Awakenings.

At my work-from-home lunch today I starting watching The Force Awakens - which I probably haven't seen in its entirety since seeing it twice in commercial release - and I have two comments.

First, as shown in the opening sequence, Rey's home planet of Jakku is surprisingly blue (at least on my monitor) and has an awfully high albedo for a desert planet.

Second, full points to Poe Dameron for targeting the neck gaps in the First Order Stormtrooper armour in the opening skirmish, it establishes him as an experienced soldier, both in terms of accuracy and knowledge.

 

 

Three comments, actually.  

The unexpected appearance of the Millennium Falcon on Jakku is a clever and subtle way of letting the audience know that the storyline of the new trilogy will be inextricably combined with the events of the past - it's an instantly recognizable link to the history that we're already familiar with.

- Sid

Star Trek: Beyond (Burger).

My wonderful wife Karli has been a vegetarian on and off over the years, and as such she was quite pleased to finally lay her hands on a container of Just Egg, a cholesterol-free mung-bean-based egg substitute manufactured by 2011 startup Eat Just.  Just Egg also comes in a pre-cooked and folded format that can just be dropped into a toaster, but Karli has been holding out for the liquid version, which finally became available in Canada at the end of October 2021. 

It's obviously a popular product, at least based on our ability to find anything other than an empty space in the dairy substitute sections of the local supermarkets for the last few months, but a spur-of-the-moment trip to a Walmart Superstore for cheddar bay biscuit mix (long story) also paid off with a single 12-ounce bottle of Just Egg, which had its first trial run this morning.

Speaking as someone who has not pursued a vegetarian lifestyle at any point in their life, I have to say that my sample bite of scrambled Just Egg was excellent.  If anything, it might have tasted a little better than a chicken egg:  Eat Just has obviously invested a lot of time and science in reverse engineering egg consistency and flavour, and the result is impressive.  If we can find a reliable source, it could easily replace chicken eggs  in our household, at least for breakfast - I'm not entirely convinced that mung-bean cake batter would produce the same results as an egg-based recipe, and the list of recipes on the Eat Just website is suspiciously lacking in baked goods.

Why do I bring this up on my science fiction blog?  Because the astronauts of the future will very likely be vegetarians, if not for moral reasons then for practical ones, and as such developments like Just Egg will have a prominent place in their diet.

A plant-based diet is the ideal solution to space travel over long distances - and long timespans.  Pending the development of warp drive or some other way of cheating Einstein,* successful space exploration beyond our solar system will require the creation of a miniature biosphere that will rely upon hydroponic systems that will not only produce oxygen, but also provide fresh food on an ongoing basis for the trip.  Practical difficulties regarding low or zero gravity aside, it's hard to imagine that having a herd of cows** on a starship would be practical over the long run, whereas carefully managed crops would provide a sustainable food source on an ongoing basis for a multi-generational star ship.

The question is whether or not substitutes like Just Egg or Beyond Meat would survive past the first few generations of starfarers.  After all, both of these products are bridge technologies intended to mimic an animal product that would be completely unknown to the children of the original crew except as stories, and pictures in the computer archive.  Ultimately the whole terminology of scrambled eggs and hamburgers would become anachronistic in the same way that saying you're dialing a phone number or saving a file by clicking on a floppy disk icon are the last remnants of obsolete processes.  

All that being said, it may well be the start of a kinder, gentler philosophy of life for those future astronauts when it actually is possible to make an omelette without breaking anything.

- Sid

* Star Trek cheats twice.  Not only does Starfleet rely on warp drive to outwit the speed of light, it also uses a variant of transporter technology to replicate a full range of food using stored templates.  Presumably replicated steak and eggs for breakfast is without guilt, but you have to wonder how the inhabitants of the Federation feel about people who still consume food that comes directly from the source, as it were.  Hmmm...there was that less than successful omelette party in Ryker's suite in that one episode...

** Or a herd of chickens, although I suspect that chickens would be more excited than cows by their sudden ability to fly in a low or zero-G environment.

That moment when you HAVE to represent.

I mean, really, imagine that you're waiting for the elevator, you just happen to have a black Sharpie™with you - you just can't leave without fixing this, right? 

- Sid

Murder on the Lunar Express.

