Before Voting on Tuesday, Please Read This Editorial Concerning Some Serious Problems With the Tea Party Movement

The following text was written by my friend, Chad Brown. 

"Okay Tea Partyers: Stop claiming that you want to return the Federal Government to what our founding fathers envisioned. It is a nonsensical argument that displays sheer ingnorance.
First, it ignores the fact that our founding fathers could not agree on how much power should be invested in the Federal Government. (Federalist and anti-Federalist papers, anyone? And how about those pesky Adams-Jefferson letters from the early 19th century?) It took Congress 11 years to draft a Constitution that was passably agreeable and the Bill of Rights (limiting the power of the Federal Government) is the direct result of concessions granted by the Federalists in order to secure anti-Federalist votes; proof that our founding fathers were skilled at compromise and willing to keep the issue open for further debate. Establishing a claim that our government today does not somehow match the expectations of the founding fathers can only be accomplished by cherry picking the specific founding fathers that agree with your particular position and then conveniently ignoring all the others.  Second, it ignores our country’s 234 year history of growth and maturation. When our founding fathers wrote that all men were created equal, they really did mean “men“. Women were excluded. So were the non-white variety of men. And, while we’re at it, men without land were often less equal than men with land. I also recall that we fought a pretty big war that ultimately decided some very important issues regarding the Federal Governments ability to regulate the states (Civil War for those of you who are having a hard time keeping up). It also ignores important Judicial rulings such as the “Incorporation of the Bill of Rights”. Our founding fathers, through the Constitution, established a sturdy framework for government that is still relevant today precisely because it did not try to specifically define exact roles or boundaries. It was a stroke of genius that the founding fathers left the specific details of governance to be defined by later generations based on the needs of the times in question rather than attempting the hubris of creating an all encompassing document that would only have proved inflexible and that would have quickly lost relevance. If you feel that the current Federal Government is too large, exceeds it's power, or performs functions that belong to the states, then make your arguments current by backing them up with reason and evidence from this century that is relevant to our day and age and takes into account our entire political history instead of leaning on some sad and misinformed premise that our founding fathers would all unanimously agree that we all have it wrong today and that we need to “return“. If you cry easily, then do not bother posting a contrary position as I intend to thoroughly and verbally abuse you."

Poll Results

Being that I can't seem to get any more than 12 people to vote, I'll go ahead and reveal the name of the musical group that was actually fake: "Gimme My Binky." All the others (including "The Throbbing Testicles") are real bands. Yikes.

Movie Reviews of the Old, Odd, and Obscure (Part 6)

Actual movie poster from 1948

Title sequence showing the washed out colors to come

Rubber dinosaur food

Actors on a sound stage watching a rear projected image of clumsy guys in dinosaur suits

Plastic sauropods that barely move

We're gonna kill ya....just give me a few minutes...whoops..wait, I can't see

This guy was actually scary in a couple scenes

Unknown Island (1948) Albert J Cohen Productions and Image Entertainment


Made way back in 1948 and starring Richard Denning (who would later star in "Creature from the Black Lagoon" and 'The Black Scorpion"), "Unknown Island" follows the adventures of a group of people exploring an island populated by prehistoric creatures. There are some internal conflicts among the group (most notably a vicious, alcoholic ship's captain who menaces the group even more than the dinosaurs), but not much else needs to be said about the "plot."

Being an avid dinosaur fan for most of my life, I've always loved watching almost any movie with dinosaurs in them - no matter how bad the movie was. Well, "Unknown Island" performs a miracle. It actually challenges me to like it. Sure, the acting and dialog are not bad, but the dinosaurs - oh my God - the dinosaurs. Normally a plus for me in any dinosaur movie is when the special effects don't consist of big lizards dressed up with fake horns, fins, and plates. I usually hate that. This movie, though, uses...uh....extremely fake rubber/plastic things with stationary legs being dragged by strings and tries to pass them off as dimetrodons. Those are the first creatures the viewer sees and frankly I think I'd rather see lizards. Then the viewer is treated to frequent scenes of what should be scary, meat eating, bipedal dinosaurs. What the viewer sees instead are shots reused over and over of two or three guys walking around clumsily in rubber dinosaur costumes. It's clear that these slow, ungainly, things can barely move without tripping on their feet, yet the viewer is supposed to believe these bottom of the barrel Toho rejects are chasing people down and eating them. Now, I have nothing against "suit-mation" (guys in monster suits) when it's done well (like in many Japanese monster movies), but the director who made "Unknown Island" appears to have given his dinosaur actors only one command: Walk around aimlessly.

