Attention Philosophisizers:

Our latest influx of books has swelled our Philosophy section by over 150 titles. The tide includes some fairly obscure titles: Prior and Posterior Analytics by Aristotle, An Existential Ethics by Hazel E. Barnes, and The Tanner Lectures on Human Values Volume VIII (1988)to name but a few.



PLUS: we have a habit of picking up books just because the titles are so . . . well, outside the mainstream, shall we say? For example, our latest entry to our Judaica section:



And this interesting title for our Western Religions section:



There's something different every day. We love this stuff.

We're Ready For Our Close-Ups, Mr. Alvarez:

Morwyn here. Today I move with all the grace of a flip-book stick figure, and Asa has the grandmother of all headaches. Allow me to explain.

An independent film company approached us some time back to use our store as a location in their production, Easier With Practice. We agreed, time passed, and the filming took place yesterday.

We had some idea of what was in store, but Reality is always more intense than you can prepare for.

First, the Art Department/set dressers (aka The Kids) came in around 9 a.m. to move an entire aisle of books out of the way. We showed them how to box the books for ease of returning them to the shelves and toddled back up to the apartment to savor our morning caffeine. We went back to check on them when it was close to our usual opening time, fully expecting that no one would pay attention to our "CLOSED" signs. The kids were moving the bare bookcases into the empty storefront next door when a hapless soul wandered in and asked me if I was buying books that day. I steered him out politely and with no great surprise.


Center aisle cleared away, they set to work on the bookcase in the alcove, then they "dressed the set," i.e. filled the space with stacks and piles and heaps of stunt books, along with the odd bit of furniture.



My apologies to the crew members pictured here, but I don't remember their names. We were introduced to so many folks it became an overwhelming blur at some point.



The caterers showed up next, then more and more crew members. We kept retreating to our apartment upstairs to stay out of the way, being called down from time to time to answer different questions and grant permissions for variousness and sundries. Around 5 p.m. they asked if we'd like to be extras for the opening scene. We agreed. After about forty-five minutes and I think seven separate takes for what will amount to less than two minutes of finished footage, there may be a glimpse of our elbows when all's said and done. It was fun with sufficient moments to fuel a few chapters in my next mystery novel. Being part of TamaleWood (however small) has found its way into our personal narrative.

They filmed another scene (in the center aisle where the mysteries live), then began breaking down the set around 8:30 p.m. They invited us for dinner (from the catering truck) which we declined. We did join them in the store, though, to sell a few books to the crew and shepherd The Kids as they packed up all the "stunt books" and paraphernalia. We did more than we should have, helping with putting the bookcases back in place and re-shelving books. The original "last packed, first out" concept had sort of fallen apart which made the unpacking of books more tedious than planned. Asa took himself off to bed around midnight, and I hung in there with The Kids until it was all relatively back in place. I waved them farewell and locked up just before 1 a.m. Hence my stiffness and Asa's headache.

What did we learn? We already knew that movie making is 98% boring|waiting around|grunt work, and 2% action|excitement|interesting, so there was nothing new in that. We did discover that my control issues are deeper than we thought. Disheveling our shelves upset me more than I was ready to admit. I bit my lip more than once to keep from screaming, "This is NOT how a proper bookstore should look!!!" Then having total strangers wandering in and out, while having the back door and the front gate standing open most of the day without being there to keep an eye on things made me a nervous wreck. Lastly, we learned we're getting way too old for this stuff; the lifting, carrying, and general shlepping while working with a very tight time line. We could have let them do it all themselves, but that would have made us both crazy. How can you sit around and let someone else restore order to your livelihood?

To sum up: to our great surprise it was fun. Everyone involved in the project was a delight to work with - especially The Kids. They were energetic, upbeat, excited about their project and full of an infectious good humor. If we had it to all over again? In spite of our stiffness, soreness, headaches and lack of sleep, we would.

Best of luck to them all - may they break several legs, make lots of money and win many awards.