The Apollo Murders was one of the first things that I put on my 2021 Geekmas list - how could I not want to read an alternate history space program murder mystery suspense novel written by an ex-astronaut and set against the backdrop of a final Moon landing made by Apollo 18, not 17?

That being said, I'm sorry to say that I didn't completely love Chris Hadfield's first foray into fiction, although I also have to say that it's not bad, I simply had extremely high hopes for this book that it didn't manage to achieve.  It's certainly competently written, Hadfield obviously knows how to put words on paper - I particularly liked the first-person prologue in which the protagonist, Kaz Zemeckis, loses his eye in a flying accident - but for me it didn't quite succeed as a suspense novel.  

As you would expect, the technical aspects of preparing and launching a mission to the Moon are impeccably detailed and accurate, to the point where I have to wonder if less dedicated fans of the space program might lose interest.*  There's a strong flavour of Tom Clancy in the late Cold War period storyline - not quite with the same degree of conflict that Clancy brought to his novels, but plausibly dramatic in its motivations and machinations.  

Much of the action in the second half of the novel involves the villain of the story, and whereas I appreciate the importance of what's going on during that part of the book, I wish that Hadfield had found a way to better combine that action with the hero of the piece.  Zemeckis, the one-eyed guitar-playing ex-pilot turned slightly reluctant government operative, just isn't on the centre stage as much as I wanted him to be, and I would also have liked to have seen him more involved in the process of discovering the identity of the traitor in the astronaut program.  Zemeckis does make some deductions on his own, but overall the path from suspicion to suspect is more circumstantial than definitive.

I don't for a moment want to suggest that Hadfield should abandon his new niche as a writer of astronaut suspense novels, given his undeniable writing skills and his uniquely comprehensive and personal knowledge of the hardware and processes involved.  I view The Apollo Murders as an acceptable and well-executed freshman piece, and I have no doubt that the Commander will only improve as he continues his new career.

With the possibility of a second novel on the table, I have a modest suggestion for Mr. Hadfield.  NASA has announced that the International Space Station is going to be retired in 2030 by having it leave orbit and make a fiery descent into the Pacific Ocean, far from land.  Chris, in the unlikely event that you're reading this, how about setting a climactic struggle in the abandoned ISS as it begins its return to Earth?  I suspect that NASA has thoroughly modelled the phases of the space station's destruction as it plunges toward the ocean, and with that information I think it's safe to say that you have the required amount of insider knowledge to make the scene work, and for the hero to make a plausible escape at the last possible minute.  Now all we need is a reason for them being there - which I am happy to leave in Hadfield's capable and creative hands.

- Sid

* On the other hand, if you're not a fan of the space program, why are you reading something called The Apollo Murders written by an ex-astronaut?

Virtual Dreams V: Inner Space

I find it oddly relaxing to spend time in the Mission: ISS virtual reality program, just floating around the International Space Station - I wonder if Chris Hadfield ever does this just for old time's sake?

- Sid

Resolve.

I'm both pleased and disappointed to announce that I'm rolling over the book cataloguing project as my New Year's resolution for yet another year.

As with so many resolutions, compliance has been a challenge.  I've managed to keep up in terms of logging the replacement copies that I've found to date, so that I'm keeping what I have gotten done current, but I haven't made a lot of progress in completing the balance of the book logging.

In my defense, it hasn't helped that I've had to pack (and unpack) all my books twice in the last two years, which has not helped to move the project along - not to mention causing some concerns that something is going to slip through the cracks.

That being said, the book catalogue has been incredibly useful, even as a work in progress. The original project may not be complete, but the ancillary task of replacing the more battered selections in my library has been a complete success.

It's given me definite direction for book shopping, both in terms of providing guidance for purchasing replacement copies for those unfortunate texts that were more than ready for retirement, but also letting me know what I already have on my shelves and thereby letting me pick out used books that I don't already own.

It's also made me a far more aware shopper in terms of general used book inventory.  I've found some replacement copies that were in surprisingly good condition, but I've also seen some books for sale that I can't imagine a used book seller accepting in the first place.  Apparently my standards for book quality are higher than the current industry requirements - either that, or the supply of used books is limited to such an extent that beggars can't be choosers when it comes to accepting what comes through the door.

