Banks, Iain M. Cleaning Up. Birmingham Science Fiction Group, 1987. First edition chapbook, a Fine- copy with one small phantom indentation to top rear and a touch of soiling. Issued for Novacon 17. Bought online for £24.99 plus shipping.
Three items, all picked up separately, all by or about Harlan Ellison, and all signed.
Ellison, Harlan. Alone Against Tomorrow. Macmillan, 1971. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Inscribed by Ellison: “For Don—/Harlan Ellison”. Currey (1979), page 177. Slusser (see below) 19. Bought off eBay for $35.
(Ellison, Harlan) Segaloff, Nat. A Lit Fuse: The Provacative Life of Harlan Ellison. NESFA Press, 2017. First edition hardback, #238 of 500 copies signed by Segaloff, a Fine copy in decorated boards, in a Fine slipcase, sans dust jacket, as issued. Authorized biography. The pic below is from the front of the slipcase.
(Ellison, Harlan) Slusser, George Edgar. Harlan Ellison: Unrepentant Harlequin. Borgo Press, 1977. First edition chapbook, a Near Fine- copy with rubbing and a sticker pull to front cover. Inscribed by Ellison, with a drawing, in two colors: (In blue ink) “For Daniel Traeger The “Mom” (in rust-colored ink) That’s supposed to/say “The Man” — But/I messed up. Sorry/Harlan Ellison/”The Inept.” Currey (1979), page 180. Bought for $1.98 at Half Price Books. Oddly enough, I recently bought another signed copy of this, but since that one has a better cover and this one a better inscription, I’m inclined to keep both…
To be honest, this isn’t so much a Shoegaze band as a single guitarist showing how to do shoegaze and performing all the parts himself via mixing, loops and digital Frippitronics.
Adam West, star of the 1960s TV Batman and later a voice actor playing a lunatic version of himself as Mayor Adam West on Family Guy, has died at age 88.
Though far from my favorite version of the character, the TV Batman was silly fun.
Mainly this post is just an excuse to throw up a few random videos:
Alongside the announcement of the movie’s official title, the network revealed Sharknado 5’s list of cameos, which include Tony Hawk, Olivia Newton-John, Chloe Lattanzi, Fabio, Clay Aiken, Bret Michaels, Charo, Gilbert Gottfried, Margaret Cho, Al Roker, Kathie Lee Gifford, Hoda Kotb, Greg Louganis, Tom Daley, Gus Kenworthy, Jeff Rossen, Porsha Williams, Tiffany “New York” Pollard, Chris Kattan, Cat Greenleaf, Ross Mullan and Dan Fogler.
Finally, something to bring our divided nation together!
Though I’m tempted to save this for the Halloween season, I’d thought you’d like to see this wonderful, nightmare-inducing flying goth:
There’s a music video for Gothminister’s “Darkside” (lead singer Bjørn Alexander Brem evidently being the model for Goth Guy) intercut with the flying, and you know what? For progressive goth metal, it’s not half bad:
Nice chord progressions, the guy’s actually got good vocal range, and the video is like the 1980s never ended (including all your requisite cheesy heavy metal Satanic tropes).
A limited edition SF art book I picked up relatively cheap:
Freas, Frank Kelly. The Art of Science Fiction. Donning, 1977. First edition hardback, #234 of 1,000 copies with a signature plate signed by Freas pasted inside the front cover, a Fine copy in decorated boards, sans dust jacket, as issued. Bought for $50 off eBay.
This appears to be the very first SF book published by either Donning or Donning/Starblaze, the latter of which was quite an active imprint until tapering off in the late 1980s.
