Geekmas 2019: And A Partridge in a Pear Tree.

 

I have to say that I'm gratified by the degree to which people followed the suggestions from my Geekmas gift posting this year (with the obvious exception of my Secret Santa at work and my friend Chris, and I really can't complain about the results in either case). In fact, Karli has suggested that in the case of her family, the shopping process was based on screen grabs from the posting, which is probably why I didn't receive anything that didn't have an image in the post - because it would have been challenging to read the fine print under those conditions.

In practical terms, this means that I received a glow-in-the-dark Canadian Space Agency t-shirt (which does glow in the dark as advertised); Ruthanna Emrys' H. P. Lovecraft-inspired* novel Winter Tide; The Five Doctors, The Android Invasion, and The Sea Devils episodes of Doctor Who on DVD, and the Batman: White Knight graphic novel, which I've already found time to read - it's an intriguing take on the Batman - Joker relationship that turns things around several times in the process.

 

In addition, Karli broke away from the pack and picked up a copy of the Epic Yarns adaptation of The Empire Strikes Back,** by Jack and Holman Wang - which I've also already finished, but to be fair, at a total of twelve cleverly chosen words it's not a challenging read.

My thanks to all the parties who saw fit to indulge my interests once again this year - merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

-  Sid

* This originally said "Cthulhulian" but my internal copy editor has issues with that particular turn of phrase.

** She actually wanted to get me A New Hope, but they were out of stock.  This resulted in my receiving an enigmatic text asking which movie I liked better, The Empire Strike Back or The Return of the Jedi.  Fortunately I get this sort of text now and then, so it didn't spoil the surprise.

"Scary scary scary scary solstice!"

(To the music of "The Carol of the Bells") 
Look to the sky, way up on high 
There in the night stars are now right. 
Eons have passed: now then at last 
Prison walls break, Old Ones awake! 
They will return: mankind will learn 
New kinds of fear when they are here. 
They will reclaim all in their name; 
Hopes turn to black when they come back. 
Ignorant fools, mankind now rules 
Where they ruled then: it's theirs again 
Stars brightly burning, boiling and churning 
Bode a returning season of doom 
Scary scary scary scary solstice 
Very very very scary solstice. 

The Carol of the Olde Ones, The H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society

My friend Chris got in touch with me about an exchange of seasonal gifts, so we met up this evening at a local pub.  Chris has an astonishing ability to select the unexpected when it comes to gifts, and this year was no exception, as he presented me (no pun intended) with a downloaded copy of An Abhorrent & Ancient Solstice, an album of H.P. Lovecraft-themed seasonal carols. The use of "seasonal" here isn't isn't political correctness -  with titles like Death to the World and Silent Night, Blasphemous Night, these are NOT Christmas songs.

I was a bit curious as to the origins of this unique gift, and after a bit of research, discovered that it had been produced by The H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society.  The HPLHS was started in 1986 by a group of friends in Boulder, Colorado, and now has over 2,000 members worldwide. The group produces a wide variety of H. P. Lovecraft-themed material, including props, fonts, and, of course, music.

 

If this album is an example of their work, they have high standards - the production values are professional, the vocals are excellent, and the lyrics are quite well written.  It's so good that it's a bit subversive - it would be very tempting to replace the standard shopping mall muzak with this album and see if anyone was actually listening to the lyrics.  All in all, a great unique gift, and, in its own way, completely appropriate for the season - thanks, Chris, and I hope you have a very scary Solstice.

-  Sid

Resolute.

I was doing some seasonal shopping on Main Street last Saturday, and decided to take a bit of a break and pay a visit to Pulp Fiction, an excellent book store that features a wide selection of both new and used books.

I wandered back and forth along the shelves of the science fiction and fantasy section, morosely straightening books as I went*, and after half an hour, I left empty-handed and a bit depressed.  Why?  Because I didn’t know which books I didn’t already own.

