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Minutes

(09/29/2004)

Call To Order: 10:00:10 pm

Attendance:

• Don Steiner (Captain)
• Amanda "Mini" Patrow (First Officer)
• David Henderson (Chief of Operations)
• Joan Johnson (Grand Nagus)
• Jon Lascelles (Constable)
• Kristen Zidon (Communications Officer)
• Jeff Hibbard (Faculty Advisor)
• Matt Adams
• Marisa Bonomo
• Sr. Bob (Andrew) Conrad
• Ryan Culp
• Megan Doggett
• Joel Doran
• Andrew Evans
• Alex Fradg
• Erich Gilbert
• Elizabeth Koprucki
• Lyz Liddell
• Joel Oberdieck
• Meaghan Porter
• Megan Strickland
• Joe Taylor
• Monica Vorass (aka "Contagious")
• Daniel Wentzel
• Eric "Xeen" Wills
• Landon Winkler
   
• Sleeping guy (who left quickly)
• Book: Count Zero, by William Gibson
• Puppet: Sr. Bob, Jr.--Sr. Bob's monkey hand puppet
• Stuffed animal: Ferret (monkey)
• Stuffed animal: Monkey (ferret)
• Stuffed animal: Senator Kama (rabbit)
• Special guest statue: Lydia Moss Bradley

There were 26 conscious attendees, six non-conscious attendees, and one who switched between the two.

The meeting began just outside the shack, but because of the merciless slaughtering of songs going on nearby (aka karaoke), we moved to Founder's Circle and held the meeting around the statue of Lydia Moss Bradley.

Minutes:

Summarized and approved.

Committee Reports:

Recruitment and Relations Committee:

• If you have not done so yet, you may sign the Psi Phi Log to become an Active Member of the club.
• Seth Robison reports that his Morn Database still exists at the Internet Archive (archive.org).
• We need to discuss having an ad during Alex's radio show.
• Lyz recruited a new member.

Reunion Committee:

• We still have T-shirts; interested people buy them from Lyz; we'll see how many are needed for another order.
• It was suggested that we have an "alumni visit day" or something each year, more like the Sunday portion of the reunion, just reserve a room and people can do whatever, so that alumni that aren't too far away can stop by and visit.

Ancient Business Committee:

• From Spring 1995:

  "The addition of a 'Security Officer' position for the keeping of order, etc. was suggested and tabled." (1/18)

  The position of "Constable" was added several years later, except without the keeping of order ;-)

  "David H. suggested the formation of a second class of officers, "Junior Officers," for such positions as Security Officer, Chief Medical Officer, and Committee Chairs." (1/18)

  David now rescinds that suggestion.

  Captain's Report: "Please listen while others talk: it will make things go much more quickly." (1/25)

  Still a good idea.

  "Matt suggested looking into getting a speaker through SABRC, and that we should start thinking about who we'd want: someone with enough appeal to bring in non-members" (2/01)

  This may be something to look into again. Perhaps we should check with SABRC?

  "David said Keith Delande of the Anaga has asked if anyone was interested in writing an article about Psi Phi for the yearbook. No one volunteered." (4/12) "Anaga article: still no volunteers. David pointed out that there have been few submissions such as this to the Anaga, so getting it in would be noticed by others. Peter might write it (all 600-700 words) if he has time." (4/19)

  Does the yearbook still take stories? Get some pictures in there?

  Alex works for the yearbook, so he can check this out.

  "There was a brief request to make bringing up new business part of the Chief's duties. Nothing came of it." (4/12)

  David: Nothing should come of it.

  "Paul S. suggested Psi Phi business cards as a novelty item. There was a mixed reception of the idea." (4/19)

  Lyz notes that there is a place online where you can get free business cards. She'll bring the URL to the next meeting.

T-Shirt Committee:

• We still have old shirts, and now we have spiffy new reunion T-shirts. Buy them! Buy them all!

Movie Committee:

• Jon hates Peoria.
  • Shaun of the Dead did not play in Peoria, answering the age old question.
• Jon did get some cool stuff--some movies, Foamy cartoons, etc.
• The bad movie of the week includes a Catholic priest who "kicks ass for the Lord."
• Jon notes that indefatigable should mean that the person described that way should catch on fire. (It was part of a long rant about "flammable" and "inflammable" and "fatigable" and "indefatigable".)
• (Mini [item deleted for security reasons]. Shhh.)

Office Resource Committee:

• There will probably never be an open office, so MCS won't be able to move out into a different office.
  • It is asked if we can destroy another club and take over the newly empty office.
    • Lyz suggests commandeering one of the nicer offices on the first floor.
• We should get a dry-erase calendar so we can post a schedule and avoid conflicts.
  • Xeen offers to buy one. We move that he can be reimbursed for this for up to $10. The vote is 21 in favor, none opposed, and one abstention.

