Celebrating National Science Fiction Day 2021

Since about 2011, January 2 has been set aside as National Science Fiction Day. The date is significant as it is the birthday of Isaac Asimov, one of the most prolific science-fiction writers of the 20th century. He coined the term 'robotics' and developed the '3 Laws of Robotics' and contributed many more terms, ideas and stories over his wonderful career.

I've been a fan of science-fiction since I was a kid. Born a year before the moon landings, I watched Saturn V's launch and saw the USS Enterprise every week in syndication. I watched 'Battlestar Galactica' on the tube and 'Star Wars' on the silver screen. Tom Baker was my Doctor in the early 80's. I loved old sci-fi B-movies on the late late show such as 'Twenty Million Miles to Earth' and 'Forbidden Planet'. Science-fiction even showed up in music from Sheb Wooley's 'Flying Purple People Eater' to Billy Thorpe's 'Children of the Sun." Comics added another medium to enjoy with titles like 'Starblazer', comic adaptations of 'Lost in Space' and a story of an alien come to Earth in 'Action Comics' Superman. I read the newspaper strips of 'Flash Gordon' and 'Buck Rogers' and used to clip them and then glue them into spiral-bound notebooks to make my own comic books. This all has molded me into the sci-fi lover I am today.

I continue to read novels, classic and new, comics and I collect spacecraft, robots and space pistols. I have a small collection but I'm always looking to add to it.

There are many ways to celebrate National Science Fiction Day. You could do a marathon of your favorite movies or TV shows. You could relax with a good book or some comics. Even better, share your love of sci-fi and tell some one about your favorite book, show, etc. Whatever you do, take time to enjoy!

What is your favorite book, show, movie, franchise? Tell us and share that love!

I finally finished THE MANDALORIAN

 

Okay. I finally got around to watching the last episodes of The Mandalorian. OMG! ! ! What a phenomenal ending to this season and the promises in the credit scene just made me giddy with delight!

It's been so hard dodging all of the reviews and reactions on FB and the interwebs but I think I did pretty good and was genuinely surprised at all of the Easter eggs and revelations. I can't wait to see what the future holds with this show and the others that are coming in the near future.

If you haven't watched the final episode, have you been able to steer clear of all of the hype?

Covid and Conventions

Where I'm living now, which is very rural, we have Covid but not in the numbers that afflicts the larger counties of Texas. That's not to say that we forgo all common sense and flaunt our immune systems, though. I feel that we may be more common sense about it out here than anywhere because I definitely see more face coverings than I do when I venture back into heavily populated areas. We all wear them when we can't social distance and we wash and sanitize those hands! 

I took a chance on moving some old store product at the Hunt County Comic Expo, not really worried about the pandemic because of the above realizations. I also knew that the guy putting the show on wouldn't balk on taking care of the vendors and show-goers. And he didn't.

Brigandry Games in Commerce, Texas has enough space that Cody Glenn could space the aisles out to give visitors room to move. Vendor spots were still next to each other, but that wasn't a worry. Sanitizer was everywhere. Everyone was required to mask up from the time they walked in to the time they left. I was wearing a mask that my mother-in-law had made. It was 2-ply and thick. Occasionally, I had to catch a quick breath for my lung capacity has never fully recovered from my issues back in 2017. Other than that, everyone did their part to make it a safe day.

But, the turnout was still low. I can't blame anyone for being worried about the second wave. It's gonna happen, the question is how big will it be. I have a friend back in Ft. Worth who tested positive the day before the event (she isn't connected to it in any way) and is at home going through mild symptoms.

My next door neighbors were Wednesday's Mid-Week Break in Denton and Castle Jones Vintage. The big draw was voice actress Stephanie Nadolny who voices multiple characters in the Dragonball Z franchise mainly Gohan and Young Goku. For those of us who are older and know Vince Vance and the Valiants, well, she sang with them, too. Plenty of cosplayers present so checkout Daniel Calhoun's Captain AmeriDad page to see the highlights there.

A date is set for next year and hopefully we will have vaccines and be on our way to normalcy or the "new normal" or whatever you want to call it. I don't know if I'll be back, since I don't have any more product, but I do know that I'll be spreading the news about it and visiting myself, because we need that social contact and community especially in times like these. Just make sure to mask up, sanitize and distance.

Stay safe and check out the the Facebook Page for photos from the show.

What I'm Watching: Hubie Halloween

The Kid took off to see grandma for the weekend and that means Daddy gets to watch what he wants. I saw this trailer the other day and decided to watch it tonight, and I have to admit I was very pleased with it.

Adam Sandler delivers his usual town idiot character, the sweet but bullied imbecile. This movie has a ton of cameos and the typical adult humor that Sandler movies are known for, but it is still a pretty good show. In addition to the Happy Madison stable of collaborators and actors, there are several actors from my daughters Disney shows. One of those actors that was preparing to be in this movie is the late Cameron Boyce who passed away last year. He had played Sandler's on-screen son in Grown Ups and Grown Ups 2. In fact, Sandler has a special dedication to Boyce at the end of the movie.

All in all, a fun movie with quite a few laughs and tons of Halloween atmosphere. Give it a shot and let me know what you think!

What I'm Watching: The Monster Squad

I had all intentions of watching a new vampire movie with the Kid, but she was worried that it was too scary. Yeah, definitely need to have her watch more so that I can build up her tolerance. Anyway, we ended up watching THE MONSTER SQUAD. 

This movie came out the year after I joined the Navy so I wasn't necessarily the target market. In fact, I'm not even sure that the kids involved were the target market. This was the first time that I had watched it and have to admit that I really enjoyed it.

Now remember, I watched it with my 10 yo daughter. She probably should be a little older to watch this, but I explain things to my kid. Your discretion is advised. There is language and some scenes that probably will need some context by parents. I had to explain what a virgin is and how some things the boys did were not really appropriate. Some of the jokes were dated, but overall, if your watching and can lend context, then they should like it. My kid did. 

Are you a "Monster Squad kid?" Or are you like me and watching it much later in life?