Son of the Invisible Man

I never saw the spoof movie Amazon Women of the Moon, but this 3 minute clip, of the Invisible Man, is rather amusing.



I don't want to give it away...

Stars Ed Begley, Jr. as Griffin. All of Griffin....

The Annotated Atlas Shrugged

I've started a new blog, in which I'll be sharing the symbolism of Ayn Rand's book, Atlas Shrugged.

Written in 1957, it is rather prophetic today. The only problem is the intellectuals (and the wealthy) are being forced out of today's world, and there's nowhere for them to go... as the blight is world-wide... something that Ayn Rand didn't foresee. (I'm sure she never dreamed that the American government, and American big business, would ever sell our patrimony out from under us to other countries - from road upkeep to the very ports where we receive shipments of food, et al.)

Anyway, for those who want to know, Who Is John Galt?

http://johngaltandthefountainhead.blogspot.com/

Because you can never have too many websites...

Many years ago I saw an episode of Roger Moore's The Saint entitled "The Fiction Makers", and it's been in the back of my mind to write a novel featuring the titles that were used in that episode, in particular "Volcano Seven." I love the sound of that.

Well, I've had the domain name Volcano Seven for a long time, but haven't properly advertised it yet. So, on the front page of that site, are links to all my other sites!

To follow the links below, go to this page first: VolcanoSeven.com


Volcano Seven - a tribute to The Fiction Makers episode
Kindle Kindlings - reviews of Kindle boooks
Who is John Galt? - do we need a John Galt and Atlas Shrugged today?

The Thunder Child - my sf webzine
Two Such People - my Avengers fan fiction
Sand Rock Sentinel - 1950s SF movie fiction and real news, combined!

Ghost Guns Virginia - travel in Virginia
Have Laptop, Will Travel - travel around the USA. A trip I hope to take beginning in March.
The Fountainhead Blog - a blog to drive people to my Who Is John Galt? site

Winged Victory - women in aviation
Plane Language - aviation vocabulary, history, etc.
You Fly Girl Blog - aviation webzine blog
Freedom Seat Reviews - Exclusive for hte Kindle. Books and articles on aviation

Michael Goorjian - actor fan site
Hellfire Hall - actor fan site, for Peter Wyngarde
Conrad Veidt - actor fan site
The Clive Francis Files - actor fan site

Who Is John Galt? bumper stickers

I have two "Who is John Galt?" bumper stickers for sale.

$3.99 each, via paypal. Send $3.99 to Barbara@thethunderchild.com, and your bumper sticker will be heading its way to you within three days. (Your address is sent to me via Paypal).

Who is John Galt?

He is the mysterious character in Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, in which "the people of the mind" go on strike.

Who are the people of the mind? People -- black, white, red, brown -- who value education and knowledge and go out and produce.... rather than people - of all races, creeds and colors - who'd rather sit on their behinds and let the "government" take care of them.

The Ultimate Guide to James Bond Unused Movie Music

Matt Monroe sings From Russia With Love



Anthony Newley co-wrote the theme music for Goldfinger. Here he is singing it. It's a much more low-key effort than Shirley Basseys, and doesn't have the three note horns at the beginning, but I actually quite like it.




Johnny Cash submitted a song to the producers of Thunderball, but they elected not to use it.




Blondie submitted For Your Eyes Only, but eventually SHeena Eeston sang a different theme song.



The Living Daylights, by a-ha

The same music as the movie, but with a different mix. John Barry and a-ha "did not collaborate well." Barry's mix was used in the movie.



Ace of Base demo for Goldeneye



A Pleasant Drive in St. Petersburg, from Goldeneye. The tank chase, replaced in the film, but available on the soundtrack.

Thinking of taking fish oil capsules as a supplement?

In a health related post, I share with you an email my sister sent:

I have been feeling ill all week due to an overdose of fish oil.

To make a long story short, I read a book called "A Magnificent Mind at Any Age". It is very interesting and the doctor recommends taking a fish oil supplement to maintain a healthy mind. Fish oil is supposed to be good for you because it contains Omega three fatty acids.

