MOONBASE CENTRAL

Saturday, 7 November 2020

THE SMELL OF MOONDUST?

I've read somewhere ages ago that Moondust smells of spent gunpowder!

Is this correct as I have no way of verifying it. Moonbase is in lockdown and the regolith, though tantalisingly close, is out of bounds!

Friday, 6 November 2020

THREE FILMS FROM THE SEVENTIES

Now the dark nights have drawn in on this small chunk of the galaxy and out second lockdown takes hold I've taken to watching old films on You Tube again. The ones I saw all had Spanish sub-titles but the quality was fine.

The flicks I've seen of late include the following horrors, all three of which I can recommend. Maybe you've seen them?

Massacre Mansion or Mansion of the Doomed 1976: I used to see this in old video rental joints like Blockbuster back when VHS was king. It was the eye-catching cover I think! Anyways I never got to renting it so here we are 25 years later I watched it for free on my lapdog. MM as I'll call it stars a rather desperate-for-work Richard Basehart - yes, of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea fame ten years prior - in a role which must have surely been a voyage to the bottom of his career. Still, an ardent horror fan with an appreciation of the bizarre, I enjoyed MM immensely!

Essentially it's a mad doctor flick. This time the said doctor - Mr. Basehart - needs a constant supply of fresh eyes for his daughter, who was blinded in a car accident, in which he was driving. His 'donors' are kept alive and imprisoned in his cellar, where they crawl around planning their revenge, the nature of which I'm sure you can guess.

Massacre Mansion reminded me of a much harsher, more visceral film of a similar kind, Eyes Without a Face, a French flick from the Fifties made infamous for its depiction of facial surgery. I must admit it made my stomach churn when I saw it even in its black and white format.

The Mephisto Waltz 1971 : I tried to watch this on YT last year but the quality was atrocious. This Spanish-subbed version was clear and bright and I really enjoyed it. Waltz is a satanic film in the same coven as the sub-genre's signature flick Rosemary's Baby. It stars Alan Alda and Jaqueline Bisset and concerns Alda, a mediocre pianist being flattered and groomed by aging maestro Curt Jurgens. Jurgens is a sorcerer and has perfected a rite for prolonging his life, which sadly for Alda, means his ending. Bisset is excellent as the wife who works it all out and exacts her own just desserts. Again it was great to see an old creepy movie, full of adult actors and not teenagers. The Seventies obsession with witchcraft is also a huge draw for me.

The Medusa Touch 1978 : continuing the theme of Seventies' creepiness, this film is about telekinesis. Based on a novel by peter Van Greenaway it stars acting grandee Richard Burton [the Exorcist II; The Heretic] as a man capable of willing disasters simply to happen, disasters which unceasingly get more cataclysmic. Its an unusual film and also features a French detective seconded to Scotland Yard and the great Lee Remick as the conflicted psychiatrist who got proper horror chops in the Omen two years earlier. I liked Medusa and was touched.

MYSTERY UNBOXING

I've noticed a new trend on You Tube. At least it appears new to me. Its the trend to buy mystery boxes of vintage toys and unbox them on screen. I think its called retroblasting. It certainly seems to be popular and the presenters all appear to be young, which has to be good for the hobby.

Have you come across this trend readers? What do you think?

TOKYO TOYOTA

Hi Woodsy

Here is my latest Tokyo 2020 Ghost Olympics model from Hot Wheels. This is number 8 out of 10, and is the Toyota 2000 GT. This is the standard production coupe version, rather than the James Bond convertible, and has the copyright date 2011 on the base.

The colour is dark red, with red and pink stripes, and white and gold tampo printing. The wheels have gold rims. The interior is a sickly yellowish-green. This time the sport is Karate.

Six down, four to go, including the Treasure Hunt.

Yours Sincerely,

Paul Adams from New Zealand

Thursday, 5 November 2020

This Charming Man

I was chatting to a good friend and blog contributor Andy B recently about his work in archaeology and he mentioned an interesting phrase - 'amuletic pendants'. The word amulet itself comes from the latin 'amuletum' which Pliny described as "an object to protect a person from harm" . I was reminded of an image I saw in The Guardian of a find at Pompei recently which showed a collection of divinatory and oracular charms discovered in the home of what was assumed to be a mystic or seeress, including all kinds of gems, bones, figurines and carved objects used in augury and divination.

I am really superstitious and believe in a small way in 'lucky charms' and 'good luck' and keep all manner of bits and pieces which I feel have some kind of significance, either practically or mystically. I honestly can't say if they do me any good, but it is fundamentally satisfying to collect them.

My dad was a bit of a magpie and after he died I would find tins and boxes crammed will all kinds of bits and pieces, a lot of which I kept, for the sense of attachment and the memories they brought back of him.

Besides all the bits and pieces ive inherited from my parents and grandparents, Ive accumulated quite a few odds and ends myself, finding things on walks, in jumble sales, on holiday or stuffed away in the back of drawers. Its these ephemera, these little things, which would be generally overlooked or discarded, which I feel hold a subtle magic and significance.

My 'key ring' is so crammed with charms and symbols, it s too heavy to carry around with my door key on!

As my dad was a joiner, I gathered up all the old cardboard boxes of screws from his workroom and kept them safe, tiny little boxes 2" across full of tiny brass and steel screws.

Metal puzzles from the 1920's make nice keyrings with their snake and fish symbols, linking together with a satisfying strength.

My mother had a drawer full of knitting and sewing materials and going back to it years later, I discovered a box of old thimbles, something rarely seen today, but loaded with fond memories from my childhood as she would sew up my ripped pants!

Perhaps there is something in these small things, these charms and amulets, even if the magic or protection is imagined and only actually a buffer in the mind to defend us from the very real terrors of the modern world.