So, as an early New Year’s resolution, my plan for 2020 is to catalogue my library.

 

Given that I have thousands of books, this seems like a ridiculous undertaking – how bad is your OCD if you need to record the names of all your books, for heaven’s sake?

However, this isn’t about being compulsive, it’s about management. I’ve crossed some kind of threshold where I am unable to keep track of everything that I own, and as a result, what I want to buy.  I have a pretty good feel for the majority of my collection, but if someone asked me if I wanted a copy of the Ace Double edition of Planetary Agent X by Mack Reynolds, backed by Kenneth Bulmer’s Behold The Stars, I’d be a bit stuck. I own about 60 Ace Doubles, and whereas I can recognize most of them on sight, some of them I just don’t know offhand,** and those are exactly the kind of lesser-known niche purchases that I’m interested in these days.

The other side of this coin is the books that are so well known and familiar that I don’t think I own them:  this is why I ended up with two copies of Fahrenheit 451, and I actually don’t know whether or not I have paper copies of Brave New World and 1984.

I’ll also be creating a secondary list as I go: replacements. My collection has its origins in used bookstore basements, library discard boxes, dollar bins and yard sales, and as such some of my older books were more than a bit battered when I got them, not to mention the cumulative effects of time and handling – although at least I’m past the point of owning any books that are held together with elastic bands. (I think.)

There was a nice copy of Pat Frank’s cautionary post-atomic 1959 novel Alas Babylon at Pulp Fiction, and I know that I’m due to replace my Scholastic Books edition from 1970 (although, really, I’d love to get a matching copy, not just because I like to do that, but because it seems such an unexpected choice for Scholastic’s pre-teen library).

I also took a thoughtful look at some of the options for replacing my early Ace editions of Edgar Rice Burroughs, the ones with the Roy Krenkel Jr. covers and interior illustrations, with matching copies that are in better shape – but which ones?  Age isn’t the only factor, of course - I can’t imagine getting rid of my autographed copy of Ursula K. Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness, regardless of wear and tear.  (Fortunately I have a hardcover copy as well.)

And that’s the last reason for my resolution: duplicates.  In some cases, such as the one above, there are actually good reasons for owning two copies, but in others, it’s simply because I didn’t remember that I already owned that book - which takes us back to where we started.

Behind all of this looms the unthinkable possibility of actually getting rid of books that aren’t damaged or duplicates, but rather just ones that I don’t need to keep. Obviously this goes against the grain, but let’s be honest, there has to be a book or two in there that I shrugged indifferently after reading, but shelved regardless.

Oh, and I’d also like to start off 2020 by losing ten pounds, but by comparison, that seems like a much easier undertaking.  Regardless, let’s hope that both of my resolutions come to pass in the coming year.

-  Sid

* Sorry, but if someone has left a book sticking out from its fellows, decades of book ownership compel me to push it back into place.

** I carefully chose this example from an online list of Ace Doubles, and having done so, I had to get up and look to see if I do have it. As it turns out, I don't, but in the process of looking, I found three Ace Doubles that were duplicates - and so it begins...

 

"I find your lack of pivot tables...disturbing."

Another workplace Christmas potluck has come and gone, and once again, my Secret Santa has chosen to go rogue and ignore the suggestions from this year's Geekmas posting.  However, full points for staying within my area of interest, and I always like an unexpected gift - not to mention that I actually now have a collection of head-shaped mugs to which I can add this sterling example of Art Vader.

The down side is that, realistically, head-shaped mugs aren't terribly practical for actual daily use, due to the challenges of keeping their convoluted interiors clean.  (Note to mug manufacturers - I know it would involve more clay, but maybe if the inside was cylindrical?)

Regardless of practicality, let's take a step back and look at the workplace potential for a mug like this.  After all, as graphically demonstrated in A New Hope, Anakin Skywalker sets a high standard for staff etiquette - not that I'm suggested Force choking anyone during the annual budget meeting*, but maybe having Darth Vader glowering at the person across the table would have a salutary effect on their delivery.

