60: Premium.

On the way back to the ferry from our Ucluelet holiday, Karli requested that we make a stop in the small community of Coombs to visit the Coombs Old Country Market, whose rooftop herd of goats and wide-ranging retail selection make it a perennial tourist favourite.

As we wandered around after visiting the Market (and photographing the goats, I can add a photo if anyone's interested), we stumbled across the Cozy Corner Bookstore, a large used bookstore in the nearby mall area - large enough that, like the Market, it must rely heavily on tourist traffic rather than just the local community.

Unfortunately, as with Raven's Book Shop near Joshua Tree National Park, the Cozy Corner looked like it was losing the fight - boxes stacked in the aisles, books double-stacked on the shelves, and a general feeling of too many books and not enough time.

There's no denying that the Cozy Corner has a comprehensive inventory, but there's also no denying that it's not set up in a fashion that makes it convenient for the casual shopper.  I did manage to find some selections from my shopping list, along with a few new acquisitions, but it involved a lot of book juggling in order to get a look at everything.

My replacement books included a beautiful mint paperback edition of Bug Jack Barron, Norman Spinrad's brilliant 1969 masterpiece - I honestly don't know why Bug Jack Barron isn't better known than it is, it's beautifully written and the story remains topical and relevant 33 years later.*  I also found an excellent copy of Terry Carr's Jandar of Callisto, the first in a series of enthusiastically overwritten pastiches that pay homage to the classic Edgar Rice Burroughs Mars novels, and a good quality version of Pat Cadigan's Synners, a dynamic novel which is generally classified as cyberpunk but really doesn't fit the mould. I've always found it more like a Philip K. Dick novel than anything else, although it's much more accessible than Dick.

Just for fun, I added The Guns of Terra 10, by Don Pendleton, to my stack of books - Pendleton is best known for the 70s Executioner series that "inspired" the Marvel Comics Punisher character. In this case, it wasn't a replacement copy, but rather based on a vague memory of signing it out from the high school library in my early teens. I honestly don't think I've seen a copy since then, and I have a good memory for books.

As I was paying for my books, I mentioned to the proprietor that I had a substantial list of replacement books that I was working on, but I didn't really have the time to take full advantage of his stock.

He gestured to the area behind me and announced, "See those boxes?  They're all SF and fantasy. Come back in a week after we've got them sorted out and shelved." I looked over my shoulder and was astonished to see a wall of Dole Banana boxes, presumably packed with paperbacks rather than fruit. 

With absolutely no offense intended, I couldn't help but think that adding 27 additional boxes of books to the Cozy Corner's stock would only exacerbate the embarrassment of riches that the store is already struggling with. In fact, the whole idea is maybe a little bit (slowly removes sunglasses)...bananas.

- Sid

* Unfortunately so, given the nature of the plot.

60: "One Ring to rule them all, one ring to find them."

Today we decided to go for a hike along the relatively manageable Ucluelet Lighthouse Trail located to the west of the town, and there was this little hiding place under some rocks and tree stumps that seemed terribly, terribly familiar...

- Sid

60: The needs of the one.

As tends to be the standard for my birthday, I received a variety of science fiction and geek related digital birthday greetings this year. (Thanks for the Doctor Who TARDIS card, Christi!)  To my surprise, the best genre birthday salutation actually came from my departmental VP, John Beckett, on the e-card from my workplace.

 In case you’re unaware of the provenance of this statement, it’s derived from the dramatic climax to the 1982 Star Trek movie The Wrath of Khan, the second featuring the original series cast, in which Spock sacrifices his life to save the Enterprise.* 

Spock: Don't grieve, Admiral. It is logical. The needs of the many outweigh...
Kirk: ...the needs of the few...
Spock: ...or the one. I never took the Kobayashi Maru test until now. What do you think of my solution? 

I've worked with John for almost 12 years, and during that time he's demonstrated about the normal level of geek knowledge (if that's not a contradiction in terms), and this was such an appropriate and clever birthday greeting for a science fiction fan that I actually wondered if John had asked for professional assistance** in crafting it.  

Regardless, I sent John a note congratulating him on what I consider to be THE BEST slightly obscure but perfectly phrased science fiction movie reference birthday greeting that I have ever received in my life, and he brilliantly doubled down with a simple reply:

“Thanks, Obi-Wan.”

- Sid

* I realize this is a spoiler, but honestly, The Wrath of Khan was released almost 40 years ago, I think that’s outside the statute of limitations on spoilers.

** Or asked Google™ - same thing.

60: Tsunami! The Musical.

Ucluelet is a pleasant little town located on the west coast of Vancouver Island, the sort of small Canadian community that has one main street and a microbrewery, but no Tim Horton's.

Unfortunately, I have to admit to a mild ongoing paranoia that any small isolated town near the ocean  with only one road in or out is likely going to be a den of Lovecraftian Old Ones who will come for me in the dark of night, but that's a personal thing and I don't let it interfere with my appreciation of the local seafood, as it were.

In this case, the tsunami/earthquake response protocols prominently posted at our Airbnb made me worry that I had suddenly become an expendable cast member from 2012 instead of the ill-fated narrator of The Shadow Over Innsmouth - I'm not convinced that this is an improvement.

