Sunday Sundries--Science Fiction Convention Photos

Starting a new schedule at "the real job" and just wanted to share some interesting photos from our vault--now a flash drive with scans in of the negatives.

I met my husband and most of my friends through science fiction conventions. I've met many authors and have literally a ton of books and videos in my basement. My brothers introduced me to SF at an early age and I inherited their paperback collection. It's all good. Here are a couple of great pictures from The World Science Fiction Convention in New Orleans, in 1988:

Yes, my friends, that's an actual Hugo Award from the, I think, Tor Publishing party. One of the authors had it for us to admire. They're of a different design each year, but I thought this was lovely.

The year of "Roger Rabbit" was very, very cool. This was from the masquerade, which was held in an old theater, rather than a hotel ballroom as usual.

The late, great Ken Moore as a futuristic soldier, from I believe, Joe Halderman's Forever War.

Part of the group I helped backstage--they were goth before goth was cool. When the convention went to hell (staff quitting, panels cancelled, etc.), we'd just go down to Bourbon Street and folks wouldn't blink an eye at the costumes or makeup.

This dude was part of a group of undersea creatures that were pretty amazing. The character in the snail costume had a gossamer trail that rolled out behind her.

Just a small fraction of the "huckster room," or dealers' room, where people sell books, jewelry, collectibles, etc. Very, very dangerous.

Don't remember what these were from, but they were book covers by Michael Whelan and just as impressive up close. Costumes were judged on craftsmanship as well as presentation.

These are from the Boston World Science Fiction Convention the next year, 1989.

This is movie maker Frank Marshall, with their version of a Hugo Award. He was talking about his next project, "Arachnophobia." Yuck.

Part of the presentation where a group recreated some novel covers by Robert A. Heinlein, which was pretty impressive.

 Last minute touches on another costume that was another cover reproduction.

Hugo Awards ceremony with Mike Glyer, Charlie Brown (Locus Magazine), C.J. Cherryh, Gardner Dozois, Roger Zelazny, Connie Willis, L. Sprague de Camp and Mike Resnick among the group.

The late, great Andre Norton. One great picture I missed a few years later was her and Robert Bloch taking a "kitty break" outside a meeting room at another convention.

One of the large groups of costumers in the Master Class.

And finally, this picture didn't turn out as well as I'd liked. She did reproductions in counted cross-stitch of several famous SF covers and was "The Art Show." Very impressive indeed.

So, thanks for sharing a walk down my memory lane. It was 30 years ago that some of our local SF fans and gamers started the conventions in our area and I really miss those days.  Have a great week, everybody!

Sunday Sundries--Canine Redux

So, as we spend the weekend remembering those who have passed before, we should not be sad. We should rejoice at the good memories and what we've learned from the past.

My much older brother is buried in Arlington Cemetery, real near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It was over forty years ago, so the pain has become just an occasional twinge. This brought a smile and a tear to my eye:

The service animals have an important role in our safety too.

While we're remembering people we have lost, we should also remember the pets in our lives we have lost. One of my favorite memories is a Boston Terrier my Aunt Louise and Uncle Bob had. In fact, every time I see a BT, I call it an Uncle Bob Dog, because he'd developed jowls like his pet Tammy.

My brother lost one of his family pets recently. While I only met her briefly, I know she was an important part of his family's life.

Let's lighten things up a bit:

It's a pug pile! They always look happy, don't they? Speaking of happy:

Talking about cats and dogs:

I liked this one too:

While I did have two cats that would fetch as long as it suited them, this made me smile:

Many will be at the beach this weekend:

Unless you have a super dog:

Finally, I'm getting ready to go to work at my "real life" job. Remember those who are serving 24-7:

Have a peaceful and blessed Memorial Day, OK? Take care!

Sunday Sundries--Some More Book Love

I just read something that was a little disturbing. One of the blogs I follow occasionally is The Passive Guy, http://www.thepassivevoice.com. Going through and cleaning out a bunch of old emails from the beginning of the year, he quoted a few articles that basically said books and music will go almost all digital within the next few years. That means rather than the kazillion CDs, DVDs and books we have, in the future, we will be buying downloads onto computers and readers. Oh, there still will be actual new books, but they will be more limited or collector editions, like the new vinyl that is being released now.