Okay. Once I was past my initial severe disappointment, I found the movie was obviously good for a few laughs - and that is what makes it worth watching! That and there actually is a reasonably scary ape-like creature with sharp teeth and claws that menaces them at times.

Although this movie was undoubtedly made on the cheap, they did actually spend a few extra bucks to film it in color. The film quality itself on the DVD is passable, but full of ugly blemishes and sometimes washed out colors. A perfect fit for the "special" dinosaurs in it.

Movie Reviews of the Old, Odd, and Obscure (Part 5)

A simple but effective shot

Stomping across the scene

The DVD cover

It's SUSIE the computer!

Kronos (1957) Regal Films through 20th Century Fox


Directed by Kurt Neumann who would direct the much more successful, "The Fly" the following year in 1958, Kronos is a rarely seen (at least in Winona) low budget science fiction movie about a gigantic energy eating robot from space. An astronomer/scientist (Jeff Morrow who also starred in "This Island Earth") discovers a meteor like object heading toward earth using an interesting (large 1950's style) computer named SUSIE (Synchro Unifying Sinometric Integrating Equitensor!!). The space object is shown crashing into the ocean and then soon after a lab director is taken over by that same otherworldly entity in order to "interact" with humans. Creepy light and shadow are used effectively as the man's eyes become wide and intense while he goes on a murderous rampage in an effort to reach the computer, SUSIE, and sabotage any plans the earth may have to stop him. Stop him from what? Well, allowing a big, blocky robot the size of a skyscraper to stomp across the land and consume power from various power plants. The viewer finds out later that this power is needed back on the robot's home world.

Although the movie was made on the lowest of shoestring budgets, I have to give the filmmakers credit for creating some effective set pieces. My favorite is a simple shot utilizing the films entire widescreen view to show the robot stomping from one end to the other across the horizon. The simplistic animation of the "legs" only shows them go up and down, so it is never clear how the device is able to move forward or backward. Yet, those scenes combined with the thumping sound effects, are really amusing to watch.

Kronos is an entertaining (if somewhat slow moving) movie that utilizes plenty of silly 1950's pseudo-science, paranoia, and amusing special effects shots. Please note that a secondary character (kind of a coworker to the main scientist) is played by George O'Hanlon who would later go on to be the voice of George Jetson!

Questions for the Cosmos (or Anyone Who Would Care to Comment)

1.   What would it be like to have a giant, mutant amoeba as a pet?

2.   Why does watching NASCAR races on TV make me sleepy? Am I missing something?

3.   Why do foods that are horrendously fattening taste so good? I'm convinced that macaroni and cheese will eventually be proven healthy as well as promote world peace.

4.   When you were a kid, did you have to walk to school? If so, was it really up hill both ways? Prove it.

5.   The last time you were abducted by space aliens, what kind of brain extractor did they use? Mine was powered by astro-squirrels.

Movie Reviews of the Old, Odd, and Obscure (Part 4)

Dogora starts out as a space cell

A nice shot of Dogora lifting a bridge

This photo exemplifies the gorgeous colors used in the film for these shots

The DVD cover

Dogora, the Space Monster (1964) Toho


The movie begins and occasionally reverts back to a silly plot about Japanese diamond thieves trying to figure out who or what is taking their stash of gems. Well, you guessed it. Large floating cellular creatures are eating these gems and as they continue to consume they eventually mutate into giant jellyfish looking creatures from space. They are ultimately revealed hovering in the upper atmosphere and are then shown sucking up carbon based material from the earth. At first we see a jewel thief, vehicles, and then eventually scenes of whole piles of coal being pulled up into the clouds. After a while, the creatures use more and more power and eventually trains, bridges, and other structures are shown breaking apart and then flying up into the sky.

