I wasn’t always a fan of science fiction. I started watching Star Trek because it was one of my Sweetheart’s favorite shows. I didn’t like it at first. The costumes were so dated, the sets and special effects were far behind the entertainment industry’s current innovations. But then I began to like it.

I liked it because of the quiet. That soft hum of the space ship was calming. I also noticed that I was not overwhelmed with rapid sequences of flashing images. All I needed was to fall in love with the stories. And I did. I fell in love with the complex issues we still debate in modern society. Issues revolving around government, war, race, gender and what it means to be human.

A few days ago we were having trouble finding anything to watch on TV. We don’t have cable, a dish or subscribe to any TV service! I finally landed on a low budget channel airing an episode of The Twilight Zone and pretty soon I was mesmerized by the sparse sound and lighting. There was only one actor for the most of the episode yet I was hooked. It may have been sparse but it was all a beautiful strategy employed while the rest of television programming was basking in the glory of color technology.

This episode, entitled The Invaders, originally aired in 1961 and credits two actors: Agnus Moorehead, an older woman alone in a house and the second actor is only a voice coming from a mysterious spaceship which has landed on the woman’s house and is filled with tiny spacemen. So my Sweetheart and I began to discuss the simple beauty and strong effect of black and white, of limited dialogue, of light and shadow. Like Star Trek, this often futuristic show dealt with the same broad issues which, in addition to the show’s artistry, make it worthy of watching over 50 years later.

Switch gears to Peter Brown. Doesn’t he look like he’s up to something? He’s the children’s book illustrator coming to the bookstore on August 23rd.

I’m doing a little research on him and find a video of him explaining his inspiration for illustrating Creepy Carrots. Watch carefully and you’ll find the tiny invaders. They’re only six inches tall! But watch out for those Creepy Carrots, too . . .

Join us on Thursday the 23rd for a reading and signing with Peter Brown. Creepy Carrots is written by Aaron Reynolds published by Simon and Schuster and is available at Lemuria for $16.99. Read more about Peter here.

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