Columbia University Science Fiction Society

khab_rmb @ 07:01 pm: call for volunteers
jayeye has the archives of CUSFuSsing, our old fanzine, and we'd like to get them scanned. We're tentatively planning a scanning party for the afternoons of June 4-5, and there will be baked goods provided. Let me know if you're free for all or part of that time, or if you're free some other time.

khab_rmb @ 02:38 pm: Banquet!
You haven't RSVP'ed for the CUSFS banquet yet! Yes, you! There will be food and games and warfare and geekiness and guests of honor from Tor. If you plan to come, either respond in the comments or e-mail me at rmb2113 at columbia dot edu. Even if you think I know you're coming, if you have not e-mailed me to tell me you're coming, respond now (in such a manner that I obtain your e-mail address).

Saturday, May 3 (yes, in two days)
7:30 pm
Lerner 477
$10 for students, $15 for alums

tmartian42 @ 12:49 pm: We're in today's issue of the Spectator!  I'm disappointed nothing about the library got into the article though...

arks @ 11:53 pm: As requested
Young Justice on LJ. ♥

Also, Jeeves & Wooster pirate slash. Happy New Year, CUSFS.

jijnasa @ 11:38 am:

comicsonlinecom @ 04:17 pm: < 3 weeks till the Halloween Masquerade!
For more info, click the flyer below

x-posted like mad.

btw, if I post anywhere this is not desired, or if I need to put images behind a cut, please let me know so I can cut or delete my post and so I do not post announcements in undesired locations again. Thanks in Advance for all polite comments and feedback!

arks @ 08:08 pm: omg
Pretend to be a Time Traveler Day. December 8th. I am so in.

arks @ 04:56 pm: Baking!
Baking of delicious hobbit treats will commence in the Geeksuite at 4pm! Show up as you like, or drop me a comment if you'll need to be signed in.

arks @ 12:23 am: Hallo hallo!
And welcome, new folk and old, to another glorious year of CUSFS! This is your vice president posting as promised. Items of action!

1. If you'd like to bake delicious hobbit treats with me, give me a comment or an email or drop a line to Rebecca, we're all hardwired together anyway. Current possible baking days are Saturday, Sunday, or Tuesday.

2. If you'd like to watch crazy-fun anime with me, including but not limited to Last Exile, Lovely Complex, or Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto (it's awesome, I promise) drop me a comment to that effect- I'm free Tuesdays and Thursdays during the week, we can set up a weekly thing to just watch an episode or two at a time, if you're up for it. Lemme know!

3. Feel free to friend and be friended! This could be a great networking tool if we actually use it.

jijnasa @ 10:06 pm: Stolen from epiclevelregina
This may be the best thing to come out of Bush's presidency.

---

When President Bush ordered troops to Iraq, he probably never imagined that he would be ultimately be responsible for what very well could be the very first D&D convention/game day ever held in a war zone. Ziggurat Con, being held June 9 from 1200 to 2100 hours at Camp Adder/Tallil Airbase, is open to all allied military personnel and civilian contractors in Iraq.

KBR and MWR (the army’s Morale Welfare & Recreation Department) have graciously allowed service members to use part of the Community Activity Center to hold the Game Day. The Ping Pong room will be set up for RPGs (Role-Playing Games, not to be confused with the rocket propelled grenades which share the same acronym), and the DVD Movie room will be playing Anime Movies all day in support of the event.

The largest problem with running a Con in Iraq, of course, is that there are no local stores or game publishers, and few game books on the post. Even dice are in short supply, with many soldiers breaking the unwritten taboo held by many gamers and sharing dice. Thankfully, many game publishers have also lent their support, and have agreed to supply game products to help the Con along. aethereal FORGE, Sovereign Press, Final Redoubt Press, Goodman Games, Paizo Publishing and Steve Jackson Games are among those that have thrown in their support for the convention. But Amberson indicated that the soldiers could definitely use more.

"This convention is currently in drastic need of prizes and giveaways for the troops," he said. "Everything donated will go directly to the troops, or to MWR to use as loaner books for the soldiers."

