A public apology...

Image via Wikipedia

I would like to publicly apologize to the little kid who attended my screening of "Attack of the Monsters" at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences and was utterly traumatized by the trailer for the movie "The Blob" that I showed before the main film.

We, at the Museum, are holding a Movie Trailer Contest (more details here) and I've been showing various 50's sci-fi/monster movie trailers to inspire the audience. After I showed the feature film "Attack of the Monsters", a little boy, about 4 or 5 years old, came up to me and started asking questions. "What was that movie with the man and the purple thing? The man had a purple thing on his hand? What was that?" It took me a while to figure out that he was talking about the Blob trailer. It was clear that the boy was troubled by the film. "Where did the blob come from? Why did it get that man? " Answering those questions summoned up even more frantic questions. "What does the Blob do that? Why is it getting those people? What happened to the man who had the Blob on his hand?" I tried to soft pedal the fact that the Blob kills people, but the boy already knew this. His mom showed up to pull her son away. I looked at her apologetically, "I'm sorry. He's going to have nightmares tonight."

I have a feeling that this kid will be haunted by The Blob for the rest of his life and for that I apologize.*

*Although, this event could spark the kid to be a brilliant scientist, science-fiction writer or filmmaker. If that is the case, I'll gladly take credit.

"The bird legs of space"

Today I learned that when the human body spends an amount of time in zero-gravity, the fluids that normally stay in the legs migrate to the chest and abdomen making the legs skinny aka "bird legs of space." Other effects include the face and head get puffy with fluid and you can grow an inch in height.

Ricardo Montalbán RIP (1920 –2009)

International Space Archives

We just lost a great Latino character actor who played many memorable sci-fi/fantasy roles, Khan Noonien Singh on "Star Trek", Armando the circus owner in Escape from the Planet of the Apes and Conquest of the Planet of the Apes who hid Caesar, the intelligent talking chimp, from the government and eventually led to our planet's downfall. And of course he played Mr. Rourke on that wretched Aaron Spelling show "Fantasy Island." Ricardo also voiced many commercials and short films including this NASA short "Women for Space" (hosted by the International Space Archives)

McRib Locator

MacRib Locator
So I'm not the only one who loves those greasy little sandwiches. This site allows users to post McRib sightings across the US. I've given up many of the things that McDonalds sells (soda, fries) but I can't give up the McRib.

Luckily, vegetarians/vegans can also indulge thanks to Gardenburger. They are getting harder to find (Kroger no longer stocks Gardenburger, but Trader Joes has them). I recommend adding the pickles and onions and a toasted sesame seed bun.

Finally...

After years of planning and waiting, my work with NASA moving images can be seen by the public...

http://www.internationalspacearchives.com/

I've digitized about 300 videos from NASA's educational branch and there are another 1000 or so films and videos in the pipeline. Enjoy!

This Means Something!

I was at OfficeMax looking for supplies - which they didn't have - and had to call Staples. The Staples employee put me on hold and the telephone hold music was exactly the same as the music being played at OfficeMax! I feel like I uncovered some hidden conspiracy...

If you are wondering...

..what I want for Christmas, this is on my wish list*

Sexual Behavior of Normal, Socially Isolated and LSD - 25 Injected Guinea Pigs (1959)
Distributed by Pennsylvania State Univ Psych Cinema Register
Univ Of Kansas; Lawrence; KS; 66045. 1 film reel (17 min.), optical sound, 16 mm. B & W

Shows the estrous behavior of female guinea pigs, and the various phases of sexual behavior of normal males and the reduced amount of sexual behavior of males, raised in social isolation, when in the presence of an estrous female. Illustrates how an injection of LSD25 disrupts the sexual behavior of the male.

*For some reason, Amazon won't let me add this to my Amazon Wish List...