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BARBARA HARE
MEETING SUMMARY:
Meeting Date: May 9, 1992.
Meeting Site: Bergen Highlands United Methodist Church, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.
Official Attendance: 27.
Meeting Program: Talk by medieval and role playing game expert.
Notes:
Meeting Memories:
Newsletter Account:
The following account is reprinted with permission from THE STARSHIP EXPRESS Copyright 1992 Philip J De Parto:
[About the Guest:]
Our guest speaker is Barbara Hare, who has a background in role playing games, computers, and the Middle Ages. As a gamer she is best known as the person in charge of the Red Dragon Inn which can be accessed through America On Line, Compuserve and Genie. She runs the Inn from 9PM to 1 AM most Saturdays in her game persona of R. D. I. Kairee. She also writes a monthly column in the magazine, THE GAME'S AFOOT.
She is also a member of the Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility, the Medieval Academy of America, and a former Queen of the Medieval Studies and Restoration group.
She will talk about the differences between our perceptions of the Middle Ages and the reality, as well as our view of the future as expressed through the medium of games. Depending on the availability of a computer, we may have a demonstration.
[Meeting Account:]
This past meeting was yet another installment in our club's ongoing saga, "As the Growing Pains." Last month (April)--as you may recall--the S. F. A. B. C. held its first day-long meeting, hosting--among other things, a meeting of an intrigue-laden Starfleet Ship, The Intrepid 2. One room away, a couple of fans of fantasy gaming pondered their own enigmatic plots. Meanwhile, down the hall, the members of two writers' groups struggled to keep things going as they adjusted to the unexpected fission of the original group. At the same time, club director Philip De Parto twirled his mustache and cackled maniacally, scheming to interject 47 more activities into the pre-meeting mix.
Enough melodrama.
Two new pre-meeting activities debuted at the May 9, 1992 meeting. Roy Greenberg, who is a member of the Dumont Chess Mates as well as our group, arranged for them to conduct a mini chess tournament from 1 - 5 PM. They drew twenty participants (plus three judges, including Roy) and had a reasonably strong turnout with no major glitches.
Six Marklanders assembled for sword practice in the church backyard from 2 to 7 PM. A number of people watched them later in the afternoon, and a few brave souls even hefted a blade for a bit. Both groups will be back with us when we resume meeting at the church in September.
The 2:00 PM writers group met in the Wesley Room. In attendance were Philip De Parto, Charles Garofalo, Patricia Nash and Evan Johnstone. Charles and Philip took turns reading Pat's story, "Antique Maladictions," a humorous fantasy about a curse on the descendents of Sir Francis Drake gone awry. Barbara Hare was drafted to read Phil's short-short, "Grandpa," a tale he published in YOUNG DULLARD some years ago. Phil had brought the yarn just to show that he did have literary (as well as marketing) credentials.
The 5:00 PM writers group was also under attended. Maxine Kappler read a fragment from an untitled story by Elizabeth Grout. There was also a discussion on problems encountered by Jeanette Kappler in constructing a map of the world of her fantasy novel.
The evening part of the meeting was less successful. There are a number of topics upon which Barbara Hare can put together a presentation, but all of them are a bit specialized. Wanting to put on a meeting which would be of interest to the greatest number of people, I attempted to hedge my bets by asking her to do a talk on the Middle Ages and a different presentation about the Red Dragon Inn fantasy game with which she is involved. The time constraints of each presentation necessitated a talk that only skimmed the surface of the subject. I am convinced that we would have been better served with a more detailed approach to either subject.
The whole day was a rather chaotic affair. We had a number of new people present, a batch of regulars missing, and the previously mentioned maiden flights of the chess and sword folk. We also had more people arriving late and leaving early than the norm.
Roy Greenberg, Stuart Keshner, and Brian Keveney won books. The Association welcomes newcomers Jerry Adler, Gary Frank, Stuart Keshner, Vincent Lanzolla, Vincent Salzillo, Martha Schultze and Michael Smith.
I overheard a couple of it's-a-small-world encounters. It turns out that Richard Van Nort who was conducting the swordplay outside knows Barbara Hare. In fact, he was a former King of the M. S. R. before being ousted in a political squabble. This was several years before Barbara Hare was ousted as M. S. R. Queen for the same reason.
The other encounter was hearing Vincent Lanzolla say, "I don't believe it! Vin Salzillo, Bronx Science Class of '94. It's been years. What are you doing here?"
What Vincent S was doing was bringing in the computer our guest would use to get on line and take us to the Red Dragon Inn.
He was also there to plug Dexcon, a gaming convention he is running.
Dexcon will be held at the Holiday Inn Jetport in Elizabeth, New Jersey July 31 - August 2, 1992. If you need further information, you can contact Vinny.
Al Zimmerman announced the any-day-now opening of his Manhattan book store, "Science Fiction, Mysteries, and More," at 140 Chambers Street, just west of West Broadway. S. F. A. B. C. members will be able to get a 10% Discount on new titles one month each year, details to be announced. Philip De Parto will set up readings and signings at the store. The first will be held on Tuesday, June 23, 1992 at 6PM and feature Constance Ash and David Nighbert reading and Geoff Ryman, Ellen Datlow, and others signing.
Marylou Hopper announced that the Intrepid 2 had broken away from Starfleet, and that she and a number of others had broken away from the Intrepid. They are forming a new shuttle, tentatively named the Asimov, and will be based in the vicinity of Westboro, New York. They will also have a monthly gathering at the Church at 3PM before our meeting.
About eight of us made the Diner run after the meeting. Thanks and regards to Vin Salzillo for the computer and to everyone who helped out.