Well I went to GNC and talked to the clerk about fish oil capsules. They recommend you take a 300 milligram fish oil supplement three times a day or one 900 milligram fish oil supplement once a day. I bought the 900 milligram capsules. I took one capsule Tuesday morning and almost immediately became queasy and felt queasy on and off all week until yesterday. So queasy (on the verge of throwing up) that all I wanted to do was lay on the couch for long stretches at a time and not move.

Using online research I found out there are side affects to the supplements - fish breath, queasiness and diaria being just a few, and that it takes time for your body to get used to taking fish oil supplements and you should start out with a low dose. The clerk didn't mention any of this when I bought the stuff.

Also I learned that you can get Omega three fatty acids from eating walnuts, pecans and kiwifruit , as well as Salmon and Albacore tuna. Husband and I already eat Salmon occasionally, and Son likes tuna fish sandwiches and tuna casserole. - so I have decided forget about the fish oil supplements but to just eat more salmon, tuna, kiwi and pecans.

Undersea Science Fiction Books

In compiling my catalog of SF works offered for sale on Kindle, which you can find here (thethunderchild.com/KindleKindlings.html">) I'm coming across some that take place under the oceans, featuring merpeople, or aliens who prefer an aquatic environment, etc. Since there are so few of these books, I'm going to share them here.



Seabird

The Lonely God: fantasy stories of Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie is known for her detective stories - for Hercule Poirot and Miss Marpe and the longest running play of all time, The Mousetrap (which I personally have seen over a dozen times, in the West End, as well as in amateur productions here in the States).

However she also wrote horror and fantasy short stories.

I came across an intersting one called The Lonely God, in The Harlequin Tea Set collection, which I think inspired at least a bit of Terry Pratchett's Small Gods, but I'll get to that last of all.

First I'll set the scene:

I've never cared for horror stories of any kind, so I haven't read any of her short stories..at least, I stopped as soon as I figured out they were horror. We're not talking blood, guts and gore horror, more like psychological horror. But I just don't like 'em.

I like her fantasy stories somewhat better, in particular the Harley Quin stories. Harley Quin is a visitor from "beyond the grave" who shows up when people need life-and-death help. Somewhat nebbishy Mr. Satterwaite, travelling around England for whatever reason, usually meets Quin, who drops a hint or suggest this or that...and Satterwaite ends up either saving someone's life, or, one one occasion, just failing to do so.

I've read every Agatha Christie novel - for many years I owned them all before it was necessary to pare back my library - but although I thought I'd read all her anthologies as well, turns out I'd never read The Harlequin Tea Set until today.

Of the 9 stories included, only one, The Spanish Chest, is a Poirot story - the rest are mysteries or suspense stories. (And of course The Harlequin Tea Set, a Harley Quin story, not one of the better ones in the series, in my opinion.)

Anyway, so I'm reading The Lonely God:

He stood on a shelf in the British Museum, alone and forlorn amongst a company of obviously more important deities. Ranged round the four walls, these greater personages all seemed to display an overwhelming sense of their own superiority. The pedestal of eaach was duly inscribed with the land and race that had been proud to possess him. There was no doubt of their position; they were divinities of importance and recognized as such.

Only the little god in the corner was aloof and remote from their company. Roughly hewn out of grey stone, his features almost totally obliterated by time and exposure, he sat there in isolation, his elbows on his knees, and his head buried in his hands, a lonely little god in a strange country.

One man who visits the British museum becomes fascinated by this little god, and soon a lonely woman comes in...the god arranges it so they both fall in love, but of course, once they have love they have no need of him anymore, so they never return to the museum and he's all alone again...

This is part (a very small part, be advised) of Terry Pratchett's Small Gods. In his novel, Pratchett points out that a god remains a god ony when he has worshippers. Should he be forgotten, he fades away, until he's no more than a voice on the wind...

