The Omaha Science Fiction Education Society Newsletter

Vol 1 - Number 1 - December, 2009

If you are on our mailing list, we are sending this out to you to keep you abreast of where we are with OSFest and other activities that are taking place throughout the Omaha area. If you know of anybody who would like to receive this newsletter, and is not currently on our e-mail list, send an e-mail to: omahascifi@gmail.com and request to be put on the list. Conversely, if you are receiving this newsletter and do not wish to receive it, send an e-mail to the aforementioned address and request to be removed from our list.

OSFES had a panel at AnimeNebraskon - we presented a brief history of S/F conventions that have occurred in Omaha and the surrounding area. We reported on where we are today, with activities that are in the planning stages at OSFest and other activities that are being planned in Omaha and the surrounding area. We ended with a Q & A on what people would like to see at OSFest.

We are looking at upcoming cons and holding room parties at these cons- If you will be attending any cons within 500 or so miles of Omaha in the future, look for our room party. Or if you would like to sponsor a party for OSFest, contact us at: omahascifi@gmail.com for how to go about it.

We will be having a concert at OSFest. Plans at this time are to hold this concert on Friday evening, July 23. It was also decided that we will have a dance on Saturday evening, July 24. We are currently looking at a number of entertainers, but nothing is definite yet.

We are in the early planning stages of an Anime Film Festival that we would like to hold sometime this winter. Right now we still need a venue and more ideas. Any suggestions are welcome.

Every Saturday “The Usual Suspects” invite you to attend a movie with them at the Great Escape Theater in Omaha. This will be the last “twilight” (i.e. cheap) showing around 5:00pm. Check the theaters listings for the actual time or sign up for our Yahoo e-mail group, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Omaha_Sci-Fi_Fantasy_Discussions/join to receive a reminder notice weekly. If you want you can also join them afterwards for supper at a nearby restaurant for discussion of the movie and other stuff.

If you know of any activities going on in the Omaha area and would like to have them put in this monthly newsletter, or anything relevant to s/f, fantasy, anime, costuming or cosplay, etc., send the info to applsaucefactory@aol.com.

Our web site is http://www.osfes.org/

Omaha_Sci-Fi_Fantasy_Discussions is a Yahoo group dedicated to general fan discussions about anything and everything.

Winter Activities in the Omaha Area

Cold as it is outside; we have not yet hit the point in Omaha where things have to slow down. Most winter planning takes a backseat to the chance of extreme snow closing things down in this city. Which is a real problem here since our weather patterns either have major storm activities by-pass us or funnel everything then have right onto our area.

Yet we are starting to see more event coordinators taking the chance and planning activities during our winter months. They are taking advantage of the fact that even after a major snow event; the Omaha streets are usually cleared within a day or so.

Saturday Dec. 5th The Omaha Science Fiction Education Society (OSFES) is hosting a Laser Tag Event at Zzzap! Laser Adventures starting at 7PM and going until everyone has had a chance to play. The organizers would like you to RSVP on their Facebook site. It will allow them to coordinate things with ZZZap! Management.

Sunday Dec. 6th will be the monthly meeting of Otaku Get Together at Scooters Coffee in the Old Market at 12th & Howard, Omaha, NE. They meet from 12-3PM, for more information their website is: http://www.otakugettogether.com/

Every Saturday The Usual Suspects invite everyone to join them for the last matinee showing of a recently released movie at the Great Escape Theatre, 7440 Crown Point Avenue, Omaha, NE. That is usually around 5PM but show times vary. Here is a PDF of the films they are looking at going to over the next few months.

The third Tuesday of the month OSFES hosts a book discussion group at the Abrahams Branch of the Omaha Public Library. Our next meeting will be Dec. 15th at 6PM until 8PM. Whatever you have been reading lately and would like to discuss or encourage others to read will be welcome. From automatic reminders, join the Omaha_Sci-Fi_Discussion Yahoo group.

