Where Are You, Philip K. Dick?

I Know, I Know -
Conventional wisdom has it that Ol' Phil popped his clogs back in the Eighties, and that he's been safely in the land of the not-living since then.  Unconventional wisdom - a.k.a. swivel-eyed conspiranoid loonwaffles - hold that Ol' Phil was getting Too Close To The Truth and so They "disappeared" him, to their prison under the Mare Tranquillatus on the Moon*.

Visiting hours 14:00 - 18:00
You must provide your own spaceship

     "Gosh" I hear you ponder.  "What has the old duffer ranting madly now?"  and I also heard you add that bit about "Emmerdale" being on soon.
     Well, an advert, actually.  This is one of the consequences of having the sound muted whilst in between your programme, in a commercial break.  Conrad likes to snicker quietly to himself that on countless occasions he has no idea what was being pimped, because there was no sound.
     This particular advert, however, piqued my curiosity.  It featured an artefact known as the "Amazon Echo Dot".  Art?

What Dot

     The images seemed to imply that people were being excessively lazy and getting AED to work for them.  This was a mere precursor to the far more terrifying Amazon Echo.  Art?

Father and son

     Allow me to illustrate what that taller cylinder is capable of: "voice interaction, music playback, making to-do lists, setting alarms, streaming podcasts, playing audiobooks, and providing weather, traffic and other real time information"
     Yeah.  It can also control other digital devices, for which Conrad hopes it has to ask permission.  HOW LONG TILL HUMANS ARE OBSOLETE!
     I do so want you so see that this is the thin end of the wedge, because by 2020 Amazon will run the whole planet and you Hom. Sap. are going to be following Echo's orders, rather than issuing them - which is what PKD worried and warned about in equal degree.  Can we have a comment from the great man himself?

"You should also worry about nicotine smoke-wands, Conrad.  Really."

     Philip K. Dick - a worrying predictor of the future.

     But enough doom and gloom, drama and tragedy -  let's move on to lighter matters!

Drama 24-7
Yes, I know I said we'd move on from that, this is - actually let Art illuminate what I mean.  Art?  Put down your coal and spoon.

     You can't quite see the logo on the awning there, so let me inform you that it reads "24-7 Drama ".  This was the scene in the car park next to Sascha's and Afflecks in Gomorrah-on-the-Irwell on Wednesday.  Apparently a film shoot was taking place as of 10:00 ante meridian, and they were still there when I walked past at 12:30 post meridian.
     24-7 Drama provide all kinds of film cameras, from the GoPro to Arriflex - I have no idea what these are, but it says so on their website - and have worked with the Beeb on things like "Dick and Dom", "The Sara Jane Adventures" and "Raised by Wolves".   If they were shooting in a Manchester car park it's got to be for some especially grim, gritty Northern drama.  "Raised by Weasels"?

I've Got A Huge Chopper
Wellllll, kinda.  I did wonder about using this as today's title, and decided not to - it might very easily be misinterpreted, even though after you click on it the articles are still thoroughly safe for work.  I know we've been sailing close to the wind on that in recent titles as they contain the word "Hell" but this is a literary reference so that makes it okay.
     Anyway, The Haul, from my good friend at Church Street Market's Bookbuyers:

Your attention is drawn to upper centre

     This ("Military Helicopters") was an especial bargain, being only £1, and the only thing that your humble scribe enjoys more than a book full of heavy metal thunder is one that didn't cost much.  It has big gatefold painted artwork of these flying eggwhisks.  Art?

The Chinook:all the glamour of a flying bin-lorry

     For readers not fortunate enough to live in the Allotment of Eden, a "bin-lorry" would be known in South Canada as a "refuse-wagon".
     There are also very detailed diagrams of these critter's interiors.  Art?  Less coal, more picture.

     I shall be merciful and keep the picture small.
     So, if I were being honest**, I should say I have a huge BOOK about choppers.  But then where would the fun be in baiting you all mercilessly?  Exactly!

Finally -
Whilst on the subject of helicopters, meet the Piasecki HRP 1G.

Fruity!

     Know, for obvious reasons, as the "Flying Banana", it had that strange arrangement in order to have the two rotors hitting each other in flight.



*  I'm only making a bit of this up.
**  Fat chance!