All posts by Jack

fandom, General, science fiction, travel

On to Glasgow

I left East Ham/ Upton Park and made my way to Kings Cross. There, I planned to catch the Highland Chieftain at noon and go to Edinburgh, stop off for an hour, pick up my clubs from left luggage and catch the train an hour later to Glasgow Central.

It was very important to catch the train to Glasgow Central instead of Queen St because there wasn’t a direct connection from Queen St to the SPT line that would take me to the SECC.

And things actually went as planned. The weather was bright and sunny most of the way and I had a good chance to catch the sights passing by and to read a bit. I picked up the clubs and hung out in the station pub while awaiting the next leg. The train came in on time. I went to Glasgow Central and caught the local to the SECC stop. It was nice that my rail pass for the day was valid on the SPT line as well.

Then the wheels fell off the plans. Always check the maps first and print out a copy, especially if you haven’t been in a particular neighborhood for 10 years. I am heading in the general direction of CairnCross House because I remember where it was from the last time I was here. Last time I wasn’t dragging a rather heavy set of golf clubs with me. Even on wheels, that golf bag was a pain to maneuver.

I went down one street and it was a dead end, I went down another, it was a dead end. And I can practically see the place. Fortunately, I ran into some fans who had printed out a map and they quickly got me pointed in the right direction and I arrived at CairnCross House.

Ann had already checked in and gone, so I dropped off my stuff and headed over to the SECC, taking the way I remembered from 10 years before; walking under the rail line and over the M8 into the back parking lot of the SECC. It was still there!

I picked up my registration and started looking for people. I found the Real Ale Bar at the Moat House Fan Lounge and ran into many familiar faces, some of whom I hadn’t seen since last Monday. But I didn’t find my fellow Denver2008 bidders and began to wonder what our plans were for the next day.

Ann showed up with someone else who was staying in the same place and we headed back to CairnCross, this time using the pedestrian bridge to the train station.

I should explain that Ann and I first met at a convention more than 25 years before. We didn’t really get along with each other back then. She thought I was an obnoxious drunk and I thought she was rude. Then she gafiated and I moved out west and many years later she de-gafiated and we met at a Worldcon and started talking about mutual friends and we found that we could be civil with each other. And we continued to meet and say hello at Worldcons.

When I realized that Elaine wasn’t going with me to Glasgow and I had booked a double room at a very low rate (compared to what the hotels were charging), I asked a fan list if anyone wanted to share a room. Ann responded, along with several others. I did know her and I didn’t know the others, so what the hey.

fandom, Geek Stuff, General, golf, science fiction, travel

The Scottish Trip

I have created a Web Gallery of some of the pictures I took on my recent trip to Scotland. You can find it here.

I am still experimenting with what I can do with Web Gallery Mate and I haven’t scanned in all the photos yet. So, if you find a link that has no pictures, just go back and try another. I tried to keep the ‘big’ pictures to less than 100 kB i.e they aren’t as big as I could have made them. If you would like a bigger copy of a particular photo, let me know and I can scan in the negative at 2400 dpi. (That’s big, ~ 1 MB per photo.)

Reviews

Maburaho

An interesting concept behind this series. Everyone can practice magic. Each individual has a limit to the number of times they can use magic. After the limit is reached, the magic-user disappears in a flash of smoke, ashes blowing in the wind. There are some people that can use magic thousands of times during their lifetime. Indeed, at the high school the show is placed in, the average is 8000 per student. It’s a magic high school for the elite.

Then there is Kazuki, descended from a long line of magic-users, who only has 8 magic uses left before he goes kaput. (There is a machine that measures to the amount of magic life left in a body) This puts him at something of a disadvantage with the rest of the students. Until it is revealed that Kazuki’s children will be the most powerful magicians of their generation. At which point every girl in the school wants some of Kazuki’s genes. Having powerful magicians in the family is a way of elevating social status and class. Yes, it turns into a ‘harem’ anime.

Of course, Kazuki has no interest in sharing his genes with anyone and the fun begins. Unbeknownst to most everyone, Kazuki is the most powerful magic user in the world and he proves it by making it snow in the summer (oops, down to 7 now) as a way to impress a girl he is fond of.

It will be interesting to see how the authors handle the growth of Kazuki and what will happen to him as he uses his magic to save and protect the people around him.

As is explained in the extras, Maho is “Magic”; rabu is “love” and Maburaho is a Japanese pun putting a backwards love inside magic. Please don’t try this at home, or I will hurt you.

Maburaho has tweaked my interest so I do want to see what will happen next to Kazuki. I will give this a 6 out of 10.