Dogora is fascinating to me for no other reasons than it's weird and kind of cool. Although the movie is not exactly a thrill ride and the characters are rather dull and wooden (not to mention the atrocious dubbing of American actors voices in place of the original Japanese - worse than usual anyway), the movie contains some absolutely beautiful special effects shots. Once the goofy plot gets out of the way and the creatures are finally revealed floating in the atmosphere, the viewer is treated to some really nifty shots of destruction. The scenes of coal, trains, and bridges flying into the air are probably the best effects work ever created by Eiji Tsuburaya (Toho special effects master behind most of the original Godzilla movies as well as other Toho creations). The movie was also directed by Ishiro Honda who helmed most of those same movies.

The DVD showcases a nice clean print with vivid colors and very few blemishes from the original film source. If you're not a rabid fan of these kinds of movies like I am, it's probably best to just skip ahead to all the monster sequences and ignore the dull and annoying dialog scenes.

The "Heart" of the Republican Party?

Midterm elections are fast approaching. The average poll is showing that Republicans will probably be taking back a number of seats (based on the mood of the country). As a liberal leaning guy, I find that news unfortunate but certainly not surprising being that the country’s economy is not recovering very fast. Historically, whichever party is in charge during tough economic times is typically punished on election day. Assuming this is what happens in November, Republicans will likely take control of Congress. (and with fear being shoved down the throats of so many people getting most of their information from Fox News and Rush Limbaugh, Democrats could lose big).

Now, I’m a reasonable guy. I’m perfectly fine with another political party coming into power as long as it has the best interest of America at heart. What worries me, though, is that I’ve yet to hear any alternate solutions to our economic troubles from the Republican party - other than helping the rich with continued tax breaks and continued deregulation of the financial industry - the latter helping us into this mess to begin with. There also continues to be a flourishing lobbying industry happily giving millions of dollars to our politicians. It seems obvious to me that our politicians care more about helping the companies who give them money than helping lower and middle class Americans. This has been going on for many years with no end in sight. Nothing like stating the obvious…duh. Yet here we sit with this problem.

Worse still and even more problematic in my opinion are certain elements on the extreme right-wing fringe of the Republican party. An element that has become louder and getting a lot of media attention during the past year - brought to the forefront during last summer’s town hall meetings. Right-wing media continues to fuel these people’s fears of an evil socialist government that was hell bent on taking away their guns, forcing them to believe in science, and starting some kind of socialist health care system that would likely kill their grandma. No Muslim president who was really born in Kenya was going to take away their right to have expensive insurance that refuses to cover them when they have a pre-existing condition.

Now, if more Republicans would speak out against these fringe elements, I might be able to respect them a bit more. So far, though, most of them seem to encourage the behavior. Why? Is it really so important to have the votes of these dumb-ass rednecks? It probably is. Here are a couple of examples of Republicans who actually spoke out against this behavior and the backlash it caused:

http://www.professorbainbridge.com/professorbainbridgecom/2010/08/its-getting-to-be-embarrassing-to-be-a-conservative.html

http://motherjones.com/politics/2010/08/bob-inglis-tea-party-casualty

Classic Godzilla - Silly but Fun!

A fun shot taken during a break in filming the first Godzilla, "Gojira"

I don't know what it is about Godzilla for me. I was around 8 or 9 when I first saw Godzilla on the big screen. My mother took me to an odd little movie imported from Japan entitled "Godzilla vs the Smog Monster" and I was never the same again. I sat transfixed, fingers clenched tightly to the armrests while I watched Godzilla save Japan from a bizarre creature born of pollution. I stared in complete awe as the Smog Monster changed shape and grew larger as it consumed toxic fumes from smoke stacks and then flew around Tokyo spewing sulfuric acid mist in it's wake. Eventually with the help of Japan's armed forces, Godzilla destroys the Smog Monster by drying it out with massive amounts of electricity (the science in the old Japanese monster movies never made a lot of sense, but they were fun to watch).

Viewed today, the movie can come across as very odd. Made in 1971, it is filled with early seventies psychedelic touches, fast editing, bizarre music, corny dialog, but one of the most endearing performances by the man in the Godzilla suit of all the many movies he was in. Despite the low budget "suit-mation" effects, Godzilla seems to express actual emotions by employing slight head tilts while close ups of his face make him appear to be thinking, or in pain, upset, etc. You don't see this in any other Godzilla movie of that era. For me, those added touches made the movie that much more enjoyable. That's me, though. I never claimed to be normal.

Added note: The photo in the title of my blog "Quetzmusings" is from this movie.

