Retro Thing

The most beautiful libraries in the world

I love libraries, especially if they contain musty and almost-forgotten texts. I went to university shortly before the arrival of the Internet and the modern onslaught of searchable electronic journals. As a result, I spent many hours lurking in various reading rooms and thumbing through stacks of books. Lest I get overly sentimental, I wasted a lot of time searching for needles in those bibliographic haystacks.

Many libraries - especially ancient ones - share a mystical beauty. Internationally renowned architechtural photographer Guillaume de Laubier's 248 page hardcover captures the elegance of more than 20 of these architectural treasures: "From the dramatic, baroque Library of the Institut de France in Paris, to the splendid Vatican Library in Rome; from the majestic Royal Library in El Escorial, Spain, to the famed New York Public Library, a Beaux-Arts masterpiece-here are some of the most exquisite libraries of the Western world."

The Most Beautiful Libraries in the World

An unlikely book from a rock star

Before Brian May of Queen was a multi-millionaire rock guitarist, he was a shaggy haired graduate student successfully pursuing a doctoral degree in astronomy at Imperial College in London. He abandoned a career in academia to grind out the guitar lines for Bohemian Rhapsody and other bombastic Queen mega-hits.

May has returned to his first love as the co-author of "Bang! The Complete History of the Universe," which takes a look at the goings-on in the Universe from its formation more than 13 million billion years ago through its predicted demise a couple of million billion years from next Thursday.

May doesn't really see anything odd about his dual interests: "I think there's a sort of purity about both of them," he recently told The Guardian. "Because you can immerse yourself in thoughts of the universe, or in music, and you're really abstracted. You're a million miles away from all your worries and personal problems and the dust and smoke of where you are."

Visit the official Bang! web site [via space.com]

World's First Printed Atlas Sells for £2.1m -- Mistakes And All

Sotheby's auction house has sold a copy of the world's first printed atlas -- the Cosmographia -- for the record sum of £2,136,000. The 1478 book was the crown jewel of a 600 piece collection owned by Lord Wardington, who passed away last year. It was one of only two copies still in private hands and went to an unnamed private collector (just look for the befuddled billionaire who can't find New York).

Ptolemy -- a second century Greek-speaking geographer, astronomer and astrologer -- compiled information from the Greeks and Romans to create a 'Geographica' that eventually became the foundation of the 1478 printed work. As you might expect, there are some gross inaccuracies; the undiscovered Americas are entirely absent and familiar landmasses tend to be distorted, resulting in a slightly alien world.

Don't fret if you haven't got a couple of million quid lying around for your own copy; a team of Swiss researchers at Bern University published a complete German version at the end of September, and an annotated translation of the technical chapters can be yours for a mere $32.95.

Old atlas breaks auction record
More on Ptolemy's Cosmographia

Free Solar Water Heater Book

David Bainbridge (now an Associate Professor at Alliant International University) published The Integral Passive Solar Water Heater Book back in 1981. It has been out of print for many years, but is now available again on the 'Net as a downloadable acrobat file. I've only skimmed it, but there are a lot of clever ideas hidden on these 25 year-old pages.

"The water heaters covered in this book make a great DIY solar project.  For a few hundred dollars and a weekend of labor, you can build one of these solar water heaters.  It will pay back its initial cost in a year or two.   One of these water heaters can save about 4000 KWH in a year -- about the same amount of energy that a 1KW PV costing around $10,000 would save!"

The Integral Passive Solar Water Heater Book

Disney comic strip artist's guide

Carson Van Osten is a well known Disney illustrator who inked countless Disney comic books. In the mid 1970s he put together a brilliant panelized how-to guide that encapsulates years of hard-won cartooning knowledge on seven witty pages. After circulating around Disney, it became a runaway underground classic.

Carson recently stumbled across a grainy scanned Xerox of his handout on Mark Kennedy's Temple of the Seven Golden Camels site. Inspired by the positive comments, he forwarded an original copy of the handout to Mark, who posted beautiful high-resolution scans for everyone to enjoy.

Comic Strip Artist's Kit: Redux

Free online issues of Compute! magazine

Compute! was a fantastic computer hobbyist magazine published between 1979 through 1994. Its hallowed pages covered Atari, Apple, Commodore, Texas Instruments, Timex/Sinclair, and many other early personal computers.

