2010.05.14 - A MESSAGE FROM THE FUTURE!
Be sure to join us for DemiCon 21: May 14-16, 2010

Author Guest of Honor:	Karl Schroeder
Artist Guest of Honor:	Don Maitz
Fhan Guest of Honor:	Gregg Parmentier
Toastmaster Emeritus:	Rusty Hevelin
Toastmaster:	Tadao Tomomatsu
Ghost of Honor:	Sir Arthur C Clarke, CBE

2010.02.14 - Spring 2010 Paradox Deadline looms!

DMSFS Paradox newsletter editor Jon Mohning reports that the deadline for submissions for the Spring 2010 Paradox is this coming weekend: Feb 20th.

He'll take pictures, articles, reviews, filks, games or puzzles, etc. at paradoxwrangler@dmsfs.org

This Paradox will be the issue out for May's DemiCon if people want something in print for the convention.

2010.01.13 - DemiCon 21 podcast #3 (and #2) now available

More episodes of the DemiCon 21 podcast are now available. Produced by our own Dave Reed, it contains highlights of DemiCons past and news of DemiCon 21. Give it a listen and be sure to subscribe so that iTunes will pick up future installments for you as they are released.

2009.10.22 - DMSFS Officer Election Results

Congratulations to the following victims, er...DMSFS members who were elected as our new or continuing officers!

President:	Greg Abba
Vice President:	Jon Mohning
Secretary:	Tammy Mohning
Co-Treasurer:	Ida Jones
Property Mgr:	Bo3b Harper

2009.10.07 - DMSFS Officer Elections Final Slate and Ballot

At the October 9th meeting we will vote for the new DMSFS officers.

If you cannot attend, please download the Election Ballot, fill it out (put an "x" on the line after the person's name) and email it to Greg Abba well before the meeting. The ballot is a Microsoft Word format file. A text-only version is also available.

The final slate of people who were nominated for election at the last two regular meetings are:

President:	Dave Reed; Greg Abba; Jon Mohning
Vice President:	Dave Reed; Nicki Reed; Jon Mohning
Secretary:	Sheril Harper; Tammy Mohning
Co-Treasurer:	Chris Johnson; Ida Jones
Property Mgr:	Jennifer Adkins; Bo3b Harper

2009.09.23 - DMSFS Officer Elections Coming Up

At the Sept. 25th meeting we will have our second round of officer nominations. The following folks were nominated for offices at the last meeting:

President:	Dave Reed; Greg Abba; Jon Mohning
Vice President:	Dave Reed; Nicki Reed; Jon Mohning
Secretary:	Sheril Harper; Tammy Mohning
Co-Treasurer:	Chris Johnson; Ida Jones
Property Mgr:	Jennifer Adkins; Bo3b Harper

2009.09.23 - The (Continuing) Amazing Adventures of Nigel & Bridgette!

Hello All Science Fiction/British Humor Lovers! Just a reminder that "The Continuing Amazing Adventures of Nigel and Bridgette" continues through September 27 at Viking Theatre at Grand View College (2811 E 14th St in Des Moines.)

"Take a fragment of "Fawlty Towers", a modicum of "Monty Python", a granule of "Good Neighbors", a dash of "Dr. Who", a pinch of "The Prisoner", a scrap of "Star Trek", Elvis Presley, Ouija Boards, Alternate Dimensions, Overdue 17th Century Library Books, Mysterious Catacombs, Something Called An 'Atavachron', and of course Pirates... and you have our September show. Think of it as Rob and Laurie Petrie meet the X-Files -- but in England."

To learn more go to www.nigelbridgette.com

Shows are Friday & Saturday 7:30 p.m. and Sundays 2 p.m. Tickets at $12 for general admission and $10 for senior citizens and students.

Show up 30 minutes early (7:00pm) to see a warm-up mockumentary film where you might just notice some TICC/DMSFS members having fun with some of the cast. It was shot at the Holiday Inn on Merle Hay Road (DemiCon's new home for the next few years)

Directions to the theater and parking!

2009.08.18 - Summer SACC Info!

The DMSFS Summer Semi-Annual Constitutional Convention (SACC) will be held from Friday evening Sept 4th through Monday September 8th or whenver Susan and Brian throw everyone out, at the usual location, the home of Susan Stewart & Brian Weigel a.k.a. Toad Hall, 3122 Xircus Ave, Radcliffe, IA 50320-7531.

