Sunday Library Meetings
(starting 2nd Week, 25th January) are held from 8pm till late in Thomas's room, in Holywell Street 6/7
(map),
room 14.
Go through the big wooden door to the Merton College Annexe on Holywell Street
(nearly opposite the New College entrance).
The closest door to Holywell 6/7 is immediately to your right, just before the porter's lodge
(another map).
Ring the buzzer for room 14 to be let in.
Inside you need to go upstairs, downstairs, and up to room 14 at the top.
You can ask at the door to be collected if you think you might get lost.
(If the buzzer doesn't work, ask the porter to ring Thomas Keyton.)
These evenings are an opportunity to socialise, and chat about life, the universe
and everything, whilst also perusing and borrowing from
OUSFG's library of over 2,400 books.
On Sunday of 1st Week (18th January), we will meet in The Mitre on the corner of the High Street and Turl Street.
Wednesday discussion meetings, speaker meetings, and silly games (see below for topics) are held at 8pm in Linacre College's (map) Carolyn Tanner Irish (CTI) Room. Enter the main door of Linacre (up the stairs) and go through the doorway to the right of the porter's booth. Go up two flights of stairs (following signs for the CTI room). Head forward into a smaller hallway containing the development office and look for the room labeled CTI. Alternatively just ask the porter who is normally very friendly.
Wednesday video meetings (see below for programme) start at 8pm in New College (map) Lecture Room 4 (marked "C" on this map; or PDF).
Sign up for the ousfg-announce mailing list to receive a reminder and detailed directions for each meeting.
| 21 Jan | Wednesday | 1st Week | Video | WALL-E. Pixar animated comedy SF. What more can anyone want? |
| 28 Jan | Wednesday | 2nd Week | Discussion |
The life and times of a Dark Lord. Discussion led by Oliver. For every Hero there is a Dark Lord. Wreathed in shadows and laughing manically from a volcanically unstable lair the Dark Lord will do everything in their power to destroy their nemesis. Whether it be through manipulating governments, raising terrible armies or magic jewelry the Dark Lord will generally make themselves a nuisance throughout the "main quest". Of course in the end the Dark Lord will be thwarted by the hero using an enchanted sword, their own magic jewelry, structural features of their lair or a combination thereof. Despite their inevitable end Dark Lords show a remarkable diversity in both phenotype and habitat. We will look at the various incarnations and lives of Dark Lords in science fiction and fantasy and pick out the themes and common elements that make them one of the best fictitious clichés. We might even try to design a Dark Lord ourselves. |
| 4 Feb | Wednesday | 3rd Week | Video | Akira. The classic anime. |
| 11 Feb | Wednesday | 4th Week | Silly Games | 8pm in Linacre CTI Room. |
| 18 Feb | Wednesday | 5th Week | Video | Underworld. Vampires v. werewolves. |
| 19 Feb | Thursday | 5th Week | Quiz | Oxford Geek Quiz — battle of wits and knowledge against Docsoc, Tolksoc, RPGsoc, et al. Please bring your own round of questions if you have one (don't tell anyone the answers). 8pm, St John's College, North Quad Lecture Room. |
| 25 Feb | Wednesday | 6th Week | Discussion | OUSFG Award shortlist selection. Led by Alex. |
| 1 Mar | Sunday | 7th Week | AGM | Annual General Meeting (as part of the Library Meeting). |
| 4 Mar | Wednesday | 7th Week | Speaker |
Jack Cohen is a biologist,
author, and consultant on alien design for SF novels and TV.
He will tell us about The Invention of Reality-Based Aliens. I have been involved in the invention of many fictional life forms (e.g. McCaffrey's Dragons of Pern, Harrison's Yilane of West of Eden, several by Niven and White). We should remain true to real biology, to invent a new series of peculiarities which could replace our human lot (airway-crossing-food-way, the excretory/genital mix-up which generates so many neuroses - and fiction plots, of course - hair, haemoglobin, teeth-from-scales, and so on). The "universal" evolutionary solutions must be retained (like homeothermy, waterproof skin, limbs, sex, and - some kinds of - intelligence). The real difficulty is artistic, not primarily biological; it is to lose the anthropomorphism without losing communication with the audience. |
| 7 Mar | Saturday | 7th Week | Banquet | Black-tie dinner at Pierre Victoire's (on Little Clarendon Street), 6pm. Please contact Freya Freestone (ousfg@herald.ox.ac.uk) to book a place. |
| 11 Mar | Wednesday | 8th Week | Speaker | Stephen Briggs has adapted most of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels for the stage, in which he plays the "definitive" Lord Vetinari. He is co-author (with Pratchett) of The Discworld Companion and other guides to the Discworld. |
http://users.ox.ac.uk/~ousfg/misc/termcard-09ht1.html last
modified 6th February 2009 by Tim Adye, <T.J.Adye@rl.ac.uk>