Click to join Omaha_Sci-Fi_Fantasy_Discussions

Saturday Jan. 16th starting at 2PM and running all night will be an AniRave sponsored by Otaku Omaha at the Comfort Inn & Suites. For more details about this dance go to their Facebook event site.
If you are planning an event in the next few months and want some free publicity, leave a comment and how I can get in touch with you. We also have and activities page on the OSFES website where we can post any ongoing events you have planned. So let’s Share and Enjoy all the activities we do in our fannish lifestyles.

Happy Holidays

The Anime Nebraskon Super Battle Frenzy BBQ

The Anime NebrasKon people have done it again. Sunday, August 30th, they will be hosting another Fan BBQ in Elmwood Park: The Anime Nebraskon Super Battle Frenzy BBQ. If you don’t know where Elmwood Park is, it is right behind the UNO campus, just south of 60th and Dodge. Find the picnic area and look for people in costumes 2PM or as the organizer, Caleb Combs says “3ish in Otaku Time for most of you.”

So Caleb, who is invited to this shindig?
“Everyone and Anyone which includes and is not limited to the following: Con Staff, Con Attendees, Their Friends, Their Family, NUKE Con Staff, OSFES Staff, Otaku Get Together, Otaku Omaha Staff, UN Otaku Anime Hoshii, Nebraska Amtgard, Anime Sunday, and anyone else who likes anime or a good BBQ!
“To sum it up this is for everyone to come together and just enjoy some good food, talk about anime, comics, sci-fi, fantasy, LARPs, RPGs, smack each other with foam weapons, and wear really awesome home made nerd armor.”

They are planning several events:
      SUPER BATTLE FRENZY (team foam combat)
      Armor and Weapons contests
          o Best Original Armor
          o Best Original Weapon
          o Best Female Armor
          o Best Male Armor
      An anime version of WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY?
      A BATTLE FRENZY CARAMELLDANSEN REMIX
      A BATTLE FRENZY SIDE DISH CONTEST;
          o Bring a side dish, give it a name, and the judges decide who is the Ultimate Bringer of the Epicness of Side Dishes.
                Best Tasting
                Best Name
      POKEMON BATTLE/TRADE GATHERING: Bring your DS and your Pokemon. But please e-mail Cay Combs at Marketing@animenebraskon.com, so he can make a list of who's bringing their DS for others who ask.
      INTERGALACTIC WATERGUN FIGHT

There is no cost to attend this event. But it is a potluck feast so please bring beverages (non-alcoholic, as alcohol is illegal in City of Omaha parks), a dessert, a side dish, chips, or a main dish of some type.

If you are not interested in participating in any of the planned events, still come and meet the lively people who are. This is a good time to renew old friendships, make new ones, and see what is happening in the Omaha Sci-Fi Scene.

For more information, contact Caleb “Cay” Combs:
Marketing@animenebraskon.com
MYSPACE.COM/I1KIDDYNAMITE1I
facebook.com/people/Cay-Combs/212300006
402-452-1553

In the event of rain, this will be postponed to 9-6-09. If you are bringing food, please notify Cay or add what you are bringing to a wall post. Thank you and hope to see you there!

It Came From The Con Suite

I know many of you have been waiting for this - so here is the story written at OSFest 2 on the Con Suite wall:

The con chair lay in a pool of blood. The color of the blood was a light green, and smelled like pancakes. They were Good! The congealed sticky, parts splattered to the far corners of the room. “They don’t pay me enough to clean this!” She thought as she entered the room. She started to wipe up the mess with a sponge, but it stuck. She tried to let go of the sponge but she was stuck to that too. It took eight of Artoo’s tools, including his heavy duty wrench, to get them unstuck. Unfortunately, she’s now stuck to him. And then the rocks began to fall. Heisenberg may have been here. Instead of bouncing off, or crushing them, they stuck. Only the fact that the rocks stuck prevented an avalanche that would have wiped out the valley below. “EVERY Thing is all sticky!” She bellowed. To which a passer by replied, “That’s what she said.” But just then something strange happened, the green sticky blood began to glow. The two stared in horrified fascination as the blood began to envelop them both, seeming the crawl up their arms. But they didn’t mind because it all still smelled like pancakes. “Root beer is sticky” says John Pershing. MMMM, Root Beer flavored pancakes. They thought as the started to rise into the air. Suddenly they heard a noise that sounded like the death rattle of 1000 wild nerf. And then the “Shat” hit the fan….
Falling out of the sticky, sweet, coagulated blood they realized by the smell of sulfur and sounds of screams that they had landed themselves in their own personal hell.
I left the iron on at home…
“Oh no! The Children! The Children…!”
“Oh fantast free me!!!”
And more rocks fell?
Rocks fall, everyone dies?
Resurrection being cheap everyone is put back to work
I hope they have hard hats…
[Obviously a musical interlude that includes a dance number and with jazz hands!! And “spirit fingers”]
After time-space corrected itself, the girl and Artoo found they were free from the green, glowing, pancake-scented blood. However, it had gained sentience, and spoke in a gurgly voice…”Feed Me!”
They turned and ran back to the green pancake scented blood. She stripped off her headband and soaked it in the blood, then flung it at the hungry creature.
“Eat this!” She screamed. A random passerby replied, “that’s what he said” as the bloody headband hit the green blood it sunk in and dissolved then the green blood began to grow.
Superman’s a ninja.
The cake's a lie.