For details contact Susan or Brian at toadhall@netins.net or phone 515-836-2174.

2009.08.18 - First DemiCon 21 podcast now available

The first DemiCon 21 podcast is now available. Produced by our own Dave Reed, it contains highlights of DemiCons past and news of DemiCon 21. Give it a listen and be sure to subscribe so that iTunes will pick up future installments for you as they are released.

2009.08.14 - DemiCon 21 Animated Music video from Animé Iowa

The DemiCon Advertising and Marketing Department (D.A.M.D.) has created and executed a 2.5 minute commercial for DemiCon 21 using clips from animé along with a few selected DemiCon pictures. We are pretty pleased with how the commercial has turned out.

It was first shown at Animé Iowa and is now available for everyone's viewing pleasure on YouTube.

2009.08.11 - PARADOX DEADLINE THIS WEEKEND!

The deadline for getting stuff to Jon Mohning for the summer issue of the DMSFS Paradox Newsletter is this weekend, August 15-16th, 2009.

While he'll take the usual articles, pictures, reviews, filks, etc., he'd also really like your articles, pictures, etc. from Animé Iowa!

2010.03.20 - ANOTHER MESSAGE FROM THE FUTURE!
Like costuming or cosplay? Then come to the Iowa Costuming & Cosplay Workshop on March 20th, 2010

THIS WORKSHOP HAS BEEN CANCELLED The ICACW is a new annual DMSFS event in the Des Moines area that focuses specifically on cosplay. Come to show off your cosplay skills and learn pointers from some of the most talented costumers in the midwest. So when is it? March 20th, 2010 from 8 am to 6 pm at the West Des Moines Community Center in Valley Junction. Visit the Iowa Costuming & Cosplay Workshop web site for more information.

2009.07.24 - 1st Annual DMSFS Summer Potluck Meeting!

We're holding our first annual DMSFS Summer Potluck meeting on Friday July 24th at the Birdland Shelter House.

• We have the shelter house from 5-8pm - at 8pm we will clean up and be out of the shelter house by 9pm.

• The shelter is enclosed so if the weather is rainy we will still have plenty of room and a good time. There's also a kitchen area, power, running water and flushies!

• We will be bringing some plastic table cover left over from CC24 (it was the red carpet).

• We'll also have the club 5 gallon jugs one with water and one with plain old iced tea.

• IMPORTANT: NO ALCOHOL! We did not secure the necessary permits, so no booze. Feel free to bring whatever non-alcoholic beverage you desire.

• There are a few outdoor grills by the shelter house. We will light these grills so you may cook a slab of something over hot charcoal.

• Bring a main or side dish to share. Bring whatever you feel like: salad, dessert, casserole, etc.

• Bring along plates and silverware. We will have some plastic silverware and plates and cups just in case.

• Bring an outdoor lawn chair in case there aren't enough outdoor picnic tables for us.

• Feel free to bring whatever outdoor and/or table games you feel like.

2009.05.07 - PARADOX DEADLINE THIS WEEKEND!

The deadline for getting stuff to Jon Mohning for the summer issue of the DMSFS Paradox Newsletter is this weekend, May 9-10th, 2009.

While he'll take the usual articles, pictures, reviews, filks, etc., he'd also really like your articles, pictures, reviews, filks, etc. from DemiCon 20!

2009.05.04 - THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING DEMICON 20!

Thanks for attending DemiCon 20! Despite the economy and the "swine flu epidemic", we had an excellent turnout and a great time was had by all!

Many thanks to our Guest of Honor and volunteers for all their efforts.

We hope to see you again next year at DemiCon 21 in our new location, the Des Moines Northwest Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites on Merle Hay Road on May 14th-16th, 2010!

2009.05.01 - A MESSAGE FROM THE FUTURE PAST!
Be sure to join us for DemiCon 20: May 1-3, 2009

Author Guest of Honor:	Joe Haldeman
Artist Guest of Honor:	Sara Butcher
Fhan Guest of Honor:	Roger Tener
Toastmaster Emeritus:	Rusty Hevelin
Toastmaster:	Tadao Tomomatsu
Venue:	Hotel Fort Des Moines

Prices
$45 through April 1, 2009
$35 One-Day
$50 At-the-Door

2009.04.22 - IMPORTANT DEMICON 22 CONCOM VOTING INFO

A message from the President

Hello Once Again Fellow Club Members,

This message is a reminder that there is an important club vote happening at the meeting this Friday April 24th. The club will be voting for ConCom for DemiCon 22. What? Some of you may say. I thought we did that already. Well for those that missed the meeting last Friday April 17th allow me to review the situation.

