LOSCON is Los Angeles' longest running Science Fiction & Fantasy Convention, held Thanksgiving weekend by the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society (LASFS).
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In December 1975 the Los Angeles Science Fantasy prepared LA 2000, a special convention to celebrate the club's 2,000th meeting. The event was so enjoyable that it was repeated in 1976. At this time it moved to October to honor the club's anniversary and called itself LOSCON for the first time. It was held twice in 1977, the second that year being the first with an official guest of honor, Dr. Jerry Pournelle. By 1978 it had finally settled into an annual November affair, the Los Angeles Regional Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention. Then starting with LOSCON 9 in 1982, the Thanksgiving weekend was chosen and became subsequently the traditional date. This years themes: Star Wars 40th Anniversary and Urban Fantasy
Price Range: $$
Operating as usual
One of the classic Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazines
https://www.sfsite.com/fsf/current.htm
The award-winning Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, founded in 1949. The original publisher of Stephen King's Dark Tower, Daniel Keyes's Flowers for Algernon, and Walter M. Miller's A Canticle for Leibowitz.
This is a bit garbled at the beginning, since it is from an old VHS tape, but what better for a Throwback Thursday post from the Loscon 11 masquerade, where Steven Barnes was the MC/Host for the evening. This is just the opening, maybe we can find more of it, if we keep digging.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JEdyWyK-ac
LOSCON 11 (Nov 1984) Masquerade Opening - from old VHS videotape.Opening business with Charles Lee Jackson II, Cary Martin and Bill Mills leading to introduc...
"African Cosmos: Stellar Arts,"
https://www.space.com/16315-african-cosmos-astronomy-art-images.html
See artworks and paintings depicting Africa's history of astronomical observations
Engineers Week!
In celebration of Engineers Week, we're sharing the incredible story of Mary Golda Ross, the first Native American aerospace engineer! During WWII, Ross worked on the P-38 Lightning, one of the fastest airplanes at the time, and later she worked on cutting edge research during the early space race as part of Lockheed's top-secret Skunk Works program. To read the inspiring story of this trailblazing engineer, visit https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=26040
For an inspiring new picture book telling her story, we highly recommend "Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer" for ages 5 to 9 at https://www.amightygirl.com/classified-mary-golda-ross
To introduce older kids to five more remarkable women in engineering -- plus a variety of engineering projects they can try at home - we highly recommend "Gutsy Girls Go for Science: Engineers" for ages 8 to 11 at https://www.amightygirl.com/gutsy-girls-engineers
To inspire kids with the stories of more trailblazing women of the early space race, we recommend "Margaret and the Moon" for ages 5 to 9 (https://www.amightygirl.com/margaret-and-the-moon), "Counting on Katherine" for ages 5 to 9 (https://www.amightygirl.com/counting-on-katherine), and the new graphic novel "Astronauts: Women on the Final Frontier" for ages 10 and up (https://www.amightygirl.com/astronauts-women-on-the-final-frontier)
And, for toys and kits to encourage your Mighty Girl's interest in engineering and invention, visit our blog post, "Building Her Dreams: 60 Building Toys for Mighty Girls," at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=10430
Jeff Sturgeon is Loscon 47's Artist Guest of Honor and he has an amazing project called "Last Cities of Earth" this is an interview done when the project was just getting off the ground. It fully funded and we look forward to the anthology being available to the public soon.
https://www.stitcher.com/show/chatting-with-sherri/episode/chatting-with-sherri-welcomes-award-winning-artist-jeff-sturgeon-59994077
Chatting With Sherri welcomes award-winning artist Jeff Sturgeon! He is launching a Kickstarter for a shared world project called; The Last Cities of Earth! From the worlds in the paintings that he has created, several of the images are of floating cities. The project is an anthology of original sho...
This podcast link was shared in a comment and we felt it deserved it's own post.
https://www.npr.org/2021/02/16/968498810/how-octavia-butlers-sci-fi-dystopia-became-a-constant-in-a-mans-evolution?fbclid=IwAR3JUFFsggrdKehL8z5CRRWTohBaG713l_XAklTY4575cgFf2Qfnw5S8PzQ
Octavia Butler's alternate realities and 'speculative fiction' reveal striking, and often devastating parallels to the world we live in today. She was a deep observer of the human condition, perplexed and inspired by our propensity towards self-destruction. Butler was also fascinated by the cyclical...
It's a popular myth that the "nerdier" aspects of fandom — like cosplaying and LARPing — are male-dominated and reserved for nonBlack fans. But that's never been true, and in the age of social media, it's been hugely debunked by the large presence of Black female fans who finally get a chance to show off their love for all things nerd and cosplay to the world wide web.
https://www.popsugar.com/entertainment/Black-Female-Cosplayers-Instagram-45729848
These ladies make cosplay look so good!
