Zombie Walk Oulu

Zombie Walk is an event where people dress as the living dead and walk through the city. The fourth Zombie Walk in Oulu takes place on September 19, and the theme of the walk is “dead and living dead celebrities”. The walk starts from Rotuaari at 6, everybody interested is welcome to join the forces of the living dead.

Thursday Mafia Report

There was quite a crowd in Hirvi last night—apparently lots of folks watching the football game. We managed to find a table where all fit well enough, though (and far enough from the tv not to be disturbed by the sports or the sports fans). A nice amount of people attended, including one first-timer (and hopefully a new regular). Talked quite a bit about the line between hard and soft science fiction, the guests of next year’s Finncon, the book fair and possible programming for it, and other important things like pets, food, and so on.

There was some talk about possible meeting places nearer the city center (have to go and check some new places out once they open, although I think Hirvi worked pretty well even with the sports crowd), and a new sfnal activity was also invented: we decided to occasionally (about once a month, at least in the beginning) start having “sf lunches” at different places in town. More on this later, but if you’re interested in joining, drop me a note and I’ll inform you when the lunches start.

Next month’s mafia will be a special occasion, but more details later on that as well.

Pat Cadigan GoH of Finncon 2010

A piece of Finncon news I’m very happy about: Pat Cadigan will be a Guest of Honor of Finncon 2010! Cadigan has been writing science fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery, etc. for 30 years, and is also active in promoting science fiction and fandom, and otherwise doing good in the world. A worthy GoH in other words, plus a wonderful speaker.

The Finncon 2010 GoH lineup is looking very good: Ellen Kushner, Pat Cadigan, Sari Peltoniemi, and Liisa Rantalaiho.

DaimonCon in October

The FSFWA Tampere section will organize DaimonCon, a minicon about the graven images in sf, in October. There will be a introduction about “hard sf and religion” by Markku Soikkeli, discussion about the topic, and a movie, a “classic of messianic science fiction,” Silent Running. An issue of the Kosmospenaali fanzine will also be published at the event (if you want to contribute, contact Soikkeli).

Saturday, October 10, 4 PM to 9 PM
Katajikonkatu 1 H 31
More info from Markku Soikkeli

PS If you are planning on going to Tampere to see the Ender’s Game play, the Spektre folks are going on the previous night (October 9), so this would be a good opportunity to do both on the same trip. Contact Päivi Itäpuro for details.

Pub Meeting on Thursday

The monthly Turku pub meeting is on Thursday, in Kultainen hirvi, from 6 PM onwards. Talk about interesting books & movies, other sf phenomenons, and other interesting stuff, accompanied by a couple of beers. Welcome!

Linkage: Future of FSFWA

There’s an interesting discussion going on on the FSFWA forum about the future of the society, how to find new people to do the work that needs doing, and what the most important functions of the association that need preserving are. If you have an opinion on the matter (or just want to hear what others say), head over there.

Going to Swecon

Imagicon 2, this year’s Swecon (foreign GoHs Liz Williams and Graham Joyce), is held October 16–18 in Stockholm. A bunch of us Finns are going there, and our agent Ben Roimola has arranged a group trip with accommodation.

We’re leaving from Turku by ferry Thursday (Oct 15) evening and return to Turku on the Sunday evening ferry. The cost of the trip including a cabin on the ferries plus two nights at a hotel near the con site will be about 119 € (depending a bit on how many people will attend).

If you’re interested in joining us for a fun trip to a fun convention, contact Ben for details! (And remember to pay the convention membership fee before the 1st of September and you’ll save 5 €).