- Sid

* Come on, admit it, you've thought about it.

UPDATE: my wife has cheerfully suggested that as different people speak during the meeting, you just rotate the mug so that Darth is looking directly at them. As previously, this is how you know you've found the right person.

Apparently the answer is 24.

Pulp Fiction, Main Street, Saturday afternoon.  Okay:  no question, Dune is certainly one of the great science fiction novels, but really, how many copies do you need to have in active inventory?

- Sid

"No! Try not!"

My wife Karli and I have a long-standing weekday habit: my alarm goes off half an hour earlier than hers, at which point I get up, make tea, and feed Jaq the Cat. When her alarm does go off, I come back to bed and we cuddle for fifteen minutes, she takes a couple of sips of my morning tea, we talk about how we slept, and she tells me about noteworthy dreams from her night of slumber.  Apparently people find this to be cute and charming - be that as it may, it's what we do.  Sometimes Jaq the Cat joins us to say good morning, or not, up to him.

This morning was no exception - 6:30 arrived, I trotted down the hall to the bedroom, and climbed back into bed.  As a groggy Karli struggled with the covers, she muttered, "There is no try, just varying degrees of 'do' - that's how that line should have been written."

And so, without further ado, I would like to introduce Jedi Master Karli.  When nine hundred years old you reach, look as good you will not.

- Sid

Tubi.

I had some time on my own at home yesterday, and decided to do a bit of research.  Wired had run an article on free streaming services, and I was curious to see if any of them were worth what they were charging.

Sorry to say, Plex didn't impress, Sony Crackle isn't available in Canada, and Vudu had more things for rent or sale than for free.  And then I hit Tubi, a free commercial-driven site.

As you'd expect, when I'm presented with any sort of media library, the first thing I do is to look at the science fiction section. And, as I sort of expected from a free service, there were a lot of movies that I had never heard of: knock-offs, cheap copies, and outright failures.

But as I looked through the content, I realized that there was actually a surprisingly high level of gems amid the dross - well, if not gems, at least things with a bit of sparkle to them.

I first noticed that there was a Marvel animated movie, Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow - it's generally accepted that Disney+ is going to eventually be the only streaming service featuring Marvel content, so I was pleased to see something here, even if it was only a straight-to-DVD production.

As I went on, I found more and more titles that jumped off the screen at me: an HD version of Battle Beyond the Stars, which I just referenced recently in my posting about science fiction Westerns; cult classic Hell Comes to Frogtown, an important part of the late WWF wrestler Rompin' Roddy Piper's acting career (he's better known for They Live!, but you have to start somewhere); Ex Machina, which seemed a long way from home in this odd mix of movies; an HD quality transfer of 1957 stop-motion monster classic 20 Million Miles to Earth - in fact, there were a lot of somewhat camp 50s science fiction films, including Devil Girl From Mars from 1955, I guarantee that Netflix™ doesn't have that one.  And I'm looking forward to Doomed! the Untold Story of Roger Corman's Fantastic Four, a documentary look at the 1994 Fantastic Four movie by the famous B-movie producer which never made it to commercial release.

There were also more serious classics, such as The Day of the Triffids (in an average quality transfer, I'm starting to wonder if they just can't find a 35mm copy anywhere) and The Last Man on Earth, with Vincent Price, which is the first film adaptation of I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson.

There were game-inspired creations like Dead Space: Downfall, and Dragon Age Redemption from 2011, starring geek goddess Felicia Day as Tallis the elf assassin; legendary bad movies like Star Crash from 1979, and Abraxas Guardian of the Universe (with Jesse Ventura - sorry, Roddy Piper is a better actor); and The Dinosaur Experiment, whose poster art we've already discussed; along with vintage Elvira Movie Macabre and Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes taking a sarcastic look at even more bad movies.
 