This 1793 edition of Benjamin Banneker's Almanack and Ephemeris features an annual calendar, statistical information, phases of the moon, astronomical data, and tide tables. Banneker's almanacs were unique because they featured social commentary and politically oriented literature. Some writings from this almanac include "A Plan of a Peace-Office, for the United States," "Extracts from the Debates in the Last Session of the British Parliament, Apr. 1792," "Extract from Jefferson's Notes on Virginia," and "Extract from Wilkinson's Appeal to England on Behalf of the Abused Africans."
https://transcription.si.edu/project/8045
Tables can be created by assembling dividing words with hyphens - (at least three and between the first group of text and the next), and separating each column with a pipe |
The cover of Benjamin Banneker's 1795 Almanac features a woodcut portrait of the author, scientist, mathematician, farmer, astronomer, publisher and urban planner, at age 64. The unknown artist who created the portrait depicts Banneker in the Quaker garb he always wore, a simple dark jacket and white shirt -- although he was closely affiliated with Quakers, Banneker never became a member of the Religious Society of Friends.
The 1795 Almanac was one of six, published annually from 1792 to 1797.
In an era when books of any kind were a luxury found in few households, almanacs were common. They included scientific information, such as weather forecasts, tide tables, lunar and solar eclipses, and the times of the rising and setting of the sun and moon; they were also infused with mild poems, proverbs, and other bits of general information.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part2/2h68.html
Remembering Charles R. Saunders
A link to his delayed memorial
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/21/books/charles-saunders-dead.html
A link to his last website:
https://differentdrumming.com/about
Share your favorite Tabletop Game?
Something old or something new, they all can be fun.
STEM careers for Black American's in history
From Banneker to Best:
Some Stellar Careers In Astronomy and Astrophysics
http://www.math.buffalo.edu/mad/special/Black.Astronomers-Fikes.pdf
Key to Jemisin’s ability to bring worlds to life is her fascination with cities, which appear throughout her short stories and novels. Whether she’s depicting real places like Birmingham, Ala., and New Orleans or imagined ones like Um-Helat and Castrima of her Broken Earth trilogy, Jemisin’s cities, like the people she writes about, are layered and multiple. Deftly melding lived experience with physical infrastructure, she taps into the plasticity of city life: the capacity of urban space to fold, warp, and stretch to accommodate (or spurn) a range of perspectives and pursuits.
https://www.thenation.com/article/culture/nk-jemisin-city-we-become-review/
Through her speculative fiction, Jemisin builds worlds and probes them—exploring who they work for and how.
If you’re seeking to delve into the sci-fi and fantasy world, this list of can’t-miss, acclaimed sci-fi and fantasy novels written by Black authors is a good place to start. With classics by masters like Samuel R. Delany and Octavia E. Butler as well as groundbreaking recent works from N. K. Jemisin, Nnedi Okorafor, among others, this list offers some of the best sci-fi and fantasy writing ever, full stop.
https://www.bookbub.com/blog/acclaimed-sci-fi-and-fantasy-novels-by-black-authors
These highly praised novels are among the best of both genres.
YAY!!!
🤩Isn't it FANTASTIC?! The Perseverance Rover 🤖 has successfully landed on the surface of Mars! Check out the first image it sent back! Were you one of the almost 11 MILLION space-traveling names to safely reach the Red Planet with Space Artist Chesley Bonestell today? I was on Curiosity and Perseverance and, of course, have already signed up for the next Mars Mission! If you haven't and you'd like to, there's a link in the Shared post below! I was on the Cassini spacecraft, too. In 2019, during dinner with a NASA/JPL fellow who worked on that mission, he said, "Sorry I had to crash your name into Saturn. If it's any consolation, I crashed my name into the planet, too." I *much* more prefer these soft landings, that's for sure! 😆
https://www.facebook.com/bonestellmovie/posts/851661032062026
Throwback Thursday
Evans Freehafer Award winner:
http://file770.com/nick-smith-wins-lasfs-evans-freehafer-award/
By John Hertz: The Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society (LASFS; pronounced like “lahss fuss”) is the oldest SF club in the world, founded 1934. The Evans-Freehafer has been given since 19…
ABAA California Virtual Book Fair
March 4-6, 2021
Open Continuously from 9am March 4th until 8pm March 6th. All times PST.
Signup now for free tickets and we will send you updates about programs and other special events.
https://fairs.abaa.org/
You can be confident that when you make a purchase through ABAA.org, the item is sold by an ABAA member in full compliance with our Code of Ethics. Our sellers guarantee your order will be shipped promptly and that all items are as described. Buy with confidence through ABAA.org.
Happy Birthday to Andre Norton, the Grand Dame of Science Fiction and Fantasy
http://www.andre-norton-books.com/
Do you have a favorite book or story by Andre?
The Grande Dame of Science Fiction and Fantasy. The Life and Work of.
Harper's Magazine Explores Science-Fiction Pioneer Octavia E. Butler
The February issue of Harper's Magazine does a deep dive into the Octavia Butler renaissance with Parable of the Butler, an article that looks at Butler's intimate knowledge of the racial fault lines in the US and her prescient fictional output.
The Huntington received the papers of Octavia E. Butler in 2008.