It is getting difficult to find vintage copies, but the Classic Computer Magazine Archive features the text of hundreds of vintage articles from this magazine and others. You won't find every issue online, but Kevin Savetz just contacted us to point out that the full text of 21 more issues is now online, including the Fall 1979 premiere.

The only downfall of the archive is that it doesn't include pictures or classic ads (and lusting after ludicriously high-tech gear was half the fun). What's immediately evident is the scope and relative complexity of the articles: "PET Cassette Format Revisited", "Atari Video Graphics And The New GTIA" and page-turners like "Recursive BASIC Subroutines." Definitely worth retrosurfing!

Index of Compute! articles

16 rpm Talking Book of "Treasure Island"

Audio books, books-on-tape, or whatever you choose to call them are a booming business; some estimates as high as 2 billion dollars annually in the US.  Recent interest in audio books has been spiked by iPods and other portable electronic players, but before that audio books were a healthy enterprise on cassette.  They're a great way to lighten a lengthy commute, get some housework done, and catch up on classic literature that you might not otherwise read in book form.

The thing that might surprise some is that audio books go way back.  You could call a lot of children's albums audio books, but unabridged works have long been available on LP (either as a straight reading, or dramatized), many special recordings for the blind, and there was also this Talking Book series of recordings.

This 1958 set of eight 7" records follows the 45rpm form factor right down to the great big hole, but these discs spin at 16rpm.  I estimate that each side of a platter would take some 15 - 20 minutes to play at that speed, so the set lasts for four hours.  Voice giant Hans Conried (Snidely Whiplash, Disney's Captain Hook) reads this unabridged "Treasure Island", and other sets in the series featured Basil Rathbone, John Carradine and Ronald Coleman.

I haven't heard these as my only 16rpm turntable isn't here.  I'd like to give the Talking Book a spin (sorry) as I've never read "Treasure Island", and both Conreid's impeccable diction and sinister growl might be the best way to enjoy it.

Conried's voice credits

Get 50% Off Essential Retro: The Vintage Technology Guide

Essential Retro is a 228 page glimpse at a few hundred of my favorite vintage and retro-styled devices. Order a copy from the official website and get 50% off the cover price. This offer expires at midnight on Sunday May 14, so hurry!

Visit the official Essential Retro site (essentialretro.com)

BASIC Computer Games: Paper-Based File Sharing

BASIC Computer Games (Microcomputer Edition) by David Ahl was one of the first computer books to make a lasting impression on my malleable young mind. I spent hundreds of hours keying in the programs on these pages, teaching myself some rudimentary coding skills in the process. In fact, I still think that studying someone else's well-written code is one of the most important learning tools for a programmer.

One thing I really miss about those early days is the proliferation of more-or-less standard programming tools. Nearly every machine had BASIC in ROM, offering a common starting point for would-be coders.

I had almost forgotten about this book until Paul Bissex sent me a link to an article on his site. His writeup includes a printout of the old Mugwump program (which I remember running on an old DEC VAX) and he's even taken the time to translate some of the programs into different languages.

BASIC Computer Games [thanks for the flashback, Paul!]

I Am 8-Bit: Art Inspired By Classic Videogames

I'm not sure how to introduce I am 8-bit. It's an annual art show that features reinterpretations of 1980s arcade imagery (their current show runs until May 19, 2006 at Gallery Nineteen Eighty Eight in L.A.). I am 8-bit also exists as a brilliant retro artsy website and has metamorphosed into a brand new 156-page color book from Chronicle Books:

"Pac-Man. Frogger. Super Mario Bros. These classic videogames are burned into the collective consciousness of an entire generation, thanks to countless hours spent at pizza parlors and bowling alleys across the country. Now artists such as Gary Baseman, Tim Biskup, and Ashley Wood put their memories to paper, canvas, and wood to create original works of art inspired by the art of the videogame. ... With more than 100 thought-provoking, amusing, and simply fun pieces of original art, i am 8-bit is a pixilated stroll down memory lane."

More about I am 8-bit (the book)
More about I am 8-bit (the art collective/website)

Does Anything Eat Wasps?

New Scientist has compiled a book of whacky scientific questions & answers:

'Have you ever thought up a question so completely off-the-wall, so seemingly ridiculous, that you couldn't even find the courage to ask it? Maybe at the sports bar you were transported by the beauty of your beer to wonder, "How long could I live on beer alone?" Or, cycling through the park, you mused, "Did nature invent any wheels?" Or looking up at the night sky, you had a moment of angst, "What would happen if the moon suddenly disappeared -- if it were vaporized or stolen by aliens?'