Health Care Reform Debate Rages On

The silliness and game playing in the political arena continues even after Health Care Reform finally passed. We got to see congressmen being called derogatory names, being spit on, and being threatened with violence both directly and indirectly. Some folks on the right tried to deny it until videotaped proof was shown on TV. 


Violent threats leading to arrests. I'm so glad this guy has a permit to carry a concealed weapon: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0410/35455.html


Despite Joe Wilson's idiotic "You Lie" shout out, illegal immigrants really are not going to be covered. However, this does cause other issues:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/9017409


"Pulling the plug on Grandma"? Nope. That's not going to happen either. 


As a civilized society, we have a MORAL obligation to provide access to AT LEAST basic health care services for everyone. Unlike some folks on the right, I am happy to pay taxes to help provide these and other services for those in need. No one should have to go bankrupt trying to pay for needed medical care - despite any of those insane and inane arguments that call such a system "socialism", "communism" and various other terms meant to scare the Republican base into frothing at the mouth until they spout vile racist remarks or shake in their boots, afraid that their precious guns will be taken away, etc.

Is the health care reform law perfect? Not in the least. The insurance companies had way too much influence on it (among other lobbyists) as proven by the rise in their stocks. Still, we will eventually NEED to join the rest of the industrialized nations and at least attempt to make this work. As an admittedly liberal leaning guy, I feel that this law does not go nearly far enough (as I wanted true universal health care), but it's a start.

The Art of Dreaming (Part III) Childhood Nightmares

I can remember bits and pieces of my life as far back as age 3 or 4 (as most people can). Some of the most vivid memories I've had over all those years are of some really silly, bizarre dreams and nightmares - some of which I would classify as recurring. One memorable dream of the silly variety occurred when I was in my early teens. In the dream I was outdoors late at night (as there was no traffic) being pulled in a little red wagon on the sidewalk. I could see that I was on Sarnia Street about a block west of Mankato Avenue (near Grandma Shirley's of course). With me in the red wagon was a bag of empty aluminum cans. At first I couldn't see who was pulling me in the wagon. Finally the person turned toward me and I could plainly see that it was Mr Spock (of the show Star Trek). He didn't speak. He just kept silently pulling me west on the sidewalk. Soon after, he turned again and he had somehow changed into Mick Jagger (lead singer of The Rolling Stones). Right then I woke up.

Another memorable dream I had around that same time also took place near Grandma Shirley's (as many of them did). I was outside in Grandma's back yard. As it really was years ago, the entire back yard was flooded. The weather was bright and sunny and the flood of water appeared crystal clear. From the edge, I could see to the bottom of the shallow water. At the bottom, I could see a strange pattern of mud. For as far out as I could see, the mud was patterned in light and dark stripes. Each stripe was about a foot wide. I then was somehow aware that the lighter colored stripes of mud would suck a person in like quicksand if stepped on. I then noticed my uncle Bob running around out in the water. For some reason he was wearing an old-fashioned looking Tarzan outfit. I immediately tried calling out to him to be careful not to step on the light colored mud. Of course, he didn't listen to me. He just kept laughing and running around. Fortunately he never stepped in the "bad" mud. I hope Bob listens better in real life.

The most memorable recurring nightmare I ever had (memorable for my family as well) took place when I was really young - maybe in the age range of 3, 4, or 5 years old. Apparently I had this particular dream quite a bit, but I can only remember two occurrences. The scariest part of both dreams was the fact that I had them while I was awake - as kind of a hallucination of sorts. The first one happened at - you guessed it - Grandma Shirley's house. It was late at night and I was apparently awake, got up and walked over to the kitchen and turned the light on. My uncle Jerry (who was - and still is - younger than I) woke up and joined me. As soon as my eyes focused, I stood transfixed on an object standing in front of the stove - a brightly colored yellow chair (which I later named "The Blue Chair" for some reason) with an even brighter red, multi-pointed star on it's back rest. As I stared at the chair, I somehow sensed that it was alive and it was watching me. I knew if I ran away that it would chase me. I began to cry. Jerry, seeing me panic and sob - but not seeing any kind of living chair - began to cry as well. Soon after, my older uncle Bob (who must have been in his early teens at the time) walked in to see what the fuss was about. The chair was gone. Bob, then, picked up both of us and rocked us back to sleep (pretty nice for a young teenage kid, I think). The second time this waking dream occurred was during one of my trips to California with both my mom and dad. I don't know if we were in a hotel or a small temporary apartment, but I recall being put into a large bed with orange covers in a dark bedroom that I was not familiar with. My mom tucked me in, turned out the light, and walked into the living room area (leaving the bedroom door open a hair). Within minutes of laying in bed, I recall turning my head to the right and seeing that dreaded bright yellow chair right next to the bed. It was turned toward me. I remember it looking just as real as the rest of the objects in the dimly lit room. Frightened, I quickly put the covers over my head and yelled out for my mom. While I waited for a response, I carefully turned my head to the right again and could still see that thing right through the thin covers - looking just like any other object in the room as it would look filtered through thin orange fabric! As soon as my mom entered the room, the chair was gone.

