Page Created: 09/10/10. Last Updated: 10/27/10. Last Google Group Page Update: 01/21/08
HOLIDAY PARTY / POT LUCK DINNER
JOSEPH BRAVIAK / SUSAN BRAVIAK
Science Fiction Continuum's Website is: http://www.sfcontinuum.com/index.html
MEETING SUMMARY:
Meeting Date: December 9, 1989.
Meeting Site: Bergen Highlands United Methodist Church.
Official Attendance: 34.
Meeting Program: Pot Luck Dinner. Talk by Science Fiction Video Dealers.
Notes:
Author Pauline Alama, artist Tom Kidd and his wife, Andrea Montague, and big name fans Evelyn and Mark Leeper attended the meeting.
Meeting Memories:
Newsletter Account:
The following account is reprinted with permission from THE STARSHIP EXPRESS Copyright 1990 Philip De Parto:
The club's annual Holiday Party was held on December 9, 1989 at the Bergen Highlands United Methodist Church, across the street from the cultural center which is our normal meeting site. Although we hardly claim credit for astute planning, the church was in many ways a more suitable site than the center: the kitchen was much larger and the appliances (oven, microwave, refrigerators) less temperamental than their counterparts across the street. ...
There was plenty of soda and desserts, and just enough main and side dishes to go around. Among the main courses were stew by Lori and Nancy Denker, chicken by Sharon Archer, rice with beef by Robert Hepperle, la sagna by Robert Yeager, and meatballs by Charles Garofalo.
Normally one of the highlights of these parties is the chance to gobble down one of the delicious desserts prepared by Pauline Alama. Instead of making chocolate chip cookies or brownies this time, the club's other Italian Taurean English Major decided to whip up a batch of fudge. The recipe went wrong, however, and the fudge steadfastly refused to harden. Never one to let a bad situation sit quietly unnoticed, Philip De Parto composed an on-the-spot filksong to commemorate the occasion. Sung to the tune of Gordon Lightfoot's "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," it began: "Pauline's feeling blue 'cause her fudge turned to goo, and she hasn't the time to bake brownies." The rest of the song was left unsung by popular demand.
The evening's guests were Joseph and Susan Braviak who run Science Fiction Continuum, a company which does a mail order business selling science fiction and related videotapes and cassettes.
Susan introduced a tape of trailers of old science fiction movies and shows they had put together for the meeting. Several times she put the tape on pause to answer questions or comment upon the scenes. She pointed out the palm trees in the background of a shot from BUCKEROO BANZAI which supposedly takes place on Route Four in New Jersey as an example of Hollywood stupidity.
In addition to reminiscing about the movies themselves, the Braviaks discussed the difficulties involved with trying to track down obscure titles from movie dealers who have absolutely no idea what their product is about. It is commonplace for studios to announce that they plan to release a few dozen flicks, but only actually release one or two, at a later date than scheduled, under a different title and for a different price. It's a dirty job, but ...
The meeting broke up between 10:30 and 11:00 PM because there is a time limit on how long we can use the church. A number of people purchased Christmas gifts from the selection of tapes our guests brought with them.