Innerspace: If you want to go big...think small...

1987 was a very good year.  MTV was rocking, with good music like The Talking Heads' "Once In A Lifetime", Star Trek The Next Generation premiered, and it was a a darn good year in film.  One of those was a little somewhat overlooked film, a little Spielberg produced, Joe (Gremlins) Dante directed opus called Innerspace.  It was classic Spielbergian wonder, with not only it's own sense of whimsy and fun, likeable characters, but it also shouted out to Fantastic Voyage, from 1966. Using the idea of shrinking people and a submersible down to microscopic size and shooting them into a living person, this voyage saw Tuck Pendleton (Dennis Quaid), a test pilot for the US Navy, a somewhat down and out individual (acknowledged as a talented pilot, but a washout for the fast track because of an iconoclastic nature). His girlfriend, Lydia Maxwell (Meg Ryan) has just walked out on him.  His new assignment is as a submersible pilot for a contracting concern developing a miniaturization technology that allows him to be reduced in size and injected into another organism.  Tuck's intended subject for the test flight is a rabbit.  But due to some corporate espionage shenanigans, he ends up in Jack Putter (Martin Short) an assistant grocery store manager and a poor guy who has trouble relaxing.  Trying to go on vacation, he finds himself joined at the blood vessels with Tuck's predicament and the two of them must team up to deal with the situation, before the rival organization's operatives find the two, or before Tuck's air supply runs out.

This movie is classic Spielberg backed from the 80s, charming and fun, breezy in it's pacing, just the tiniest bit of speculative, but mostly about it's lovable characters just hanging on for a ride and finding out that they are becoming more who they really are, being around each other and going on this adventure.  

It also has a bit of wonder about technology.  The big bad of the film calls space a "dead end" as well as other avenues, but describes miniaturization as the future.  Space is hardly a dead end.  Though he is right, in that "miniaturization", though cybernetic, rather than biological, seems to be one of the big trends.

Innerspace.  Its fun.

Well, I see you all missed me...

I'm out of the Army and settled in Texarkana, TX.  I've found an apartment (in the very first apartment complex built in this town), a job (I'll have more than one, this one is in my beloved radio), and am already involved in local civics (at a vote tonight on the fate of a local landmark steeped in the history of Texarkana).

I'm going to Space Camp, Dallas Comic Con and a few concerts (Devo, Trout Fishing In America, and the Sounds of Summer Tour (Foreigner, Don Felder and Styx)).

Got lots to write about soon, y'all.  Tomorrow, a review of the 1987 scifi pop classic, Innerspace. 

I see from the hit count y'all have still been coming here, I thank you.  More to come.  We are all in this thing together...

A Convention dedicated to Marc Miller's Traveller, the original Space Opera RPG, heads to the stars...an interview with those who helm this enterprise...

VoS: What is TravellerCon?

Keith: TravellerCon-USA is a boutique convention dedicated to playing Marc Miller's game of the Far Future, Traveller, in all its forms, including (but not limited to) RPG, Board games, and miniatures. I like to keep the "-USA" attachment because the inspiration came from Travellercon in the United Kingdom.

VoS: How long has TravellerCon been going on?

Keith: With two hiccoughs, since 2007.

VoS: Why a Kickstarter for it?

Keith: Travellercon has been a financial laggard since its inception. In 2011, when we were forced by the previous venue (Continental Inn, Lancaster) to move the date to November, projected attendance dropped dramatically, to the point that we had to cancel. Kickstarter has allowed the convention attendees to ante up, as it were, and pledge their support.

VoS: What has the Kickstarter experience been like? What is the difference doing something like this in a world where things like Kickstarter exist?

Keith: After watching various Kickstarters proceed across the Gaming Industry, I said "Let's give it a try". We were both surprised by the result - Megan more so that myself. The successful Kickstarter was able to guarantee moving forward, instead of Megan and I gambling with our own limited funds.

VoS: How long have you been playing Traveller?

Keith: Since 1980 or so.

Megan McTernan Haithcock: Since around 1998

VoS: Describe in your own words what Traveller is about and why you play it.

Keith: Traveller is a vast universe of possibilities and potentials. Elegant star-liners glide through planetary systems, alongside merchants of every stripe, while majestic battleships secure the borders from the barbarian hordes without.

VoS: Do you mostly play or GM the game? Why?

Keith: I mostly Referee. In my youth I have played in some very good campaigns and I find a lot of what I've played since to be disappointing. As a Referee, I'm able to take that which most impressed me and share it with the players.

Megan: I mostly play. I have refereed games with Keith, but as far as refereeing a game all my own, I have to admit I don’t like being that much in the spotlight...

VoS: What is the future for Travellercon, assuming success of this Kickstarter?

Keith: We plan to keep TravellerCon "Traveller-fan oriented". We could expand our menu to include other or general sci-fi properties, and have been encouraged to do so, but we both feel that would dilute what makes TravellerCon (in both countries) special. As funding improves, we'd like to bring in more guests, especiall Marc Miller, Frank Chadwick and Loren Wiseman. We've had Frank as a guest in the past, and he told me that he hadn't had so much fun at a con in years. That gives me a happy.

Megan: We’ll probably use KickStarter going forward…the biggest hinderance to us running Travellercon each year is getting the funds together. With Kickstarter, we’re able to get the funds in the beginning (when we need them)…and it also gauges whether the interest is there to run the con that year.

VoS: Name some other favorite RPGs and why, and what is the appeal of the RPG hobby, the tabletop experience, especially in a digital world?

Keith: Besides Mega-Traveller, Call of Cthulhu and the Iron Crown Middle Earth RPG. The heroic thread is pretty obvious. I like Jason Siadek's "Battlestations!" which combines RPG and tabletop gaming with miniatures nicely.

VoS: Good picks there, especially Call of Cthulhu for the old school horror rpg tip and Battlestations as one of the premier modern science fiction adventure boardgames.  It was a pleasure interviewing you two.  Here's a link to the project, which was successful. I await my T-shirt...

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1163341869/travellerconusa-2014

VoS: www.farfuture.net is the new publishing home of the Traveller RPG, formerly of Game Designers Workshop

http://www.farfuture.net/

In just two days, I end 14 years in the United States Army...

I will have much to say about that later.  Right now...I'm just tired and ready to go.