Sfdebris.net

I saw the background video for Pacific Rim and i love the part about Del Toro's Bleakhouse.

I love the idea so much I want to talk about what other people would put in such a place if they had the option of building one for themselves.

As for me, the library would have a model of J.R.R. Tolkien reading A Canticle for Leibowitz and sitting a cross from a model of Walter M. Miller JR. reading The Hobbit (Probably my two favorite books of all time). The garage would have a wall painted to look like an enormous hanger where mechas are being prepared for battle, complete with a crane hoisting a giant laser rifle.

So what would you put in your 'bleakhouse?'

Research books aren't as important now that we have so much knowledge at our fingertips, I suppose, so I shouldn't go with my first take on this.

Maybe symbols of eldritch horror, reminders of things beyond sanity. Things the merest brushes of which will leave one forever changed, uncertain, and not quite balanced. Statues from the Cthulhu mythos, some H.R. Geiger stuff, or Star Trek Into Darkness Blu-Rays.

My own Bleak House would certainly be mostly Star Wars themed, though I'd probably try to add some super hero, Fallout, and GOT stuff for some variety.

Fantasy Flight Games commissions a lot of beautiful Star Wars art for it's board, card, and role-playing games, which you can usually find on DeviantArt or ArtStation. I have a collection saved on my computer, and I always thought it would be neat if I could turn it into an actual art gallery.

Because the internet is a thing, I don't think I'd need to fill a library with scientific or historical research material. BUT I would fill it with books and comics that have inspired me, as well franchise specific reference books like the Star Wars Essential Guides or World of Ice and Fire.

I would go less for symbolism, and more for a simulated environment - and depending on the design of the house, I would try to have each room a different theme. The living room designed to look like the bridge of the Defiant (only with comfy chairs, because I'm not a masochist), and the kitchen would be based on Bag End. The dichotomy between the two is intentional - I love the idea of walking through a door and going from the Federation straight into the Shire. The garage and bathrooms would be based on 2001 (as far as I know, the only major SF work to actually include bathrooms).

Darth Wedgius wrote: ↑Wed Jul 17, 2019 7:32 pm Research books aren't as important now that we have so much knowledge at our fingertips, I suppose, so I shouldn't go with my first take on this.

It's a bitch to read everything on a computer, phone or tablet.

Karha of Honor wrote: ↑Tue Jul 23, 2019 3:34 pm

Darth Wedgius wrote: ↑Wed Jul 17, 2019 7:32 pm Research books aren't as important now that we have so much knowledge at our fingertips, I suppose, so I shouldn't go with my first take on this.

It's a bitch to read everything on a computer, phone or tablet.

For more than a quick look up out of curiosity or if I need a fact check give me a book any day. A well-researched, well-written book will almost always be a more useful, informative source of information beyond the superficial. I worry that knowledge has been trivialised and that wilst "at our fingertips" has increased access to facts (sometimes even accurate ones, if you're lucky) it's decreasing understanding - and realising just what understanding is.

I'd love to have room after room of books (there are some great second hand bookshops like that) but I don't think I'd want the posed statues!

I think I could probably get away just one thing.

Reader Chair
Looks like a comfortable reclining chair, similar to a zero gravity chair with more padding. Cup holder discreetly tucked off to the right hand side of the armrest, a sort of a harness. A domed canopy surrounds the chair. After adjusting the chair into place, one can position the screen into an easy to read position. The screen hooks up to a computer controlled by a mouse placed on the inside of the right armrest. The most comfortable way to read on a computer.