Fanboy.com March 2002

the fanboy book shop:

Krazy and Ignatz: The Komplete Kat Komics 1925 & 1926 by George Herriman
In 1999, The Comics Journal named Krazy Kat the greatest example of the artform in the history of the medium: "Krazy Kat has been the acknowledged greatest comic for so long, by so many esteemed critics, that it becomes tempting to knock it from its perch," wrote the editors of The Comics Journal in 1999.

"At a casual glance, George Herriman's long-running strip seems quaint and antiquated. But to immerse yourself in Krazy Kat, to yield to Herriman's looping verbal rhythms and lovingly-depicted desert backgrounds, to experience his perfectly-realized triptych of unspoken and unconsummated love, yields a very, very different result. Herriman's creation is not only great comics, with a wonderful command of the medium's possibilities and strengths, but is also great art—an affecting exploration of some of life's most basic issues in a way that enlightens and thrills."

It Came from Bob's Basement : Exploring the Science Fiction and Monster Movie Archive of Bob Burns by Bob Burns
Known to give up precious living space to display a full-size creature from the Black Lagoon or a pair of Frankenstein's clodhoppers, Bob Burns is the patron saint of special effects for B movies.

His storied basement houses the largest private collection of props, models, sketches, storyboards, and other bits of nostalgic debris from a century's worth of films. It Came from Bob's Basement is a colorful journey through the vivid and campy world of fantastic cinema and a true tribute to a man who has dedicated his life to the preservation of incredible movie artifacts-from the original King Kong's metallic skeleton to the life-size Alien Queen. Including insider stories from the sets of favorites like The She Creature, It Conquered the World, and Plan Nine from Outer Space, Bob Burns brings fellow fantasy buffs up close with props and artwork from the greatest (and most outrageous) sci-fi films of all time.

The Epics of Celtic Ireland : Ancient Tales of Mystery and Magic by Jean Markale, Jody Gladding (Translator)
Our special St. Patrick’s Day pick for fanboy.com! A world-renowned Celtic historian restores the classic Irish epics to their original sacred context. Markale restores the true Celtic morality and sentiment to these tales, which were expurgated by Christian monks. He also reveals how deeply these mythic tales have shaped modern sensibility, and shows how the ancient Celtic tradition provides answers to contemporary spiritual needs. Distrustful of the written word, Celtic druids forbade anything involving their tradition from being put into writing. However, Christian monks chose to preserve all they could of the oral tradition on paper. Unfortunately, they did not hesitate to alter what they couldn't comprehend, or what their Christian sensibilities found shocking. In this collection of some of the most important narratives in the rich Irish tradition, Jean Markale restores these texts to their original form and reveals how the Celtic spirit is on the verge of reclaiming its rights.

Unlocking the Clubhouse by Jane Margolis and Allan Fisher
MIT Press does some good books and this is one of them. In Unlocking the Clubhouse, social scientist Jane Margolis and computer scientist and educator Allan Fisher examine the many influences contributing to the gender gap in computing. The book is based on interviews with more than 100 computer science students of both sexes from Carnegie Mellon University over a period of four years, as well as classroom observations and conversations with hundreds of college and high school faculty. The interviews capture the dynamic details of the female computing experience, from the family computer kept in a brother's bedroom to women's feelings of alienation in college computing classes. The authors investigate the familial, educational, and institutional origins of the computing gender gap. They also describe educational reforms that have made a dramatic difference at Carnegie Mellon—-where the percentage of women entering the School of Computer Science rose from 7% in 1995 to 42% in 2000- -and at high schools around the country.

The Astronomy Cafe : 365 Questions and Answers from 'Ask the Astronomer' by Sten F. Odenwald
Based on the "Ask the Astronomer" section of the author's Web site, the book answers the most popular (not necessarily the most intelligent) questions asked. Organized around topics such as the sun, the origin of the universe, and telescopes and star gazing, questions include whether an asteroid will hit the earth in the near future, what the inside of a black hole might look like, and what existed in space before the Big Bang. Many people like myself, who are not scientists but who yearn to learn the basic theories, look up at the night sky and wonder how planets, stars and galaxies came to be and exist. This book is a great Cosmic Companion which guides you through the stars in a comprehensible fashion: although space terminology can get complex, it is easy to follow along with Dr. Odenwald's voice of the book. If you love interesting details about the heavens, then this book is perfect for you: you'll ingest this neat info so quickly, that your mind will be like a miniature black-hole, and the details will be unable to escape from your mind's event horizon.

Atlas of the Celts by Barry Raftery, Jane McIntosh (Editor)
Our final St. Patrick’s Day book selection for fanboy.com. This atlas features maps, color illustrations, and text outline the history of the Celtics, from their religion and expansion to their art and lasting impact on the West. There are plenty of Celtic history titles on the market; but few with the color and clear organization of this atlas: if only one were to be selected for a collection, Atlas Of The Celts would be a top contender.

