Mass Con Jan 31st

Critical Mass News, Snippets

Critical Mass is planning another single day mini convention.
Unlike other years, this one will be online from 12noon til 8pm, Adelaide time on Sunday January 31st.

We’ve organised a reprise of Eugen Bacon’s talk on Afrofuturism, and Adam Jenkins digs deep in history to tell us about A True Story by Lucian of Samosata.

There’s a panel on the New Doctor Who; talks on interesting new SF&F in print and on air; a talk about the Adelaide Uni SF Association, formed fifty years ago in 1971; and an assortment of podcasters to talk about their art. Add a few games, a reading of The Frankenstein Burlesque and time to chat with fellow fans in a virtual bar or two, and it should be an interesting day.

If you are interested in attending, or have an idea for a talk or panel you’d like to see, please contact roman (websmith@internode.on.net), We’re also looking for volunteers to host the zoom and welcome guests (in one hour shifts, training provided).

Login details:

Time: Sunday Jan 31, 2021 12noon Adelaide, 12:30pm Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86013693109?pwd=NEdzZTVMaFlRZlByWmxUZFAxaTNSZz09

Meeting ID: 860 1369 3109
Passcode: MassCon

Draft programme as at wed 27th below: updates posted here.

Time (Adelaide)The FoyerMunden’sCallahan’sSpace barThe PatioThe loungeThe BronzeTaffey’s
12 noonOpening welcome (15mins)       
12:20  New Written SF
Panel with Kate Treloar, Tony Thomas, Roman Orszanski, ??? (40mins)		     
12:40        
1pm “Afrofuturism, Speculative Fiction, genre boundaries and interfaces”:
Eugen Bacon (30mins) 		      
1:20        
1:40   Quiz (movies) (20min)    
2pm  Early days at AUSFA
2021 is the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Adelaide Uni SF Association (AUSFA), we thought it might be interesting to have a panel on the origins of AUSFA.

Alan Sandercock, Jeff Harris, Joy Window??, along with a few fans from later years. 40mins		     
2:20        
2:40   Treasure Hunt (20min)     
3pm From Fan to Pro:John D Berry (30mins)      
3:20        
3:40 A True Tale
Adam tells us about a very old SF story: Widely hailed as the first science fiction story, A True Story, by Lucian of Samosata is a voyage to the edges of the universe and reason. The title is the first clue that this will be a tall tale. 40mins		      
4pm        
4:20   QuizSteampunk tea party/panel 40 mins   
4:40        
5pm  Best new SF on TV
Terry Frost & Roman Orszanski & ??40 mins		     
         
      Charades   
6pm Audio/radio drama
Roman + ?? looks at some of the interesting audio pieces out and about 30mins		      
         
6:40 Jewish SF in Australia
Gillian Polack (30 mins)		     
7pm        
7:30pm  Podcasting
David Grigg [Two Chairs Talking], John Coxon [Octothorpe], Terry Frost [Martian Drive-In/Paleo-Cinema], Christina Lake [This Never Happens] and Roman Orszanski [KRAM-StuFf] talk about how & why they podcast. 40mins		     
         
8pm        
8:20 New Doctor Who Panel:
Chris Pyman, Karen Carlisle ???? 40mins		      
9pm   Frankenstein Burlesque
A reading of the script from 1864 We are looking for volunteers to help with the reading…		    
Draft Program for Mass Con ’21 4:20pm Wed 27th Jan