In the mid 80s, there was a TV pilot for a never-realized series Condor. Set in the near future of 1999, it was based around a human agent (typical '8os cop meme, a maverick who plays by his own obnoxious rules) and his good-looking android partner. The old school agent predictably resents being paired with the new soul-less technology. But over the course of 80 delicious minutes, he learns to respect it..

Condor had a pretty good cast, including Fresh Prince's Uncle Phil, and Wendy Kilbourne as the beautiful robot..

An interesting element is 1985 conjecture on how the world would look in the near future.. oversized drones and urban three-wheelers were part of that speculation.. They did a pretty good job balancing potential progress with factors of daily life that don't change much. And this to me, is the most disappointing aspect of Condor not making it.. missing out on more of the futuristic aesthetic, because they seemed to put effort in to this part of the pilot. There are couple places now to stream Condor, and it is a cool cultural artifact of how some foresaw the start of the 21st century..

Part Maxwell Smart, part Dean Ween.. Christopher Proctor (a TV icon that could've been).

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It's common to hear about negative encounters with celebrities.. so for the sake of balance I wanna share a positive (throwback) celebrity experience I had..

Summer of '99 I was working at a sunglass retailer in Ocean City, Maryland. We were right on the boards, so there was a lot of foot traffic at night. And one night, Foo Fighter Dave Grohl dipped in.. It didn't surprise me, because I was aware he was from the northern Virginia area.. and the DC suburbs produce a lot of Ocean City's tourists. It was an unusually slow night, so I was working solo, and Grohl was the only customer in the shop then. He said he was looking for nighttime shades (I assume to cloak his identity). In the late 9os, as a Nirvana alum and current Foo Fighter, he was easily recognizable.

I didn't mention that I recognized him, and just talked him up like any other anonymous customer. I asked him about this forearm ink.. we talked a little bit about the store's bright yellow paint job. He noted that yellow was perceived as a uniquely unfriendly color for marketing. It was a cool conversation. And after he picked a pair of glasses, and paid.. he gave me a $20 tip, (that he wouldn't let me refuse). Which in that era was probably equal to 4 hours of work. So I was flattered and grateful..

Guess I was just feeling nostalgic, and wanted to show some love for the civilized celebrities. I had mixed encounters with different famous folks after moving to LA. Grohl stands out as decent.

Years ago, I briefly alluded to this chance encounter with Grohl in Natrrain #13.

contact: nat.rain@gmail.com