July 2 - Chicago Science Fiction - Fantasy Meetup Outing to see "Transformers 2"
The Science Fiction/Fantasy Meetup will be meeting for an outing to see "Transformers2" Thursday, July 2, at the Kerasotes Chicago City North 14, 2600 N Western Ave. For more information on the theatre, call, 773-394-1600. For more information on the group, go to the meetup.com website.
To find them, "We'll meet in the main snack area. Look for the meetup sign."
Timeline for the impending robot holocaust. Stock up on the tinnned meat, just in case.
apparently, the robots are gonna be doin' it for themselves in about fiftie years and it will be on like heavy metal Donkey Kong. This Sun-Times article elaborates on our impending doom.
July 1 - Chicago Speculative Fiction Writers Meetup Monthly Meeting
The Chicago Speculative Fiction Writers Meetup is meeting Wednesday, July 1. For more information, contact organizer Gina Holochenko at the link below.
"I Fight Dragons" is playing the Elbo Room TONIGHT
I'm blogging on the fly so please click any links for additional information:
Local indie nerd rock group I Fight Dragons is playing the Elbo Room tonight as part of Mob fest. This is the information I ganked from their Myspace:
Elbo Room 2871 N Lincoln Ave Chicago, IL 60657 The party starts at 9 p.m. For more information: Phone: (773) 549-5549 Website: http://www.elboroomchicago.com
Wizard Rockers stand up and speak out against big media
A group of wizard rockers have put together a page speaking out against the rapid rise of consolidated media in the United States. They make their point eloquently on their website and offer a free download of their compilation album. Voldemort can't stop the rock or the little guy.
June 17 - "Comic Books 101" event hosted by Third Coast Comics and Chicago Nerd Social Club
CROSSPOSTED FROM FACEBOOK
The Chicago Nerd Social Club and Third Coast Comics owner Terry Gant will host "Comic Books 101" June 17th at 6234 N. Broadway. The event is FREE.
According to the announcement:
"Come join us for a night of fun, conversation and learning all about the comic book genre. For the past few years we’ve been bombarded with Hollywood’s attempts at taking some iconic heroes on the big screen. But if you want the real scoop on these characters, you need to go to the source.
For some, the vast majority of comic titles out there are a bit intimidating, but at the Comic Book 101 event we hope to cut through as much of the confusion as possible. Join us for a discussion on the history of comics in both the DC and Marvel universes as well as major story arcs that are currently active. We’ll talk about some good books that the smaller publishers are putting out, as well as new series that are great jumping on points for new readers. The discussions will be moderated by local Chicago Nerd Terry Gant and the owner of Third Coast Comics.
We’ll also have time for some socializing as well as a general Q&A section. Are you curious about Comics but don’t know which ones to read? Talk with Terry and other comic book gurus to help suggest comics you might enjoy based on your other entertainment hobbies."
I got a note from the Stoneflys, letting me know their latest gig and doings. Those with Comcast on Demand can check out a video of them performing 2 songs at The Cubby Bear in Wrigleyville. If you have Comcast, simply go to "ON DEMAND" and select "GET LOCAL". Then select "BATTLE OF THE BANDS" and the "THE TREES" and "WHITE SHORES". It's free and it will be available on demand for another 2 or 3 weeks.
Sunday, June 14, the band will perform at Millenium Plaza in Michigan City. For more information, consult the Stoneflys myspace page.
This Friday! Star Wars documentary at the Gene Siskel Film Center
Cross-posted from meetup.com to Facebook, Livejournal, Blogger and the Windy Citizen
"The Force Among Us" -- Showing at the Gene Siskel Film Center located downtown at 164 North State Street. Tickets are $9 for general admission, $7 for students.
From the website: "On the eve of the Film Center’s tribute to George Lucas, the Chicago-based brother-and-sister filmmaking team of Cristian and Cortney Macht take us deep inside the world of STAR WARS fandom. Sociology profs ponder the phenomenon, Joseph Campbell is name-checked, Christian parallels are explored, the 501st Legion of costumed stormtroopers converges at a convention, and the Machts follow fans on pilgrimages to the original movie locations in Tunisia and Norway. Along the way, they discover that STAR WARS fans are a varied and unstereotyped lot about whom no blanket generalizations can be drawn--except, perhaps, a universal dislike for Jar Jar Binks."
NOTE: This is the Chicago premier! In attendance will be key cast and crew members from the documentary as well the stormtrooper costuming group, the 501st! The film will be followed by a Q+A session with the cast and crew. This is the only scheduled showing.
Not a meetup event yet but might be. Chime in on the message board or email the organizers if you'd like to see a meetup event for this.
This gorgeous guy is costume designer Kit Stolen. His Anachronaut site enjoys a pretty healthy following.
What is Steampunk? The definition is nowhere near exhaustive. It's pretty much stuff I like. You'll get the idea.
Wikipedia gives a fair assessment. Check it out here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steampunk
Jake Von Slatt, one of the go-to icons of the Steampunk movement gives a really good personal definition. His house is every steampunk's dream home. He really walks the talk.
The go-to band for Steampunk is Abney Park. They really draw crowds at Dragoncon. A fan made this video for them with lots of iconic images.
I also found this fantastically fantastical french video that has some pretty awesome steampunk sensibilities.
a really cool steampunk themed cafe in Portland http://thesteampunkhome.blogspot.com/
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