MIT Science Fiction Society

84 Massachusetts Avenue

Cambridge, MA 02139

MITSFS Meeting Minutes

Friday, October 31, 2003

``Where do I hold it for the best bang?'' -ALC

MITSFS meeting called to order, 1700 SST, Andrew Clough, LHE and Pseudo-Skinner, presiding; Kat Allen, Onseck, recording.

Minutes read.

Motion: record the following in the minutes
Passes 1-0-0+Spehn

JFC would like to note that iBooks, while they do specialize in bad books, is a publisher, not a bookseller.

Motion: sentence fragments
Passes 9-3-1+Spehn

Motion: Ban sentence abuse
Passes 5-4-1+Spehn

BING!

Committee Reports

BlueBellComm

Some books got covered. Upon elaboration, it is revealed that Bill Starr covered books.

Motion: Commend the Passive Voice
Passes by Pseudo-Skinnerial decree

Discussion about retroactively defining grammar
Motion: Commend solipsism
Seconded, and JFC thinks it passes.
Rejected by pseudo-pseudo Skinnerial Decree (Kat) and the rejection is approved by

``The probability of Linear Logic is significantly reduced when you have no linearity and no logic'' - Malcolm
``That's profound''

MortComm

Hal Clement died on Wednesday, unexpectedly. He was a Friend of the Society, and had been a guest at meetings.

MobComm

Keeps buying books.

Some real LHE business is occurring in the background. It distracts the Pseudo-Skinner.

``I might not have any more to say'' -JFC
Move: Commend JFC for not having any more to say
Motion fails 4-7-1+Spehn

WarCouncil

Grr. KHA expands on the mess with the WarCouncil

JourComm

``Real Soon Now does not begin to convey the realness or the soonness of it''
JFC asks for a numeral from the date of the year in which TZ will be published.
``2''

A digression to real business: How often should TZ really be published, how long, etc.? This will be discussed later.

BING!

Old Business

More digressions to Real Business.

Discussions on whether JFC will look into requests or just mock them, apparently some will be mocked and others just got forgotten about.

People are reading the small pulp-house publishing novels.

We have Method, Motive and Opportunity for the Salem Donation. Conveniently, we also have a map. The exchange will occur this Sunday.

Discussion of the effects of alphabetizing on book selections.

ALGOL (with usual debate)

BING!

New Business

JFC just finished a novel where at one point there is a choice offered:
``The lands of man can be overrun by fire-breathing dragons or magical kittens.''

None of the Bananimals have costumes.

Discussion of books of useless trivia and books intended to be full of useless trivia, and how acquaintance with the former and latter may or may not correlate with attending college.

Discussion of butchering cows, and walls dripping blood.

In a sample-size-one tradition of MITSFS, JFC reads Hal Clement's shortest story, ``Avenue of Escape''

BING!

Future Business

Tomorrow, it will be November.

Move to carve a banana jack-o-lantern
Move to expel JFC from the society for not liking bananas
Move to commend JFC for not liking bananas
5-2-2+Spehn
3-7-2+Spehn
2-6-5+Spehn
Determinant: 93

Meeting adjourned, 18:-26 SST.

Respectfully submitted,

Kat Allen, Onseck