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Back to the front and the History of ORAC Latest News What's going on Meetings and other events Membership info Addresses and such Not just cats and dogs Other sites September 17-19, 2010 Last updated |
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Our next meeting: Saturday, December 12, 2009 - 2:00 PM - Meeting at Rox and Cat's house at 817 Newport Road in Fort Worth, Texas. This is also our annual club auction so bring a chair, bring snacks, and bring some money and you can take home some cool stuff. (And your chair, of course.) Visit GoogleMaps for a map and directions. News and reviews: 2009: November's Plan R: Thanks to Jimmy and Rhonda for hosting the monthly meeting at their Arlington home on Saturday, November 14, 2009. Also, thanks to Russ Miller for stepping in to run the meeting. With the president and vice president out of town, the treasurer stepped in and the club flashed back to days of yore when Russ ruled ORAC with an iron fist. The New Year's Eve plans were fleshed out and a check was presented to Sue and Jo to defray expenses. Next up is the annual auction so remember to bring some cool stuff and some cash. Boo! Yay!: We tried something a little crazy this year: we held our annual Halloween party on Saturday, October 31. There were plenty of folks in costume, a couple of new faces, some great conversations, a couple of really bad movies to be riffed, and way too much food. Thanks to Russ and Louann for hosting at their Dome on the Range. October shuffle: After a last-minute venue change, Meredith and Tim Hines hosted the monthly meeting at their home in Plano on Saturday, October 10, 2009. We discussed plans for the rest of 2009 and into 2010, began to prepare for the auction in December, and set our low, low dues for 2010. (Once again, it's $10 for an indivdual and $15 for a household.) Next up, the Halloween party!
Hail August(us): Thanks to Oscar for hosting our monthly meeting on Saturday, August 8, 2009 at his home in Fort Worth. We had fried turkey, fried chicken, weird-looking but delicious fried egg rolls, and a few vaguely healthy snacks as well. We also discussed the recent announcement of San Antonion as the site for the Texas in 2013 Worldcon bid plus what this could mean for fandom in North Texas. A very lively meeting, indeed. Indepenence Day: One Week Later: Mary and Tim Miller were kind enough to host the Saturday, July 11, 2009, meeting at their home in Murphy, Texas. It was nice to see so many of our western Metroplex members make the journey to the far east that is ex-urban Collin County. We shuffled the scheduled a bit (see the calendar for the details) and moved the September meeting to a one-hour open panel at FenCon VI. After the meeting and the eating, we settled in to watch the latest Doctor Who special plus a fascinating documentary on the number 1. (Yes, really.) June on the Moon: Thanks to Pat Elrod for hosting our monthly meeting on Saturday, June 13, 2009, at her home in Fort Worth, Texas. We discussed plans for the summer, welcomed guest Aaron Murphy from Starfleet Region Three, and discussed matters of such critical importance that I dare not reveal them here. Okay, you get one: How (adorable) black dogs shed only white fur on black jeans is a mystery beyond veterinary science. Beam us up, again: When we planned to see Star Trek as a group, we thought we could each hold out until the second weekend for our scheduled Sunday, May 17, 2009, movie landing party. We were wrong. So it was for the second or third time that each of us saw the film that day at the Studio Movie Grill located at 11170 N. Central Expressway in Dallas, Texas. There was much love for the reboot, some of us found the Tribble this time, and others planned future viewings for the very near future. Huzzah, it's RenFaire time!: With the weather cooperating for a few hours, many from ORAC made the annual pilgrimage to Scarborough Renaissance Festival on Saturday, May 9, 2009. And with their dome on the range so close, Russ and Louann Miller were nice enough to host the meeting at their home in Maypearl, Texas. Alan had the Clipboard again as Ed had a minor medical emergency. April showers bring ORAC Meetings: Thanks to Dave and Willa for hosting our Saturday, April 