I'm Back

It's been almost four years since I abruptly stopped publishing this blog and it's about time I got started again.

The goal or purpose of this column has always been to inform you about genre related events in the area and to promote them.  To discuss the cool things people are doing, how they are doing them and what can be done to find more people for them to do them with.  We will talk about mistakes that get made but it is my intent to do so in a way that will help improve what people are doing.  Keeping in mind that I do not have all the answers and may not see the problems that people encounter, those should be the rare occurrence.  What is important is that everyone who is trying to bring joy to the community should get their chance to realize their dreams and share them with as many people as possible.  So if you have something fun you are planning, let's talk about it.  If you're passionate enough, I will even let you guest write.  Speak your own passion to the community.

As far as fan activities are concerned there is nothing bigger than a convention.  And in the last four years we have seen an explosion of conventions in town.  Congregation (http://congregation-con.com/ ); BritishFest (http://britishfest.weebly.com/ ); O!Comicon (http://www.ocomiccon.com/ ); and Pretzcon(www.pretzcon.org/).    Standbys like Willycon (http://wildcat.wsc.edu/clubs/willycon/ ), Constellation (http://www.constellationne.net/ ), Nuke-con (https://www.nuke-con.com/ ), and AnimeNebrasKon (http://www.animenebraskon.com/) are still going strong with OSFest (http://www.osfes.org) going into hiatus for 2016.  The continued growth of AnimeNebrasKon and the great startup numbers of for O!Comicon, Congregation and BritishFest tell us that the appetite for this kind of entertainment in the Omaha area is expanding.  People are realizing they have been Science Fiction fans and finding that others share their interests.  Fan groups are forming for people to get together on a more regular basis than the once a year at a convention and use those groups to plan extended activities when they get to the organized conventions.

 

Let's all share what we like about the Science Fiction, Fantasy, Anime, Horror, Gaming genre.  If we do we will find friends we didn't know were out there.

OSFest 5’s Program Participants (3)

It takes a lot of hard work on the part of a lot of folks to pull off a really great convention. The Omaha Science Fiction Education Society (the parent organization of OSFest) has been lucky in finding a lot of talented people to help us.

James Hollaman & Sherri Dean

What can you say about James Hollaman that has not been documented already by psychiatric wards. Artist, Writer, Fan and just a provider of odd thoughts. His art work can be found on the cover of the Bubba Chronicles by Selina Rosen, Marking the signs by Laura J. Underwood and half of the cards in the Bubbas of the Apocalypse card game. (Sherri Dean did the other half) His writing can be found in Flush Fiction, International House of Bubbas, Houston we have Bubbas and A Bubba in Time Saves None. (all of them are available from OSFest 5 will be July 27-29, 2012 at the newly remodeled Ramada Plaza (72^nd & Grover). I hope to see you there.www.Yarddogpress.com) James has also done the cover and has a story in a e-book anthology called I Didn't Quite Make it to OZ, which is available through Amazon or Smashwords.

 James's mind usually is full of weird ideas. Some that help describe him. He had a Gallery Showing in OKC of what he calls Precocious Moments. This is Precious Moments of bad people or events. Some that was in the show was Hitler, JFK and Jackie at the time of his assassination, and the Uni-bomber. It was said that a woman walked into the gallery looked at his art and walked out muttering "there is to much evil in here". Another one of his ideas is called Room Con. A single night convention (party) held at various conventions. He has all the thoughts of a regular convention, Guest of honors, a Art show, even a hospitality suite. He usually has live music being played. He even brought Howard Waldrop to a Room Con. 

Travis Heermann

Travis Heermann is a native Nebraskan writer. And like most good science fiction writers has a degree in science, in his case Electrical Engineering. But he has recently rounded that education out with a Masters degree in English. He has taught English in Japan for three years. His first fantasy novel as The Ivory Star in 1996. He published numerous short stories, magazine articles and gaming supplements until he published his second novel in 2009: Heart of the Ronin. Look for this multi-talented author on a lot of diverse panels this July.

But learning something new and interacting with new and old friends is what conventions are about. Attend as many conventions as you can, so you can meet new people.   I hope to see you at OSFest 5 in July.