So, tbe story resonated with me, and I wonder if Pratchett, whose English after all, had read that Chrisite story and it had set him one of the many threads with which he weaved my favorite Pratchett novel. (I love Small Gods.)

Kindle Kindlings

I've started doing a bit of work with Kindle... I've got a page for science fiction books on Kindle, and I've started a website for Kindle reviews.

KindleKindlins.com: Review Site

http://thethunderchild.com/KindleKindlings.html: Commercial site, for Kindle science fiction books

Thunderbirds Are Go!

A new feature - I'll be reviewing an episode of a Gerry and Sylvia Anderson TV series a day, starting with Thunderbirds are Go.

Anderson had some real bizarre shows, for example Secret Service and Joe 90 that are kind of hard to watch, but Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet... not to mention Stingray! Good stuff!

OT: McGee's Musings, New NCIS Fan fiction

http://thepeopleoutthere.blogspot.com/2009/02/mcgees-musings-month-in-life-of-thom-e.html

is the link to my NCIS fan fiction blog. My first story there was called The People Out There, and was science fiction in nature, as aliens transpose the bodies of Mark Harmon with Agent Gibbs. This new story, Blue Water, White Death, will also turn out to be science fiction, eventually.

Other than that, what's going on with me today? Not much. I did some freelance writing for a company "off elance", and looks like they're not going to pay me, and that's got me rather upset. If I don't get paid by the end of tonight, I know I've been gypped, and I can deal with that. But until it happens, I'm just not in the mood to do anything except watch TV and eat chocolate...

The Illustrated Bradbury

Those of you who live in California are fortunate enough to go see a one-man show called The Illustrated Bradbury, if you so wish. It opened last night (Feb 21) and will run until March 8, 2009.

Ray Bradbury himself was there the opening night, introducing the show and signing his books afterwards.

(I'm in Virginia and so did not and cannot see it, but I've read a review of it. This person thought the first act dragged but that the second act absolutely made up for it, with a long monologue by the Fire Captain in Farhenheit 451 which is "as potent and relevant today ad when he wrote it in 1953".)

http://www.theatermania.com/los-angeles/shows/the-illustrated-bradbury_150452/


http://www.fremontcentretheatre.com/


Synopsis from website:
Back in 1951, Ray Bradbury wrote a book called The Illustrated Man, in which the titular character possessed tattoos which came to animated life and depicted stories of the past and future. Actor Tobias Andersen uses the character as an inspiration for his non-tattooed solo performance piece The Illustrated Bradbury in which he depicts nine tales derived from different volumes by the fantasy master and Pulitzer Prize honoree Bradbury.

The storylines unfolded include ones about: a man who seeks to destroy every machine that intrudes upon his life; men of the present day encountering a prehistoric monster from the ocean depths; a woman who stubbornly faces down Death himself; a chicken with a remarkable gift foretelling the future; and much more.

Time to think about an Electric Bike

Electric bikes have come a long way. It used to be that everyone knew you were riding one - there'd be this clunky thing attached to the frame (the motor).

http://www.electricbikee.com/

However, these days, the most sophisticated bikes look just like.. bikes. The motor - or the powerplant, anyway! is concealed within the frame of the bike, and the batteries that power it are tastefully hidden in an over the wheel pannier, for example.

An electric bike is not just for "lazy" bikers. You still have to pedal! It's when you come to some daunting hill, you need fear it no more. Start pedaling, and the motor will help you out.

And should the battery die on you (as current batteries do at about the 70 mile mark) you can still pedal yourself home.

There's a website that discusses all the new electric bikes, scooters and (soon to come) motorcycles on the market. Whatever you think about the green movement, electric bikes make a lot of sense.

Read up on 'em.

http://www.electricbikee.com/

Conjure Wife

Wow, I haven't posted here in a long time... had no idea I'd been so dilatory.

