Cpl. Stone: Colonel says you need a dead shot, mister. Professor Tom Nesbitt: Yes. Ever use a grenade rifle? Cpl. Stone: Pick my teeth with it.
The day is bright and sunny and cooler than yesterday. It is 70˚ right now, and the high is expected to be only 79˚. Yesterday it got to 90K˚. I have windows open this morning instead of using the air-conditioner.
Yesterday was a busy day. I washed the deck and cleared it of pollen and dead leaves then I went to Agway, big mistake. My back complained loudly as I pulled the huge wagon filled with all sorts of plants. I bought tomatoes, cucumbers and squash for the vegetable garden, basil and rosemary for the herb garden and deck boxes and all sorts of annuals for the clay pots I put on the deck. When I got home, I unloaded them to the front walk then sat on the front step until my back was better. The plants sit there still waiting to be planted but not today. My back and I need a day of rest.
One more trip to Agway for some perennials and more herbs should do it for the garden this year. I’ll do that tomorrow. My landscaper wants to mulch, but he’ll have to wait until I shop one more time.
This morning I watched a fun, really great B science fiction movie, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. It was made in 1953. The Beast, a pre-historic monster, was awakened from hibernation by-here’s where you get to guess the cause of his rude awakening. (I’ll pause a bit to give you time to think.) If you knew to say atomic bomb, you’ve watched far too many B&W 50’s science fiction movies.
This film had everything you’d expect: men wearing fedoras and coats running down the street away from the beast, women on fire escapes screaming and pointing but not thinking about going inside, horribly fake snow and backgrounds and corny dialogue. The general told Bazooka Man to fire. The poor guy had no name. The French scientist, the first to see the Beast, asked our heroine, ” What’s a girl like you doing being a paleontologist?” That girl paleontologist wore the most God-awful looking dress to the ballet. She even added long black gloves to complete her ugly ensemble. The cop shot at this enormous beast with his handgun. You can imagine the gun’s effect: none, and for all his heroics, the cop was eaten by the beast, head first into the mouth with the cop’s legs hanging from the mouth before he was totally devoured. The beast was wonderful because he was the first Ray Harryhausen monster special effect. As the movie was winding down, the poor beast was wounded, but he wasn’t done. His blood fell in droplets on the street and released some horrific prehistoric germ which killed more people. The beast was racking up fatalities. For the ending, the movie went full circle: a radioactive isotope was shot into his wound by a sharpshooter who added drama by shooting from a car at the top of a roller coaster. The Beast writhed in agony before it died: end of rampage, end of Beast and end of movie.
Explore posts in the same categories: MusingsTags: B science fiction, Black and white movie, hot, lovelt day, radioactive isotope, Ray Harryhausen, stereotypical scenes, The Beast from 20
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June 1, 2013 at 10:20 am
I love those monster B-movies. A week or so ago TCM ran “The Creature from the Black Lagoon” – great fun! What’s your very favourite science fiction movie?
Yesterday, Birgit (I think) mentioned Firefox’s DLHelper. My reservation about that option is that its use often goes against the wishes of the blogger who may only want to offer listening opportunities. To me it somehow seems unethical or disrespectful to take something that the blogger clearly isn’t offering. But that’s just my take on it.
Marie
June 1, 2013 at 11:23 am
Marie,
I watched the Creature from the Black Lagoon too-it’s a favorite of mine.
I know many bloggers don’t post music for downloading as Blogger has a three strike policy. If they are notified of infringement three times, they erase your blog from existence. My first one disappeared as I was writing it; it was a total shock.
I didn’t know about Firefox’s DLHelper as I use Safari. Usually I just hunt for the song if I like it.
June 1, 2013 at 11:26 am
Marie,
I’d have to go with THEM! as my favorite B&W science fiction movie. As for my favorite of all time, I have no idea, too many to choose from i think.
June 2, 2013 at 10:56 am
I felt terrible when my blog was locked, Kat. The so-called Help Forum was not at all helpful and they don’t make it easy for us to request a review of their faulty decisions. How crazy is it that if you import a backup and then spend a lot of time revising and publishing those posts it’s interpreted as nefarious spamming activity??
I received one take-down notice last year and that was even worse – it’s as if you have to look over your shoulder every time you add a song.
