Please excuse the silence...

Because the chaos of trying to get ready for a major show is not enough....

So, I was already a bit tweaky because I had the NY shows (ABAA and Westside Shadow) this coming weekend and the MARIAB Boston Fair the next weekend. This would normally be enough to bring me close to the edge.

On Friday, I committed to flying to the west coast to visit a client...leaving Monday and returning on the redeye Tue/Wed...landing in NY (where, I hope, I will meet my wife who will drive the van down...with the books...on her birthday). Flight, hotel, car arrangements are all made...I should be packed for the show tomorrow and all will be well *twitch*.

I met today with new clients with some truly exceptional items...that I must catalogue between now and...you know...Thursday. While packing, driving, flying, twitching, twitching, twitching.

I love what I do...truly, deeply, passionately....perhaps masochistically. Wish me luck, I should be in rare form by the Boston weekend. *twitch* No loud noises or sudden movements.

Anyway, I may be a bit silent here for a bit...I will, however, do my very best to blog the three fairs.

Book Theft Blog...

Not too long ago Travis McDade wrote a nice book on a book thief called, aptly enough, The Book Thief. He has, I have just discovered, also been running the blog Upward Departure...subtitled, in part, "Thoughts about book crimes and punishment..."

I have skimmed it and will be returning, when the dust of the next week settles, to delve deeply...as I know there is much to read and learn and grok. Enjoy.

Two Gold Men...

Also not bookish, and and can't really think of a way to make it so, but this was just posted and it is quite remarkable. Just watching it hurts muscles I am not convinced I have:

Weather modification for fun and pleasure...

Admittedly, this is not really bookish...but it is amazing *and* I promise that at least on book *will be* published about it, so it is "proto-bookish":

MIT Review has a short, yet amazing, article on China's plans for weather modification to see that no rain falls on their 91,000 seat open air stadium. Last year China purchased an IBM p575 supercomputer. This wee bit of hardware is capable of executing 9.8 trillion floating point operations per second. They are using it to model an area of 44,000 square kilometers (17,000 sq. miles) and it is apparently accurate enough to generate hourly forecasts for *each kilometer*. They then use silver iodide, dry ice and a liquid nitrogen based coolant shot/dropped from field artillery and planes. From the article:

Unsurprisingly, therefore, China's national weather-engineering program is also the world's largest, with approximately 1,500 weather modification professionals directing 30 aircraft and their crews, as well as 37,000 part-time workers--mostly peasant farmers--who are on call to blast away at clouds with 7,113 anti-aircraft guns and 4,991 rocket launchers.

Personally, I find the very idea of "controlling" weather intellectually pleasing...admittedly, it will likely lead to some catastrophic disaster...but, after all, a civilization can only last so long. Really, mixing supercomputers, interesting chemicals, anti-aircraft artillery and rocket launchers...I challenge you name something more fun than that.

On the bookish front, it is worth noting that the origin of weather control began in 1946 in the labs of General Electric discovered that silver iodide could create crystals around which cloud moisture would condense and form rain...on of the lead scientists in this work was Bernard Vonnegut, the brother of the late Kurt Vonnegut). Work hard enough, and there is always a book angle...

A lark with The Lark

So I'm cataloguing a very nice copy of two volume complete run of The Lark (San Fran, 1897). It was, for those who are not familiar with it, the American equivalent to the British "Yellow Book"...a blend of creative writing, cartoons and miscellany.

It was also the first place that Gelett Burgess' famed, "Purple Cow" first appeared (in Issue One):

I never saw a purple cow
I never hope to see one;
But I can tell you, anyhow,
I'd rather see than be one!

In the final issue (24 [N.B. this was followed by the penultimate issue, "Epilark"]), Burgess wrote the following (also with a great woodcut):

Ah, yes, I wrote the "Purple Cow"—
I'm Sorry, now, I wrote it;
But I can tell you Anyhow
I'll Kill you if you Quote it!

Vol. 2 includes two great photographs of R.L. Stevenson. Sometimes you forget how many truly wonderful things there are "out there". Sometimes they show up in your hands.

Revenge of unintended consequences...