The TV section offered the entire collection of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson Supermarionation™ programs, starting with the cartoonish Supercar, Fireball XL5*, Stingray, whose opening line of "Anything can happen in the next 30 minutes!", I still quote now and then, to the bemusement of people around me; Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlett and the Mysterons, and Joe-90.  Not surprisingly, it also included Space 1999, another Anderson creation; the 1966-1971 Dark Shadows series, The Dresden Files, Space Precinct, 3rd Rock from the Sun (admittedly just Season 1, as far as I could tell), the award-winning Tin Man miniseries (a 2007 re-imagining of The Wizard of Oz with Zooey Deschanel), the British Robin of Sherwood series from the 80s that I loved, One Step Beyond - my god, Tracker, with Adrian Paul, has anyone else reading this even heard of Tracker? Patrick McGoohan -  The Prisoner!  A wide range of old school anime, including Robotech Super Dimension Fortress Macross and Genesis Climber Mospeada in Japanese - with subtitles, thank heaven. The Black Scorpion series - fine, they can't all be winners...

It was like browsing through a single fan's slightly eccentric TV and movie collection (which it may well be, it's not hard to imagine putting an individual in charge of a specific section of a site like this.)  

I just kept finding things - A Boy and His Dog, based on the Harlan Ellison story of the same name; 1978 conspiracy classic Capricorn 1, and 2009 conspiracy classic Moon; Russian superhero movie Guardians, Hellboy animated feature Sword of Storms, with Ron Perlman doing the voice work for Hellboy; a Terry Gilliam movie called Tideland that I'd never heard of; the unfortunate 2009 adaptation of Edgar Rice Burrough's classic A Princess of Mars, with ex-porn star Traci Lords as Dejah Thoris, the titular princess; Cloverfield, that's unexpected; Under the Skin, with Scarlett Johanssen - ha, Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe, from 1940?  Really?  And good quality, too!

The movie section featured over 450 movies - and the icing on the cake? Plan 9 from Outer Space, which I would hope needs no introduction.  A mediocre digital transfer, but it's the thought that counts for things like this.

To wrap it all up, Tubi would be a fascinating opportunity even if they wanted money for it.  On that basis, a commercial every now and then seems a small price to pay.

- Sid

*  At some point in my childhood, a British relative sent me a toy version of the spaceship from Fireball XL5, complete with jet cycles and crew.  No kidding, there is one for sale on eBay right now for $26,525.36 CAD - it's a shame that I didn't just leave it in the box all those years ago.

“Droids to the world!”

 

Christmas decorations at the Storm Crow Alehouse on Broadway - these ARE the droids you're looking for.

- Sid

Geekmas 2019: Trek The Halls.

Although I've already been in discussion with Karli about holiday shopping, I'm also faced with the looming specter of our departmental Secret Santa gift exchange, not to mention friends and relatives* who might be seeking inspiration.

As much as I want to help all those people out, I have to confess that I'm feeling a bit challenged by the whole "here's what I want" thing this year - I'd actually be a lot happier to get a list of things to buy other people than to write one for myself.  However, it may well be that everyone else is in the same state of mind, so here are a few suggestions in the area of seasonal geek shopping.

Books
A small part of me considered not listing any books, given my current and ongoing state of tsundoku.  Then I had a bit of a laugh - I mean, seriously! - and starting to look at book buying options.

The joke is that most of the things that I'm really looking forward to reading won't be out until next year. The final book in the Expanse series won't hit until sometime in 2020, the next Charles Stross Laundry book is on the same schedule, and William Gibson's long-overdue novel Agency is scheduled for January 21, 2020, which is certainly a step up from previous publishing timelines, but no help for Christmas shopping.

So what IS available for the 25th?

It was missing in action during New York shopping, so the new Joe Abercrombie First Law universe book, A Little Hatred, would be a good choice, and at the moment of this writing, it's on sale in hardcover on Amazon.ca™  - although to be honest, I'd rather have the paperback version.

