|| -------- -- -----  A E R I E   O B L I V I A N A . singular book of text wandertainment by Frank Edward Nora ------------------- ----------- A ROAD MAP OF ARCTICA--CUP 7--"CHESS CHALLENGE FOR THE VIDEO GENERATION" <-------  ||  Severe Repair  ||  A Road Map of Arctica  ||  -------> (Cup SRrm007, Created v2 (6/7/99), Copyright 1999) = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = I walked back into my bedroom, sat on the bed, and picked up a big trade paperback that was on the floor, "Chess Challenge for the Video Generation". Comma sent me out the other day to get him these really obscure cigarettes that he likes, Waster's Umbers, and I had to take the 6-Train up to somewhere in the 70's or 80's, and when I got out there was this cool little alley with all these oriental stores and stuff. One place sold just monster figurines--Godzilla, Ultraman, that sort of stuff. Another one was this awesome used bookstore run by this old Chinese guy. I went in and asked him where "Wong News" was, since that was the place that Comma thought might have the Wasters. The guy told me "This IS Wong News!", so I looked around and didn't see any cigarettes, and asked him about it, and he said that the cigarette guy didn't come yet... apparently he takes his entire stock away with him when he leaves, and he only sets up for a few hours a day. He said the guy would be there within the half-hour, so I started browsing the books, knowing that Comma would rather me be out for a long time than come back empty-handed. The first book that caught my eye was an old hardcover with a worn jacket called "Rock Formations in the U.S.", and I looked to see if Shenandoah National Park in Virginia was listed, because I always liked the rock formations there. It wasn't. Instead, it was sort of a narrative... maybe a story... about the development of National Parks and stuff. It was all in two-color... black and a light green. I read about how this one guy with a hard hat on did something to upset these other guys with hard hats, and then put it back on the shelf. Then I found "Chess Challenge for the Video Generation"... a gorgeous piece of work, four-color on every page, with tons of photos of vid-kids against dark backgrounds, faces lit by video screens. It was published in 1982, and was an attempt to teach chess strategies by relating them to video games. For example, they had a chart showing how bad defense can allow one piece to start chomping up your pieces just like Pac-Man. Stuff like that. An awesome book. Anyway, I got the chess book and the obscure cigarette guy came. He had three variations of Waster's Umbers! There were two different sizes of the regular Umbers (regular and tall), and also Waster's Umber Blackjacks, with a really awesome, colorful package. I asked him about them, and he said enigmatically "They're not available in this country." I bought two packs each of the regulars and talls, and three packs of the Blackjacks, figuring I'd like to keep a box for myself, just to put on the shelf, since I smoke cigars, not cigarettes. It cost me almost $100, which I put on my American Express, knowing that Comma would gladly pay me back. I felt a surge of pride for serving my "master" well. When I got back Comma was indeed thrilled with the discovery of Waster's Umber Blackjacks, and said he was gonna go up there the next day and deal with the guy personally... he said he sounded like a good gray market connection... -------> ------------------- ----------- -------- -- -----