New Etsy Shop

I have started an Etsy Shop to clear out some old stuff from the back of the Slashboing closet. Shop away, people who still read a blog that hasn't updated since 2014.

The Maltese Falcon in Calgary

Chrononauts assemble! As part of the Cineplex classic film series, The Maltese Falcon will be shown this November at the Scotiabank Theatre Chinook.

Those not familiar with the adventures of  Sam Spade can watch the trailer here:



I'm so in for this, anyone with me?

Showtimes for The Maltese Falcon

• Wednesday, November 17, 7:00pm
• Sunday, November 28, 1:00pm

I have posted the rest of the film series here to pique your interests, while the complete showtimes & schedule can be found on the Classic Film Series website.

December: "It's a Wonderful Life"
January: "A Star Is Born" (1954)
February: "Doctor Zhivago"
March: "The Wizard Of Oz"
April: "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest"
May: "The Sound of Music"
June: "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"
July: "Spartacus"
August: "M*A*S*H"

Hollywook Jabberwocky

Lost recap in old time radio

Catch Up On 'Lost' (Via a 1920s Radio Show) -- powered by Cracked.com

Canadian Steampunk from 1978

Note the Calgarian steampunk skirt-lifter. Fantastic!

Gatsby if you can: Twenties Roar January 23rd

The 11th annual Bill Brooks Prostate Cancert Benefit has a Twenties/Great Gatsby theme. This would make a very interesting outing for the Calgary Anachronauts.

However, the tickets are $250 which may preclude many from attending.

Information and tickets

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Add from "24 Hours"
05 Dec 2008

Calgary Steampunk Gathering: Anachronauts Assemble!

I am planning a Steampunk gathering at Heritage Park in Calgary for Saturday, October 11th. Heritage Park is a 1880-1910 reenactment settlement, so it is the perfect setting for our well mannered and anachronistic hyjinks.

The idea is to have lunch at the Wainwright Hotel, ride the steam train, enjoy the free amusements, and have lots of pictures taken in our steampunk finery.

I'm looking for all Calgary area steampunks, neo-victorians, pulp adventurers and keen photographers to attend. Costumes are not required as it should be a fun day out for all. This is Thanksgiving weekend, which will have a strong effect either way on attendance, though I hope works to our benefit. If you are interested in this event, either post here or email me direct.

Keep it brassy!

Ely rhymes with freely

I was in Ely, Minnesota for a week on business. I was very busy, but I did manage to get out and take some photos. Ely is a small mining and fishing resort town, which makes for some interesting architecture. I'm a sucker for vintage and well worn signs, and here the bar signs seemed to be from the 50's. There are are also great rusted out and preserved historical mining implements to be gawked at. One day I came back to the hotel, and the parking lot was full of antique cars. Apparently there were a few steam cars driving around town, but I didn't catch any of those.

However I did spot a cool boarded up castle-style mansion of sorts. The signs said it was being renovated into condominiums.

My flickr set is here for your Ely viewing pleasure:


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Fast Talking, High Trousers

We interrupt our regular silence with an unscheduled post. Do you like old movies? I think some of my regular readers do. Here is a good natured summary of period films from Family Guy.

How many cubits to the furlong?

Inspired by the relative strength of the Canadian dollar, and the vintage adventures of laughing magpie, last night I decided to explore eBay for some interesting and stylish shirts and jackets.

I found some great smoking jackets, such as this little number (150167050959) that were just begging for me. Sizing can be tricky with these sorts of things, so it is always best to work from an item's dimensions rather than trying to divine what "XL" meant to another era, region, or company. I grabbed a measuring tape out of my wife's sewing kit and took my measurements. To my surprise I found that all the items I wanted would fit just nicely, if anything, they would be too big.

Using this newfound cache of eBay merchants that had stocked a wide variety of shirts and jackets in appropriate sizes, I started putting together an order. On a whim I looked at other online stores, just to compare prices. A different sizing chart pegged me as a size "medium."

There is no way on Jebus's green Earth that I'm a medium.

I measured myself again. I looked back at the chart. Something was wrong. Then I did something seemingly silly. I measured my tape measure. Calibrating one's instruments is an important step in science, and a lesson quickly forgotten in a home environment.



My "inch" divisions were about an inch and a quarter, according to every other yardstick and tape measure in the house. The bogus tape measure is now in the trash, and I am really glad I didn't complete any transactions.

There is the possibility that all the rulers are wrong, so what I really need is a iodine-stabilized Helium-Neon laser.

Slowly I turned

I'm sad that I didn't grow up in a family of vaudevillians. I want to know the names off all the burlesque bits they did. Here are video clips showing three variations on the sketch referred to as "Slowly I turned" by three classic comedians.

Links to the Youtube clips should the embed fail:
[Abbott & Costello]
[I Love Lucy]
[Three Stooges]

1927 Light-sword /w batteries

From the Modern Mechanics blog comes a 1927 advertisement for flashlights and batteries that may be an early precursor of the Star Wars lightsaber.

With a Blade of LIGHT he slew the Greatest of all Demons ~ Darkness

Erotic Robot Pictures

I don't know what sort of commentary I can make on an image such as this one here. A nude woman hugging a Dalek? What is its origin? Who is the woman pictured? Where can I find more just like it?

My source is the foreign language blog (or Flog) "Fogonazos," where the author has compiled an extensive collection of photographs featuring robots and pinup girls. Explore for yourself and come up with your own jokes.

Atomic girls away!

Mondo Lounge Atomic Frolic in Las Vegas

While on the prowl for Atomic Tiki drinks and cinema for laughingmagpie's annual luau, I found that there is an honest to goodness Tiki/Lounge convention in Las Vegas the weekend of January 26-28 2007.

"Mondo Lounge Atomic Frolic is the Ultimate Retro Party and Conference. The event is themed around the lifestyle and culture of America from 1957 to 1963 & will bring together fans of Retro Fashion, Tiki, Exotica Music, Car Culture, Bachelor Pad Living, Pin-Ups, Swing Scene, Vintage Las Vegas Rat Pack era"

I will be unable to attend this event with only two week's notice. I think some of us MUST go down next year, should the event be repeated. There is a Friday night pyjama party, Bongo jam session and a Fez contest. Hold me down!

The vintage fashion, Tiki and lounge trade show would also be full of one-of-a-kind finds. A tour of vintage Las Vegas? A Burlesque show? A Miss Mondo Atomic contest?

I'm a little dizzy with the thought of it all. I need a Manhattan, a well tamped pipe and a good sitdown.