Library Additions: Limited Hardback Edition of Ides of Octember Roger Zelazny Bibliography

October 30th, 2013

Another crazy collector item for my Zelazny library:

(Zelazny, Roger) Kovacs, Christopher, compiler. The Ides of Octember: A Pictorial Bibliography of Roger Zelazny. NESFA Press/Camelot Books, 2011. First hardback edition, letter M of 21 lettered copies with a Zelazny signature sheet (taken from unused Ultramarine Press Zelazny books), a Fine copy in three-quarters bound leather, in a Fine patterned traycase with the pictorial cover from the trade paperback edition, sans dust jacket, as issued.

An elaborate aftermarket edition of this Zelazny incorporating unbound NESFA sheets obtained by the compiler.

Octember HD

I paid $191 for it, considerably less than the $500 list price it was offered at.

New York’s Last Movie Photo Shop Closes Its Doors

October 29th, 2013

I’m sort of surprised one was still in business. What with the insane rents and all.

Also, Rick Klaw’s grandfather, Bettie Page photographer Irving Klaw, gets namechecked.

Library Additions: Philip K. Dick’s A Handful of Darkness

October 29th, 2013

Another important book for closing in on my complete Philip k. Dick in hardback collection:

Dick, Philip K. A Handful of Darkness. Rich & Cowan, 1955. First edition hardback, Currey binding A (blue boards lettered in silver) in a first state dust jacket (no mention of World of Chance), an Ex-Library copy with most of the usual flaws, including protected dust jacket flaps taped to boards (and inner cardboard sleeve additionally taped) and stamp for Eeeling Science Fiction Postal Library on inner cover; dust jacket is completely intact, the only flaws being “D11/2” written in white on bottom spine just above publisher, and slight dust staining to white rear cover; call it a VG/NF Ex-Lib copy. Levack, 21a. Currey (1978), page 157. Dick’s first short story collection and first hardback book.

(Click to embiggen; hairline crack on left is a scanner artifact.)

Giant Pentagram in Kazakhstan

October 28th, 2013

Well, here’s something you don’t see every day. A giant pentagram in the former Soviet Republic of Kazakhstan.

Looks to be about 1,300 feet across.

I’m sure it’s in no way a summoning grid for unspeakable eldritch horrors…

Shoegazer Sunday: Black Tambourine’s “Throw Aggi Off The Bridge”

October 27th, 2013

For your Sunday dose of shoegaze, here’s Black Tambourine’s “Throw Aggi Off The Bridge.”

Halloween Horrors: Flying Death

October 25th, 2013

Heh.

Library Additions: Two Signed Ray Bradbury Books

October 24th, 2013

I picked up two more signed Ray Bradbury books off eBay:

  • Bradbury, Ray. The Homecoming. Collins Design, 2006. First edition hardback in decorated boards, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, signed by Bradbury. Illustrated by Dave McKean. Short story done as a short illustrated book. Bought for $30.51 off eBay.

  • Bradbury, Ray. With Cat for Comforter. Gibbs Smith Publisher, 1997. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, signed by Bradbury. Illustrated by Louise Reinoehl Max. Short poem turned into an illustrated children’s book. Replaces an unsigned copy in my library. Bought for $16.66 off eBay.

  • Creepy Online GIFs and Their Origins: Ballface

    October 22nd, 2013

    Here’s a GIF that’s a wee bit unnerving:

    It’s vaguely reminiscent of the creepy moon in Georges Méliès’s The Astronomer’s Dream.

    Turns out it’s from a “tracking & compositing experiment” video:

    I know that I always use subjects that are super-creepy for my tracking and compositing experiments…

    Library Additions: The Signed, Limited Edition of Isaac Asimov’s Nemesis

    October 21st, 2013

    Picked up another book for my collection:

    Asimov, Isaac. Nemesis. Doubleday, 1989. First edition hardback, number 485 out of 500 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine slipcase, sans dust jacket, as issued.

    This was a serendipitous find. I wasn’t looking for it (since I’m not generally a big fan of Asimov’s later work), but merely entered “signed limited edition” in Amazon’s books section just to see what I would find and this came up at $80. Given that it was originally issued at $125, and given that copies on Bookfinder start at $150, I thought it was a good price. Asimov isn’t actually a hard signature (especially compared to verified Philip K. Dick or Robert A. Heinlein signatures), but he has become fairly pricey one for his first editions.

    Shoegazer Sunday: Velveteen’s “Poster Boy”

    October 20th, 2013

    Velveteen is a band from Germany most famous (for certain values of “famous”) for having their album hoaxed as a Death Cab for Cutie album. (Disclaimer: I couldn’t recognize a Death Cab for Cutie song with a gun to my head.) Correction: The band wrote to note they’re the London Velveteen, not the German one. “Poster Boy” is another video whose theme is “War is bad and stuff.” Or alternately, “stock footage from the Vietnam is pretty cheap.”