Well, I've had a lot of projects on the burner.

http://conjurewife.blogspot.com/

I've started a blog on magic called Conjure Wife. I like that title, for all that it's the title of a Fritz Leiber novelette about a man who discovers he's married to a real live witch. It's been made into a movie a couple of times - including one starring one of my favorite actors, Peter Wyngarde, called Night of the Eagle/Burn Witch Burn. (Had they just called it Conjure Wife, it might actually have drawn an audience!)

Also, they're remaking the film for a 2010 debut...I don't hold out much hope that it will be any good... I really really dislike modern films with their insistence on blood, guts and gore...and the fact that many people actually rate their approval of such films by how much gore it actually has, is very frightening.

Anyway, the blog will deal with a history of magic, and magicians, with an emphasis on female magicians, and also with any other esoterica, for example magicians on stamps, magicians on TV, and so on.

So please check it out.

Mary Poppins - 45th year anniversary

I'm quite fond of Mary Poppins, but not so fond that, if I'd purchased the 40th Anniversary edition 5 years ago, I'd now shell out a third as much money to get the 45th anniversary edition. (At least I don't have to buy the Gold Edition.)

However, since I don't have that 40th anniversary edition, I'm thinking I will get this one. It's a 2-disc set, with a ton of extras (but, of course, missing a couple of extras from the 40th edition):

Backstage Disney

* Disney on Broadway (All New to DVD)

- "Mary Poppins from Page to Stage": The story of Mary Poppins from book to Broadway as the creative team and cast prepare to take the long running show on tour. A very well-done documentary on the stage production of "Mary Poppins," detailing almost every aspect of the production that began in London. Especially interesting is how P.L. Travers did not want any "Americans" involved in the stage production, as she was truly not happy with what Disney did with her books. This feature takes you all over the globe: interviews with the 2 leads are held in NYC at Sardi's restaurant; an interview with one of the Sherman Brothers is filmed in Beverly Hills; interviews with the stage productions composers George Stiles & Anthony Drewe are held in England (they did a fantastic job of blending their compositions seamlessly with the Sherman Brothers' songs from the film). You'll also hear from Bob Crowley, the scenic and costume designer, detailing how he came up with the sets (inspired by the book's illustrations) and changes he made for the touring production.

- "Step in Time": The Broadway cast of Mary Poppins performs the number "Step in Time" from the show. This is a nice glimpse into the stage production. Although it doesn't quite have the pizzazz of the filmed number (what a tough act to follow), the choreography, sets, and costumes work together to create a fantastic production. Especially effective is the use of costumes and make-up to create the illusion of the chimney sweeps are in black and white, making Mary Poppins in her red dress stand out even more.

- Step in Time - Downloadable MP3 featuring the Broadway cast of Mary Poppins singing "Step in Time," featuring Ashley Brown as Mary Poppins and Gavin Lee as Bert.

- Video Intro By Scenic & Costume Designer, Bob Crowley

- Bob Crowley's Design Galleries: Concept art, costume designs, set designs and set models for the Broadway musical

* Audio Commentary: with stars Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, Karen Dotrice and songwriter Richard Sherman. There are a few archival comments included from Walt Disney and others. Fantastic track that really adds to the enjoyment of the film. Especially interesting is the "Feed the Birds" number, where Sherman talks about Mary Poppins instilling social responsibility into the children by planting the idea of feeding the birds with tuppence, thus setting off the important string of events at the end of the film.

* Poppins Pop-Up Fun Facts: View fun-filled facts about the creation of the movie during viewing. Mirrors some of the information from the commentary track, but still enjoyable to learn some of the behind-the-scenes info as you are watching the movie.

* "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious: The Making of Mary Poppins": The definitive behind-the- scenes look at how this unique and beloved film came into being.

* Movie Magic: A look at the special effect techniques used to bring the magical world of Mary Poppins to life.

* The Gala World Premiere: Footage from the Red Carpet. What a feast this is; a few different rolls of film (mixing bw and color) have been edited together to recreate as much as possible of this magical evening. See Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, Ed Wynn, Cesar Romero, and so many more classic stars. Even Walt & his wife are on hand (it even appears that Walt is gently chastising the costumed Mickey character at one point).

