ICS Update - December 12, 2012

Season's Greetings folks!

First off- remember you can always catch current goings-ons and conversations on our FACEBOOK page.

The meeting will be this Saturday, Dec 15th. Due to a snafu on our part, we will not have the hall. We will have the church instead. Charlie Wittig made a special trip to pick up a key to the church (ours for some reason no longer work). We will be having another Silent Auction (so bring in stuff). Also please bring food. The theme for the evening will be "Evil Children".

That morning a group are headed to AMC White Marsh to see THE HOBBIT. If you want details or want to join in, check with JOHN WARD. I imagine that it's possible by now that it's sold out.

A reminder that we will be collecting dues starting in December. They are still $25. Remember, if you'd like a waiver, you need to request one from the Board.

Also we will be taking nominations for our January elections. If interested in running please see Sam DiBlasi and Rick Arnold.

I won't be there this weekend, so let me wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!

Hendo

ICS Update: Happy Thanksgiving - November 21, 2012

Greetings one and all, and best wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving!

This weekend is our November Meeting- and we will be having a RECENT MOVIE NIGHT. Everyone is asked to bring in a recent movie (1939 is NOT recent!) for members to vote on. For example, I will be bringing in "The Woman In Black", John Ward will be bringing "The Avengers" and "Contagion" and a few others.

There won't be any presentation that evening- instead we'll have a discussion of recent movies we've seen, led by John Ward.

Hard to believe, but another year is coming to a close. We will be holding our Annual Elections in January. Anyone wishing to run for office can put their name in for the ballot. I will again be asking Sam DiBlasi and Rick Arnold to be tellers- however I need to see if they are willing to do this for us.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hendo

ICS Update: Halloween The Day After - October 28, 2012

Greetings one and all!

I wanted to thank everyone for bringing both themselves and food to our Annual Halloween Potluck Dinner! I hope that everyone there enjoyed themselves at our little fete.

You may be curious (or, maybe not) about who won the All-Nighter. This year we had 4 hardy souls, including for the first time a woman. Yes Mary Blackstock broke the "glass ceiling" by staying until 5:30 with Skip, John W and Darryl! As John Ward put it:

Skip, Darryl, Mary and I lasted until 5:30 this morning, watching The Cabin in the Woods, Zombieland, and the complete "Grindhouse Experience" back to back to back!! If you count the Grindhouse movies separately -- Planet Terror and Death Proof -- that's four movies we watched after Greg Mank's presentation on "Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man."

Man, I get tired just THINKING about staying up until 5:30! Well done, gentlemen and lady!

Included is a photo of those who dressed up. Nina Hawes won the costume contest, dressed as Tippi Hedron from "THE BIRDS"!

The real Halloween is this Wednesday, and between us and that stands a big storm. Everybody stay safe!

Hendo

ICS Update: Happy Halloween - October 24, 2012

Good Eve-e-ning to one and all! Just a reminder that this weekend is our Annual Halloween Party! We will be having renowned author GREG MANK speaking on FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLFMAN, Then we will screen this classic fright flick.

We are asking folks to bring a dish for our POTLUCK DINNER, too!

There will be a COSTUME CONTEST with a prize for best costume!

And then there will begin... the HALLOWEEN ALL-NIGHTER! Let's see who has the fortitude to make it through the night watching movies! (Um... not me!).

So bring a friend, bring a fiend, bring yourself to our Halloween Party!

Hendo

ICS Update - Our Big 1-5-0 Meeting September 26, 2012

Greetings one and all, ladies and gentlemen, and those member running for public office- This Saturday marks our 150th Meeting! And to mark the event, we will be having Jocular John Ward going over the ICS's 150 top movies! And the movie that ranked at #1 will be shown out of doors (weather permitting) on Charlie's big silver screen! It is suitable for youngsters, so we don't have to worry about young kids on the Mini-Golf Course getting an eyeful! I remember as a kid on a way to visit my Aunt in Emmittsburg late one evening we drove past a drive-in theater that was showing an x-rated movie. Drive-ins did that a lot to get folks to come on out. That and quickie horror movies like "Frogs". Anyway, this movie is ok for kiddies. Now what movie is it? What, and ruin John's surprise? You'll have to come out and see for yourself!