Mix technology (in this case, stock footage and the web) with politics and what do you get? Further proof the Ed Tenner was right with his rather brilliant book, Why Things Bite Back: Technology and the Revenge of Unintended Consequences. Great read...very funny video.

Images from the FABA Fair

Here are a handful of images from Flordia. The first two are of the booth, right and left sides. We did not ship shelves down and...well...forgot to order them. Luckily I was able to borrow two from Steve and Edie across the isle.

Note the nice pipe and drap. This was, I am quite certain, the best run show we have done. It was relatively inexpensive per booth, yet they were absolutely on top of the look and feel of the show and PR.

second ad for the fair. They seemed to be on top of every aspect and everything seemed toI was watching the Discovery channel in the hotel on Friday night and was stunned to see a 30 run very, very smoothly.

They even circulated a nice survey on the final day covering everything from the "what could be better", "what worked", etc to getting a sense of sales and feedback that undoubtedly will help them in marketing efforts next year.

We are already signed up for next year (having spent three years on the wait list) and are genuinely looking forward to it.

The next image tries to show the venue as a whole. Arced ceiling, nicely strung lights, very festive. The hall was built for Big Band concerts and is really quite lovely. There are alcoves lining both sides that are used for either one or two dealers as well. It is a simply great hall for a book fair.

The final image is my Thing One in Assistant Mode. He was a great help this fair...and when not helping, he either read or (more likely) played game boy (I am reasonably certain he could be on fire and not notice while paying with his DS).

I'm spending the next week or so cataloguing a handful of new items that I hope to have at the New York fair. I'm already getting excited about NY (and Boston the following week).

Bearly news...

My sister opened the shade the other day and guess what she saw out on her back porch. Please note, in this image, that the small iron rod holding her bird feeder has been bent over to make his/her wee snack easier consume. For a full story, slog on over to my sister's blog. She was apparently quite freaked out...I think it is just brutally cool.

Final day, pack up and off...

Today was the last day of the fair. It was just a great weekend all around. Some great sales, some great buying and just a ton of people through the door. Another dealer told me that that he counted bodies through the door and was north of 160 on the Friday opening before there was a "break" in the flow.

Aidan was good helper at the show and had a good time. Even managed to find a very cool book on how printing presses work that he picked up as a reward of exemplary work. Pictures of the booth and boy will follow (when I get a cable).

The promoters were great. The venue is outstanding (was originally a big band hall). I was watching the Discovery Channel in the hotel room and was rather stunned to see a 30 second spot for the book fair. Pipe and drape on the booths, two nice pole lights in every booth. Did I mention that booths $450. Why can't other promoters pull off events like this?

We picked up the rental car and have made it across the state to my in-laws. Tomorrow will likely be a balance of cataloguing some books in preparation of a meeting on Tuesday and pool time. I hope others had as fun a weekend.

Days One and Two of the FABA fair (and a great meal)

Friday night was very interesting. There was a really big line/group waiting to get in at 530pm and the hall was filled and busy until it closed at 9:30. People were active and engaged....asking great questions, etc. I must admit, I was a bit surprised. Tampa/St. Petersburg can field a genuinely large and sophisticated biblio-crowd. On the other hand, I did not have a single sale all evening....until the last fifteen minutes where one sale made the fair/weekend/week/month. This is, of course, often the case...but it is always nice when things fall into place. So overall, it was just a great day. An easy setup, quick dinner, great evening event and a late-night dip in the hot-tub to sooth my aching feet. Fun had by all.

Saturday started early. We had breakfast on the way. I had something wildly unhealthy that is only *really* good below the Mason/Dixon Line...made correctly, you can actually feel the major arteries in your chest as you eat it. The fair started at 10am and closed up at 5pm. Again, it was genuinely busy all day long. While actual sales were reasonably soft, I had a large number of really "engaged" conversations and am confident that several are going to either result in new material coming in and/or new clients on the development side. There were also a large number of people who were very clearly "shopping" today with the intent of coming back tomorrow to buy. We shall see.

