Road trip!

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

It's the Toronto chapter of the first Symphony again. I love it just for that! :)

Matrix Dragon, J. Random Nutter

That was exceptionally fun. It's interesting to see Earth, and in particular the US during a time we're not directly familiar with. Seeing things from the ground level on a bomb-across-the-States road trip is decidedly enjoyable, especially from one of the Vocaloid stories.

I also really appreciated the little touches; things like Gumi and Rin being decidedly unwilling to interact with GENOM, since this is still mid-21st Century, and they're still a going concern. Or the fact that Earth was in the middle of ramping up into being part of the Galactic scene, and the changes that are involved to things like the museums. We've seen that before with the Toronto Zoo and Ontario Science Center, but not so close to first contact.

Also, it amuses me that Niagara Falls are a major wedding destination at this stage of time. Like a miniature Las Vegas without the casinos (at least, none mentioned).

That was a hell of a lot of fun!

It's been a while since I've read The Vocaloid Variations, but there's something about seeing the Vocaloids just be -people- that I find a great deal more appealing than anything that was ever done with them on a stage. Of course, that's a common theme with me and Eyrie--one of the biggest reasons I've stayed with the series all these years.

Thanks for another great story.

------
Authors of our fates
Orchestrate our fall from grace
Poorest players on the stage
Our defiance drives us straight to the edge

Was that a Star Trek: New Earth reference back there towards the end? :)

>Was that a Star Trek: New Earth reference back there towards the end?
>:)

Not specifically; rather, they are both references to a phrase that was used to summarize the original series when it was being pitched to the network. (For those who may not know, Wagon Train was a popular Western of the time, so the description would have meant something very specific to a TV executive.)

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

>>Was that a Star Trek: New Earth reference back there towards the end?
>>:)
>
>Not specifically; rather, they are both references to a phrase that
>was used to summarize the original series when it was being pitched to
>the network. (For those who may not know, Wagon Train was a
>popular Western of the time, so the description would have meant
>something very specific to a TV executive.)

Ah, a case of parallel references then.

For those that don't know, there was a series of Star Trek novels that took place between the events of the first and second movies, wherein the Enterprise is tasked with escorting a full-blown colonization fleet composed mainly of privately owned vessels...

...And a brand new class of colony ship drafted by none other than Scotty himself, known as the Conestoga-class.

The real interesting thing about these ships was that Scotty had the brilliant idea to make the entire warp drive and primary impulse drive a separate construct altogether that can be docked and undocked from a Conestoga so maintenance and repairs can be conducted without endangering any of the colonists. Known as "Mules", they of course had a few more of these than they had Conestogas, and they were kept by a "roundhouse" ship where Scotty headed up that part of the operation.

It's a great series of books that kinda recaptures the TOS feel, but has the elements of the films as well.

And the first novel in the series is titled, Wagon Train to the Stars.

LAST EDITED ON Aug-12-20 AT 00:08 AM (EDT)
 
>...And a brand new class of colony ship drafted by none other than
>Scotty himself, known as the Conestoga-class.

Huh, I didn't know about this part (not having read the books). I suppose it's the obvious thing to call them, although, as noted in the annotations, it's a bit of a popular misnomer—those wagons the westward settlers used in the 19th centuries weren't Conestogas. Conestoga wagons were heavy freight wagons, not suitable for long-distance transport across the undeveloped prairie.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

In their own personal Blues Brothers riff, Gumi is Jake and Rin is Elwood. Keep that in mind as you observe Aykroyd's moves as Elwood in this clip (which is from two years before the movie!). :)

https://youtu.be/FTWH1Fdkjow

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

"...it looked to Abhi like they would have had a shorter run and made better time if they had stayed in Canada and gone north of the lake..."

...but then they wouldn't have made it to Quaker Steak and Lube, so there's that.

Peter Eng
--
Insert humorous comment here.

So, G....

They eventually were able to close in the U-505 to prevent further deteriorization? because, when I visited it back in... oh, 1984, while the entry was covered, the u-505 itself was still exposed to the elements.

>They eventually were able to close in the U-505 to prevent further
>deteriorization?

Yep, they did that in 2004, after a several-year restoration and research process.

The Naval Institute Press publishes a nice coffee table book about the history of the sub, before and since going into the museum.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

So when and why did Brainiac remove Metropolis? Was it covered in one of the other GA stories?

>So when and why did Brainiac remove Metropolis? Was it covered in one
>of the other GA stories?

Here y'go.

Short answer: this year, and "who knows? Brainiac." :)

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

This is why I hate machines.

>This is why I hate machines.

"And that's why I hate politicians."
- Gunnery Chief Ashley M. Williams, RSMC, future Prime Minister of Salusia and Federation Senator from the Salusian Empire

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.