A lot of things can happen with dreams, making them fun to talk about. In my opinion, they are the result of the resting brain trying to contemplate one's feelings and worries. As interesting and varied as the human personalities that have them, dreams can open up wonderfully creative discussions. Let me hear about your childhood and/or most memorable dreams.......

The Art of Dreaming (Part II) "Strange Connections"

Once in a while, a dreaming experience is so strange, so memorable, I remember it for years after. One such dream took place many years ago when I was in my early twenties and living in Grandma Shirley's basement. I recall dreaming that I was on an ice filled planet. The landscape was simply flat, smooth ice for as far as I could see in every direction. Close inspection of the ice showed that it was made up of multiple swirling colors - colors in patterns not unlike the colors viewed in a water puddle with oil floating on the top (only brighter). I then recalled in the dream that I had ice skates on and spent a good portion of the dream trying to skate to the end of the ice - to no avail. At that point of the dream, a hole opened up in the ice right under my feet. The hole did not lead to water underneath. I simply started sliding backward down the gently sloped edge and because it was pure ice, I could not stop myself from sliding further and further into the hole. At the point that I could no longer see out of the hole, I suddenly found myself in Grandma Shirley and Grandpa Artie's garage - still falling into a hole, but now the hole was in the floor of the garage. The hole appeared to be right where the hoist would normally be located (on the right side of the garage). As I clawed at the edges of the hole in a frightened panic, I woke up.

Later in the morning as I sleepily walked upstairs, I immediately encountered Grandma Shirley talking to another family member (I don't remember who). She was describing a dream she had the previous night in which she found herself falling into a hole in the floor of the garage! The only difference in our dreams (other than my dream starting out on another planet) is that the hole was located in a different spot. The hole that Grandma Shirley fell into was on the left side.

Cue Twilight Zone music...........

Therapy

Since I started this blog last summer, I've really enjoyed having the opportunity to express myself in such a way that my thoughts can be shared with friends and family. It helps me therapeutically to have a forum that allows me to write about whatever I want and then garner almost immediate feedback. Please be aware, however, that the more feedback (comments) I get, the more incentive and creative energy I have to continue writing! Please take the time to register on Google and leave comments whenever you can - even if you don't agree with a particular blog entry. Not only does this give me an opportunity to enter into fun discussion and healthy debate, it also gives me an idea of how many people are actually reading this stuff. The more the merrier. Therapy is good. Therapy helps me to forget about $%#@# back pain! Thank you!

Truth

I've come to the conclusion that I, as a member of society, am part of a vast jury - forever judging the literal assault of information fed to me on a daily basis by the lawyers of the media. As I sift through the multiple layers of information and misinformation, it is not innocence or guilt that I am trying to decipher. It is simply the truth. The truth that sits precariously in the middle of a giant swamp of deception and blatant lies - some of it purposeful and some of it born of ignorance.

Movie Reviews of the Old, Odd, and Obscure (Part 3)