Fingers crossed that I get some more traction on the catalogue in 2022, but if not, well, it's a hobby, not a job - and it's not a bad thing to have something in my life where I have the freedom to just ignore the deadline if I feel like it.

- Sid

And be wearing running shoes.

 A recent addition to the Storm Crow Alehouse Going Out of Business Sale:

Based on my wife's complete terror and disgust regarding anything to do with spiders, if she came home and found that thing perched in a dimly lit living room, I would be wise to have a bag packed and a fast car waiting outside, it would not go well for me.

- Sid

Wait a minute - did that say "fully functional"?!?

As the Storm Crow Alehouse counts down its final days, items both large and small from the bar's distinctive decor are being both auctioned off as a final fundraiser for the staff, and sold at a flat rate.  A few of the smaller items have been a bit tempting (I wish I'd seen the "BEWARE OF - WELL...JUST BEWARE" sign before someone nabbed it, although I'm willing to bet I could find one online somewhere) but for real temptation, what Doctor Who fan doesn't want their own TARDIS?*

Can you imagine?  Fortunately, $5,000 is well** over the arbitrary line that I've drawn for unnecessary fanboy indulgences, and even if some well-meaning benefactor bought it on my behalf, to be honest I'm not sure where I'd put the damn thing, other than in storage for right now.  And besides, I think that if you're serious about it, you really should build your own.

- Sid 

* Based on observation, apparently school bus shelters for children are a popular choice.

** Well well well WELL over.

Casualties II: "We did our best."

Today, the Storm Crow Alehouse posted the following on their Facebook™ page:

This isn’t the letter we wanted to write to ring in the new year.

2021 has been hard for everyone, but it was exceptionally brutal for restaurants.

We did our best to weather Covid, lockdowns, supply chain disruptions, staff shortages, the Skytrain construction on Broadway, and now Omicron.

But it wasn’t enough. With great sorrow we must announce that the Storm Crow Alehouse will close its doors permanently in January.

It’s been nearly 10 years since the Storm Crow Tavern first opened in Vancouver on Commercial Drive, and we want to thank everyone who patronized the Tavern and later the Alehouse. The Storm Crow has always been more than just a bar to us, and we hope that it’s been special in your lives as well.

It’s not all doom and gloom… across the country, the Storm Crow Manor survives to carry on the nerd-bar torch in Toronto! Be sure to visit when you can. (And our online store remains open for all your geek merch needs.)

We will be open for a few days in January, public health orders allowing, for fans to have one last drink and say farewell. We've also created a silent auction at shop.stormcrow.com of some of our favourite memorabilia from the Alehouse, with the proceeds going to our staff.

Thank you, Vancouver, for an awesome decade, and thank you to all Crow employees past and present. They’ve seen things, things you people wouldn’t believe. And who knows? Like a different mythical bird, perhaps one day we will rise from the ashes in a new form, more powerful than ever before!

With love,
The Storm Crow team

Sad news for West Coast gamers and geeks - it's only been eight months since the original Storm Crow location announced that it was closing, and now this.  I can't say that I was a frequent flyer at the Storm Crow (no pun intended) but as a science fiction geek, I considered myself to be a part of its membership: a place where I recognized the jokes on the menu, knew what they were playing on the TVs, and felt a need to defend it from people who mocked people like me.  As I've said before, it felt like home, and I'm sorry that it wasn't able to survive the current circumstances.  

To paraphrase Douglas Adams, so long, Storm Crow, and thanks for all the fish.  And, as you said, who knows what the future may hold?

- Sid

Introverts of the World, Stay Home!

And a LARGE accreditation to Sarah's Scribbles - https://sarahcandersen.com/

Happy Introverts Day, everyone! On behalf of my fellow introverts, I think this really does say it all about what it can be like some days.

- Sid

Geekmas 2021: Post-Credits Scene.

With seasonal thanks to Karli, Chris, Laurie and my workplace Secret Santa for presents under the tree, Amazon gift cards and Vanilla Mastercards!

Now all I need is a week or two without interruptions to read them all...

- Sid

Wee Doctor Bea?

I could not be happier. 