For more information, contact SPC David Amberson at the following address: david.amberson (at) iraq.centcom.mil

Donations can also be sent to SPC Amberson directly at the following address:

SPC David Amberson
A Co 86th Sig Bn
APO, AE 09331

They’re planning to run the following games (and will be happy to get additional games):
Babylon 5 RPG, Cyberpunk 2020, D&D, D&D RPGA, GURPS, Historic Miniatures Battles, Magic Tournament, MechWarrior Miniatures, Rifts, Shadowrun, Starship Troopers, White Wolf System-Vampire, White Wolf System-Werewolf, XCrawl

Got any game books crowding your shelves that you never use? Here's a great cause to donate them to. Spread the word.

We would love anything we can get. We do have a White Wolf game here, but not much in the line of books, mostly the older editions. We will have a small LARP game that we are trying to get permission to have happen at the Ziggurat for which the con is named (A LARP at a historical site that has been around since Biblical times - WOW). Gamer related material would be absolutely awesome!! It takes 2 weeks or less when shipping Priority, so you still have time.

My address is as follows:
SPC David Amberson
A Co 86th Sig Bn
APO, AE 09331

khab_rmb @ 03:59 am: Cthulhu Week!
Greetings, CUSFSers and friends and foes of CUSFS!

This week, CUSFS reveals its true identity as...the CAMPUS CRUSADE FOR CTHULHU! (well, ok, we unmask every spring, but you can pretend to be shocked...). Who is Cthulhu? The Dread Cthulhu is the dreadful tentacly squid-headed god who slumbers in the depths of the ocean, and who will rise to devour the world (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cthulhu). Yes, Virginia, there is a Cthulhu. And this week, *you* get to worship Him with CUSFS! By participating in the sacred paschal rites, you ensure that you will be devoured FIRST. You will not have to witness the devouring of the rest of the world!

Features include:

1. Virgin Sacrifice

The Campus Crusade for Cthulhu has secured a REAL, LIVE VIRGIN (yes, we're a science fiction society. any other smart aleck comments?), ready for sacrifice! We will be sacrificing a virgin THIS WEDNESDAY to appease our dread lord, Cthulhu, who slumbers in the deep, in order that we may be eaten first.

Fellow cultists and gawkers are encouraged to congregate this Wednesday at 8pm in the 5th floor Lerner Club Space, near the library for the grand procession. High Priest Alexander will then lead us in the sacrifice when the stars have properly aligned--no later than 8:30 PM, we are assured--at the most unholy of sites on campus, the Low Plaza sundial.

2. Coed* Naked** Blood*** Wrestling****

In the event that Cthulhu-Who-Slumbers-Beneath-The-Sea-In-A-Dead-City-Of-NON-EUCLIDEAN-GEOMETRY is not appeased by the VIRGIN SACRIFICE, we have extensive alternate plans to satisfy the green, sticky spawn of the stars, the monster of vaguely anthropoid outline, but with an octopus-like head whose face is a mass of feelers, a scaly, rubbery-looking body, prodigious claws on hind and fore feet, and long, narrow wings behind.

Specifically, come wrestle in a pool of blood for the greater glory of Cthulhu, this Saturday, April 14, at 9pm on Low Plaza. There will be girls and boys! Naked**! IN THE FRESH BLOOD OF INNOCENTS***! All for the honor of the Great Cthulhu. The truly devoted, of course, do not just watch: they wrestle!

Our Crusade-mates from Smith will be joining us!

If you're interested, e-mail acs2109@columbia.edu or rmb2113@columbia.edu. We take requests as to potential opponents.

* Not necessarily
** Indecently clad
*** Fake blood... They got mad last time...
**** Maybe

arks @ 05:26 pm: For the library
Would anyone happen to have an iSight - or indeed any USB webcam that won't violently disagree with a Mac - they'd be willing to let CUSFS borrow? We're cataloguing the library and a webcam would help tremendously. Thanks!

jijnasa @ 01:24 am: I had fun running Exalted tonight...I hope you guys enjoyed yourselves as well.

Even more exciting than being able to run the game is the present that was left for me afterward: a fluffy white hat with silver stripes and a flower on the front. I've been thinking about growing my goatee back, and I think this hat is just the accessory to...uh...okay, seriously, anyone lose a hat?

arks @ 12:55 am: Hee hee hee.
Last Phoenix Wright post, I promise. But it's CUSFS fanart! I'm relevant!