Advancing minerals about to crush a farm house

Doctor desperately trying to help the young girl before she turns to stone

Meteor crater with traces of the Monolith Monster minerals

Getting dangerously close to town

Growing in the rain

Salt water finally stops the menace

The Monolith Monsters (1957) Universal International Pictures

Near the Southwestern town of San Angelo, a huge meteor crashes in the desert and leaves strange black fragments scattered all around. After a young girl brings a piece of the alien mineral home and throws it in a tub of water, the police later find her house destroyed with large pieces of that black mineral spread everywhere and the little girl standing in the shadows in complete shock - her hand darkened and hardening like stone. The girls parents are then found in the rubble, dead and also hardened like stone. The town geologist (and main character) spends the movie trying to figure out what's causing these minerals to grow and whether it has any connection to the bizarre deaths happening in the small town. Eventually the geologist discovers that water is the catalyst for the rapid growth of the mineral fragments. Meanwhile, the little girl is found to be dying as the hardening of her hand is now spreading up her arm. A specialist discovers that the silicone in her body is somehow being removed and consequently causing the hardening of her body. Finally, the little girl's life is saved with a simple saline solution as the geologist discovers salt water stops the rapid growth of the minerals and renders them inert. Of course, a large rain storm hits the area and these mineral fragments out in the desert begin growing to the height of tall buildings. As they grow, they fall over, break apart, and those pieces continue to grow. This pattern continues as they grow, fall, and break apart while moving downhill toward the town. As the minerals approach the town, the geologist has a nearby dam blown up so that the water flows directly through a nearby salt mine. The mixture of flowing water and salt flows into a ravine just in time as the growing minerals fall into the salt water of the ravine (which just happens to be in between the town and the minerals).

I first saw this movie as a child on the "Horror Incorporated" show on KSTP Channel 5 (which used to broadcast old science fiction movies on weekends). To this day, I remember a couple of scenes in that movie that scared me as a kid. The first scene that freaked me out was when the police first discover the little girl standing in the shadows inside the wreckage of her house. At first the viewer can only see part of her until the camera zooms in to reveal her face in complete shock. The second scene that scared me was the discovery of the girl's dead parents under the rubble - wide eyed and hardened to stone. Because of these memories, I was thrilled to find this movie a couple years ago when Universal Studios released the first of two five packs of their old science fiction movies. The picture quality on the DVD is pristine.

This was another of many low budget science fiction movies made by Universal Studios in the fifties. Although the science used to explain the growth and destruction of the minerals is silly, the movie is very well made. Light and shadow are used very effectively to bring out the best of the limited budget's few sets and desert landscapes. The special effects are downright cool for a movie of this age. The model work used to show the growing, advancing minerals breaking apart and then crashing onto a farm house as well as the dam blowing up, washing through the salt piles and then flowing past the crashing minerals all looked fantastic - even to this jaded viewer. As a modern viewer, it's more than obvious to me when a model is used in an old movie like this, but I can also tell when special attention and care was given. This movie is full of that kind of care. For that reason, this movie deserves a top spot among the best of my science fiction collection.

Movie Reviews of the Old, Odd, and Obscure (Part 2)

The evil robot, Maximilian

One of the better action sequences

Beautiful set piece combined with matte painting

The ship lights and star field are breathtaking

The Black Hole (1979) Walt Disney Productions

In the year 2130, an exploratory spaceship encounters a huge black hole along with a long lost ship, the USS Cygnus. They discover that the USS Cygnus is run by a maniacal genius who keeps his previous crew as brain-dead slaves along with an army of robots to run the huge ship while he plans to take the ship into the black hole.

I saw this movie when it was first released at the theater back in 1979 while I was in 9th or 10th grade. I remember thinking back then that the movie was a bit slow and clunky with a mixture of good and bad special effects. I didn't give it much thought after that until recently when I decided to buy the DVD for nostalgia if nothing else. However, my 2nd viewing at the ripe old age of 45 revealed a few things I missed as a teenager. First of all, Disney spent a ton of money on the sets and matte paintings. The star fields have a beautiful blue hue to them, rather than the usual stark black, giving the space scenes a dreamy quality. Secondly, the sets and matte paintings used to portray the interior of the USS Cygnus are absolutely breathtaking when viewed purely on an artistic level. The interior of the main control room did not have the usual interior space ship lights and buttons I was used to seeing in movies at that time. These lights were more elongated and numerous, set in patterns that were probably not very practical but were certainly pleasing to the eye. What still doesn't work in the movie (and probably the reason the movie bombed at the box office) is the silly dialog and awkward pacing. Most of the dialog is downright cringe worthy. Also, the special effects used in the live action sequences were very old fashioned. In most of the scenes of people floating in zero gravity as well as many of the hovering robot sequences, wires were clearly visible - blatantly and embarrassingly visible.