*sigh*

So, anyway, not to bring us down or anything. We will still have lovely afternoons in new/used bookstores and music stores, but it may be more of a destination thing. Not that we're just a few bins away from being on an episode of "Hoarders" anyway, but someday I want some more bookcases, so here another idea I love:

This is another truth:

 In keeping with the stair step theme:

I love this one too:

I may be to the point where I could use books for something else other than reading. It would have to be a duplicate or a book that I didn't care about. Kind of hard to find, but it's something that will come eventually. I like the looks of this idea, though:

Just to give you a reference point of how far our digital age has come, here's an example of 8 gigabytes of storage in 1995 and now:

I had another variation of this last week, but it bears repeating:

Here's an obligatory cute kitteh:

And the equally cute canine equivalent:

I've never understood people who won't read. When I managed a bookstore a long time ago, a dad discouraged his little girl who wanted to come in by saying, "It's not a toy store." Yes, it is, goob.

Here's a solid I have to admit is too much of a truth, that is also a goal for my writing:

And, finally, it's almost a motto:

Have a great week and cherish those things and people that you love!

Sunday Sundries--Belated Book Edition

Life's started getting weird again. One thing I've missed recently is reading. I grew up in a library. I say that because my mom worked in the library in our small town and so many of my childhood memories revolved around books.

We have over fifty boxes of books in the basement and my husband has built tons of bookcases in our house. This is true:

It's been a while since I've fallen asleep with a book and I miss it.

But, despite my not reading much lately, it hasn't stopped me from continuing to buy books.

I used to run a bookstore and volunteered myself at a library, so this reassures me.

I thought often of my Mom yesterday and one of the greatest gifts was that she read to me and provided me with books.

This is so true--got it from Julia Quinn.

 This made me smile. I have a ton of book bags, too.

 I have a ton of bookmarks, too. This one is a truth.

This is a truth--I'm so lucky I found one:

He shares my love of books and for our anniversary, we went out of town to a bookstore and spent several hours browsing the shelves and tables.

So, everybody have a great week--how about this for a true face book?

Sunday Sundries--Just Shy of a Dozen Edition

How did another week/weekend go by without me getting all the things done I needed to do? While a lot of it was spent here on the loveseat with my laptop, I did manage to get some of the clothing issue under control. I now have a couple of bags of no longer needed "Fat Girl" clothes ready to go to the consignment shop. I have a few more scenes written and some more stuff organized on the computer for my fiction, so it was kind of a spring cleaning time for me, I guess. Don't get me wrong--I still have a ton of stuff to do to make sure we don't get condemned by the Health Department in the next week, but there was some progress in my real and fictional lives.

While I had the "butt in chair" part of the writing equation under control, there seemed to be more Jewel Quest II than original writing done this weekend. Please be patient with me. I am truly a work in progress. And I did get to see the new movie "The Avengers" this weekend. It was pretty cool--not just a jumbled mess of special effects. Definitely a recommend for the fannish among us.

Speaking of being fannish--how cool is this "portal" cake? Love creative stuff like this. Kid has a cool mom. And speaking of moms--

Hedgehogs are so interesting, aren't they? They really do look like little aliens. Here's another silly looking critter with a laugh:

Here's a familiar friend who's doing his job right:

I have a character that runs until he just drops and I think he needs a dog to keep up with him and help herd him.

How's that face for an awwwww? Our furry friends really don't understand sometimes.

Not a cute face, but a funny one. What would your perfect day be?

This little buddy definitely isn't having one.

Dear hubby may be taking his motorcycle to the local Blessing of the Bikes in a bit. This made me smile. In the day, I could definitely rock a leather jacket.

But now, I just laugh at myself and most of my wardrobe choices. It seems I'm definitely dressing for comfort now. If I were looking for a sign to get my personal life in gear and get organized, here it is:

Seriously, just go ahead and do it. And while we're talking about doing things, here's a final bit of advice:

Listen to the furball. Everybody have a super and productive week, OK?