Archive for April, 2013

Want to Feel Really Old?

Saturday, April 13th, 2013

See if you can figure out who is in this picture without looking at the image name.

And don’t click here to see why it’s topical.

Prices Realized on SF Books in Heritage Auctions’ April 10 Offering

Thursday, April 11th, 2013

As a followup on my previous auction post, here are the prices realized on the items I highlighted in yesterday’s Heritage book auction. All prices include buyer’s premium:

  • Robert E. Howard’s original typewritten manuscript for the Conan story “A Witch Shall Be Born”, signed by Howard, went for $22,500.
  • A very nice first of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone went for a jaw-dropping $43,750.
  • A slightly tattered copy of H.P. Lovecraft’s The Outsider and Others went for $1,750.
  • A very nice copy of the Visionary publication of Lovecraft’s The Shadow Over Innsmouth went for $4,375.
  • Unbound signatures of the Recluse Press edition of The Shunned House went for $3,875.
  • 26 letters by H. G. Wells went for $8,125.
  • A signed first of Wells’ The War of the Worlds went for a staggering $35,000. I don’t think one of the 12 or so known copies of the Henry Holt (true 1st) edition of The Time Machine has gone for that.
  • A nice copy of Alfred Bester’s Tiger! Tiger! went for a mere $800, a comparative bargain, since I’ve seen copies sell in excess of $2,000.
  • A pretty good copy of Roger Zelazny’s Lord of Light with a signature plate laid in went for $750.
  • Japanese Pop Punk Band SpecialThanks

    Wednesday, April 10th, 2013

    While plumbing the depths and breadths of YouTube for suitable Shoegazer Sunday entries, sometimes I stumble across something interesting that doesn’t fit in the Shoegaze label. Today let’s take a look at Japanese band SpecialThanks.

    The first 20 seconds of silence is just to mess with you.

    So a pop-punk band with a deadly cute female lead who sings in English that sounds like a cross between Blink-182 and [Insert Current Teenage Female Pop Sensation Here]. This is the sort of Japanese cross-cultural pop artifact that Bruce Sterling circa 1992 would have been all over. As it stands, I’m pretty sure some canny American record label would make millions signing them over here…

    Preview: SF First Editions in Heritage Auctions’ April 10th Offering

    Monday, April 8th, 2013

    Heritage Auctions has another signature book auction coming up on April 10, and there are several interesting SF/F/H first editions up for offer. Here’s a preview of a few:

  • Robert E. Howard’s original typewritten manuscript for the Conan story “A Witch Shall Be Born”, signed by Howard.
  • Yet another first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Heritage has auctioned off a number of these in the past, and they all seemed to go for over $20,000. This is a particularly nice copy.
  • A slightly tattered copy of H.P. Lovecraft’s The Outsider and Others.
  • Speaking of Lovecraft, there’s also a Visionary publication The Shadow Over Innsmouth. (Actually, there are two in this auction; that link goes to the nicer copy.)
  • Also from Lovecraft: Unbound signatures of the Recluse Press edition of The Shunned House. Making it even rarer is the fact that the copyright page remains uncanceled.
  • 26 letters by H. G. Wells.
  • Speaking of Wells, here’s a signed first of The War of the Worlds. (Related: The signed H. G. Wells book I own.)
  • A nice copy of Alfred Bester’s Tiger Tiger.
  • A nice copy of Roger Zelazny’s Lord of Light, with a signature plate laid in.
  • Plus a few other miscellaneous SF items. However, the main strength of the auction overall is a number important scientific first editions, a signed first of ian Fleming’s Moonraker, etc.

    Shoegazer Sunday: Clams’ “Sundae Bird”

    Sunday, April 7th, 2013

    From Japan comes Clams with “Sundae Bird.” The first 48 seconds are space music drone, but after that the catchy dreampop tune kicks in.

    More Roger Ebert Tidbits

    Friday, April 5th, 2013

    A few more interesting pieces of writing from him:

  • How he quit drinking.
  • An oral history of Siskel and Ebert.
  • So I don’t just show them giving pans, here’s a young Ebert and porn-stached Gene Siskel splitting on Taxi Driver:

    Reviewing one of my favorite films, This Is Spinal Tap:

    And here’s them loving Ed Wood:

    Siskel & Ebert Review North

    Friday, April 5th, 2013

    I’m sure you’ve read about Roger Ebert’s death from cancer. I don’t have much to add to the many tributes being offered (though I do want to note that he was a science fiction fan before a movie critic), so instead here’s Ebert and Gene Siskel eviscerating Rob Reiner’s North.

    Technology Marches On!

    Thursday, April 4th, 2013

    Is your retroincabulator up to snuff?

    Getting drunk with Upstream Color director Shane Carruth

    Wednesday, April 3rd, 2013

    An interesting interview at Grantland which is just that.

    Still not sure I want to see Upstream Color.

    If You’re Wondering Where my Locus April Fool’s Piece Is…

    Monday, April 1st, 2013

    read this.