* Dick Van Dyke Make-Up Test for his role of the elder Mr. Dawes. On the commentary track, Karen Dotrice (Jane Banks) admits that during filming, she was not told that Dick Van Dyke was playing the elder Mr. Dawes. She thought it was just some old smelly man who was close to death!

* Trailers, Ads and More from the Original Release and Reissue of the Film

* Mary Poppins Still Art Galleries

Music & More

* Disney's Song Selection: Sing along to "A Spoonful of Sugar," "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" and any of the film's other memorable songs as the lyrics pop up on screen. Each song can be selected separately or while watching the film.

* Magical Musical Reunion: Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke and songwriter Richard Sherman reminisce about making Mary Poppins and the music that makes it so special.

* A Musical Journey with Richard Sherman: A delightful magical journey through some of the film's locations with co-composer Richard Sherman, who reveals surprising secrets about the music of Mary Poppins along the way.

* Bonus Short: "The Cat That Looked at a King": Live action and animation based on a chapter from P.L. Travers' sequel "Mary Poppins Opens the Door." Julie Andrews hosts this short done in the style of the whimsical chalk drawings from the movie "Mary Poppins." Vocal talents of Sarah Ferguson, Tracey Ullman, and David Ogden Stiers.

* Deleted Song: "Chimpanzoo": A reconstruction of a song that did not appear in the movie using original storyboard and concept art, accompanied by a new rendition of the song performed by co- composer Richard Sherman.

Specs: Video is original aspect ration of 1:66:1, and audio is 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound with French & Spanish language tracks & subtitles.

Nevertheless, it is annoying. I know that companies have to make money, and the only way to do that is to have a catalog full of offerings that someone will buy, but to re-issue a movie every 5 years? Seems kind of greedy! (I wonder what they'll do for the 50th anniversary edition?)

I've also heard, from someone who should know about these things, that many companies today deliberately play down the quality of the transfers they put out on DVD, because they want the BlueRay editions to look that much better - which I also think is dirty pool!

Anyway, if you haven't yet gotten your copy of Mary Poppins, choose one of the trio below. (Well, you can choose more if you certainly like...)

Tom Corbett Space Cadet newspaper comic strip

<<<< September 2, 1951

http://allthingsger.blogspot.com/2009/01/i-come-across-lot-of-intriguing-or.html

If you follow the link above, you'll be able to see some of the comic strips.

Kaaaaaahhhhhhhhhnnnnnn!

(With Cyd Charisse)

Actor Ricardo Montalban - who played Kahn on the original Star Trek episode Space Seed, and in the second Star Trek movie - the one that saved the movie franchise, as far as I'm concerned, after the debacle of the first movie - The Wrath of Kahn, died today also.

He was 88.

He starred as Mr. Rourke in Fantasy Island, the TV series, as well as the movies Escape From The Planet Of The Apes, and Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes, in SF and fantasy roles, in addition to a long and illustrious career in dramatic roles.

And thanks to YouTube:

Patrick McGoohan has died

"I am not a number! I am a free man!"


Patrick McGoohan interviewed about The Prisonerin 1977, by Warner Troyer.


From the guardian.co.uk

"Patrick McGoohan, the Emmy award-winning actor who created and starred in 1960s TV show The Prisoner, has died at the age of 80.

The actor's son-in-law, film producer Cleve Landsberg, said today that McGoohan had died yesterday in Los Angeles after a short illness.

McGoohan was best known as the title character Number Six in surreal drama The Prisoner, which aired on ITV in the UK. He played a former spy who is held captive in a small village and constantly tries to escape.

He also won two Emmys for detective drama Columbo, playing different characters, with the first coming in 1974 and the other 16 years later.

More recently, McGoohan appeared as King Edward Longshanks in the 1995 Mel Gibson film Braveheart.

McGoohan, who was born in New York but raised in England and Ireland, came to screen prominence in ITV's early 1960s drama series Danger Man, in which he played a secret agent.