I had my DS out, and Jamie was doing this:



And it was irresistible, really.

( Jamie Wright: Ace Geek. Colored pencils on silk paper. )

Things more or less snowballed from there.

( Presenting The Right Honorable GM Dan )

He had a grey sweater, it seemed the obvious thing to do. And after that, you know...

( It just isn't court without a prosecuter in fuschia. )

Alex's eyebrows are too friendly to prosecute anybody, but he would look good in pink.


So here's my question: What goes in the text boxes?? They must be saying SOMEthing.

jlc @ 10:56 pm: All Hail Dedicated Fans...
rmb sent me a link to an incredibly impressive starship size comparison chart which has examples from Star Trek, Star Wars, Babylon 5, 2001, V, Farscape, Space: Above and Beyond, BSG, and real life (including the space shuttle, the battleship Yamato, and the aircraft carrier Enterprise).

eva_kasumi @ 11:55 pm: ART SPAM
In which there is shirtless crack and Edgeworth thinks he is Cyclops.

arks @ 12:43 am: As promised.
Phoenix Wright: The Jeopardy! Theme.

"Huh, Nick, that's weird," Larry said, abruptly goggling over his shoulder, and Phoenix jumped a little, even as the mail threatened to come avalanching out of the mailbox and forced him to grab for it. "Someone wrote 'Edgeworth' on your mailbox."

Both hands full, mind elsewhere, Phoenix blinked down at the little door with the inset card that said 20E EDGEWORTH/WRIGHT on it. "That's because it's his mailbox, Larry," Phoenix said distractedly, fishing out a fat bundle of catalogs and envelopes and watching advertising circulars flutter to the floor.

"Someone wrote 'Wright' on his mailbox?" Larry asked, aghast. "He must be pissed!"



p.s. Naruhodo Ryuuichi - OBJECTION - Gyakuten Meets Orchestra. Original composition by Masakazu Sugimori.

arks @ 10:51 pm: Hey, CUSFSians!
Lina here, posting as promised. Yay for Vericon! I'll upload some pictures later, including many of boffing- they came out blurry, natch, but some of them look pretty cool regardless.

Let the friending begin!

p.s. Have some Phoenix/Miles. Variable-level spoilers are scattered about for all three games, which is impressive as the third one isn't actually translated. NEVERTHELESS!

Phoenix leaned forward slightly against his desk. "You still haven't shown any proof the report is faulty," he reminded. His voice had strengthened to show how closely he was paying attention. They were both gauging the other, waiting for some contradiction or moment of weakness. His intensity was…oddly exhilarating.

♥

alexsirkman @ 12:22 pm: Vericon and the Upcoming Semester
Hey guys...Welcome Back! I sit here, as the sweet sounds of Zelda II
echo through the room, and think fondly of all my little dorklings
out there. Hopefully everybody had a great break, and is ready for
a semester full of CUSFSy goodness. Don't forget... we've got some
big events coming this semester, especially the (semi)annual week
where we metamorphose from caterpillar of CUSFS to become the
giant, freakish, squid-headed butterfly that is the Campus Crusade
for Cthulhu (and then somehow devolve into a caterpillar again at
the end).

Coming much sooner is Vericon, one of the best college-run
conventions this side of the Mississipi. If you've already
registered, rejoice; if not, don't worry, because you still can!
The CUSFS contingent will be meeting at the Broadway and 116th
gates at 12:45 p.m. on Friday, and leaving at 1 p.m. at the latest.
We're planning on catching a 2:00 p.m. bus, so if you want to head
down to Chinatown by yourself, feel free. In case you were
wondering, we're hitching a ride with the Fung Wah bus company, a
most reputable company (alright, so they go where we want to go for
cheap). If you're planning on travelling with us, or even if you're
just heading to Vericon by yourself, drop me an e-mail for my
nefarious coordinatorly purpouses.

And, because of my sick addiction to summarizing:

Where+When: Columbia Gates at 12:45, Fung Wah at 2:00, Boston
at...6:00? Vericon at AWESOME.

jlc @ 04:58 pm: A Holiday Greeting from CUSFS