Constitution Reform Committee:

• [no report]

Shack-a-Thon Committee:

• We're here!
• It is moved that we dissolve the committee, but we decide to do this next week.

Acquisition Committee:

• We acquired a shack.
• We attempted to trade some spray paint for a Star Wars flag, but failed. (The flag-owners lied to us about it!)

No Report Committee:

• The Comm Officer suggests that Sr. Bob, Jr. give the No Report.
  • Sr. Bob, Jr.: ...
  • Sr. Bob: And he's done.
  • Sr. Bob: No Report.

Officers' Reports:

Communications Officer:

• The minutes are out, but not online yet.
• The Comm Officer went to a speech by Richard Lederer. She bought his book The Cunning Linguist while there. He told the group one of the mottos of English: "Metaphors be with you."
• Frequency closed.

Constable:

• The Constable took a face dive off of his lofted bed. He got a nasty scratch, a bruised kneecap, and a mild concussion.
  • Xeen notes that he's now gotten rid of his voodoo doll.
• The girls who live above one of the Constable's friends were complaining about the friend playing moderately loud music in the afternoon. The Constable defended his friend, and the girls' RA asked that he do that with the door closed next time. The Constable was under the impression that he had freedom of speech.
• The Constable bought a book of Yeats poetry and a Daredevil book.

Chief of Operations:

• No report.

Grand Nagus:

• The Nagus is a psych major and is planning to go to graduate school. Thus, she is preparing to take the psych GREs. Her performance on the practice test caused her to be less than hopeful.
  • "WHAT DO RODS AND CONES IN THE EYE HAVE TO DO WITH WHAT GOES ON IN THE THINK BOX?"
• The Nagus has an orthodontist appointment on Thursday, as the office is closed Friday, which would have been far more convenient for her. She also has jaw surgery five days before Christmas.
• The Nagus only brought the notebook to this meeting, not the vault or anything.
• We have $455.85 in the checking account, $25 in the savings account, 7.49 in the Death Star Fund, $20.80 in the copy account, and the vault (post-T-shirt-and-Xeen-paying) is at $117.74.
• Jon says that as he was responsible for the shininess of the shack and as he put the food he bought for Shack-a-Thon on his meal plan, there's no need to reimburse him for the food he bought.
• It is noted that Alpha Chi Omega is full of liars (they were the ones who lied to us about the Star Wars flag).
• $1099.00 exactly from Amazon.com QTD (7/1-9/28)--and we will almost certainly have over $1100 by the end of the quarter. We reached the highest growth bonus level, so anything shipped through 9/30 gets between 13% to 15.5% referral fee!
• It is noted that one can get a dozen bookmarks for $1.12 on Amazon.com.
• I sleep now.

First Officer:

• The First Officer's ears are bleeding, thanks to the karaoke.
• The First Officer's sister was reading the minutes, and she noted that the First Officer went Amanda "Mini" Patrow to Mini (Amanda) Patrow.
• Speaking of conspiracies, the First Officer is wearing a shirt that says "Cookie Conspiracy". She found it in a box in her closet, but she had never seen it before. And shortly after she found that one, she discovered that she had another one!

Captain:

• We karaoke "Letters", complete with a ball bouncing on lyrics.
  • "Dear President, Get Excited!" (about Homecoming events). Specifically, the event formerly known as "Jazz-up Your Jack-o-Lantern," now known as (drumroll) "Pimp-out Your Pumpkin." [Yes, the hyphens were in the original.]
    • We table the topic until next meeting.
• The Captain relates the email from Kenny, summarized here:

  Dr. John Kenny passed away on August 26th. Dr. Kenny was a member of the physics department at Bradley, and taught physics and astronomy with an enthusiasm that few professors can equal. Not only was he a fine professor, he was also a sci-fi fan, especially of the Star Trek series, to the point that he would put questions concerning relativistic motion of photon torpedoes and the Starship Enterprise on quantum physics midterms.

  I'd like to request that Psi Phi make a formal mention at its next meeting. I'd also like to suggest that Psi Phi make a donation to Bradley in his memory.

  We'll miss you, Dr. Kenny.

  • We have a moment of silence for Dr. Kenny.
  • We decide to wait until next meeting to vote on a potential donation.
• Xeen got an email (as the president of MCS) regarding a screensaver with pictures of student organizations. Groups have been getting emails about this, asking for information about the club and pictures. We would not have to pay anything, and the screensavers would be distributed for free.
  • We table this as well.
• The Captain's new catch phrase is "Dumb like a moose."
  • Joan: A møøse once bit my sister...

