How did I miss The Octopus Project until now? You would think an Austin band with a female theremin player would be right up my alley…
Shoegazer Sunday: The Octopus Project’s “Sharpteeth”
June 18th, 2017Someone Owes Sterling Archer an Apology
June 15th, 2017Blimp catches fire and crashes at the U.S. open.
Now let me apologize for even mentioning golf…
Adam West, RIP
June 10th, 2017Adam 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:
Shoegazer Sunday: Yellow Fang’s “Selfish”
June 4th, 2017Been a while since we did some Asian Shoegaze, so here’s Thailand’s Yellow Fang with “Selfish.”
Sharknado 5 Gets a Title
June 1st, 2017Our long wait is now over: Sharknado 5 now has it’s official subtitle: Global Swarming.
Tagline: Make America Bait Again.
More:
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!
(Hat tip: Bill Crider.)
Library Addition: Frank Kelly Freas’ The Art of Science Fiction
May 23rd, 2017A 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.
Shoegazer Sunday: Slowdive’s “Slomo” and “Catch the Breeze” Live
May 21st, 2017I’ve been on a Slowdive kick since I heard the new album has coming out, and it way exceeded my expectations for it.
Here’s a live performance for Pitchfork that features both new and old songs, including “Slomo,” “Catch the Breeze” “Slowdive,” “Star Roving” and “Avalyn.” For some reason the music doesn’t actually start until 7:15 into the video.
Library Addition: Stephen Fabian’s Crystal of a Hundred Dreams Portfolio
May 18th, 2017Another odd Jack-Vance related item:
Fabian, Stephen. Crystal of a Hundred Dreams: A Portfolio by Stephen E. Fabian. Underwood/Miller, 1979. First edition oversized softbound art portfolio, one of 550 sets produced, a Fine copy, still in shrinkwrap. Illustrations from the U/M Jack Vance books The Eyes of the Overworld, The Seventeen Virgins and The Bagful of Dreams. Chalker/Owings (1991), page 431 (where they note it’s “Uncommon,” most sets having been broken up and framed). Bought for $55 from a fellow Jack Vance collector.
Hard to get a good pick, since it’s too big for the scanner and I kept getting light bounce from the shrinkwrap….
Library Addition: Jess Nevins’ The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Pulp Heroes
May 17th, 2017Another reference work to file right next to the same author’s Encyclopedia of Fantastic Victoriana:
Nevins, Jess. The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Pulp heroes. Lulu Press, 2017. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in decorated boards, sans dust jacket, as issued. Non-fiction reference work covering fantastic pulp heroes from 1902—1945. Bought for $22.49 the first week of publication.
Lulu Press is a POD outfit, and this work will evidently be incorporated into a larger, electronic-only encyclopedia of pulp heroes (fantastic and otherwise) forthcoming from Amazon.