Unfortunately, the dam-ned mosquitoes are still out, too. I hate mosquitoes. A scientific survey found that we could eliminate every one and not upset the food chain too badly. So bring either OFF or citronella candles (if you can find them), or else you might get welts! Or until we find out who attracts them the most and tie them to a tree away from others.

Next month is our time to HOWL with writer Greg Mank talking about "Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman"! Remember how Lugosi turned down the original role of the Monster, feeling it was undignified? Well, by the 1940s ol' Bela was willing to do almost anything for a paycheck, including playing the Monster. Luckily he wouldn't sink so long to co-star with a gorilla or something! 

Anyway, Greg will fill us in on the shenanigans behind the making of this Universal Classic. I remember when I later saw the poster, I wished the Monster had at least taken a punch at the Wolfman! More on the Halloween Party later!

So bring your comfy studio chair and your bug spray and come on out this Saturday!

Hendo

ICS Update - August 21, 2012

Good Eve-e-ning, Ladies and Gentlemen. Ahead of us this weekend, for your enjoyment, is the August ICS Meeting. We will be having JUDY PENTZ doing a presentation on that Master of Mystery and the Macabre, ALFRED HITCHCOCK. As John Ward once remarked, "Hitchcock is a genre of his own". I think we can agree with that- we've all heard this film or that as referred to as "HITCHCOCKIAN" in style.

We're coming to the traditional end of Summer, and we'll briefly recap some of the highs and lows in the movies this summer, led by John Ward.

So come on out and have a good time at the next meeting!

Hendo

ICS Update - August 10, 2012

Greetings one and all!

I thought I'd fill you in with some stories and photos for a summer's night.

First off, we had a meal of salads and sundaes at our new SUNDAES and SALADS NIGHT- suggested by Gary and handled by Tom Proveaux- at the last meeting. It was a wonderful suggestion- and lighter fare sits better on a hot humid night than pizza does! Never fear, we will be having a PIZZA NIGHT later in the year.

Also at our last meeting, we played ICS-ACADEMIC, the ICS quiz show. We had 3 teams compete against each other, with Jolly John Weber acting as the MC. The winners- Dave W., Darryl and Skip aka The Headless Ghosts- all won a double vote card for their mastery in answering genre-related questions. I have attached some photos of the teams, along with Charlie Wittigs' masterful invention, THE BRAINIAC- used for "chiming in".

After that, Nina Hawes gave an interesting presentation on TIM BURTON. The movie selected for the evening was Sleepy Hollow- one of my favorite Burton films.

SEE OUR PHOTO ALBUM FOR THIS EVENT

Today I burned a vacation day at work and went to the MID-ATLANTIC NOSTALGIA CON, aka MANC, at Hunt Valley. While there I got to see guests Ron Ely (Tarzan), James Darren and Robert Colbert (The Time Tunnel), Shirley Jones (the Partridge Family), Sherry Jackson (of the classic ST episode "What are Little Girls made of?") and Hammer favorite Veronica Carlson. And along with them outside they had THE GOTHAM SUPERCAR, aka the 1966 Batmobile. As we can all guess, BATMOBILE is now trademarked. I'd have called it the BATCAR if it were me. The were showing movies and TV shows periodically throughout the day. Autographs ran $20 and up.

Now let me get on my soapbox (Tide Detergent, of course) here. I enjoy conventions. I don't go as often as I used to, though. I haven't been to a Shore Leave in years. Horrorfind is too far to drive now. I went to MANC this year because I'm an Irwin Allen fan, as you all know, and a chance to see James Darren and Robert Colbert was one I didn't want to miss. I spent a fair amount of time walking through the dealer's room, but I was not in the mood to empty my wallet there. Can't say any of the things they were showing in the movie rooms interested me, and there weren't multiple showings going on.

And that's the rub. There was nothing else to do.

I found that Veronica, Sherry and Shirley had done a panel the day before, and had nothing else planned. James Darren and Robert Colbert would not be on until late evening, and I couldn't stay that long. I'm cutting back on DVDs and "toys", so the dealer's room was nice to look at, but I wasn't really looking for anything special. Nowadays thanks to the Net, there's a good chance I could order most of the stuff. Older, hard to find items I wouldn't be able to afford.