The DVD itself was created in 2004 and still looks decent. The colors of the gorgeous set pieces pop, and the site of the black hole itself is nice to look at. The print of the film could have been cleaned up a bit more as spots and minor scratches were visible throughout. All in all, The Black Hole is fun movie to watch as long as one tunes out the dialog and just takes in the beautiful set pieces.

Movie Reviews of the Old, Odd, and Obscure

The creature oozing up the street

The creature flowing over a stone wall

When one gets too close to the creature

Glowing and ready to explode

X - The Unknown (1956) Hammer Studios

The British Army stumbles upon a radioactive creature that resembles glowing mud. Surviving miles beneath the earth's crust, the creature escapes through a crack in the earth and relentlessly seeks out radioactive facilities in order to absorb the radiation, killing anyone in it's path as it creeps across the countryside.

Rarely broadcast on television (at least in the Winona area), few people have seen this movie that I'm aware of. A few years ago, I happened to catch this movie on AMC and was pleasantly surprised. The movie was well directed by Leslie Norman who later went on to direct a long list of British television series through the 60's and 70's (including some episodes of "The Saint" and "The Avengers"). Wonderfully eerie black and white photography adds to a number of well constructed scenes of suspense and terror - including two shockingly graphic scenes depicting people melting when the creature gets too close to them. The acting and dialog are extremely well done for a low budget movie made in 1956 (which was typical of British cinema at the time).

I found this movie on DVD and bought it earlier this year. The sound and picture quality are top notch for a movie of this age. The print shows very few spots or scratches while the light, shadow, and contrasts in each scene look beautiful. All in all, "X - The Unknown" turned out to be one of the best in my science fiction movie collection.

Lee's Progress

Lee has successfully completed Army basic training and is now about one week into MP training. I don't know if this is good or bad but Lee received the top score in using grenades. He also did really well in weapon accuracy (it is my understanding that he would have had "sharp shooter" if his gun hadn't jammed). His graduation date is still scheduled for April 22nd.

I know Lee is missing home, but now that basic training is over, life isn't quite as regimented. At least he is allowed to take longer showers (rather than 30 second showers) and has more free time on Sunday.

He still has a good chance of being deployed over seas either before, during, or after he attends college. Because of this, please send him positive thoughts in hopes that he is not sent to one of the more dangerous zones.

Lee really enjoys getting letters and has appreciated all the well wishes from friends and family.

Here are the original instructions in how to write to Lee:

Remember to write a 1 on the back of the envelope so it gets to him.
On the front:
Pvt. Kulas, Lee 1
E-787-1
Bldg 932
Fort Leonard Wood, MO 65473

Remember, no food, no books, basically nothing fun in the envelope except your letter.

The War on Science

Despite the fact that science and technology continues to advance at warp speed, a gradual groundswell of scientific backlash threatens to throw our basic understanding of science back into the dark ages.

I first became aware of this trend back in the 1980's when Ronald Reagan was president. Happily stuffed into the back pocket of the Republican Party (as well as the pocket of some democrats), powerful lobbyists working for the big energy companies were already starting to twist reality, convincing misguided conservative folks that environmentalists were evil. These lobbyists were even better than the tobacco lobbyists (who, as I recall, tried really hard to convince us that cigarettes did not cause cancer). All they needed to do was pay certain doctors and scientists insane amounts of money to twist the facts as convincingly as possible.

These tactics continue to work to this day. Apparently, the east coast snow storm was ample proof for Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, and a number of republican politicians to proclaim that there is no such thing as global warming. Good grief! Global warming means just that - the trend that the entire planet is gradually warming. Averaging the temperature of the entire planet showed that the previous decade was the warmest on record. This average temperature is increasing despite parts of the world being really cold and SNOWY in the winter. Duh!!

This dumbing down of America is showing in other areas as well. The way things are going, I don't think it will be long before the state of Kansas outlaws science text books completely. Despite the fact that "intelligent design" is a religious belief and not actually a scientific theory, a large number of folks in Kansas want it placed side by side with "evolution". I find that extremely frightening. Soon the day will come when a child is asked to open his or her science text book and that child will be opening the bible. A science field trip will consist of a trip to the "Creation Museum" http://creationmuseum.org/ at which our children will learn all about how the earth is only 6,000 years old and that people used to live right along side dinosaurs just like Fred Flintstone. These kids can then grow up - no longer advancing technology and medicine. Illness will need to be cured with superstition and magic. Good luck with that, America.