TALKING PICTURES TV TONIGHT

The Friday night bonanza kicks off at 8pm with:

The Outer Limits

Then

The Plague of the Zombies

Then

The Flesh and Blood Show.

Will you be watching?

MITES LIKE THESE

 

The annual occupation of our outside kitchen sills by tiny red mites has begun.

There's bigger ones and tiny babies all rushing round on random paths searching for food and who knows what! I assume there scoffing algae from the hot white plastic. 

Fascinating to watch, like crimson computer programs, I wouldn't want to be covered in these spider mites. No way! They always make me think of Mars. The red mites of Mars!

There's tons of snaps of these scarlet critters online and the natural close-ups are the best.

This fella looks like its crawling over sulphur pustules on Olympus Mons!

Mites like these have inspired artists for centuries.

Modern dabbers give it all they've got like this fabulous rearing bug by Tully Summers.

But like many I feel it's Terence Cuneo's vintage insectoids that really capture the true grotesquery of a martian mite like no other artist, as in this nauseating crawler from 1969.

Do you like mites readers? Have they inspired you?

THOSE EERIE LADYBIRD COVERS

I always found some Sixties Ladybird book covers a little creepy as a kid. All those talking animals and fairytale people.

Beauty and the Beast with its ape in a suit gave me the shivers, 

especially as I always associated it with Poe's terrifying tale Hop Frog in Creepy magazine back then.

The Elves and The Shoemaker was unsettling too. Those little cobblers gave me the willies!

Did you have any thoughts about Ladybirds?

Do you collect them?

MATT ZIMMERMAN R.I.P.

 Sad to hear that actor, Matt Zimmerman, the voice of Alan Tracy, and always a popular and entertaining guest at conventions has passed away.

I  met Matt several times at various events and he was always full of fun. He'll be sadly missed.

Our sincere condolences to his family.

Matt with Jeremy Wilkin, and me.

                                                               More daft moments!

WHAT IS THE BIGGEST SHIP IN SCIENCE FICTION?

Doing the Starship post today got me a wonderin' if it was the biggest ship in all of sci-fi'dom! After all, its seven miles long!

In my mind I had the Death Star maybe or those huge citywide craft in Childhood's End, emulated in Independence Day. Just how big are those?

Dirk Loechler of Deviant Art has clearly been pondering the same conundrum about sci-fi's ships and he's produced a mind-boggling graphic. See anything you know readers? Can't see the Zero-X!

LORDS OF THE STARSHIP: NOW THAT'S A BIG 'UN!

Lords of the Starship: When I first saw this Sphere paperback cover online I immediately thought it was Star Wars related. Maybe a Sith Lord like Darth Vader admiring a new ship.

But this novel by Mark S. Geston is from 1972!

The original 1967 first edition art is stunning too, by one John Schoenherr, whom we wrote a lot about here in MC in the past, his son even corresponding with us about his Moon Crawler art!

The blurb at the rear of the 1972 edition is great too! It describes a gigantic spaceship, an ark for a dying Earth's peoples. A familiar dilemma and one at the very heart of say Project SWORD.

Thinking of Star Wars again there's even mention of a dark hideous force!

I am really drawn to the size of the space plane, which took 250 years to build! A sort of mega-Fireflash!

I don't know this book at all or anything by Geston. Do you readers?

THE YATE CRISTINA RANETTA TOY YACHT

I saw this beautiful 26 inch long b/o toy boat on the Bay so I kept the pics. What a vessel! It would look great in an episode of Joe 90 don't you think?

FOR THE RECORD: SCHUCO ELECTRO REKORD TOY CAR

Here's another amphibious toy car, this time the German Schuco Elektro Rekord 5555. Lovely condition toy and box on You Tube.

Do you like it?