A Fannish Move Means Lots of Great Genre Bargains

Sylvia Kostisin is moving from her long time residence on Pacific street and will not have room for the collections she has put together over the years of being a fan in the Omaha area. Her lose is your gain. Here is a description of her some of her items:


“So, the first auction will have my Star Trek books--I think just about all the paperbacks and most of the hardcovers, along my autographed books, mostly from Omaha Sci-Fi conventions. The last few years of Magazine of F&SF, and some other random books

The auction on the 28th should have the bulk of my SF collection, more ST, some SW, a lot of Dr Who, convention memorabilia, fanzines (mostly Robin of Sherwood, I didn't check the box real close), my Elfquest (all the comics, including #1, some paperbacks and HC, games, posters, t shirts, the video, calendars) Star Trek plates and a 3-D chess set, movie posters, artwork, and of course books and magazines.

Close to 3000 books, mostly paperback, and SF book club editions. Some of the old Ace Doubles, books going back to when they were 35 cents, all the old time major authors, Magazines from the 1930's on, Astounding/Analog, Galaxy, F&SF, If, Fantastic, Fantastic Universe, Imagination--no Amazing or Weird Tales.

I haven't looked in these boxes for about 15 years, so not much current--I throw things down there occasionally, but never looked to take anything out.

The auction house is Martindale Auctions, and the auction will be held at their Auction Building at 1305 S Main, Fremont NE 68025 the sales start at 9:30 am on Jan 28th.”

So check it out for some great deals.

The Usual Suspects Jan & Febr 2012 Film List

January – As always January is a pick-up month, going back and getting caught up on the movie we missed over the Christmas Holidays starting with The Adventures of Tintin on the 7th and then The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The two new movies this month are Red Tails and The Grey.

1-14 - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Journalist Mikael Blomkvist is aided in his search for a woman who has been missing for forty years by Lisbeth Salander, a young computer hacker.

1-21 - Red Tails - A crew of African American pilots in the Tuskegee training program, having faced segregation while kept mostly on the ground during World War II, are called into duty under the guidance of Col. A.J. Bullard.

1 - 28 – The Grey - In Alaska, an oil drilling team struggle to survive after a plane crash strands them in the wild. Hunting the humans is a pack of wolves that see them as intruders.

February – This month usually has movies that are hidden gems or just dumping grounds for movies that could not make the Christmas Cut. Here we go from Daniel Radcliffe's first post Harry Potter movie to a reenactment of a real life Act of Valor told by the people who preformed it. In between we have a found footage superhero movie, spy(Kirk) vs. spy(Bane), a Rock in a jungle and Nicolas Cage with his head on fire. February also see the first re-release of the Star Wars Movies in 3D with The Phantom Menace.

2 - 4 – The Woman in Black - A young lawyer travels to a remote village where he discovers the vengeful ghost of a scorned woman is terrorizing the locals.

2 - 4 – Chronicle - Three high school friends gain superpowers after making an incredible discovery. Soon, though, they find their lives spinning out of control and their bond tested as they embrace their darker sides.

2 - 11 – Journey 2: The Mysterious Island - Sean Anderson partners with his mom's boyfriend on a mission to find his grandfather, who is thought to be missing on a mythical island.

2 - 18 – Ghost Rider Spirit of Vengeance - As Johnny Blaze hides out in Eastern Europe, he is called upon to stop the devil, who is trying to take human form.

2 - 18 – This Means War - Two top CIA operatives wage an epic battle against one another after they discover they are dating the same woman.

2 - 25 – Act of Valor - An elite team of Navy SEALs embark on a covert mission to recover a kidnapped CIA agent.

Unless otherwise announced, all showing will be the last afternoon priced matinee at the Aksarben Cinema.  So join these guys for a feature film and a chance to talk about it afterward.

The Programming Begins

It may seem like a long time until OSFest 5 over July 27-29^th weekend, but we need to start on the program schedule now if we are to have one worth your attendance. So Nick Schneider and I sat down and began pulling together interesting ideas that would make great events for you to be a part of. But we can't do it alone, nor can we prepare a schedule in a vacuum. We need you input. While I will be bouncing ideas through this blog over the next few months, now is the time to brainstorm, now is the time to come up with the ideas that can be fleshed out into great panels, and most importantly, now is the time for you to tell us what you are interested in and would like to see. After all the Omaha Science Fiction and Fantasy Festival is YOUR convention, now ours.