As for Firefox DL Helper users, my only objection to the folks that use it to grab the songs is that most of them don’t have the courtesy to then leave a short comment for the blogger. (Yes, I know I do tend to harp on people who grab and run!)
Your backyard sounds absolutely beautiful, especially with the lovely Gracie running around in it.
June 2, 2013 at 11:33 am
Marie,
My first blog, the one murdered by Blogger, used to get well over a 1000 hits a day and many of those were people who had been with me for years. Some found me but others lost my blog forever: to make it worse-someone snatched my blog’s URL.
I do know how you feel about grab and run, but many times people just don’t stop to comment, but I know they’re there so maybe it is stop and read then grab and walk. I have my Coffee family many of whom have been with me all 7 years.
My garden with all the flowers is in the front so I can show it off to passers-by. The lovely Gracie owns the backyard which has been left natural and is filled with trees. She loves to lie on the cool sand under the deck. She even has her own dog door and the yard is fenced. Gracie is a digger, and I’d hate for her to get at my garden. Some of her holes were as wide and deep as canals!
June 2, 2013 at 12:57 pm
Kat, I can really relate to your annoyance over someone snatching your old URL. That happened to me last year – my blog used to be called Catch That Train and Testify (which I loved) and though I checked back every day to see if I could grab my address again, some low-life spammer beat me to it. I was fit to be tied!
I’m now trying to piece together my blog at a new address, but it’s so slow because I don’t know how many I can do per day before the new one gets locked too! I’ll send you an invite in a year or so when I have enough posts up to make it worth your while. 😉
Marie
June 1, 2013 at 11:14 am
What???
No happy ending???
I suppose I could hope that the cop that the beast ate could have been that swine who inflicted pepper spray into the kids faces who were peacefully protesting about Wall Street stealing all that money.
But alas! Good dreams like that only happen when one sleeps.
June 1, 2013 at 11:25 am
Pete,
I think this movie was too early for protests of any kind so it was just a hapless cop trying to be a hero but gets eaten for his heroics.
I was surprised the paleontologist didn’t end up with the male star as that happens in so many other films of that ilk. I guess the death of the Beast was enough!
June 1, 2013 at 11:35 am
Yep Kat, much too early (lol)
But I do remember the audience cheering when the lawyer got eaten in ‘Jurassic Park’.
As for the paleontologist, she probably was the wife/girlfriend of the director. No funny business allowed thank you!!!
June 1, 2013 at 4:48 pm
Pete,
I remember the same thing. The cheers were warranted! Every B science fiction woman has a female lead who is generally renowned in some science field. This was the first paleontologist I remember.
The two leads usually fall in love by the end of the film.
June 1, 2013 at 12:17 pm
Hi Kat,
You got a lot more done yesterday than I did. I watered the grasslings. Twice. Because it was hot. I got to cool off a little while spraying cold water around. 🙂
If it’s the 50’s it has to be an atom bomb. It’s a rule. I’m not a B movie sci fi fan though I have seen a few. I used to watch MST3K though that wasn’t really about watching the movie.
There was a 1958 movie I always remembered as The Blood Rust but googling shows it as Spacemaster X-7. It was a space virus that gets contaminated with human blood and becomes an expanding pile of rust called Blood Rust. Sort of like the blob only rusty. I’m not sure how it killed people. Possibly just by subsuming them.
Mothra is still my favorite B movie.
Today is hot and I will do nothing again. I have plants to plant but they can wait another day. I’m going to sit in front of the fan and sip a tall cool beverage.
Enjoy your day and I hope your back eases up.
June 1, 2013 at 2:27 pm
Hi Caryn,
I did feel accomplished, and I left off also did a small bit of shopping to hold me over until I can do a Peapod. I love those old B movies. They are such fun and looking back at the clothes and expressions make them even more fun.
I have seen that movie, and, of course, have seen Mothra. I know there are some I haven’t seen, but I’d love to have a B movie day and hoot and holler at new movies.
I have just taken a shower. The veggies are planted as are the basil plants. I haven’t touched the deck plants, too many of them and too little energy for me.
It is hot, but there is a breeze which makes the heat more tolerable. I don’t even have the air on.
Pain pills are just wonderful!!
Enjoy that cold drink and the rest of the day.