Which made me think of one of the best local cons ever- Gary and Sue Svehla's FANEX. By the hoary hosts of Asgard, THAT was a convention. Every hour had something going on- and one had a lot of choices. I heard at least once a patron say- "There's two things I want to see but they're both at the same time!". They had multiple movie screenings. They had panels- panels made up of movie lovers interacting with the audience. They had guests that you could see each day in some form or another. Oftimes walking around, intermingling with the patrons and staff. And the guests... believe it or not... were not allowed to charge for photos! 

The admission price was very reasonable, the dealers' room was packed (although dealers always complain). And the guests weren't herded into the dealer's room like other vendors- each had their own signing room (and signing times, which worked very well but would not work today with them charging. Except when some guy named Ron, I think, showed up with an armful of items he wanted signed. That I believe led to a 2 item limit). I worked a lot of those cons, beginning with I believe FANEX 6. It was thoroughly enjoyable. The staff members would often hang out in the bars tween working sessions, have a fun time shooting the feces. I remember when the theme was "It Came From the Drive-In", where they were going to do a promotional spot on Channel 13's morning show with Don Scott and Marty Bassho.

 I was asked if I could bring the old Camaro out to be a prop, since it was live from the Bengies Drive-In. I got up at 4 in the morning, drove down to my sisters (she had a garage we used), drove out to the Bengies, being one of the few cars on the road. The burbling V-8 sound in my ears, and the lights of those round headlights stabbing the darkness, with Todd Rundgren on the cassette player. There was no trace of sunrise yet. Made it out there- Channel 13 used a filter that made it look like early morning when I swear it was still dark out. Shot the spot (I have it recorded somewhere) and drove back to my sisters, then back to my place, then on to work.. zzzzzz  It was fun, it didn't cost you an arm and a leg, and there were a lot of memories to be made.

But the only thing constant is change, they say.

Attached you will find photos for you to peruse of the last meeting, and of some MANC Stars. The person's name is the name of the image, in case you don't recognize them.

Til next time! Nuff said!

Hendo

ICS Update - July 26, 2012

Greetings!

With the hot weather returning, it will be a perfect time to have our FIRST ANNUAL SALADS AND SUNDAES NIGHT! Come cool off this weekend with a salad or a sundae. The club (meaning all of us through our dues and amazon paybacks) will be paying for all the necessities. We will also be having our game show ICS-ACADEMIC. And to top it all off, it's TIM BURTON NIGHT!

I went to see Dark Knight Rises on Monday. In a movie theater. With quite a few others. I, along with those other folks, refused to let a nutjob who opened fire in a theater at the Batman movie midnight show make us afraid. Because if we do, then this nut wins. Him, and all others like him.

Hope to see you Saturday!

Hendo

ICS Hot Update - July 15, 2012

You know, the upcoming generation may be able to find out almost anything with a few keystrokes. And that's probably a good thing- because they sure don't have much knowledge stored in their heads- at least not the kind we were taught to make us a "well rounded person". I was in B&N today, when a bookperson comes up to me and asks if I need help (what a loaded question). I ask her where I could find Jules Verne. She said let's find out, and went to her computer. "Wow, he's everywhere!" she proclaimed. Sci-fi, classic, fiction... in total surprise. I said, you've never heard of Jules Verne? Nope. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea? No, they didn't make me read that one in school. WELL, they didn't make me, either! I read it on my own! And who the hell has never heard of Jules Verne? Good grief! The World as We Know It, is doomed...

 
Hey, Tim Fleming reports that some fellow named Higgs discovered a new type of Bison. I'm always glad to hear when an endangered species is making a comeback.
 

For those who remember her, our biggest Godzilla fan, Linda Conrad, is selling stuff at the G-Fest Con in Florida.
 

Come July, we'll be having our "Salads and Sundaes" night, featuring again the renowned French Chef, Msr Thomas de la Proveaux. Also we'll be playing a round of our game show ICS-ACADEMIC! For those new folks, it's just like IT's ACADEMIC, with genre related questions. Our electronic and computer wiz Charlie Wittig designed and built the BRAINIC device for it. The board has come up with a list of 100 questions that will be used that evening. Jolly John Weber will be host, because in the past any team John was on blew away everyone else. :)  The winning team gets a double vote card! You're probably saying, "wow, how could this night GET any better?". Well, to top it off, Nina Hawes is having- Tim Burton Night! Yes, Edward Scissorhands and Beetlejuice and the Headless Horseman and many others will all be there that evening for us to vote on!
 