11, 2009, meeting at their home in Irving, Texas. VP Alan Balthrop held the Clipboard this month as the President had another commitment out of town. Future meetings were planned, SF news was discussed, and the May outing to Scarborough was outlined. March in Murphy: On Saturday, March 14, 2009, we held our March meeting at the home of Tim and Mary Miller in Murphy, Texas. We welcomed a visitor, laid out the agenda for the next few months, and wished dearly that the President had remembered the carefully prepared Clipboard of All Knowledge. Who watches Watchmen?: We do, of course. About a dozen ORAC members from across the Metroplex converged on the Colleyville Cinema Grill in Colleyville, Texas, on Sunday, March 8, 2009 for a movie landing party. Reactions were generally positive with many commenting that they'd need to find their copies of the original comics, uh, "graphic novel" for comparison. Fun in February: We gathered on Saturday, February 14, 2009, at the Flower Mound home of Tim and Lorretta Morgan for our monthly meeting. Lots of calendar stuff was worked out, future meetings locations were decided, and we settled on Star Trek for our May movie outing. Our March movie landing party to see Watchmen on Sunday, March 8th, will be at the Movie Grille in Colleyville, Texas, to give the western half of the membership a close-in movie for a change. January shuffle: Our first meeting of the year was held on Saturday, January 10, 2009, at Sal's Pizza in Plano. That was a change from our original plan, to meet at Sue's in Arlginton, because Sue was under the weather so we risked the well-being of another restaurant. Some of us gathered before the meeting across the street as our own Rachel Caine had a book signing at Legacy Books, located in the Shops at Legacy in Plano. This also marked the first month for the new, lower annual club dues. We enjoyed Italian food, good company, and a briefer than usual business meeting but did confirm our March movie outing to see Watchmen on Sunday, March 8th. 2008: So long, 2008! We gathered on December 31, 2008, as we do every New Year's Eve for our annual NYE Party at Sue's in Arlington. There was plenty of barbecue, mounds of munchies, plenty of good people, and more than a few beverages. Thanks to Sue and Jo (and the cats and ferrets) for hosting again this year. And thanks for the incomparable goodie bags complete with hand-held explosive devices. (Fun!)
Going once, going twice... We gathered for our monthly meeting on Saturday, December 13, 2008 at Cat and Rox's in Fort Worth. It was time once again for our annual auction with nifty stuff from around the planet and the bottoms of closets across North Texas. With a few extra bucks donated by willing fans, we raised $600 for club activities, movie landing parties, and to keep the lights on here on the interweb. Also, with the anniversary year over, we're bringing back club dues but at a new, lower rate. Now it's just $10/year for an individual and $15/year for a household. Party. Movie Landing Party. ORAC members gathered on Sunday, November 16, 2008 to see the latest James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace, at the Studio Movie Grill in Dallas. Reviews were mostly positive but some felt it lacked something as a Bond movie. Location change we can believe in: After Dave & Buster's turned out to be unavailable for our November meeting we met on Saturday, November 8, 2008 at the Arlington home of Jimmy and Rhonda. Business was discussed, gossip was swapped, and the late-night stragglers shared pizza. The December auction was detailed and dues for 2009 were informally discussed. Boo? Yay!: Thanks to everybody who spent the evening of Saturday, October 25, 2008, at Russ and Louann's in Waxahachie for the ORAC Halloween Party. If you missed it, you missed a fun time at the House of Domes and our annual scary get-together. October surprise: Less than a week after the end of FenCon, we gathered on Saturday, October 11, 2008 at Dave & Willa's in Irving for our monthly meeting. We decompressed from FenCon, planned for the annual Halloween festivities, reviewed upcoming movies and DVD, plus we planned a Movie Day for mid-November to see Quantum of Solace, the new James Bond flick. We'll have an exact date set real soon now.