June 1, 2013 at 4:05 pm
I ended up doing stuff other than sipping a tall cool bevvie. My laptop charger cord was acting up so I went to the Apple Store for a new one. Then I decided to stop by the garden center where I had seen just the perfect hanging baskets for my front steps. Bought two. They are too heavy for the tall brackets and too big for the small brackets. I will think about it later. I need a tomato cage so maybe I will look for a solution while looking for that. And I watered the grasslings again just so I could get wet. 🙂
Tall cold drink, here I come.
June 1, 2013 at 4:51 pm
Caryn,
I am about to do my laundry. This has been an industrious day for me.
I had three tomato cages from last year. I noticed at the garden center they now come in colors, and I am tempted to go with red despite the ones I already have.
I see an early bedtime for me.
June 1, 2013 at 12:26 pm
Planting time today: tomatoes, strawberries, white currant, a fuchsia and a sunflower to call the sun, which is hiding behind clouds. Nearly ready for summer, some herbs are still missing.
Our blackbird pair is back and breeds again next to the old nest, hopefully no magpie or prehistoric beast disturbs.
June 1, 2013 at 2:28 pm
Birgit,
I did the same but not as many: tomatoes, cucumbers, squash and basil. I still have all the deck flowers to do-maybe tomorrow. I am done today.
My birds have disappeared of late. I find that surprising.
June 1, 2013 at 12:48 pm
Wasn’t You supposed to x-ray that back of Yours? You really need to if it gives You that much problems! I hope it isn’t too bad still!
There’s nothing better than a B-science fiction movie 🙂 I love all the Japanese ones and Them of course but I think my favorite one I’ve seen so far is Tremors from 1990. I know it’s a fairly new one and actually quite good one so I’m not sure if it counts as a B-movie. The Thing From Another World scared the s..t out of me when I grew up 🙂 🙂 🙂 So many more are worth to mention but I’ll stop there 🙂
Sunny and really warm here today. I can’t say how warm though because the sensor to the digital thermometer had fallen down and was lying on the cold gravel 🙂 They said we would get rain and most possibly thunder today and clouds are gathering up so they actually might get it right after all 🙂
Have a great day!
Christer.
June 1, 2013 at 2:31 pm
Christer,
I have to have it x-rayed before I see the doctor again on the 11th. I just scheduled my MRI for Thursday.
Tremors is a great movie. I love watching the car get swallowed into the car, driver and all. Loved the original Thing, not the remake. B movies are just the most fun. One of my sisters loves them as much as I.
Warm here bordering on hot. I am nice and cool after my shower. We won’t have rain again until Thursday. The guy is coming tomorrow to turn on my irrigation system. The heat attracts thunder and lightning!
Have a good evening!!
June 1, 2013 at 10:21 pm
When I got off the Airplane this morning in Dallas the heat and humidity reminded me that I was back in the good old summer time.
My trip from Santiago was like a bad science fiction B movie. I arrived at the terminal in Santiago at six thirty for an eight fifty departure on American Airlines. I was when I checked in that the departure would be delayed by two hours. I couldn’t figure out why because the flights from Miami and from Dallas arrive in Santiago in the early morning and depart at night. The aircraft sit on a taxiway all day. The international departure wing is basically a duty free shopping mall with several restaurants and I had plenty of time to eat a nice dinner and window shop. Economy meals on American are terrible so I eat a good meal before boarding the flight.
When the flight crew arrived I asked the captain what caused this delay. He told me that the previous night’s flight from Miami had to return to Miami after two hours for a mechanical problem. There was not another aircraft in Miami so the passengers had to spend the night and the flight was rescheduled for yesterday afternoon. Those passengers and the airplane arrived in Santiago at eleven at night so we could board and leave for Dallas.
We left the gate at eleven thirty and then returned because a drunk passenger became belligerent to a flight attendant and the captain returned to the gate and threw him off the airplane. We finally took off at twelve thirty because they had to find and remove that passenger’s checked luggage. The flight attendant told be that it was a good thing to get rid of the passenger in Santiago rather than diverting the flight to another city to dump the guy. Imagine being stupid enough to cause a diversion and then being arrested in a foreign country.
June 3, 2013 at 10:00 am
OH, I am definitely looking for this one!