Hand of Death (1962)

 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:  Hand of Death (also known as Five Fingers of Death) is a low-budget 1962 American horror film directed by Gene Nelson, and written and produced by Eugene Ling.^[1] The film stars John Agar, Paula Raymond, Stephen Dunne and Roy Gordon. The narrative follows a scientist who develops a military nerve gas. After accidentally exposing himself to it, he not only turns into a grotesque monster, but anyone who touches him dies. The scientist goes on the run but is killed by police before a curative serum can be tried on him.

Revenge of the Fire Monster

 

I watched War of the Monsters last night, the best version of Gamera vs. Barugon.  From Wiki- Gamera vs. Barugon (大怪獣決闘 ガメラ対バルゴン, Daikaijū kettō: Gamera tai Barugon, lit. 'Great Monster Duel: Gamera vs. Barugon') is a 1966 Japanese kaiju film directed by Shigeo Tanaka, with special effects by Noriaki Yuasa and Kazufumi Fujii. Produced by Daiei Film, it is the second entry in the Gamera franchise, and stars Kōjirō Hongō, Kyōko Enami, and Yūzō Hayakawa, with Teruo Aragaki as Gamera. In the film, Gamera returns to Earth to battle a reptilian monster born out of an opal brought to Japan by greedy entrepreneurs.

Eve of Destruction- The Undead

  

Belgium Godzilla vs the Thing

 As we gear up for Xenorama's celebration of the 60th anniversary of Godzilla vs. the Thing, we have found and been provided to us many posters and stills from all around the world.  Some are based on the Japanese poster and some are based on AIP's US poster.  Some are a weird combination of both, like this one from some unknown country.  We do not recognize the language, at least at this point in time.  It is not German, that's for sure.

HOTW- Superboy (the original)

 

From Wiki- From the character's first published story in 1944 until 1992, the title Superboy was applied to versions of the adventures of Superman (Kal-El) as a boy, teenager or young adult. The primary settings for the stories were the fictional town of Smallville, the 30th Century (where Superboy featured in time travel adventures with the Legion of Super-Heroes) and universities attended by Clark Kent.  Back to me:  Since 1992 there have been about a billion other characters with this name, and none have been quite as fun as the original  I have no idea if Krypto exists, though movies have been made about him, as well as cartoons, but none are as fun as the original, either.

Modern English - I Melt With You (Official Video)

Let's try this again...

Modern English - I Melt With You (Valley Girl)

              You can click on the video to watch it on YouTube!

Calvin Monday 11-20-1985

Sven- The Leech Woman (1960(

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:  The Leech Woman is a 1960 black-and-white American horror film directed by Edward Dein, produced by Joseph Gershenon, and starring Coleen Gray, Grant Williams, Gloria Talbott and Phillip Terry. The plot follows a middle-aged American woman, desperate to be young again, who uses an ancient, secret African potion to regain her lost youth and beauty. The potion works, but only temporarily, requiring repeated usage.  Produced in 1959, Leech Woman's US theatrical release from Universal-International was as a double feature with The Brides of Dracula.

Master Killer/The 36th Chamber of Shaolin

 

From Wiki- A young student named Liu Yude is drawn by his activist teacher into the local rebellion against the Manchu government. The government officials, headed by the brutal General Tien Ta, however, quickly discover and suppress the uprising, liquidating the school and killing the students' friends and family members. Yude decides to seek vengeance and liberation for the people, and heads for the Shaolin temple to learn kung fu. Wounded by Manchu henchmen during an escape, Yude reaches the temple and seeks sanctuary. Initially the monks reject him, since he is an outsider, but the chief abbot has mercy on the young man and lets him stay. One year later, Yude - now known as San Te - begins his martial arts training in the temple's 35 chambers, in each of which the temple's novices are trained in one aspect of the kung fu fighting arts.

The Leech Woman (1960) - Official Trailer

          

Brontosaurus excelsus

 I am not sure who drew this, but it is such a great picture.  It is obviously an "old school" or "vintage" drawing, and probably came from some kind of comic book.  Sauropods in the water, tail dragging, heck, even the name itself are all clues.  Russ Heath, of Tarzan and Magnus, Robot Fighter fame, did the art.  No wonder it looks so great!

