a group of CUSFS people meeting in the Free Press pub before the film (from about 7:30pm) for food and a drink or two.
 
Sunday 26 January   Discussion: Marion Zimmer Bradley   44 Lensfield Road
(middle floor doorbell)
Marion Zimmer Bradley is best known for her Darkover fantasy and sometimes SF-crossover series. Do you like the series? Is the matrix magic/technology believable? Are the books best before the Terrannan turn up? Also, find out about some of MZB's more obscure works...
 
Saturday 1 February
8:30 onwards
  Jómsborg Wake for the Old Year   11 Atherton Close
And so another year of Jómsborg the New ends. Join the Reeve, Companions and Jómsvikingar in our preparation for the New Year. The Jómsvikingar purify themselves by staying up throughout the night, helped along by a selection of games, reading, sparkling conversation, and anything else that comes to mind. Oh, and probably a fair amount of coffee. The particularly devout meet on top of Castle Mound at sunset to bid farewell to the Old Sun, which is due to finally wind down at 16:46 on the 1st. Distractions will include...
 
Saturday 1 February, 9:00pm   Discussion: The Quest   11 Atherton Close
The Quest is one of the central themes of fantasy writing. Has it been over-used, or is there still life in the old meme yet? Come along and discuss what makes a quest story good or bad, and to speculate on what's really at the end of the rainbow...
 
Sunday 2 February, dawn   Afmaelisdagr   Castle Mound
The host of the Jómsvikingar march, as one, to the hub of the Universe (known simply to mortal folk as the Castle Mound). There, the Reeve, assisted by the assembled throng and a large quantity of mead, raises the New Sun, gives it form, and sets it circling for another year. We will try to organise breakfast for those interested (and still awake!) after the Afmaelisdagr.
NB. As all true Jómsvikingar know, the Afmaelisdagr falls on 31 January, the first day of Jómsborg's year. And so it will this year too. For complex and arcane reasons, the relevant period has fallen out of the normal temporal sequence this year. Please complain to your calendar manufacturer.
 
Thursday 6 February   Reading Evening   New Hall bar
Bring along a dramatic short piece of Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature (either a (very!) short story, or an extract from something longer) to scare, impress, or entertain the company. Introduce us to someone new, or convert us to an old favourite. Alternatively, come to listen to what others have brought to read, and be enlightened, amused, horrified, or just confused.
 
Sunday 9 February   Discussion: New Authors   J1, Cripps Court, Selwyn
So what's been happening recently? Whether you've discovered the next Arthur C. Clarke, or think everything published in the last year is rubbish, come along and tell us what to look out for and what to avoid (and see what everyone else recommends!).
 
Tuesday 11 February
9:00pm
  Film: Dogma   Keynes Hall, King's College
In association with King's Films.
 
Sunday 16 February, 7:30pm   AGM   Wilkins Room, R staircase, Downing
Bring games. Play them. Enough said.
Election of new committee members will also be taking place. The posts of Chairbeing, Secretary, Treasurer, Membership Secretary, Librarian and TTBA Editor are available, so if you think you might be interested, contact the committee for more information, or to talk to the individual current officer. Some details of the committee posts are also in the constitution.
 
Sunday 16 February, 9:30pm   Games Evening   J1, Cripps Court, Selwyn
Bring games. Play them. Enough said.
 
Thursday 20 February   Writers' Workshop   TBA
Details to be announced nearer the time.
 
Saturday 22 February, 8:30am   Picocon trip   Imperial College Students' Union
Picocon is a one-day SF convention, run by ICSF, the Imperial College SF and fantasy society. The guests of honour this year are Gwyneth Jones and Dr Jack Cohen - each of them has a slot in the programme where they will talk about something that interests them, and take questions from the audience. There will also be a dealers' room, with second-hand booksellers etc., and various events throughout the day (past Picocons have included dalek racing, quizzes, a LAN games room, juggling lessons and "destruction of dodgy merchandise" auctions, among other things). The programme (now up on the Picocon website) starts at 10:15am and concludes with a showing of Twelve Monkeys at 5pm.
Entrance costs £5.00 for students (with ID!) and £8.00 for others. A CUSFS group will be going to Picocon, by train, travelling on the 08:45 to King's Cross. If you're interested, please join us at the railway station (look for the orange scarves) by 8:30am - this should allow enough time for buying tickets. (The recommended ticket is the One-Day Travelcard (about £15), which includes a day return to London and unlimited travel on the Underground. Discounts are available with Young Person's and Network Railcards.) If you have lectures on Saturday morning and can't meet us at Cambridge station, do consider coming along later for the afternoon events - it's usually a very enjoyable day.
 
Sunday 23 February   Discussion: Brian Stableford   J1, Cripps Court, Selwyn
Best known for his Hooded Swan books, Brian Stableford has been publishing intelligent hard SF since the mid-1960s. Today he is both a very active writer (and one of the few SF authors around who can tackle genetics convincingly) and an SF historian, having (among other things) contributed heavily to the Encyclopedia of SF. Come along to eulogise, rant, or find out whether you want to read more...
 
Thursday 27 February   Semi-detached games evening   Castle Inn, Castle Hill /
155 Gilbert Road
An occasional and unofficial gathering for food at the Castle followed by games and coffee at Relativity (155 Gilbert Road). More details on the semi-detached events page.
 
Sunday 2 March   Discussion: Gene Wolfe   TBA
A discussion of the works of fantasy author Gene Wolfe.
 
Thursday 6 March   Cocktails Workshop   155 Gilbert Road
Join us for our annual foray into cocktail invention. For a small fee (to be determined) we provide ingredients for your mad schemes. Previous concoctions can be found in the CUSFS drinks list.
 
Sunday 9 March   Discussion: Brian Aldiss   TBA
A discussion of the works of science fiction author Brian Aldiss.
 
Tuesday 11 March, 6:00pm   Book launch: Finding Helen by Colin Greenland   Heffer's, 20 Trinity Street
Come and meet Colin Greenland who will be launching his new book, Finding Helen. This is a ticketed event only. Tickets are free and can be obtained from the Literature Department at Heffer's, 20 Trinity Street, or by telephoning Sean Flinn on 01223 568520.

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Last recorded update: 24 June 2004, by Mark Waller
Status: awaiting checking against missives

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