Stormy September: In the wake of Hurricane Ike, our monthly meeting on Saturday, September 13, 2008 at Tim and Lorretta's in Flower Mound was both business- and current club officer-free but fun was reportedly had by all that braved the elements. Thanks to the Morgans for perservering while the rest of us hunkered down for the storm (that would up missing most of us after all. The balcony is closed: On Saturday, August 23, 2008, we began gathering, noonish, for another occasional Movie Day at Rox and Cat's in Fort Worth. It was a fun afternoon and a relaxed day of movies on the big screen. Thanks to everybody who brought drinks and snacks plus special thanks to Cat and Rox for seving as our gracious hosts. In August company: On Saturday, August 9, 2008, we gathered in south Fort Worth for our monthly meeting. Thanks to Pat for hosting, thanks to everybody who brought food and snacks, and thanks to Pat's dogs for keeping Alan company. (To be fair, he was in their favorite chair.) If you missed it, you missed your chance at some nifty foam asteroids from this year's Nebulas Awards as well as some other cool prizes. Oh, and we discussed some club business, too. July, oh, and roomy yet Thanks to Mike and Tamisan for opening their lovely new home in Flower Mound to the club for the monthly meeting on Saturday, July 12, 2008. Robyn passed around a huge "get well" card for Rose which everybody, including club mascot Chip, took a moment to sign with best wishes for a speedy recovery. We also decided to get new club t-shirts with our new club logo. They'll cost the club between $8 and $12, depending on size so on the advice of our club treasurer we'll be selling them to members for $5 each. (Yes, five dollars each.) More on this later. We also approved motions to obtain a gift for Rose, a t-shirt for Chip, and this year the club will be giving Sue $200 to help out with New Year's Eve party expenses. Thanks to all who brought drinks or snacks! And a special "Hello!" to the Tyras who attended via Skype from sunny San Diego.
A fifth of July: Thanks to Tim and Mary Miller for opening their Murphy home for ORAC members to celebrate American independence the only way we know how: by grilling meat and watching Doctor Who episodes. Thanks also to the two dozen-plus folks who brought meat, snacks, and an appreciation for quality British science fiction. June bugs: At 11am on Saturday, June 14, 2008, a baker's dozen of us gathered to bowl at the AMC Fun Fest on Lamar in Arlington. It turns our some folks have a future in pro bowling while others should take a look at running for president instead. After a couple hours of pin smashing, we held our monthly meeting at Sue & Jo's in Arlington. The FedCon fiasco was a topic of much discussion including live field reports from our own Robyn Winans. We also planned a movie day for July to see WALL-E at the Studio Movie Grill in Dallas as well as a home movie day at Cat and Rox's home in Fort Worth. The calendar was finalized with a move to have our November meeting at the Dave and Busters in Dallas, even with our hard-earned reputation for closing restaurants permanently. May flowers: Thanks to Russ and Louann for opening their dome to the club for the May monthly club meeting. Thanks to all those who enjoyed the day at Scarborough Renaissance Festival and to all of those who journeyed down to Waxahachie for the club meeting. Congrats to Louann for winning the autographed Michael Chabon novel from the Presidential Prize Closet. (Yes, we'll do it again next month. Be there.) Hail to the Chief: Elections for club officer positions were held on April 12th and Ed Dravecky is the club's new president. Assisting him in his cat-herding duties will be returning vice president Alan Balthrop, treasurer Russ Miller, and archivist Rose Hurt. The hotly contested race for Club Mascot was won by Chip, the dog of outgoing club president Tim Morgan. Congratulations and good luck to all of our 2008-2009 club officers. Happy birthday to us: In celebration of ORAC's 20th Anniversary, club memberships from now until the end of 2008 are FREE! Join one of the longest-running science fiction clubs in Texas for nada, zip, bupkis. Sure, we'll be reintroducing actual club dues in 2009 but we'll keep 'em low and by then we think you'll agree that this much fun is worth thrice the price. Quote of the Moment: "There's no present. There's only the immediate future and the recent past." --George Carlin
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