HOTW- Mr. Fantastic

From Wiki-  It was on Reed's initiative that the fateful mission which had Susan Storm, Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm accompanying him into space took place. When their ship passed through the Van Allen belt they found their cockpit bombarded with nearly lethal doses of cosmic radiation. Reed had neglected to account for the abnormal radiation levels in the belt's atmosphere. The cosmic rays wreaked havoc on the starship's insufficient shielding and they were forced to return to Earth immediately. When they crash-landed they found that their bodies were changed dramatically. Reed's body was elastic and he could reshape any portion of his body at will. At his suggestion, they decided to use their new abilities to serve mankind as the Fantastic Four. Reed was chosen to lead the group, under the name "Mr. Fantastic".^[10]

He Could Be The One- Josie Cotton

          

Calvin Monday 11-19-1985

 

George Thorogood And The Destroyers - Get A Haircut

Sven- The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)

 

From Wiki- In 1547 Spain, Englishman Francis Barnard visits the castle of his brother-in-law, Nicholas Medina, to investigate the mysterious disappearance of his sister, Elizabeth. Nicholas and his younger sister, Catherine, offer a vague explanation that Elizabeth died from a rare blood disorder three months earlier; Nicholas is evasive when Francis asks for specific details. Francis vows not to leave until he discovers the truth behind his sister's death.  Francis again asks about his sister's death during dinner with the family physician, Dr. Leon. Dr. Leon tells him that his sister died of massive heart failure, literally "dying of fright". Francis demands to see where Elizabeth died. Nicholas takes him to the castle's torture chamber. Nicholas reveals that Elizabeth became obsessed with the chamber's torture devices under the influence of the castle's "heavy atmosphere". After becoming progressively unbalanced, she locked herself into an iron maiden, and died after whispering the name "Sebastian" one day. Francis refuses to believe Nicholas's story.

Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales (1963)

 

From WIki- The series centers on Tennessee Tuxedo, a penguin, and his dimwitted friend Chumley, a walrus. They live in the Megapolis Zoo along with friends Yakkety Yak and Baldy the Eagle.^[7] The Megapolis Zoo is run by the ill-tempered zoo director Stanley Livingston and his zookeeper assistant Flunky. In different episodes, Stanley has often threatened to skin Tennessee and Chumley alive. Four episodes featured Howler, a dog that Tennessee got from his Uncle Admiration. In addition, Tennessee competes against his rival Jerboa Jump and his later henchman Tiger Tornado. Me again: As a kid I quite enjoyed this show.  I liked learning things from Professor Whoopee, and the running Fibber McGee joke was always funny to us.  Tennessee always tried to get things done, but sometimes his motivations were not very pure.

The Pit and the Pendulum - Vincent Price (1961) - Official Trailer

          

Lost Retromania Show review

 Back on May 19th I drove south to Aurora to attend a Retromedia show.  It was to see Wesley Eure and Kathy Coleman of Land of the Lost fame.   Turns out that Ernie Reyes Jr. was there, along with Sid Krofft, so there goes all my money!  I had not been to any sort of shows like this in a long time, nearly ten years, so I was looking forward to it.  Also, the tickets were not expensive at all.  I knew stars were now charging for signatures and pictures etc, so I had budgeted for that.  Sid was the surprise guest, but since I had been watching so many of his shows my life, and he is 94 years old, I needed an autograph from him as well.  You can see it over there in the upper right hand corner.  He was great to talk to as well.

HOTW- Noman

 

From Comic VIne- Dr. Dunn is a 76-year-old, wheelchair-bound scientist who works for T.H.U.N.D.E.R. With the help of the late Dr. Jennings, he has designed android bodies into which a human consciousness can theoretically be transferred. Dunn decides to become the first to try the switch because he is near death. Entering the transfer "cabinet, " he successfully makes the transition, whereafter, simply by willing it, he can shuttle his mind over any distance into one of the other androids at T.H.U.N.D.E.R. headquarters. Each of the androids weighs 350 pounds and possesses extraordinary strength. Equipped with a cloak of invisibility--which when activated by twisting the dial-fastener, "activates a forcefield in which the alignment of the molecules permits light to pass with no reflection" --Dunn is code-named NoMan.