There have been some great guest stars on Doctor Who over the years, some before they were famous, and some after: Kylie Minogue, Nick Frost, James Corden, Michael Sheen and Sir Ian McKellen in voice-over only appearances, Carey Mulligan, John Cleese, Felicity Jones, Simon Pegg, and so on, and I'm pleased and excited to see Irish comedian/actor Aisling Bea join the list and bring her particular brand of deadpan lunacy to the show with her upcoming appearance on the 2022 New Year's Special.

My god, imagine if she ended up as the next Doctor.  There's some precedent for this, it wouldn't be the first time that guest stars on the show have found their way into starring roles - after all, Peter Capaldi played a Roman marble merchant in season 4* of Doctor Who before he found his way to the helm of the TARDIS.

Is it too soon to start an e-mail campaign or a petition or something?

- Sid

 

* Coincidentally, Karen Gillan also made her first pre-companion Doctor Who appearance in the same episode.

Doctor Who: The Next Generation

It pleases me beyond words to discover that this is what my grand-nephews in Ontario wait for their schoolbus in.

- Sid

OK Boomer.

I recently installed Fallout: New Vegas on the PC that I use for older games after realizing that, given its October 2010 release date, it qualifies as an older game now - how time flies. The game's age was driven home sharply when I began the Things That Go Boom quest, which involves dealing with a xenophobic conservative tribal group located at Nellis Air Force Base and armed with heavy artillery:  the Boomers, a phrase which has acquired unexpected meaning since the game's debut.

The accidental joke is that, in the context of the game, the Boomers are sort of, well, Boomers: their lives are based on an obsolete and outdated standard, they're gun nuts, and some of them haven't left their insular enclave for over 50 years.

- Sid

The Mandatory Christmas Cthulhoo.

Courtesy of The Unspeakable Vault (of Doom).  It's a bit challenging to reconcile this jolly figure with the entity from our last vacation...

- Sid

Geekmas 2021: Books, mostly.

Greeting card by KENZIECARDS

It seems early to be posting my annual gift list, but Karli's mother has put up her Christmas tree, and my workplace has picked names for Secret Santa, which would seem to indicate that it is in fact time for the annual Geekmas posting.  Generous gift givers covered off virtually everything from last year's list, so this year I'm pretty much starting from scratch.

A lot of my past preferences for seasonal gifts aren't really a thing anymore - the switch to digital media and streaming has pretty much taken Blu-rays off my list of gift options.  Sad to say, my initial attempts to break new ground this year weren't productive.  Big Finish Productions, the home of Doctor Who audio plays, doesn't have a gift card system, and it looks like the only way you can give someone an Oculus virtual reality game or experience is if you already have an Oculus account, which seems like a lot of work if you don't own a VR headset yourself. 

So, as in past years, I went with the basics, and hopefully I've ended up with a reasonable range of options and price points. 

Books

 

After introducing his son to comic books, Douglas Wolk decided to undertake the monumental task of reading the entire modern Marvel Comics print run* since its inception with Issue #1 of The Fantastic Four in  November of 1961 - over 27,000 comics, and more than half a million pages. The result is All of the Marvels: A Journey to the Ends of the Biggest Story Ever Told, a thematic examination of the Marvel Comics universe as a single extended narrative.  As someone who has been reading Marvel comics on and off for over 50 years, I'm very curious about this book, and frankly, if no one buys it for me, I'll be getting it for myself on Boxing Day.

 

Doctor Who: The Vault:  Also a little spendy, but from the sound of the descriptions and reviews that I've read, a comprehensive and detailed history of the series, at least up to the show's 50th anniversary.

The Apollo Murders, by ex-astronaut Chris Hadfield.  It's his first foray into fiction**, but reviews have been positive, and it sounds like an interesting read.  

2020 Hugo Award Winner A Memory Called Empire, by Arkady Martine. I recommend that you get this one from Indigo, I got some very odd results from Amazon.ca - $134.29 seems a bit steep for a used paperback.

One graphic novel:  Hellboy: Strange Places - which, to be completely accurate, is actually the second omnibus edition of the Hellboy comics rather than a graphic novel. Tomato, tomahto - the nature of HB's comic book adventures is such that the omnibus editions read quite well as a collective narrative.