EDIT: We've been asked who is in this film, so here are some links to a few cast members' IMdB pages: Brian Geraghty, Kel O'Neill, Marguerite Moreau, Jeannette Brox, and Jenna Gavigan.

Back From Holiday!

Tanned, rested and ready. And I'm here to share A Moment.

While we were lounging about our beautiful casita at Casas de Suenos, we enjoyed a few movies on the ENORMOUS flatscreen television in the room. One of those movies was "Breakfast at Tiffany's," a big favorite of ours. So we're sipping tea and munching fruit and the movie is unfolding and we're chatting, and suddenly my head swiveled a la Linda Blair and I have one of those Holy Cow!! moments.

The hero of the tale is saying his name. "Varjak Paul," he says, as that's how he's listed in the library's card catalog.




HA!! Too funny!!

Tai-chi Chuan: Its Effects and Practical Applications by Yearning K. Chen

And now, a small treasure from our Martial Arts section:

OUR PRICE: $20.00

Description: A collectible and somewhat scarce martial arts reference. Tan boards, mylar dust jacket has some minor wear to spine edges, tight binding, clean text.
Bibliographic Details
Publisher: Kam Keung printing Co., Hong Kong, (presumed) 1979
Binding: Hardcover
Book Condition: Very Good
Dust Jacket Condition: Good

Uthark: Nightside of the Runes by Thomas Karlsson

An offering from our metaphysical shelves:

OUR PRICE: $50.00

Description: Black Cloth boards stamped with silver. Tiny spots (4) of discoloration through very light wear on front and back. Interior pristine and as new; tight, bright, clean.

Bibliographic Details -
ISBN: 9197410217
Publisher: Ouroboros, Sweden
Publication Date: 2002
Binding: Hardcover
Book Condition: Very Good
No Dust Jacket as issued
Edition: 1st Edition


Quoting directly from Amazon.com's Amapedia: “This is an introduction to runosophy and gothic rune magic. It is based upon the controversial Uthark-theory advocated by the Swedish professor Sigurd Agrell in the 1930’s. The Uthark is thought to be the dark and secret version of the rune row only known by the initiated rune masters. In this book the Uthark theory is applied to practical Nordic magic. The book contains a chapter about the Swedish rune mystic Johannes Bureus who expounded a system of gothic rune qabalah in the beginning of 17th century. The dark dimension of the runes and the underworld initiation of Odin is the main theme of this book. “Uthark - Nightside of the Runes” presents the runes as a Helwegr - A road to Hel, which leads to illumation and self-deification."

KOB - Goddard's Magic Mast: 50 Years of Pioneer Broadcasting by Ann Velia

More local color!! If you live in New Mexico, it's hard NOT to know about KKOB Radio, 770 on your AM dial.

OUR PRICE: $25.00

We'll just quote from the dust jacket here: ". . .more than a broadcasting history, this is a book about a desert town growing up, about a sprawling state coming together, and about a 'cow college' becoming a great university. It's an absorbing story about the persons who helped make it all happen."

Description: Brown boards with gilt lettering to front and spine, clean, tight, inscribed "To Dick as I promised you several months ago - Roy Goddard"; dust jacket has minor shelfwear to edges, minor chipping along top edge with a 1/4" closed tear on top back edge, else good in brodart.
Bibliographic Details
Publisher: New Mexico State University
Publication Date: 1972
Binding: Hard Cover
Book Condition: Very Good
Dust Jacket Condition: Good
Inscribed by Roy Goddard
Edition: First Edition

The Navajo Language: A Grammar and Colloquial Dictionary by Young & Morgan

This just came in! And what a beauty it is!

OUR PRICE: $200.00

Bibliographic Details -
Publisher: UNM Press
Publication Date: 1991
ISBN: 0826310141
Book Condition: Leather spine embossed with gold stamping, dark blue cloth boards. Faint shelf wear to cloth boards, otherwise the book is very good - in fact, it seems almost new! It's clean, tight, bright, and crisp! 1069pp.
Dust Jacket Condition: No dust jacket
Edition: Second Edition (Revised)