He was also considered for the lead role in the first James Bond movie, Dr No, before Sean Connery was cast.

However, it was The Prisoner, which aired originally on ITV between 1967 and 1968, with which he was chiefly associated, writing some of the episodes himself under a different name.

His character, Number Six, spent the entire time attempting to escape from a prison - which was disguised as a holiday camp - and trying to find out the identity of his captor, the elusive Number One. He repeatedly declared: "I am not a number - I am a free man!"

In 2000, McGoohan reprised his most famous role in an episode of The Simpsons. His last acting job came in 2002, voicing a character in animation Treasure Planet.

ITV is currently remaking The Prisoner in conjunction with American cable channel AMC.It is due to air later this year.

McGoohan's other film acting credits include Ice Station Zebra, Escape from Alcatraz, Scanners and A Time to Kill".

Don't lie to me...

There's a new TV series coming down the pike soon, called "Lie to Me."

It's premise is, apparently, that the geniuses concerned (a British actor in the lead, the obligatory woman, and a couple of other guys) can tell if somebody's lying.

What a weak premise to base a show on!

But everyone's trying to copy the success of these "gimmick" shows, like Numbers and Crimal Minds. I see that Christian Slater's show, My Own Worst Enemy, seems to have already disappeared...

World of Warcraft Leveling Guides

It's been a while since I've played online games, but I'd been hearing so much about World of Warcraft that I decided to give it a try.

And... it is fun!

Unfortunately it is also time consuming... and time isn't what I've got!

Nevertheless, I've decided to get involved in it as far as to be able to recommend various guides and items to others.

So, this is the first item I'll be talking about: Zygor In-Game Alliance & Horde World Of Warcraft 1-80 Leveling Guides.

This is what they promise - and deliver - according to people I've talked to:

-The Exact Alliance And Horde Leveling Paths Other People, Just Like You, Have Used -To Level Their Characters To Level 80 In Under 7 Days /Played Time
-How To Quickly Level Any Character Class Easily And Efficiently Using These In-Game Guides
-The ONLY Extremely Detailed In-Game Leveling Guides ... No Other Guide Even Comes Close To Matching This Level Of Detail
-The Key To Unlocking Your Full WoW Leveling Potential So You Can Blaze Through Levels. It's Like You Have a Leveling Guru Sitting Next To You At All Times!
-How To Subtract DAYS Off Of Your Level 80 /Played Time So You Can Spend Your Time Doing Other Fun Activies, Such As Raids, Instances, or PvP

The author of these guides is John Cook - who'se been playing the game since the beta stage, so you know he knows what he's talking about.

What makes it different from others - there's an Alliance Leveling Guide and a Horde Leveling Guide.

$50 for the entire package - less expensive than the other guides (Joana, Team iDemise, Brian Kopp) but delivers more.

(The site where you purchase these guides also has a members area (well, they all do, don't they) where you can go and talk to fellow players, get tips and just hang out.)

So check it out. The URL again is:
Zygor In-Game Alliance & Horde World Of Warcraft 1-80 Leveling Guides.

For those of you who don't know what World of Warcraft is, I borrow the first two paragraphs from Wikipedia:

a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). It is Blizzard Entertainment's fourth released game set in the fantasy Warcraft universe, which was first introduced by Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in 1994. World of Warcraft takes place within the world of Azeroth, four years after the events at the conclusion of Blizzard's previous release, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. Blizzard Entertainment announced World of Warcraft on September 2, 2001. The game was released on November 23, 2004, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Warcraft franchise.

The first expansion set of the game, The Burning Crusade, was released on January 16, 2007. The second expansion set, Wrath of the Lich King, was released on November 13, 2008.

With more than 11.5 million monthly subscribers, World of Warcraft is currently the world's largest MMORPG in those terms, and holds the Guinness World Record for the most popular MMORPG.[10] In April 2008, World of Warcraft was estimated to hold 62% of the massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) market.