We'll also chat on some of the movies out there- a certain webslinger debuted a short time ago, and a dark knight is on the horizon this week. So stay cool, and we'll see you at the next ICS-MEETING!
Hendo

ICS Update - July 4, 2012

"The Second Day of July 1776 will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. . . . It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires, and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more."

--John Adams to Abigail Adams, July 3, 1776

Well, gang, as we can see, John Adams, the Forgotten Founder, was off by 2 days. July 2nd was the actual day that Congress took a vote to declare its independence from England. July 4th was the day it was proclaimed throughout the colonies.

It's easy in hindsight to see how this all turned out. But at the time... these men had taken a large bold step. They were aware that what they had done could be considered treason. 

These representatives from 13 assorted colonies, who often were in competition with each other for trade and business, had united on this monumental issue (ok, NY abstained, but it was not a "nay" vote). As Franklin put it, "We must all hang together, or surely we will all hang separately", as in 'on the gallows'. And he was right. Had history taken a different turn, Benedict Arnold might be considered a hero, and Washington a traitor. It was by no means a "slam dunk". As Adams put it, "1/3 of the country was for independence, 1/3 for loyalty to the crown, and 1/3 just wanted to be left alone". He was quite right.

As we gather for our cookouts and parades, let us think for a minute of the men, and the women who stood by their husbands as they put themselves in harm's way, who took such a chance in those heady days of July, 1776.

I want to thank all of those who came out on a very hot and humid June night to attend our meeting. We had a nice turnout of 21 people that evening. Courtney Spies brought in some very good Roger Corman Poe movies. We wound up watching the excellent "Masque of the Red Death". A big "thank you" to Daryl for setting up the projector, since Charlie was catching Joan Jett in concert.

That evening showed how unpredictable showing movies outside can be. The heat was unbearable. We will probably try to have these in September- it's cooler, and it gets dark earlier than 9:00.

Next month we will be featuring our "Salads and Sundaes" meeting- a change from our usual Pizza Night, which we will hold later in the year. It's also an "ICS-ACADEMIC" night. A reminder to da board and Onederful John Weber- send game questions to me, please, and I will put together a list. John Weber will be our host. The winning team gets "Double Vote Cards"- where you get a card that you can use to get 2 votes that night for a movie rather than one. We'll explain it more later.

Speaking of sending things, if you get a chance over the holiday, send your top 150 list to John Ward. I know it's hard to remember- I haven't done one yet, either. But John needs them by the end of July.

Our treasury is in great shape. I don't have the exact amount on me, but it's over $1,900. We are getting bucketfuls of cash from Amazon.com. So remember to go to our website, click the "Amazon" button, and we get a kickback each time you do when you purchase something.

ICS Page

Hey, are you on FACEBOOK? Well, we have a page there, too. Why not like us? Also, if you've seen a movie, or something else you think the club would like, post it!

FACEBOOK PAGE

That's all for now! May everyone have a safe and enjoyable July 4th Holiday!

Historic Hendo

ICS Update - June 28, 2012

Hot enough for you? I Know it is for me.

As you know, Saturday was supposed to be our "Movies Under the Stars" night. Well, there's been a change in plans. Due to the fact that Charlie will be out of town, and due to the fact it's supposed to reach 100 frikking degrees, we will be showing movies INDOORS this Saturday! As usual, your friendly neighborhood Hendo will get there early to turn on the A/C.

Also a reminder to bring in your lists for John Ward!

See you then!

Hendo

ICS Update - May 24, 2012 - Annual Memorial Day Cookout

Greetings one and all! I hope that everyone is doing well these rather cool days of May. Even so, this weekend is our ANNUAL MEMORIAL DAY COOKOUT, and we're hoping the church didn't double book again! We'll start serving food about 3:30 to 4. Remember to bring a dish of some sort- the hamburgers, hot dogs and rolls will be purchased out of club funds.

And DON'T forget- the 150 favorite genre list that John Ward is putting together! If you can't come up with 150, then send what you can... 5, 10, 50, whatever!