At the meeting Friday April 10th the club to elect a ConCom for DemiCon 22. The voting was very close. There were some proxy votes that were submitted. Some of these were correct and some weren't. Also there were some requests to cast proxy votes from some regular club attendees that were not aware of the vote at Friday's meeting. While researching the rules for proxy votes in the by-laws I discovered a procedural error in the vote as a whole. The long and short of all of this is the outcome of the election is no longer clear and as such the Board of Directors voted to nullify Friday's vote and all parties involved graciously agreed to a "do over."

For the first time since DemiCon 11 we have a contested bid. At the meeting Friday April 17th both committee bids resubmitted their nominations. These bids are different that previous ConCom elections. You should be aware of the following as you decide your vote.

You will be voting for ConCom and also

• The convention theme
• The GoH Slate

There will not be the usual nomination of potential guests as we've had in the past at least not at first.

The committee bids are

• ConCom - Heather Abba, Sallie Abba, Tammy Mohning
  • Theme - Here be Dragons, Dragon themed GoHs and programming.
  • Guests - This bid proposed first, second and third choices for Author and Artist. A first choice Fan GoH and the Toastmaster GoH will be by club vote. This bid will replace the Ghost of Honor with Dragon of Honor to be selected by the club
• ConCom - Mandi Arthur, Rachelle Hrubetz, Les Roth
  • Theme - Wizards, Warlocks, and Werewolves oh my!
  • Guests - This bid proposed a full slate of GoHs for Author, Artist, Fan, Toastmaster.

Because publicizing the names of the GoH nominations could prove awkward at a later time their names are not being included in this message. If you would like to know specifically the GoH Slate please contact myself off list at gsabba@worldnet.att.net or you can certainly contact any of the proposed ConCom.

Both bids are very exciting, this is an opportunity to be part of a fun and vibrant ConCom election. I encourage you to attend the meeting Friday April 24th to cast your vote. You'll be able to review the full bids and the GoH slates as well as ask any questions of the bid committees you might have. Ballots will be provided. To qualify as a voting member you must have attended at least one meeting in the last 6 months and be at least 13 years old. Oh and have at least the IQ of a small soap dish.

If you will be unable to attend the April 24th meeting you may cast a proxy vote. All proxy votes must be cast by the individual either, by phone, email or signed and sealed written delivery to the speaker no later than Thursday April 23rd. Hand delivered written proxies may be presented at the start of the meeting Friday April 24th.

• You can have someone deliver your proxy, but they cannot fill out a ballot for you. You must indicate for yourself which bid you have chosen. The proxy should be signed and sealed in an envelope.
• Phone proxies are to be made to the club phone voicemail. 515-830-1305. Be sure to clearly state your full name as well as your vote. More than one proxy can be made in one call, but all parties must speak for themselves. For instance you and your spouse what to phone in a proxy you can each do so on the same call as long as it is clear who you are and that you speak for yourself
• Email proxies must be done by the individual as well. Please sign your real name. Not everyone knows who fuzzytribble@hotmail is. I would prefer individual emails from each person with their proxy vote. This is true even if you have the same email.

If anyone has any questions or concerns please let me know.

Thanks for your attention and we'll see you all on Friday.

-- Greg Abba, President

2009.03.21 - DMSFS April 3 Meeting Location Change
Les Roth reports that the April 3rd meeting of DMSFS will be held at the Merle Hay Road Holiday Inn, not at the West Des Moines Community Center. It will be held in the Bennegan's restaurant meeting room. For those wanting to eat, we can order dinner during the meeting.

The Merle Hay Holiday Inn is the proposed (but not yet final) venue for next year's DemiCon (DemiCon 21) since the Hotel Fort Des Moines will be closed for extensive remodeling at the time we normally hold DemiCon. Troy Thompson, the sales director at the Holiday Inn will be available to give a tour if there is interest.

Also, since we do not have a committee in place for any years beyond 2010, Les would like to have the group discuss and vote on holding DemiCons 22 through 24 at the Holiday Inn as well, since the Hotel Fort Des Moines may no longer have the necessary function space for holding DemiCon after their remodeling.