However, most of those options are a bit pricey, although the Chris Hadfield book is actually on sale as I type this.  If you're here looking for the literary equivalent of stocking stuffers or an affordable Secret Santa selections, here are some books that are available on Amazon.ca as standard mass market paperbacks for less than ten bucks:

The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury. I was surprised by the realization that my little library was missing both of Bradbury's seminal short story collections, which collect the stories that established him as an author. 

A Journal of the Plague Years, by Norman Spinrad.  Although the Plague in Spinrad's episodic story is sexually transmitted rather than through aerosol droplets, it still seems like an appropriate cautionary tale for the current global situation.  Spinrad is a brilliant author whose work is virtually unknown outside of the science fiction genre, which is a shame - if you're looking for a place to start, I strongly recommend his 1969 novel Bug Jack Barron (which I already own, don't buy me a copy for Christmas.)

Finally, as I was shelving back issues of vintage science fiction magazines in the wake of our recent move,  I was reminded of how much I had enjoyed receiving a monthly selection of short fiction, reviews and commentary when I subscribed to The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction*** back in the 70s. A little research confirmed that they apparently still sell physical subscriptions, six issues a year for $55.97 USD - which feels a bit expensive, so this one is reserved for the generous of heart (and wallet).

Clothing

Just as a change, a couple of clothing requests: a Doctor Who hoodie, and a Star Wars Millennium Falcon schematic t-shirt.  As with the previous Doctor Who item on this list, the hoodie**** is a bit more expensive - this may just be an ineluctable truth when it comes to Doctor-related merch, as per my initial Doctor Who gift search last year.  The Star Wars t-shirt is a more affordable option - I like the grey one, but maybe let's go with the pale blue option to match the AT-AT t-shirt that I already own.  XL for both, please!

And that wraps it up (no pun intended) for this year's gift list.  As always, almost all of the items are on Amazon™ , and I've linked to them - my only advice is to make sure that you don't select an overpriced third party seller by accident, as with the Arkady Martine book I mentioned above.

Oh, what the heck - if someone wants to get me a Blu-ray copy of The Force Awakens, I wouldn't say no, and I'll certainly find a place for it with the other optical discs that I still have tucked away in the living room.

 UPDATE: I'd like to thank my workplace Secret Santa for the Prepaid Mastercard - I appreciate the thought, and obviously I need to advertise this list a bit more.

- Sid

* He admits to skipping the romance comics and some of the Westerns that weren't part of the shared superhero universe.

** From what I've read, technically speaking it's actually science fiction - the story is an alternate history what-if from the era of the Moon landings.

*** I've always appreciated the nose-on-your-face directness of F&SF's chosen title - I mean, really, could there be any less ambiguity about what they are?

**** I keep wanting to call it a Whodie.

Just right.

Reading your posting on virtual reality in virtual reality.

- Sid

An open letter to the management of the Storm Crow.

To whom it may concern:

I've visited your location a few times since the introduction of the BC vaccine passport system has made indoor dining feel a lot safer - a couple of times with a friend, and today with my wife for lunch - and I'm sorry to say that I haven't been made to feel that my business was welcome.  

I realize that managing seating in any restaurant is a strategic challenge, and that it's sometimes preferable not to give people preferred seating in order to keep larger tables and booths available for bigger groups, but I really don't think that the hostess should make it quite so obvious that she's not enjoying having to find me a seat that fits into the plan.  Explaining that it’s difficult because you’re getting busy might work better if it weren’t such an obvious falsehood - I don’t think that 1:15 on a Saturday afternoon is exactly prime time for a pub restaurant, and when I went to the men’s room before leaving there was a plethora of empty tables.

Is it because it's only for two people?  I somehow got that feeling, to the point where it would not have surprised me at all if they had asked if we could leave and come back with four friends in order to make it worth their time to find us seats.  Please ask your staff to take a minute and remember that your motto is "We serve all kinds in here" - even if it's only two of us.

- Sid

Little bit of both, probably.

I was reading Marvel comics on my iPad in bed this morning, and you know, either the universe is not as interesting as it could be or we've been really lucky, given that a Norse demi-god, a supersoldier from WWII, a man in a suit of flying cyber-armour and a green Hulk are not currently defending us from DNA-rewriting biobombs being hurled at the Earth from Mars by an aeons-old destroyer of planets* .

- Sid

* And his sister.