- Sid

(Did you know that a tsunami can travel at up to 600 miles per hour on the open ocean?  Me either.)

60.

It's my 60th birthday tomorrow, and sadly, I've had to settle.

My dream milestone birthday celebration was going to be an echo of my 50th birthday - a trip to London, a visit to the Doctor Who Experience, followed by some souvenir shopping (I do like a t-shirt) and a pint at a classic English pub, all enhanced this time by the company of my lovely wife Karli.

However, given the current state of international travel during the pandemic, I regretfully decided that it just wasn't practical right now, and downgraded my expectations.

It's going to be an interesting birthday regardless.  We're still going on a trip:  Karli found us a pleasant looking Airbnb in Ucluelet, a small town on the west coast of Vancouver Island, and we'll be leaving later this morning to catch the ferry. It won't have the same geek gratification as the Doctor Who Immersive Experience in London - in fact, I'm not aware of anything geek-related in our itinerary - but you know, it's surprising how often something unexpected makes an appearance, and I'm quite looking forward to our little one-week getaway.  All other issues aside, I think it would be impossible for me to have a bad vacation with Karli, who has proven herself to be a fabulous travel companion.

I haven't completely abandoned my hopes for a trip to England and the Doctor Who event, but I'm aware that the window is getting smaller and smaller.  But, if science fiction has given me anything, it's a well-developed ability to believe in the impossible.  As I've said before, the horse may still learn to sing.

- Sid

P.S.  By the way, I'm impressed beyond words (no pun intended) by the Merriam-Webster definition of the word "Sixty" - I mean, they're not wrong, but I somehow feel that they've missed the mark - and I have to wonder if there's a different Sixty that's defined as a number which is equal to five time 12.

 

"Happy birthday to me."

Since my purchase of a set of Star Trek: The Motion Picture lobby cards in March, I've been keeping an eye on the weekly Heritage Auctions Movie Posters Select Auction for similar opportunities.  As I said in that posting, I find the idea of lobby cards to be more attractive than full sized movie posters, which require a more substantial investment in both money and wall space.

I've seen a few tempting options for cards from classic SF films from the 50s and 60s, but in every case they've quickly gotten out of my financial reach.  However, you never know with auctions, which can often have as much to do with luck as money, so I haven't given up on the idea.

The most recent sale featured a pair of lobby cards from Return of the Jedi, the dramatic 1983 conclusion to the original Star Wars trilogy.  In this case, the items were actually over-sized cards - the standard is 11x14, and these were 16x20.  The scans on the listing revealed a few scuffs and scratches, but I somehow feel that things like that add a sense of history to items like this, and the mere fact that Heritage Auctions classified their condition as "VERY FINE" indicates that the system is somewhat forgiving.  

When I received the notification late Sunday night that I'd won the auction, it actually took me a minute to remember that I'd even placed a bid.  Generally Star Wars related items sell for a premium - it's a pretty dedicated fan base - so I was surprised that the auction hadn't even gotten up to my modest $52 maximum bid, rather than stopping at $34. (Plus, of course, the inevitable Buyer's Premium for the auction house, but even that only brought the grand total up to $53 - a bit cheaper than my Star Trek purchase.)

Given the probable timing on shipping, I expect to receive the cards nicely in time for my birthday at the end of September.  I generally like to buy myself a little gift for my birthday, and given that this is a milestone at 60, I'm pleased to have found something a bit special that didn't cost a fortune.

- Sid

Immersion - literally.

I continue to find my Quest 2 VR headset to have been the best entertainment purchase of the last few years - it really is a unique experience, and thanks to affordable pricing and frequent discounts from Oculus, I've built up a nice little library of games to go with the various VR offerings within the system.

However, I have discovered an unexpected challenge in the VR experience.  Due to its immersive nature, it's almost impossible to use the headset casually, or to do anything else while wearing it.

Whereas it's easy to sit at my iMac for a minute to just check my bank account or look at e-mail, or to munch away on barbecue Lays while playing a game in Windows, once I'm geared up for an Oculus session I tend to stay in it for a while.

The cliche of the emaciated VR inhabitant who has abandoned reality for the virtual realm actually has some truth to it, simply because it's a pain in the butt to stop using the headset for a minute to, say, get a drink of water or grab a snack.  It's simplicity itself to eat something crunchy while playing a regular game on a computer, but with the VR system, simply finding the damn bowl is its own little event - not to mention having to drop a controller to get a free hand.

Oculus has made some allowances for this by adding a system whereby you can temporarily use the boundary sensor cameras to get a blurry monochromatic view of your surroundings, but again, it involves divorcing your point of view from the VR environment and then going back in. 

None of these issues are the end of the world in terms of using the system, but you know, it really makes you appreciate how user-friendly the Matrix was when it came to issues like this.

- Sid

"I love you more than this squirrel loves his light saber."

Today Karli and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary - it's cards and sentiments like this that just completely confirm that I'm with the perfect partner.  Thank you so very much for marrying me, my love, and happy anniversary!

- Sid

Little Conversations: "For Lego Masters?"

The little conversation
Is over very soon
And I watch in admiration
From my corner of the room.

Concrete Blonde, Little Conversations

Personally, I made my decision about Lego fandom in 2013.

- Sid