Calvin Monday 11-18-85

 

This is the first Calvin and Hobbes strip.  It was published on November 18th, 1985.  I didn't discover the strip for a few years, but I found the first collection almost immediately after that.  The art in the current daily was slightly different, and Watterson himself has said he isn't pleased with this original style, but who likes their early work completely?

Sven- The Monolith Monsters (1957)

 

A meteorite crashes into the California desert.  It spreads shards all over the crash site.  People pick up shards, and inadvertently let the rocks get wet, which causes them to grow and also suck out "silica" from anything nearby, including people.  A convenient storm causes the rocks to grow, crash, and grow again, threatening the town of San Angelo.  It is up to the former shrinking man, Grant Williams as Dave Miller to figure out how reverse the petrification effects of the meteors and stop the crashing of the huge pylons of rocks from destroying the town.  It is a good thing there is a salt mine near the ravine and damn, now isn't it?

Moonlight SY3 on the Moon

 

The movie Destroy All Monsters (1968) is full of great miniatures and great cinematography.  Take this shot here.  The SY3 is "parked" over the Moon Base (Alpha?, we know what else is about to happen in the year 1999)  It is also well lit and easily understood.  Wisely, they never bother showing the crew members traipsing about on the surface of the moon, which makes sense.  There is a lot going on in this movie and simple is always the best course of action.

THE MONOLITH MONSTERS (1951) Clip

   

Taschen- Little Book of Fantastic Four

 

These little books by Taschen are just great.  I have several of them in my collection and they are all great.  Some bits of history have been glossed over, but what do you want for a small book of about 240 pages or so?  Roy Thomas wrote many of the Marvel hero books for Taschen, and as one of the top comic book historians in the world, he does a great job here.  The book is lavishly illustrated and in full color.  They are also quite affordable as well.  This one is almost ten years old now, so Thomas could write a second volume, which I would probably buy and enjoy.

HOTW- The Mighty Mightor

 

• [Opening narration: "Mighty Mightor"] 

  Narrator : While on a hunting trip, Tor and his faithful companion Tog rescue an ancient hermit from a Tyrannosarus rex. Grateful, the old man gives Tor a club which possesses great powers. Tor raises the club and he becomes Mightor, and Tog is transferred into a fire-breathing dragon. Together they become champions of good and the nemesis of evil!

  Mightor : MIGHTOR!

Sand Level - Dinosaur Ghost - (When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth 1970)

           

Calvin Monday 3-18-1989

 

And finally, we have the finish of the beanie beautification.  Reality continues to ruin Calvin's life, but he does find a silver lining, and this is something he can do with Hobbes as well.  An empty box is full of mystery and adventure!  This is a rather small box, and we never do see it again, unlike the transmogrifier.  I am sure they used it for something pretty darn great, though.  Maybe they used it to hold the mushy apples for G.R.O.S.S. until the box fell apart.  A gross box would fit right in to that great club, don'tcha know, right?  Now it is on towards the next adventure!

The Tingler (itself)

 

Sven aired this again last night, and I watched a bit of it.  I like the movie, but not enough to sit through it again.  I think the problem is that most of the characters, if not all of them, are thoroughly unlikable.  Even the ostensible hero, Vincent Price as Dr. Warren Chapin is rather thoughtless.  You kinda root for the Tingler itself to kill all of these people.  But what happens to the critter once it is removed from the spine?  If we all have them in us, and need to scream to subdue it, don't they die with us?

Dinosaur Day 2024

 

Today marks the 200th anniversary of dinosaurs.  Well, at least the discovery of the first one.  This could be the mighty Megalosaurus or the infamous Iguanadon.  The Megalosaurus was the first genus to be validly named.  The word dinosaur hadn't been invented yet.  I am not a hundred per cent sure why to day is Dinosaur Day, but I bet I find out in a few hours.