Les also notes that we would also have to move the date of the 2010 DemiCon (DemiCon 21) ahead a couple of weeks because the Holiday Inn is booked on the usual convention date in 2010. We would hold it on May 14-16, 2010 instead if we choose to use the Holiday Inn for DemiCon 21.

2009.02.11 - DemiCon 20 Flyer available!
If you're going to be attending a con in the near future, please print out and take along some of the DemiCon 20 flyers that are now available, to spread the word about DC20!

2009.02.11 - Spring 2008 Paradox Deadline Looms!
Jon Mohning, your Humble Paradox Editor, wishes to remind everyone that the deadline for getting things to him for the Spring 2009 issue of Paradox is the weekend of the next DMSFS meeting, Feb 13th. He'll eagerly accept pictures, articles, reviews, puzzles, recipes, personal news, reports from ConCom 20 and 21, etc.

2009.01.08 - ORCKES AND TROLLES CD RELEASE PARTY
Robert Uy reminds us that DemiCon Music Room favorite Orckes and Trolles is having a CD release party on Friday January 9th, 2009 for their 3rd CD "Patty's In The Pub". The party will start at 7:30pm but you can come any time afteward. Orckes and Trolles will sing a few songs from their new CD around 8:30ish. It's at the NEW location of Premiere Pets in Governor Square in West Des Moines, NOT the old location. It's next to Uncle Buck's Bar. The address is 1751 - 28th Street, West Des Moines 50266 If you go to the old location, just go to the building to the south in the same complex. Look for the picture of the Jolly Roger on the door. If you get lost, call his mobile phone at 515-339-0613. The party has a pub theme so they'll have some beef stew, cheese, munchies, and some beverages. If you'd like to bring any leftover Christmas cookies, fruitcake, adult beverages, beer, wine, chips, other pub food, haggis, whatever, that would be cool, but definitely not mandatory Robert is trying to think of some good fun pub activities other than drinking games (which will probably happen anyway); let him know if you have any good ideas. Garb is optional (but clothing is mandatory!) We like Rennies, pirates, vikings, sci-fi, fantasy; it's halloween all over again! As well as their new CD "Patty's In The Pub" they'll have their 2nd CD "Here Be Monsters" available. Robert can also be reached at 515-967-6871.

2009.01.08 - WINTER SACC '08 PICTURES FROM WOOKIE
Steve "Wookie" Houle has posted DMSFS Winter SACC '08 photos he took on line. Note: These galleries are not generally available from his front page, so you will need the above link to access them. He'll be adding past NYE and other assorted DMSFS photo shoots under this link over time, once he gets home. So check back every now and then.

2009.01.08 - WINTER SACC '08 PICTURES FROM JON
Jon Mohning has posted some of the pictures he snapped at SACC, including Overdresser's Night and Vampire Night. He also has some photos from Al and Diane's Christmas party and the Friday and Saturday December birthday bashes.

2008.12.31 - WINTER SACC DETAILS!
This year's DMSFS Semi-Annual Constitutional Convention (SACC) will be held from Wednesday evening 12/31 through Saturday 1/3 or possibly even early Sunday 1/4. The Roth Hotel and Convention center will be open continuously until things wind down Saturday night/early Sunday morning. Families are welcome through most of the weekend.

EVENTS PLANNED
Wed. 12/31 7:00pm	Overdressing evening. Please dress in your finest and bring snacks and drinks to share.
Thu. 1/1	We will be watching Iowa's bowl game, should they end up on New Year's Day.
Fri. 1/2	No specific events planned
Sat. 1/3	Saturday will be our annual no-kids day. The theme will be vampires. Come as a vampire, vampire hunter, or vampire groupie. Entertainment will include episodes of HBO's "True Blood."

Important:

• Brings interesting SF, Fantasy and DMSFS or DemiCon related topics to discuss with other DMSFS members.
• Bring games, music, video, food, drink, etc to share.
• Please contact Les Roth if you would like to host a meal.
• Food and drink donations are welcome throughout the weekend.
• A limited amount or crash space is available.
• If you have any questions please contact Les Roth at:
• les@trans-iowa.org or
• 515-224-7654.