Illustration by Chloe Cushman for Harper's Magazine. Source photograph © Patti Perret
https://harpers.org/archive/2021/02/parable-of-the-butler-octavia-butler-kindred-fledgling/
A science-fiction pioneer finds posthumous fame
Over 50 years ago, Alma Thomas was inspired by the moon landings and more.
https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/art-alma-w-thomas-colorful-response
Carolyn Russo, curator of the Museum's art collection, reflects of the work of Alma W. Thomas.
Let's learn a bit more about our Loscon 47 Guests of Honor, Kristine Cherry is a long time fan who founded and supports the annual Loscon blood drive with her husband Dennis. She is also an artisan, creating lovely jewelry and an author as well. Here is a video sharing a chapter from one of her Dragonfly Chronicle stories.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ytEakGXuhg&fbclid=IwAR1jnBxINtaGKrtS2auvKKmcBuxW0eH-4V0rT66Koy_8S04xtzC7dUsZV60
A Lost Heart is one of several live chapter readings from the Dragonfly Temple Chronicles - a series of eBooks being funded through Patreon. Your hostess is ...
Loscon would like to wish Mike Glyer a Happy Birthday.
Mike Glyer is both the editor and publisher of the long-running science fiction fan newszine File 770. He has won the Hugo Award 11 times in two categories: File 770 won the Best Fanzine Hugo in 1984, 1985, 1989, 2000, 2001 2008, and 2016. Glyer won the Best Fan Writer Hugo in 1984, 1986, 1988, and 2016.
Check out File 770 here: http://file770.com/
Mike Glyer's news of science fiction fandom
Call for Outcast stories...I am sure our community knows nothing about being an "outcast", said with a great deal of sarcasm.
Looks like a great opportunity!
Your story could be in our next publication! We are opening submissions for our next anthology about outcasts, and we want to see what you can do. We want stories that explore what connects us and what happens when we lose those connections. We want to see humanity from the outside looking in. Submi...
Loscon loves Cosplay!
Share a favorite cosplay memory!
(It can be of you or a photo you took at a past Loscon or other event)
This is ObiShawn and his t-fighter, photo courtesy of Chaz "Hazel" Boston Baden.
One for everyone!
Different strokes for different folks...
The ice volcano forms each year in Kazakhstan, and it never disappoints!
https://weather.com/storms/winter/video/kazakhstan-ice-volcano-draws-crowds
The ice volcano forms each year in Kazakhstan, and it never disappoints! - Videos from The Weather Channel | weather.com
now that's
Roll for
Science Sunday!
Look back at some amazing science accomplishments.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/top-10-science-anniversaries-celebrate-2021
DNA, Maxwell’s demon and Dolly the Sheep all make the list. But the one we’re most excited about at Science News is our centennial.
It's not just binary...it's
It all adds up to
Programmed for LOVE
5855 W Century Blvd
Los Angeles, CA
90045
The Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society (LASFS), the world’s oldest continuously active science fiction and fantasy club (founded Oct. 27, 1934), presents the 46th Loscon — Los Angeles’ longest running fan convention — over Thanksgiving weekend (November 29 – December 1, 2019). This family-friendly gathering includes a variety of panels, discussions, activities, a film festival, an art show, and shopping. Diverse participants include area authors, such as Steven Barnes, Harry Turtledove, and Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff. First held in 1975 at the International Hotel (now the Hyatt Regency), Loscon is hosted down the street at the recently redesigned Los Angeles Airport Marriott, located on Century Boulevard near Los Angeles International Airport. Day/weekend memberships and room reservations are available at discounted rates before the convention. For updates, follow Loscon on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and search for #Loscon.
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Belly Dancing in Marquis 3
Giving the Parasol Protectorate Oath here at #Loscon with Steve Frankel. #scifi #props #cosplay
Linda Marcil demonstrates her bird wings. Come see her 2:30 Saturday wing making panel in the make room!
In December 1975, the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society presented LA 2000, a special convention to celebrate the club's 2,000th meeting. The event was so enjoyable that it was repeated in 1976. At this time it moved to October to honor the club's anniversary, and called itself Loscon for the first time. It was held twice in 1977, the second that year being the first with an official Guest of Honor, Dr. Jerry Pournelle. By 1978, it had finally settled into an annual November affair, the Los Angeles Regional Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention. Then, starting with Loscon 9 in 1982, the Thanksgiving weekend was chosen and became subsequently the traditional date. Our Guests of Honor this year are: Professional Writer Guest of Honor: Howard Waldrop
Fan Guest of Honor: Edie Stern
International Tango Summit & Argentine Tango
5711 West Century BlvdConscious Life Expo Latino Program
Hilton Los Angeles Airport (LAX Hilton) 5711 West Century BlvdThe Proud Bird Food Bazaar & Events Center
11022 Aviation Blvd.Marina Del Rey Holiday Boat Parade
8939 S Sepulveda Blvd, Ste 102
The Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites, Los An
404 S Figueroa St
Your Turn Intern Expo & Celebrity Fest
5042 Wilshire Boulevard, #291
Tradeshow/Event Marketing Services, San Diego
321 No physical address