Old Business:

• Lyz reads the thank-you she wrote for Meaghan's father. The club agrees that it sounds great. She'll bring a hard copy to the next meeting for people to sign.
• "Anne Rice is a stinking liar." She said in her Amazon.com review (which has been taken down) that those who wished to get their money back for Blood Canticle could write to her, and gave an address. However, this was her old address, and those who wrote to it got their mail back, marked "Return to Sender."
• Marisa notes that she also has a show on The Edge, and can also run an advertisement for Psi Phi.
  • An ad is suggested: Psi Phi--Hot sweaty jungle sex. *BANG!*

New Business:

• No report.
• Lydia has a monkey on her head, Monkey on her shoulder, another monkey on her arm, and a rabbit on her other arm. [Fortunately, she does not have a monkey on her back.]

Other Organization's Announcements:

• Anime Club will have Tuesday screenings going from 7:00-9:00 p.m. in the Marty Theatre.
• If you're interested in the Horsemanship Club, contact Megan Strickland or Elizabeth.
• Lyz and Megan S. will be in a chamber orchestra concert. It's free for students. All Beethoven, all the time. (Well, at least for this concert.) It's at 7:30 on Saturday.

Sci-fi News:

• Tim Choate (Zathras on Babylon 5) apparently died on September 24. He was 49.
• Lexa Doig (Andromeda, Andromeda) and Michael Shanks (Daniel Jackson, Stargate SG-1) had their first child on September 13. Mia Tabitha Shanks weighed 7 lbs., 2 oz. at birth.
• There will be a Farscape marathon on SFC. All 88 episodes will be aired in 8-hour blocks over eleven days, October 1, 4-8, and 11-15, from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
• Frankenfish, a TV movie about an enormous amphibious fish that terrorizes Louisiana bayou, airs Saturday, October 9 on Sci-Fi Channel.
• The October 15 episode of JAG has guest stars Dean Stockwell (Quantum Leap), Andrew J. Robinson (DS9), Clyde Kusatsu (TNG, B5), and J. Patrick McCormack (B5).
• Anonymous Rex, a TV movie about private eyes who are actually dinosaurs disguised as humans, airs Friday, November 19 on Sci-Fi Channel. It could become a series if the movie does well.
• 24 day 4 begins on Fox on Monday, January 3, with two episodes. There will be one episode each Monday after that; no repeats or pre-emptions.
• The Muppets' Wizard of Oz has added cast members David Alan Grier (Uncle Henry), Queen Latifah (Auntie Em), Ashanti (Dorothy Gale), and Jeffrey Tambor (unknown--maybe the Wizard?).
• Spellbound is potential midseason sitcom about a wizard who falls in love with a mortal woman.
• Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner are teaming up to make a time travel film set in Riverside, Iowa, where the movie will be filmed through September 30. Invasion Iowa focuses on themes of regret and going back to fix mistakes in your past. Riverside is (non-canonically) known as the birthplace of Captain Kirk. Priceline.com (for whom both actors are spokesmen) is making a documentary about the filming of the movie, which will be included on the DVD. More information can be found at http://www.press-citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040922/NEWS01/409220318/1079
  (See below for further information.)
• Mel Brooks is making Spaceballs 2!
• The Star Trek Generations DVD re-scheduled for September 28.
• Buck Rogers DVD will have absolutely no extras (not even episode promos); it's coming out November 16.
• Starhunter 2300 will be on DVD November 23.
• The third season of ST:TOS on DVD has been delayed to December 14.
• The 4400 mini-series comes to DVD on December 21. It is being sold as "The Complete First Season", which suggests the mini-series will become a regular series.
• Battlestar Galactica mini-series from 2003 will be on DVD December 28.
• Wonderfalls DVD pushed back to Jan. 18, 2005.
• This is Banned Books Week, and a number of science fiction and fantasy books have been banned. Among those on the list of the 100 most frequently challenged books of 1990-2000 are the Harry Potter series, The Giver, A Wrinkle in Time, The Witches, Brave New World, and James and the Giant Peach. So try reading a banned book!
• Landon notes that Invasion Iowa (the Shatner and Nimoy film) is a ruse, and that the project is actually a reality show about the effects of Hollywood entering a small Midwestern town.
• The people who run GenCon are holding a Star Wars extravaganza in Indianapolis. It'll be from April 21-24. Registration began on Monday. Information can be found at www.starwarscelebration.com.
• Matt notes that the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy episodes can be found online.
• Landon mentions a science fact: For a number of years now, pets have had chips injected so that they can be found easily if they get lost. Now, a club in the Netherlands has VIP chips implanted instead of giving members a card.
• A trivia note: Apparently Chief Sitting Bull's name used to be Jumping Badger.

Adjournment: 10:54:45 (baked potato) p.m. (Invasion Iowa)

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