The only leftover book from last year's suggestions is Luna: Wolf Moon, by Ian McDonald, still a good choice, and the third book in the series, Luna: Moon Rising, is also now available.

Let's see, paperbacks ... Made Things, a book about the importance of making friends, by Adrian Tchaikovsky, or Winter Tide, by Ruthanna Emrys (a unique concept, told from the perspective of a Cthulhu worshipper, for whom the whole thing is just the way she was brought up).  Sharps, by K. J. Parker, who I find to be just such a readable author (even if he is really Tom Holt) - in fact, let's put the first volume of Parker's The Two of Swords on the list as well. I'd love to add a hard SF novel, but right now there's nothing on my radar - I'm open to suggestions.

DVDs
Okay, I'm going to keep this dirt simple:  here's a handful of classic Doctor Who episodes on DVD, all for less than $25 on Amazon.ca™, none of which I already own:

The Ark in Space, The Five Doctors, The Beginning (the first three William Hartnell episodes, $25.95, in the interests of full disclosure - not to be confused with the $85 boxed set) The Sontaran Experiment, The Brain of Morbius, The Android Invasion,The Sea Devils, and Warriors of the Deep.

The BBC is methodically cleaning up the early episodes of Doctor Who and releasing them on Blu-ray, but the individual episode DVDs still make for affordable stocking stuffers.  And, really, there's a certain collectable nostalgia to the classic BBC single-episode releases with the classic logo, they were the face of Doctor Who video for quite a while.

Graphic Novels
I've covered off the big three of my requests from last year, but there are some options left.  If you don't want to shop online due to time issues, recommended brick-and-mortar locations would be the Granville and Broadway Indigo, or at specialty comic outlets like Golden Age Collectibles downtown on Granville.  (Sadly, The Comicshop, my normal Kitsilano recommendation, has closed its doors.)

 

Suggested options are:  Batman: White Knight, Flashpoint, Old Man Logan Vol 0: Warzones, and Joker - the Brian Azzarello/Lee Bermejo version.

Gaming

 

I'm probably going to buy The Outer Worlds, the new Obsidian Entertainment Fallout-style role-playing action game, at some point, although generally I like to let the dust settle before I commit - or, in other words, wait for the price to come down and bugs to be fixed.  It's not currently available on the useful Steam™ distribution platform, but I'm hoping that by the time it gets there, both of the above dust-settling events will have taken place. 

The game's current non-Steam™ list price of $59.99 is a bit more than I generally include on my Geekmas lists - workplace Secret Santa tops out at $25 - but with any luck, the Steam™ price will be lower, and as such, Steam™ gift cards would certainly be welcome. 

Merch
And, last but not least, a couple of t-shirt options: first, I've been looking at getting a Canadian Space Agency T-shirt for a while - I have lots of NASA stuff, but it seems appropriate to represent for Canada.

 

I was originally looking for a Weyland-Yutani t-shirt when I found this USCSS Nostromo t-shirt. It's a little over the $25 Secret Santa price range that I normally aim for, but it would certainly be a fun addition to my science fiction t-shirt collection, and I somehow feel that licensed products are slightly better than random knockoffs.  (It's no surprise that the CSA has better standards regarding wrinkled uniforms than the USC.)

XL by preference, thank you!
 

And there's this year's list. As always, feel free to just take a swing at the ball and surprise me, I have a very open mind regarding random gift selections.

And, if all else fails, I've never met a gift card that I didn't like.

Happy holidays!

- Sid

* I have to be honest here, I'm only referring to relatives by marriage, my own family hasn't had a seasonal get-together for several decades.

Well, apparently someone thought there might actually be try, after all.

 "Do.  Or do not.  There is no try."

Yoda, The Empire Strikes Back

I was cleaning up notes on my iPhone, and found an unattributed quote:

Yoda is not the administrator of our lives.  Yoda doesn't know everything.

I wonder what defiant padawan announced that they would try to do something on May 25th of 2018?

- Sid