See you Saturday!

Dave

ICS Update - April 30, 2012 Avengers Dis-assemble

An important message has been received on the Avengers Priority One Band from John Ward:

Hendo:

I guess you didn't get my phone message or text.  I almost clicked "Reply All" for this, but I figured you should send it out.  The 9 A.M. show this Saturday is sold out according to Fandango, so I went ahead and grabbed two tickets for my son John and me at the next available time, the 9:40 A.M. show in IMAX 3D.  I know you're not a 3D fan, so I checked and saw that there are still tickets available for the next 2D show at 12:20.  You should let the members know ASAP.  Also let them know, if they're interested, that the IMAX 3D tickets are only $12 for the first morning show at 9:40.  Later, they go up to $18.

JohnErgo we won't be organizing a flash mob this weekend. They are expecting an opening weekend gross of $150 million. It opened in Europe last week, and it is running wild at the box-office. Good luck if you decide to chance it this weekend.

Don't forget to friend the ICS on FACEBOOK!

Hendo

ICS Update - April 29, 2012

Greetings! Well today was a much nicer day than yesterday was! But we still had a good time, as 24 members gathered together to have a good time.

I wanted to let folks know that they should mark their calendars for next month's annual MEMORIAL DAY COOKOUT! There will be more details later, but this is one special meeting.

Also, it was brought to the membership yesterday that the board was considering moving Pizza Night to February, and making July a salad and ice cream sundae month. The members reacted favorably, so that's what we'll be having this July. It will be here before you know it.

We are going to organize a FLASH MOB to see THE AVENGERS this Saturday.

The 1st feature at the Lowe's White Marsh is 9 am. Now there is a STRONG possibility that the movie may be crowded, even that early. Ol' Hendo usually makes 2 trips around the lot, and if he can't find a space, he leaves. However, I could be wrong, and it might be slow then. That is what we're gambling on. If you make it there, keep an eye open for other members drifting in.

Are you on Facebook? So is the ICS! So don't forget to friend us on there!

ICS on Facebook


See you at the movies!

ICS Update-A-Roo - April 20, 2012

Greetings ICSers! I hope that everyone is doing well these days. I don't know about you all, but all kinds of nasty bugs seem to be filling the Spring air. I was badly sick all week.

The April Meeting will be April 28, next weekend. The days just seem to fly by. We were originally scheduled to have Martin Grams do "the Twilight Zone", but as you probably know by now, he canceled on us. So we will be having a "Bring in your Blu-Rays" movie night, to inaugurate the new blu-ray player.

Now Jovial John Ward has suggested that since there won't be a movie that night, that we have a discussion of recent genre stuff on TV and the movies. Now for some reason this is a topic that provides a lot of mixed feelings. Those who are in favor of discussing movies say, "We're a movie club. We should talk about movies". Those who are against say "Even though we are a movie club, very few of us go to the movies (due to time constraints, cost, etc) and that it was the same people every meeting who had a movie to talk about. That it's a lecture, not a discussion.". I've been trying to streamline the business meetings, so that we have a. more time to socialize and b. Get to the movie. It's one of those situations that is not easy to please everybody. But since this meeting we don't have a presentation, I think we'll go ahead and have a movie discussion session. Now if it's a shame it isn't next month, after "The AVENGERS" and "Dark Shadows" come out. Based solely on John's recommendation, I am going to see "Cabin in the Woods" this weekend. Hey, it's by Joss Whedon!

Speaking of Dark Shadows, for those who have not heard, Jonathon Frid, the original Barnabas Collins, passed away a week ago. He was 87, and has a cameo in the new DS film. 

                                 Johnathon Frid                   Johnny Depp

According to preliminary surveys, it appears "The AVENGERS" may give "Hunger Games" a run for its money... among men! The survey shows an unusually high number of males want to see the Avengers. And I am one of them. My guess would be the first weekend will be tough to get into. But we may try to organize a flash mob to go see it, and DS.

That's all for now!

Keep dry, and hope to see YOU next weekend! Same bat-time, same bat-channel! 

