Various and Sundry

Magical Space Wizard Time!

At long last, I can reveal myself to the Jedi. By which I mean, we get to go see The Last Jedi. So it seemed like a good time to share the work of some intrepid artists who decided to bring Ralph McQuarrie‘s marvelous concept art for the original Star Wars to life. The Star Wars: Concept Trailer from The DAVE School on Vimeo. I actually have a collection of Ralph McQuarrie’s concept art buried…

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Various and Sundry

And (Muppet) Mayhem Ensues, Holiday Edition

In case you just weren’t into the Star Trek holiday videos from yesterday, perhaps you’d enjoy the marriage of one of my favorite holiday tunes (and not just because it can be repurposed by Lovecraft fans) and my favorite pop culturally-impacting puppets (and not just because they’re part of one of my favorite TV series). Okay, it’s not as good as their take on the song everyone knows to headbang to, but it’s still fun. Plus,…

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Various and Sundry

TCM’s Verklempt Video, 2017 Edition

Turner Classic Movies (TCM), always releases their end of year remembrance a couple weeks early. Then they update it in case someone passes near the end of the year. I don’t care. I watch both versions. Even if you don’t recognize everyone, there’s always plenty to make you wistful… and remind you that a certain film or three is worth re-watching. Verklempt, right? And of course, they nailed the landing.

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Various and Sundry Writing

The Clarke Centennial

100 years ago today, in a small town in England, Arthur Clarke was born. Perhaps he’ll always be best known by the public at large for 2001: A Space Odyssey, which is certainly how I was first introduced to his work. Later, when I had a chance to delve deeper into my Dad’s collection of 50s paperbacks, I came across Childhood’s End and later still, “The Star” — a very short story that nevertheless haunts…

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Various and Sundry

Fun with Nuclear Devastation

Growing up near Washington, DC during the Cold War left an impression on me. It could be that my dad, a physicist, had explained how the U.S. and Soviet nuclear arsenals were large enough to reduce the world to dust and have nukes left over to shake up the dust. Okay, that’s a bit of hyperbolae. My dad would probably qualify my sentence by pointing out that the nukes wouldn’t obliterate the entire surface of the earth……

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Various and Sundry

Time is Not on Your Side. It is Your Personal Rashomon

As the year draws to a close, people invariably muse aloud about how fast the year has gone. Strangely, November was far longer for me than October. I’m not sure yet how December will shape up. I decided to do some Internet digging about time and how people perceive it. I suppose I could go ahead and read some Marcel Proust since no one can properly summarize his masterwork, but I wanted something more on the…

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Various and Sundry

Living a Lie: Pumpkin Edition

Look, we all know it’s decorative gourd season. Pumpkins and, especially, “pumpkin spice” items are everywhere. However, in the interest of sharing information and –let’s be honest– giving you a Halloween scare, you should know: You live in a world where clear pumpkin pie is a thing. In this world, pumpkins may not actually be pumpkins! I mean, if you thought David S. Pumpkins gave you unsatisfying answers, wait ’til you get in the weeds on…

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