Reviews

Fumoffu

A derivative of the Full-Metal Panic series, which was a pretty good series about a soldier who never had a childhood having to attend high-school to act as a bodyguard for some young woman who was the key for global domination for some evil group. Since he never was a teenager his response to high school hi-jinks isn’t always pleasant.

In Fumoffu, the mission is over but Sagara stays in school to be a bodyguard. The episodes are just extending the concept of a soldier responding to typical teenage events in an extreme manner. Booring. Of course, you blow-up the shoe locker because someone left a note in it. Of course, you open a watermelon with a shotgun, blindfolded. Not really worth watching any further, I will give it a 4 out of ten.

Reviews

Madlax

Speaking of girl Assassins, Madlax is certainly busy in a war-torn country. She seems to have a strange mental link to Margaret, back in some distant peaceful city. It would seem that reality may not be all that it is cracked up to be, but only a few, like Letisia, seem to know something is not quite right. Plus, there is some sort of global takeover plot by a secret organization. An organization so secret it doesn’t even know it exists.

It is certainly intriguing and leads one to want to find out what will happen next. And Madlax isn’t some mindless killing zombie; she has a very human side to her.

I will give this a 7 out of 10.

Reviews

Gunslinger Girl

Maybe I ‘m getting jaded, but a show about turning prepubescent girls into cybernetic assassins is just a bit over the top. It’s like since they’re a Gunslinger, cyber-enhanced, they aren’t human anymore. And their handlers are a bunch of sociopathic thugs, or they would be except they are government agents so this makes them dedicated civil servants.

The girls are supposed to be robotic killing machines, and with the brain-washing and conditioning they go through, they mostly turn out that way. Of course, sometimes a little emotion may break through, but that’s a sign for more conditioning (which shortens their life span, not that what they have is much of a life.)

I don’t know if the authors are going out to an extreme limb to make a point, or if this is the only place left for them to go. There have been other girl assassin shows, like Noir, but they generally are about the girl’s quest to regain her humanity, not about watching it get drummed out the her.

So, while this show has very good production values, I don’t think I could take another DVD of this. I will give it a 4 out of 10.

fandom, General, Media, Reviews, science fiction

BLOC for RUT #2

Sharee Carton, an Australian fan, left a copy of her latest fanzine with Avedon. Right Up There #2, published 20 years after #1. Sharee had never met Avedon but a Letter of Comment (LOC) from Avedon on #1 had a big influence on the next issue. Avedon suggested that a fanzine should have staples. (Evidently #1 was a one sheet.) Given the current state of the fanzine world and Ansible, I don’t think that is a truism any more. Although it may be argued that Dave is just distributing a very thick fanzine one page at a time just to avoid stapling.

I read RUT#2 and Sharee covered her fannish life and what she has been doing for the past 20 years. Working trawlers out of Cairns; not for me.

Sharee and I knew a lot of fans in common from long ago but never met. We even didn’t meet at the 1984 LACON. She went to Corflu #1 and #2; I went to #3. She was a West Coast, Canadian fan; I hung out on the East Coast, until she had gone back to Australia.

Music was a big influence on her life and for RUT #2 she asked a number of correspondents to give a “Desert Island Disks” compilation of what music they would want to have on a desert island. 10 Disks. And, to some extent, how have the choices changed in 20 years.

This got me to thinking of my own musical influences and what my DID would be. I was traveling with my entire record/CD collection on an iRiver device. What would I take if I had to pare down the 3900 songs (450+ albums) already on the player?
Continue reading BLOC for RUT #2 →

fandom, General, travel

On to London

It was a dark and stormy day that day I left St Andrews. This was the St Andrews I had feared to face. The Force 3 gale winds, rain, and a links course. Fortunately, I was in a cab heading for the train station. One of the train bridges to Edinburgh was under repair that week so a bus was coming by to ferry the train passengers to Edinburgh. That didn’t seem to put a crimp into my travel plans so I hopped aboard and tootled on.
Continue reading On to London →

General, golf, travel

St Andrews B&B

I should write a short blurb about Brownlees, the B&B I stayed at. The room was a touch too small for a large American but conveniently located for a traveling single. (And I managed to deal with the smallness.) The bathroom was in the hall and I had to share with someone I never saw, so it was never an issue. There was an alleyway right next to the door that led to the Scores and the R&A was just a minute away. The Alley came out at the top of a park that overlooked the North Sea and the Aquarium. Jo and John took good care of the silly American who didn’t even have a key to open his golf bag. Very tasty full breakfasts in the morning got you ready for a few rounds of golf or touring. I’ve never had beans with my breakfast before, but they work. All-in-all, a very pleasant week.