did you mirror write?

I was recently talking to someone about backwards writing.

You know, writing that's written as if its in a mirror.

My mates and me loved to mess with this when we were kids in the Sixties. Its was a sort of code. Not only did some of us write it but it was spoken as well.

It began with our names.

Mine was Sdoow Luap. It could have been Luap Sdoow if I reversed in the same order, which some kids did, but strictly speaking the true mirror name was Sdoow Luap.

My mates included such gems as Yllredda Nibor and Nossac Nhoj!

These could read normally by placing a mirror at the end and reading the names in the mirror.

There are some difficulties in describing mirror writing though. Is it actually reversed or is it flipped i.e. on its back?

Similar problems arise with objects in a mirror. When looking at ourselves its hard to describe what we see as reversed. Left has become right and so on. I'm not sure what the term would be. Half turned?

Back to writing, there were other styles too like upside down writing. Typewriters added another dimension too.

What do you think about mirror writing and were you any good at it readers?

Mazinger Z's Jet Pilder

Woodsy,

Here's a maybe for Moonbase Central. Something called a Jet Pilder from a Japanese anime TV show called Mazinger Z. Goofy little thing...

Rob C

USA

I Drew My Japanese Sword Slowly With a Sharpened Pencil

I was reminded recently how much I loved old weapons as a kid. 

It wasn't just weapons. It was armour, uniforms, medals and ranks.

I imagine it came from my Dad's talk of the Royal Navy and Mum's time in the WAF during World War II. Whatever it was it was given a solid boost by the arrival of Action Man, Little Big Man, Tommy Gunn and all the other plastic fighting men in my life.

One of my favourite books picturing arms and armour was the Finding Out of Battles. It was illustrated by Ron Embleton. 

I have to say the illustrations were quite brilliant and I can remember them vividly. Ron Embleton had a style all of is own but I didn't know it was him back in the Sixties. I just loved the art.

If Action Man boosted my interest then Kung Fu turned it into an obsession.

By the time I was 12 I spent more time thinking about old weaponry from medieval Japan and Europe than Dr. Who thought about his Tardis.

I even did a long project comparing the two styles and in particular swords. Researching as much as I could from books and magazines I meticulously drew loads of pencil drawings of different European sword hilts, guards and blades together with their Japanese counterparts.

This project I did when I was about 12 or 13 and was typical of the passion I gave to my various crazes, Kung Fu and Martial Arts being the most enduring of my early teens until heavy rock usurped them age 16.

I still have this research project in a folder somewhere in the attic and it will be fun to track it down and blog a few pages. I still have all the books I used to research it too 45 years later!

There was little I didn't know about English Pikes, French Basket Guards, Katana's and Wakisashi's in those days! A regular Samurai anorak I was! Its amazing how much random knowledge a teeneger can retain when he wants to!

Some of I've retained and still get a kick out of medieval arms and armour, particularly from Europe and the Orient.

What was your burning passion when you were an early teen readers?

The Themes of Barry Gray on my Stereo: A Moonbase central Video

This is another short film from the Moonbase.

This time I've recorded an old record I got this past Christmas playing on my record player.

Its a Fanderson EP of Barry Gray's fabulous themes from Gerry Anderson's shows.

It was a lovely gift so I wanted to share it.

The rest of side 1 to follow soon.

Enjoy.

VIRAL SUNSET

Last night's sunset on the hill.

It reminded me of those Sci-Fi movie openings from the 80's for some reason. Like this still from Virus 1980.

What's your fave 80's Sci-Fi movie? Just think of all those VHS flicks you watched!

The Bison Vehicle From Ultraman Gaia

I love the look of this little Japanese toy on You Tube.

Its the MLRS Bison from Ultraman Gaia.

Like  a Rubiks cube, its parts pop out to reveal the sweet whole.

It reminds me a little of our friend the SpaceX Tractor T-5.

Have you got a Bison or any other Ultraman toys?

The Lone Star Captain Scarlet Anti-Mysteron Gun Toy Rifle

I've blogged this beauty before, the Captain Scarlet Anti-Mysterons Gun rifle. Last time was in my http://projectswordtoys.blogspot.co.uk/2017/12/recycling-lone-stars-captain-scarlet.html

This week reader and collector Terry H has very kindly sent me these fab new pictures!

From a Lone Star catalogue from 1968!

Here we can see the said Captain Scarlet rifle at the bottom of the middle picture with the word NEW next to it. Its featured in the Captain Scarlet section of two pages of die-cast toy guns including the Saint and Amos Burke.

This catalogue entry confirms that the Captain Scarlet rifle was indeed made by Lone Star and first manufactured in 1968.

Here it is in colour as featured previously on MC.

Have you ever seen this toy rifle readers?

Do You Like Your Pajama Trousers?

Today was a crap one. A combination of a funeral and half a day at work could never be anything but.

The weather mirrored my grey demeanor and I've come home looking for a better evening.

My first act was to put my pajama trousers on. For some odd reason pajama trousers always make me feel better and they always did even as a kid. Whether its the ritual sloughing off of work or school trousers or the memory of long lazy Saturday mornings I don't know but it works.

Pajamas are often called just jamas, jim jams or jimmies, although not jammies for some reason. These names are universal in the UK I imagine.

However, the nicknaming of pajama trousers is less obvious and jama bottoms doesn't really do them justice given their life-affirming properties.

I have heard people call them house pants or house trousers, which is quite a good description as you wouldn't really venture outside in them, although I do take the dog into the garden in mine!

Another name I've come across is spaggies. I assume this is because the rear of them is baggier than your average pair of slacks and spaggy rhymes with baggy but I stand to be corrected on that.

My own term of endearment for these most relaxing of garments is ..... chumfies or simply ..... chumfs. 

The word chumf comes from comfortable or more amusingly chomfortable. Chomfort = chumfies! This is our official family word nowadays and common parlance on Moonbase.

So, my chumfies are on and things feel better already. Its no matter that I will have to take them off again soon and take the dog out to the local fields for his evening deposit in the night safe.

My chumfs will be waiting for me on our return.

Do you like jama bottoms readers?