ICS Update - March 3, 2012 Part Two

Greetings one and all! Chairman Hendo here, bringing you early Spring Tydings! For those who are new, I'll let you in on a little past history. One year we actually had both the January and February meetings snowed out. One other meeting we had after a big snow. Unfortunately, the church had not shoveled out the walkway from the lot (which was clear) to the Fellowship Hall (which was not). So, finding a shovel I cleared the pathway. No, I didn't charge the church for my aching back after that!

Just a gentle reminder that dues are dooby dooby due! Anyone having financial difficulties can request a waiver. We are a fun club, and recognize that times are tough for some of us. Just ask any board member for a waiver. But we do have expenses to meet- so if you can pay part or all of your dues, please do so. We will be sending out a list of all who have paid soon. And you can also help the club by going through the club's website ( www.icsfilm.net) and clickee on the Amazon button. I recently decided to personalize my new office at work- so I think the take in a month or so should be pretty good, since Amazon did the re-decorating.

ICS Web Page

Check out the website btw. Judy, Charlie and Betsy have done a fantastic job at keeping it fresh and updated. Also we are on facebook. If you are on facebook, don't forget to like us. Then feel free to post.

ICS on Facebook

We had a number of new folks at the last meeting. We hope that you enjoyed yourself and will return. Someone asked me if the meetings were always like this- well, yeah. We are a club that tries to be a social club, with the tying thread being a love (or at least liking) of sci-fi, horror and fantasy genre films. We have what we think will be a good year of events coming up.

However, I have heard from Martin Grams, who was our speaker for April on the Twilight Zone. I said "was", because once again we have had a speaker who "did not put us on their calendar". I also have not heard back from Greg Mank, who up until last year ago was our speaker every Halloween. I'll keep you posted on when (and if) we try to re-schedule Grams.

I have gotten some complaints about junk mail being sent from Dave Willard's email. Apparently his email was hacked. Both Charlie and I have contacted him about doing something about it. Since I got another one from him a day or two ago, I am led to believe he has not done so. I have decided, therefore, with reluctance, to block his addy until he corrects the problem.

On our website John Ward has posted the results of the Oscar Pool. Who won? Well you'll have to take a look....

Til next Tyme!

Hendo

ICS Update - March 1, 2012

Well friends, I'm sorry to say that we will NOT be having Martin Grams this April. Despite my having firmed this up with him months ago in several emails, once again a speaker 'forgot to put it on their calendar'. So we will be having a "Boycott MANC" meeting that night instead. Just kidding. But I'll be damned if I'll be lining up any outside speakers for awhile. 3 strikes and I'm done. Well, for now.

What we will be doing in April will be an issue the board will address at the next meeting. In May we will be having Dave Willard doing a presentation on the movie "Bluebird" along with our Annual Memorial Day Cookout.

And in June we'll be having movies under the stars as we have our "Drive-In Night" meeting. Courtney Spies will be having a perfect topic for a drive-in movie- Corman's Poe Films.

ICS Update - February 19, 2012

Greetings one and all! Hope everyone's getting through this unusually mild winter ok! I don't know about you, but I usually count on a snow day or two to catch up on my "to watch" pile of DVDs! Now I did manage to watch Berlin Undead, which was up for a vote last time. I... am glad it wasn't picked. It got a lot of raves online, and it was different in some regards. But breakout stuff like The Walking Dead have nothing to fear from this latest Zombie Entry. I am wondering what Andrew "King Zombie" Kent thinks of it if he's seen it?

Well, next weekend is our meeting, and with luck, the above normal temps will keep us from getting snowed out. Our speaker will be Nina Hawes, on Dracula in the Movies. Tarzan and Sherlock Holmes are the most filmed characters, but I think Drac must be in the Top 10.

Speaking of Top 10, don't forget to email your top 150 (or less) genre movies! Must admit I haven't done it yet but I will!

We'll be starting off our first meeting with the newly elected board. As always, we are ALWAYS open to input! We want to make this club a group effort in its running.

So, keep warm and see you next weekend!

Hendo

ICS Update - January 29, 2012

Greetings one and all! We had a great turnout last night for a cold January. I want to thank everyone who made it out.

We had our annual elections last night- and we have a new board. John Ward, Nina Hawes, Charlie Wittig, Tom Proveaux and myself were elected. Annual elections are an important part of our club. We have had many serve on the board over the years. And that's a good thing. We encourage everyone to consider running one day.