We were on the waiting list for this show for at least two years (and, actually, I think think three). I very nearly passed when they called because I have been just straight out this spring but Suzanne convinced me that we should really take a try at it. I could not be more pleased. Much to my surprise and pleasure, this is a great town for a book fair (and having an excuse to come south in early March is not too bad, either). Oh, and the buying at this fair has been very good, as well...more on this, perhaps, as the dust settles.

Finally, dinner was just great. Our hotel is less than a block from BayWalk, an open-air shopping/dinning complex. There we found Banbu. Banbu is bascally a Mongolian grill. If you are not familiar with the concept, you get a wee bowl and make your dinner (more than once, if you are so inclined). The first stage is the "seafood/meat" station with fresh squid, shrimp, chicken, pork, lamb, several iterations of dead cow and the like. Then there is the huge veggie section with everything from fresh mango to edanami to baby corn and freshly minced garlic. Finally, you go and choose your "sauce" and again, there is a tremendous range from the expected (sweet and sour, teriyaki, and peanut sauce) to the funky and fresh (outstanding Asian ginger, stunningly fiery "Banbu Red Pepper Ginger" and too many others to even fathom (there were at least 18 different sauces).

Then you bring your wee bowl of meat and veggie and prep bowl of sauce to the "bar" around a huge circular cooking surface (think very shallow wok with a hole in the center). The cook takes your bowl and puts it out in a "line" on the surface...along with those others who are ready. You stand there chatting while it cooks, the cooks come by and shuffle things about and, at the end, drizzle your chosen sauce over the top (only at the end as most have some sugar component that will caramelize to burn if on at the start). Then they scrap it off the grill and onto a plate for you. A few shakes of roasted sesame seeds and you are off.

Everything is extremely fresh and nice. The service was great and the food was just fabulous. The trick, is fighting the urge to make a nice big bowl of whatever yummy combo you have in mind and making a lovely *small* bowl. This way, you can make several trips through the system and try all sorts of good things. Suffice it to say that I had several courses and finished with a lovely "desert" of grilled pineapple, mandarin orange and mango with a splash of asian ginger at the finish.

Back to the hotel by 8pm and two hoursish in the pool with Aidan and off to bed and blogging well sated and prune-y. Tomorrow runs from 11am to 4pm and then we pack up, pick up our car and drive to the Jupiter area to see Suzanne's parents.

Set up in good time and a bookish meme...

I am completely set up and back in the hotel to shower, have dinner and get ready for the first night. We are open from 5:30pm to 9:30pm this evening. I doubt I’ll blog when I get back, but one never knows. Until then, I offer:

So one who was, prior to this, one of my more favorite humans on earth just “tagged” me (figuratively speaking), with a bookish meme that has been kicking about for a few years. It is rather simple and arguably interesting. Take a look at what you are currently reading, page 123, find the fifth full sentence then transcribe the following three sentences. I am, as you know, “vacationing” in FL (yeah, I know, I’m doing a fair….but it is not really “work”, is it )...thus, the reading I took with me is…er...on the light and fun side:

1: Moore, Christopher, Island of the Sequined Love Nun (Avon, 1997):
“Why did you put us in tree?”
“I didn’t. It was an old island guy. I think he’s going to eat us.” [4, I know, but it was the middle of a quotation]

2: Montalbano, William, Basilica (Jove, 2000):
“They didn’t happen to say by any chance from what direction they heard it. Miami? Further south maybe?”
The Pope grinned. “Nice to get out. Air the mind, stretch the mental legs. Relax.” [I follow directions poorly.]

3: Millington, Mil. Things my girlfriend and I have argued about. (Flame, 2002):
There was never even a brief moment of indecision, climbing into the ‘reduced to clear’ bins, putting anything he passed that was remotely hat-like on his head and beaming right across his face. I’d have to rush after him and drag him back; there’s little Peter can be taught about controlling the balance of power.” [Admittedly, I read this myself already...but I am currently reading it out loud at night to my wife for reasons that are too funny to go into. Read the book, change the names, it is often far too close. N.B. Mil “started” with a website of the same name...take a look.]