And, yes, many things eat wasps, but you'll have to pick up a copy of this affordable 224 page book to find out more.

Does Anything Eat Wasps? And 101 Other Unsettling, Witty Answers to Questions You Never Thought You Wanted to Ask

On the Edge: The Spectacular Rise and Fall of Commodore

This well researched 548 page hardcover book tells the story of Commodore through 44 hours of interviews with former engineers and managers.

"The Commodore years are tumultuous, owing to their volatile founder, Jack Tramiel. He pushes his team to extreme limits, demanding that they almost kill themselves to meet his lofty expectations. Against all odds, his engineers deliver more color, more character, and more value than either Apple or IBM.

While other companies receive more press, Commodore sells more computers. They cut a path of destruction through the competition, knocking out Sinclair, Tandy, Texas Instruments, and Atari and badly hurting Apple.

Unfortunately, Tramiel's cut throat tactics also prove to be his undoing. He uses up his managers and employees like disposable ink cartridges, producing the highest employee turnover rate in the industry."

On the Edge: The Spectacular Rise and Fall of Commodore (buying from Amazon supports Retro Thing)

Adventures from the Technology Underground

I know a guy who used to work for IBM. His basement is now dedicated to intricate CNC-controlled milling and precision drilling tools. It's a weird hobby, but he's an incredibly interesting and useful person to know.

Author Bill Gurstelle spent several years exploring this technology underground. Or, as he puts it, "the scintillating subculture of amateur inventors and scientific envelope-pushers who dream up, design, and build machines that whoosh, rumble, fly—and occasionally hurl pumpkins across enormous distances."

Adventures from the Technology Underground is a 224 page hardcover book based on his encounters in this sometimes bizarre but always interesting sub-culture. This is guaranteed to be fun reading if giant Tesla coils, pipe organs made from jet engines, and Skycars are your idea of a good night out.

Adventures from the Technology Underground: Catapults, Pulsejets, Rail Guns, Flamethrowers, Tesla Coils, Air Cannons, and the Garage Warriors Who Love Them

The Marmite Cookbook

I know it was released two years ago, but most people outside the UK probably have no idea The Marmite Cookbook exists. Author Paul Hartley was determined to draw attention to breakfast by championing the creative use of Marmite, the yeast-based dark brown spread that is much loved in the UK, but tends to be considered axle grease elsewhere. Consider this an exciting opportunity to learn how to conjur up a plateful of Marmite Corn Fritters or Panini with Marmite Tapenade.

"A love-it-or-hate-it gift book that celebrates one of the great icons of the British store-cupboard. Packed with great recipes, delightful illustrations and hilarious Marmite-related anecdotes, this power-packed recipe-come-gift book is the ultimate celebration of the 100-year-old icon beloved of gourmets, gourmands and trencherman alike. Even those that hate it will love it!"

As an aside, the Marmite Food Company Ltd. was formed in 1902 to market this product based on spent brewer's yeast. It's high in B Vitamins (and salt), and the Marmite site insists that "during the Second World War, Marmite became a valued dietary supplement in prisoner-of-war camps." I suspect those poor prisoners thought it was some sort of vile medicine, not a beloved breakfast delicacy.  

The Marmite Cookbook (Absolute Press)
I Love Marmite (The official MARMITE brainwashing center site)
British Retrofood (A previous Retro Thing Marmite post)

Lost Worlds Broadcast on BBC 4 (and the Web)

Giles Perkins returns this week with Lost Worlds. I'll let him take it from here...

This week, esteemed UK public broadcaster BBC Radio 4 has as its "Book of the Week" an airing of Micahel Bywater's fantastic Lost Worlds. Read by the unique and quintessential Englishman Stephen Fry, Bywater's book is brought to vividly life, bemoaning the loss of everything that was once good, from Cane Fishing Rods to Fully Fashioned Nylons and Sturmey-Archer bicycle gears. Packed with cynicism and sentimental yearnings, this journey down a long and winding memory lane is an audio retro-trip not to be missed. [Giles runs onSuper8.org, a superb Super 8 site]

BBC Radio 4 Book-of-the-Week page (with listen again feature)
Lost Worlds, the Book ("A gorgeously written, barking-mad catalog raisonne of, well, all kinds of stuff that we've lost")