We have $1224.78 in the Treasury! Very good. We will be looking into getting a blu-ray player. Charlie thinks it's compatible with our current projector, although it might not quite be HD.

We have some interesting stuff coming up over the next few months:

In February, Nina will be doing "Dracula in the Movies".
In March, I'll be showing "Hammers You Probably Have Not Seen". Despite being know for its horror films, Hammer did a lot of other movies.
In April we will have Martin Grams, talking on the Twilight Zone.
In May, Dave W will be doing a movie which I forgot the name of...
In June I can't remember who signed up... CRS Syndrome.
In July we will have Betsy, ICS-ACADEMIC with your host, John Weber and PIZZA!.
In August we will have Tom Woodward.
In September, John will be doing a presentation to commemorate our 150th meeting!
In October we (hopefully) will have Greg Mank back.

John Ward would like everyone to do some list compiling. He wants a listing of your favorite 150 Genre Movies (if you can't think of that many, list what you can), top 50 all round movies, and top 10 of guilty pleasures. The most important list is the one for your top 150 Genre movies.

Also John will be conducting the Annual Oscar Pool. To obtain a ballot, simply google in "Oscar List" and pick a winner for each category. Costs $5 to play- all money goes to the club.

We picked up a new member at the last meeting. His name is Joe, and I will only mangle his last name. I'll point him out at the next meeting. 

We watched "Cowboys and Aliens". 

And that's all I have time for for now. I'll be back again in the near future!

See YOU at the movies. Maybe.

ICS Update - January 26, 2012, Upcoming Recent Movies Night

This will be RECENT MOVIES MONTH! Bring in a recent movie and we'll vote on one to watch! Now John Ward mentioned bringing in blu rays- I don't think we have a blu ray player yet. But that should be something to consider for the coming year, what with more and more folks switching to B-R.

This weekend is our yearly elections, too. Once again running for office are myself, John Ward, Nina Hawes, Charles Wittig, Thomas (The Velvet Voice) Proveaux, and David Willard. If you won't be there, but would like to vote, email your choice of FIVE (5) to Sam Diblasi or Rick Arnold.

John Ward will again be having the Oscar Pool. C'mon, take a chance. The money goes to the club. I take part every year and vote and actually get 1 or 2 right!

So, I hope to see all of you this Saturday!

Hendo

ICS Update - January 9, 2012

I hope that all are doing well! Put the holiday decorations away, and are hoping for a snowless winter and a Raven's playoff win!

Must say I've had a nasty few months at work. Nothing managers like better than taking happy people and making them miserable. But with luck, in a little over a year's time I'll be able to join our growing band of retirees. But that's another story!

So, this month will be-- FAIRLY RECENT MOVIE MONTH! Yes, friends, we want you to dig into your "To Watch" pile and find a movie that was say, released in the last year or so. Like usual, we'll vote for one to watch! I myself will be bringing in that German Zombie Film RAMMBOCK full of der walkingish zomberneibeilugen. What have you got that's new? Bring it on in!

We'll also be having our elections in January! Running are John "The Movie Geek" Ward, Nina "We got $45 from Amazon!" Hawes, Tom "The Velvet Voice" Proveaux, Charlie "You're a good man" Wittig, Dave "Record holding board member" Willard, and myself.

Remember, dues are dooby dooby do.

I recently noticed that there's another movie based on Susan Hill's "the Woman in Black" coming out. Now some of you may've seen the PBS version done a few years back. Without any gore, they built a very suspenseful film, that frankly kept my every nerve on edge. A truly scary picture. Well, the story's been dusted off again for a new version, starring some actor named Radcliffe. Name sounds familiar, but I can't think of what he's been in. Anyway, whereas the original had minimal SPFX, it looks like this one makes use of modern techniques. But from the trailer, it looks like the same suspenseful story. Take a gander at the YouTube clip:

 Woman in Black

It opens Feb 3, and maybe this could be an ICS Flash Mob Movie.

We're really empty on people signing up for movie presentations! If you'd like to do a movie presentation, please see Charlie at the meeting. Else we'll be having a lot of pot luck movie nights. Not that there's anything wrong with that!

Talk to you soon-

Hendo