4: Salen, Katie, The Ecology of Games: Connecting Youth, Games, and Learning (MIT Press, 2008).
In one, players can learn about aspects of the world that particular games model, such as consumption in Animal Crossing or urban planning in Sim City. This is a kink of subject-centered literacy focused on examples of human practice. In the other, players can learn about procedurality itself, an inscriptive practice that will become more important only as computers continue to expand their role in society. [Always good to have something that makes you appreciate your escapist reading all the more.]

Sarah, in tagging me with this, noted that she hoped it would distract me from my re-dabbling with AD&D (only, of course, for the “family time” with the boys and Suz). This, mind you, from a woman currently reading, Cat Talk: What Your Cat is Trying to Tell You [Hint: Pick one: 1) Feed me. 2) Pet me. 3) Leave me alone. 4) Pardon me, I seem to have a wee bit of tinsel hanging out of my ass, would you mind pulling it out….slowly.]

I am now inflicting this upon Kent (of Ken Sanders fame) and Don (of Rabelais Books). Tag, you’re it. [N.B. Kent does not blog, to my knowledge...He is welcome to post here...now and in the future.]

Happy Pi Day....

At 1:59 tomorrow will be the Pi-iest. 3.14159.

Eat some pi, bisect a circle...run amok.

Safely in FL...explosive ideas on the page nearly get me in trouble...

We are safely ensconced in our hotel in St. Petersburg, FL. We arrived at 2:20, my eldest spawn arrived from Miami at 3:25. It was almost as if we planned it.

Passing through security at Logan, one of my Pelican carry-ons was "pulled" for extra inspection (apparently the vague, blurry, completely not metallic nature of the case was somehow concerning. So I open it at the "special counter" and the guy swabs the open edges and across the top of the bubble bags that were at the top of the case and put it in his special, very expensive, sensor machine. The result:

My box of books tested positive for "Explosives". I wish I was making this up. The TSA guys were very cool (my first inspector had to call over the shift head after the "positive" explosive test. They asked me nicely what was in there and that they would need to inspect the contents. As they pulled the 1790 Stockdale edition of Crusoe out, I suggest that the cannon fire entombed therein might be responsible...and they both laughed. We had a rather fun discussion regarding the explosive power of ideas and that books might be more dangerous than most other things........but not for air travel and they decided to allow me get on with my day.

Oh, and no cavity search. All things considered, a nice day of travel (and how often can you say that these days. Dinner at Johnny Rockets per eldest's pleading request.

We are supposed to have two ice/sleet/snow storms at home while we are down here. I am going now....the pool beckons.

Books have arrived in St. Petersburg and...

I am nearly packed. It is 11pm, do you know where your book dealer is? We will be en route in the early morn and setup is on Friday. With luck, I'll be posting as we go. Hope springs eternal.

Why I love my clients: Reason 347

I just received a check from a client on the west coast in a big envelope. Why the big envelope you ask...to hold the lovely bag of nuts and such she sent. Money and a nice snack. Life is good.

Maine Dec. of Independence to stay in VA

Maine and Wiscasset have lost a court case to bring back a D of I that belonged (at one time) to the town.

Quick, someone find the Cleric...

Gary Gygax, co-creator of D&D/AD&D has passed away. Chances are, he would not like the permanent loss of 1 point of Constitution...so perhaps we just have to let go...

(A)D&D was a pretty big part of my adolescence. I have many fond memories of whiling away hours (and afternoons...and days) playing with friends...preparing to play with friends...and as a DM, spending countless hours preparing dungeons for adventurers. When you grow up in rural Maine, being able to escape to realms of limitless adventures was remarkably important.

Just a few months ago, after gathering dust for a decade and a half, I dusted off my books and my dice and started another adventure with my wife and two sons (and, on occasion, some friends). I am actually planning, after all these years, on picking up the 4th Edition (all of my books are D&D and AD&D 1st Ed) to play with Suz and the boys. At 6 and 10, the boys are totally enamored with the thrill of the sword, bow and spell.

The world is less rich with the lose of one such as Gary. Few people can point to entire genres and know that they are largely responsible. If you are interested in such things, here are some wonderful messages from some of the bigger names in game design and play.