Join us next year at OSFest 3: Under Construction where we will again tape pink butcher paper to the Con Suite wall for everyone to contribute to another wonderous piece of fan fiction.

Share and Enjoy!

OSFest 2 Another Small Step

OSFest took another small step towards uniting the Omaha fannish community last weekend. A lot of different fannish groups came together and had a good time at our second annual science fiction and fantasy convention. If you missed it, check out some of the videos produced about what went on:





But not everything went smoothly and there are some things we can improve on. We took too long with the art auction, so we got some ideas to help speed things up next year. The video game room needs some changes also. We need to work on our game shows. But what else could we have done better? Now is the time to speak up. If we know you had a problem with something and you know a way we can fix it, get us working on it. Leave us a comment either here, on our Yahoo group: Omaha_Sci-Fi_Fantasy_Discussions, or email us directly at omahascifi@gmail.com.

If you are not a member of our Yahoo group you can join by clicking the button below:
Click to join Omaha_Sci-Fi_Fantasy_Discussions

And if you would like to get involved with helping out The Omaha Science Fiction and Fantasy Festival next year, we would love to have you. Either drop us an email or sign up at the omaha_ne_scifi_con Yahoo group.

Wait, let’s keep this simple, just click here:

Click to join omaha_ne_scifi_con

Remember, OSFest is a science fiction convention with something for everyone. If you didn't find what you wanted, let us know how we can bring it to you and others interested in the same things.

Local Area Roundtable Discussions

The nature of a convention is the bringing together of like minded individuals. Be they doctors at medical conventions, Sales Representatives at trade shows, or fans at SF/F conventions. That is why we are having three roundtable discussions as part of OSFest 2’s programming.

The first will be Saturday July 18th at 2PM in the Comfort Inn & Suites Board Room. The Local Anime Groups Roundtable is a chance for all the different Anime groups in the area to meet each other and tell other conventions attendees about what they do throughout the year. I am extending the invitation to any and all Anime groups wishing to participate to drop me a line at jshoberg@cox.net, so I can pencil you in. But if you can’t get a hold of me before hand, please show up and attend this discussion. I am trying to contact all the groups OSFES knows about but that may be impossible. So please, if you are part of an Anime group, consider this your invite and attend.

The next one scheduled is again on Saturday but at 5PM and is for the gaming community. This would be your chance to let the rest of the gaming community learn about the gaming activities you are sponsoring. Consider it your chance to convince new people to show up for your events, maybe find some crossover with other groups and build your gaming activities through joint events.

The reason OSFES wants to sponsor both roundtables is that it will allow us to get a deeper understanding of what is happening in the area and better serve those needs by noted those activities on our activities webpage. Which leads into the third discussion; on Sunday at 2PM (right before closing ceremonies) OSFES will host a discussion of the Omaha Gateway (the fancy name for our activities page). This would be the time for anyone interested to let us know what they would like to see on it and what format they would like the information presented in.

A convention is a time to come together and plan for the future. Let’s use the synergy of all the diverse groups in the Omaha area and build a future we can all have fun in.