It offers the most comprehensive coverage of the Celts. The Atlas of the Celts is arranged chronologically and spread-by-spread and there is a special section on Celtic culture (such as jewelry, clothing and mythology). The conclusion discusses some of the recent debates on Celtic identity. The appendices include: a detailed timeline of key dates in Celtic history, an atlas of Celtic sites and museums, a Who's Who in the Celtic world, drawings of Celtic ornaments, glossaries of Celtic terms and names, a gazetteer, and an index.

the fanboy toy store:

Kronosaurus
It's Jurassic Park meets Titanic! From the early Cretaceous period. This powerful reptilian was a carnivore in marine waters around present day Australia. A highly maneuverable swimmer. Scientists estimate that Kronosaurus was about forty two feet long. The Carnegie Collection is the world’s most renowned series of authentic dinosaur replicas. Each model has been crafted with exacting attention by paleontologists at the Carnegie Museum of Natural history in Pittsburgh, Pa., using the most recent discoveries and findings to ensure accuracy. Kronos is one cute little fishey!

the fanboy DVD store:

Land of the Lost (1974)
Why You Need to Buy This: 70’s Fanboy Flashback! Besides some of the best science fiction writers of the era worked on this show, such as David Gerrold, Larry Niven and Theodore Sturgeon. You will laugh at the special effects, but in their day they weren’t too bad! Besides the stories can get rather interesting, which is the point of these shows.

Land of the Lost: 70's Fanboy Flashback!

The Plot: While on a camping trip, Ranger Rick Marshall and his children, Will and Holly, were canoeing down a river when they went over a waterfall and ended up in the land of the lost. Besides the various dinosaurs they encountered, the Marshalls also regularly interacted with the Pakuni, a tribe of ape like creatures, and the Sleestaks, evil, lizard-like creatures that couldn't come out in the daylight and were afraid of fire. The Marshalls did encounter a different type of Sleestak - Enik, an ancestor of the Sleekstaks. Unlike the other Sleestaks, Enik had intelligence and was able to provide help to the Marshalls on occasion.

The Films of Charles & Ray Eames - The Powers of 10 (Vol. 1) (2000)
Charles and Ray Eames are among the finest designers of the 20th century. They are best known for their groundbreaking contributions to architecture, furniture design, industrial design and manufacturing. The legacy of this husband and wife team includes more than 75 films that reflect the breadth and depth of their interests. Volume 1 of this DVD collection includes an adventure in magnitudes, "Powers of Ten" (1968, 9 min.).

Starting at a picnic by the lakeside in Chicago, this famous film transports us to the outer edges of the universe. Every ten seconds we view the starting point from ten times farther out, until our own galaxy is visible only as a speck of light among many others. Returning to earth with breathtaking speed, we move inward--into the hand of the sleeping picnicker--with ten times more magnification every ten seconds. Our journey ends inside a proton of a carbon atom within a DNA molecule in a white blood cell. This DVD also includes the original version of "Powers of Ten" entitled "A Rough Sketch for a Proposed Film Dealing with the Powers of Ten and the Relative Size of Things in the Universe" (8 min.), a remarkable film in its own right, plus "901: After 45 Years of Working" (1989, 29 min.), a record of the Eames Office at 901 Washington Boulevard in Venice, California and a document of its closing; it uses the space as a prism through which to look at the Eames' life and work.

The Lost World (Restored Edition) (1925)
Every larger-than-life creature feature, from King Kong to Godzilla to Jurassic Park, owes a debt to the original Lost World, the granddaddy of giant monster movies. Based on an adventure fantasy by Arthur Conan Doyle, it's the story of a maverick scientist (Wallace Beery, under a bushy beard) who finds a land that time forgot on a plateau deep within the South American jungles and comes back to London with a captured brontosaur to prove it. His expedition includes Bessie Love, the daughter of an explorer who disappeared on the previous expedition, and big-game hunter Lewis Stone. The ostensible stars of the picture are all upstaged by Willis O'Brien's dinosaurs, simple models brought to life with primitive stop-motion animation. Hardly realistic by any measure, these pioneering special effects are still a sight to behold, especially the lumbering brontosaur (which receives the most care from O'Brien, both foraging in his jungle and rampaging through the streets of London).

The Lost World was truncated for re-release in the 1930s and the original negative was subsequently lost. David Shepard meticulously "rebuilt" the film using material from eight different surviving prints from all over the world, cleaning and restoring along the way. The result, which is 50 percent longer than previously extant prints, is still not complete but closer than any version since its 1925 debut. The difference is not merely in restored scenes but in a rediscovered sense of grace in scenes filled out to their original detail and pace. The film moves and breathes once again like a silent film.

The disc features the choice of an original, modern score by the Alloy Orchestra and a classic orchestral score compiled and conducted by Robert Israel (both enjoyable and effective), 13 minutes of O'Brien's animation outtakes (including a couple of isolated frames that capture O'Brien manipulating his models), and rudimentary commentary by Arthur Conan Doyle historian Roy Pilot.

the fanboy soundtrack store:

Doctor Who: Variations on a Theme
Featuring four different arrangements of the famous Ron Grainer signature tune, this pressing of "Variations On A Theme" is actually a welcome reissue of a limited-edition title. The "Mood Version," as arranged by Mark Ayres, has already been heard in a slightly abridged form, opening and closing the soundtrack CD of "The Greatest Show In The Galaxy," and many video fans will recognize Keff McCulloch's light "Latin Version" as the tune which opened and closed the various "[insert Doctor/monster name here] Years" videos. The real prize is Dominic Glynn's haunting "Mood Version," which is worthy of opening a new season of the series itself.