2008.11.20 - DEMICON 20 AUTHOR GoH ANNOUNCED!
DemiCon 20's ConCom is pleased to announce that Hugo and Nebula award-winning author Joe Haldeman will once again be our Author Guest of Honor! Joe was Author GoH at DemiCon 2 and Joe's wife Gay was our Fan Guest of Honor at DC2. Gay is also our regular and welcome guest at most DemiCons. Both are occasional TICC performers as well. Ironically the DemiCon 2 TICC performance of "The Haunting of Haldeman House" they performed in was set in the future...at DemiCon 20! TICC also performed shows based on several of Joe's stories at World Horror Con 2003

2008.11.20 - DMSFS CALENDAR FEED COMING!
As soon as we can figure out the best long-term logistics of it, we'll be setting up a Google Calendar feed for DMSFS meetings and other events (including DemiCon events like ConCom and Dept. Head Meetings) and maybe even TICC events. You will be able to "subscribe" to this calendar in many computer calendar programs such as Apple's iCal, Microsoft Outlook, or of course in your own personal Google Calendar, and probably in other web-based calendars as well.

So you can see what we're working towards, here's a "sample" DMSFS calendar feed you can add to your calendar. This is NOT the final feed and may change or even split into separate feeds for DMSFS, DemiCon and TICC by the time we're finished working on it. We have XML and iCal addresses:

• Apple iCal
• Microsoft Outlook
• XML (can also be used as an RSS feed)

IMPORTANT: Not all the times shown may be accurate, especially the DemiCon ConCom & Dept. Head meetings or any TICC events at this time.

2008.11.14 - PARADOX DEADLINE EXTENDED!
Jon Mohning, your Humble Paradox Wrangler, wants you all to know that because of his loss of time-sense from the Halloween season, his actual deadline for Winter Paradox submissions is this weekend (11/15-11/16) instead of last weekend as previously reported. He thanks those of you that gave him things for the Paradox by that deadline. He's still gladly accepting articles, recipes, filks, reviews, pictures, puzzles, etc.

2008.11.13 - MORE PHOTOS FROM DEMICON 19
Rachelle Hrubetz passes along the following web site link from John Lars Shoberg & Keith Stokes in KC with photos from DemiCon 19 at the Midamericon.org Fan Photo Archive.

2008.11.11 - DMSFS WEB SITE NOW HAS RSS FEED
For those of you that like to use RSS news feeds (RSS: Really Simple Syndication) to keep tabs on when new items have been posted to your favorite web sites and blogs, DMSFS now has an RSS feed for the news items and meeting announcements on the main page. The feed's web address is: http://www.dmsfs.org/dmsfs_feed.rss if you want to add it to your newsfeed reader. If you're not familiar with RSS newsfeeds and readers, check out Bloglines or Newsgator.

2008.11.03 - PARADOX DEADLINE LOOMS
Jon Mohning, your Humble Paradox Wrangler sends you all a gentle notation that the deadline for the Winter 2008-2009 Paradox issue is this weekend 11/8-11/9. He'll gladly accept articles, recipes, filks, reviews, pictures, puzzles, etc.

2008.10.25 - NEW DMSFS OFFICERS ELECTED
At the Oct 24th, 2008 meeting, the following new DMSFS officers were elected (or in some cases re-elected)

President	Greg Abba
Vice President	Jon Mohning
Secretary	Sheril Harper
Property Manager	Al Hohrmann
Thanks to our outgoing officers:
Vice President	Bill Davis
Secretary	Tammy Mohning
Property Manager	Josh More?
Nominations were:
President	Greg Abba, Jon Mohning
Vice President	Jon Mohning, Mark Hagerman
Secretary	Sheril Harper, Tammy Mohning
Property Manager	Bo3b Harper, Jenifer Adkins, Al Hohrmann

2008.10.23 - DMSFS NOW HAS A MYSPACE PAGE
Thanks to Jon Mohning for setting up and maintaining a MySpace page for the club - it's another way to reach out to the Internet and attract new members. Jon posts DMSFS news to the blog there and there is an RSS feed available for those folks who like using Internet news feeds to keep up on things.

2008.10.23 - DMSFS NOW HAS A GOOGLE GROUPS PAGE
If you have difficulty subscribing to the DMSFS Chat e-mail list, you can read it online via it's Google Groups DMSFS Chat page

2008.05.05 - DEMICON POST MORTEM DATE AND TIME CHANGED!
We will have a DemiCon 19 Post Mortem meeting on May 16, 2008 NOT MAY 9th. The May 9th DMSFS meeting will be a normal meeting. The Post Mortem will be held the following week (not a normal DMSFS meeting week) on May 16th at 7pm at the home of Jon & Tammy Mohning, 1320 - 17th St., West Des Moines.