Yes, several old favorites will return: the Ultimate Starship Challenge, the Militarization of Space, and the Dating Auction to name a few. But the OSFest Programming staff is not plugged into YOUR network of influence and we can only guess what trips your trigger. We are looking for anything right now that falls under the genre of SF/Fantasy, Horror, Anime, Costuming/Cosplay, Gaming, or generally interesting to fans of the above. This is the brainstorming phase of programming, so no idea is too outrageous, we may not use it but we will consider it. Maybe with a little tweaking???

We are also looking for people who are knowledgeable in the ideas you suggest. So if you are an expert (or just someone with an informed passion) please let us know so we can keep you in mind for that panel. Also let us know if this is something you would just like to learn, that way we can look for the experts for you and have them available at OSFest.

Where should you make your suggestions? Posting a comment on this blog or on its Facebook site might get the word to us. The best way to do this is through the OSFES Forum at: http://osfes.org/Forums/index.php. This will allow Nick and I to rapidly find everyone's suggestion and others to give their feedback to what has already been suggested. Be an active forum participant and OSFES can keep bringing you great conventions year after year.

I hope to see you in July.

The Tale of Susan Satterfield



Susan & the Roving Room Party

 In 1977, Susan discovered a "little" convention called OKon and has been a part of fandom ever since that first exposure where she thought the Con Suite was for staff and guests only. She began her fannish life in Tulsa fandom. Here she not only chaired or co-chaired two Okons, a couple of MelloKons, and ran a party with another STARbase Tulsa member (Vicki Williams) called SuViCon, she also served in several capacities as an officer of the local club including Captain. Since that time, Susan and her husband Jim moved to the Kansas City area where she has gone on to co-chair three ConQuesTs with Becky Rickart, and along with Cindy McEldery, she has chaired 22 Contraceptions (Kansas City's adults-only relax-a-con). She has run many Masquerades for various conventions including Soonercon and ConQuesT and has worked on the committee for two World Science Fiction Conventions handling the Hugo Awards, run registration for two Nebula awards weekends, and in 2005, she was co-chairman of the World Horror Convention held in Kansas City, Missouri.


Susan Satterfield is the author of a number of published short stories including "Mirror of His Soul" and "The Changing," appearing in Eldritch Tales, and "A Perfect World," appearing in the Yard Dog Press anthology, Stories That Won't Make Your Parents Hurl. Her chapbook, Mirror Images, was published by Yard Dog Press in May of 2002. "The Lady Killer" and "Sweet Teddy" appeared in an anthology entitled Small Bites, which was a benefit for author, Charles Grant. She is also the author of "A Bubba Poet" found in The International House of Bubbas and
"What Goes Around" from the anthology Flush Fiction. Susan's short story entitled, "Close Encounters of the Bubba Kind," can be found in the Yard Dog Press anthology Houston, We've Got Bubbas. Her poem entitled "The Hunger: A Zombie Poem," appeared in October, 2009 in an anthology titled Vicious Verses and Reanimated Rhyme from Costcom Entertainment.
Her latest sale, "A Bad Case of the Munchies," can be found in the new Yard Dog Press anthology I Should Have Stayed in Oz.


Susan Satterfield graduated in 2001 with a Masters Degree in English from Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg, Missouri. Currently, Susan teaches at Longview Community College. She lives in Lee's Summit, Missouri with her extended family including dogs, cats, and assorted fish.

Join her and the many other guests this July 27-29th as we celebrate the fifth year of the Omaha Science Fiction and Fantasy Festival.  See you then!

Independent Filmmaker News

It has been a couple of years since Christopher Mihm has been about to make it to Omaha.  But OSFest is still having an influence on his movie productions.  Mitch Obrecht was an Associate Producer for Destination Outer Space and now James Hollaman is an Associate Producer of House of Ghosts and is currently highlighted in the Mihmiverse Monthly Newsletter at: http://www.sainteuphoria.com/newsletter/jan12.html.

One of the things we added last year to OSFest was an independent film festival to showcase the works of small film makers like Christopher Mihm, Star Trek Phase 2, and The Dead Hour.  Giving them some exposure and making potential audiences aware that their work exists.  This year we are in the process of adding a special contest running up to OSFest.  We would like to offer a chance for high school students who want to produce genre films to have those films shown to a receptive audience.

So join us at OSFest 5: The Gathering and experience some of those independent visions.  Then let's all talk about what's great about the genre.