Another Round of Inspire Me

 

One of the things that has lagged, as I slowly try to get back in the habit of writing, is fiction.

I don't know why.

Twice winning runner-up in the Mysterious Photo flash fiction contest in the Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine has inspired me. Still, the fact that the magazine has not published a printed magazine since February has diminished that source of inspiration.

To hopefully re-inspire, I am going back to a writing exercise that I have used on here several times - the InspireMe app that brings up three random words to build a flash story around.

So, here we go!

Court, Key, Substance

"Don't be late for your court date," Wally warned. "They could throw your junk back into the trunk!" I think Wally meant county lockup, but I wasn't always sure with Wally. He wasn't always clear, but he was the best lawyer I could afford. Which was free, as we were childhood chums.

"The key to your freedom is your confession," the coppers had urged. They lied. What a surprise! Now I had to recant and hope for the best.

I wasn't late, but I'm not sure it helped much. Despite Wally's inept description of the substance of the case, there was a book, and the Judge tossed it at me.

Well, heckers. I guess I should have never thrown a cream pie at the Mayor.

Tail, Pass, Class

Barky wagged his tail as I prepared to enter the school bus. How could I leave while my precious black lab puppy was urging me to stay? How could I pass up spending the day with my beautiful, playful buddy?  

"In or out, kiddo?" the bus driver urged. "C'mon, I ain't got all day!"

My best friend, Wally, shouted from an open bus window, "You have to go, Daz! We got that big test in Mrs. Comer's English class! It's a quarter of the final grade!"

I coughed spectacularly, bent down as if a big ol' barf was coming. The bus driver pulled back in horror, slamming the bus door. 

"Sorry, Wally! I'll just have to make it up later!"

Barky and I retreated up the dirt driveway to our farmhouse. Some days were too valuable to waste sitting in a stuffy classroom.

Colony, Represent, Plastic

He planted the flag on the beach with dramatic flourish. "I hereby, in the name of the Queen of Pazoria, declare this island a colony of her Majesty, to forewith forever to be known as Rojeci Island!'

The native watching this was slightly miffed. "I'm sorry, Sir, whoever you are. You do realize that this island nation is already occupied?"

The Admiral, Sir Wallace Beery, looked down at the short native, sniffed, and said, with great regal disdain, "Who...are...you?"

The native puffed up, standing firm. "I am Dazman, and I represent the peoples of this island. We have been here for millennia, and categorically reject your impertinent colonization!"

"Do you?" roared the Admiral. "I reject your ignorant nativism! Don't you realize what advances we can bring to you?"

"What? Like plastic?" queried Dazman, pointing to the plastic skiffs that bore the Pazorian Navy's advance team. "Plastic just poisons and ruins the environment, don't you know?"

"You reject all advances. I've had enough of this nonsense!" warned Sir Beery. "Take aim, men!"

"Well, we don't reject all advances," assured Dazman. "For instance, we are very keen on catapults."

Before the Pazorians could fire, rocks rained down on them.

Thus ended the foreign occupation of the short-lived reign of Rojeci Island.

Well, anyhoo, it's a start.

Top 100 Sci-Fi Movies of the 20th Century!!! Part 6 No. 51 - 45

 

Top 100 Sci-Fi Movies of the 20th Century!!! Part 6 No. 51 - 45

 

  I received this issue of Remind, which Alison calls "my old people magazine," that ranked the top 100 Science Fiction movies of the 20th century.

Remind does feature many pop culture stories, primarily from the 1950s through the 1990s, though there are references to earlier decades as well. Each issue focuses on different topics, such as country music, westerns, and "where are they now" issues, among others. I enjoy it, as I love pop history. They also have puzzles and a monthly guide to what's on TCM (Turner Classic Movies).

I thought it would be fun to review the movies on the list in reverse order and share my thoughts on them. The magazine's ranking of the movies is not mine.  

I won't go into detailed reviews, but I will share the IMDb ranking and my own rating on a 1-10 scale. I am starting to grade some movies by fraction, such as grading a 7 as 7.3.  

51)

Star Trek IV: The Voyage

Year: 1986  IMDb: 7.3 Tom: 6.7  Had I seen before? Yes  Service found on: Paramount +

This is the Star Trek movie with the highest cheese factor. The whole world is danger because aliens about to destroy the planet can't communicate with whales to know everything is all right? So through comvloluted scientific gobblelygook, the Enterprise travels back in time to capture two hump-back bring them...back to the future? This lace with more humor thand any other Star Trek movie. Some of it is cringey, some of it is amusing.  Watching the crew as fish out of water, particularly Spock, was fun. And, yes, the storyline is ecologically consious and WOKE, because Star TRek has always been , since the very beginning, WOKE (thank God!) Ogf course, that may all change now that Paramount + has been taken over by reich-wing overloads who worship at the altar of the Orange God. 

50)

Forbidden Planet

Year: 1956  IMDb: 7.5 Tom: 7.7  Had I seen before? Yes  Service found on: Fawsome

A science fiction interplanetary version of The Tempest? Yes, please!  This is a leap forward in storytelling and special effects, as big as Star Wars was in the 70s, this filled the sakme role for the 50s. the Star Trek movie with the highest cheese factor. Yes, it does have the stink of misogyny in parts, but, like it or not, not unusual for the times. The acting is a cut above the usual Grade B style of 50s scifi. It introdded Robbie the Robot, later made famous in Lost In Space. Although not a perfect movie, it is fun to watch and a great step forward.

49)

Scanners

Year: 1981  IMDb: 6.7 Tom: 7.1  Had I seen before? Yes  Service found on: HBO Max

Action so intense it will make your head explode! Another one from the King of Body Horror, David Cronenberg.  But this one I do like a bit better than most of his films. Therre's more social commentary and struggles against megacorporations than he uaually has.  And the story id easier to follow.  Psychics with telepathis poweers who are juiced up and under control by nefarious capitalist sources. science fiction interplanetary version of The Tempest? Yes, please!  

 48)

The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms

Year: 1953  IMDb: 6.6 Tom: 5.5  Had I seen before? Yes  Service found on: Essential SciFi

A lot of promise with mixed delivery.  On the plus side, it is the first film to use Ray Harryhausen's stop-motion technique, and it warns about the effect of radiation and nuclear testinfg. On the down side, it takes a long time to get into gear, and the ending is in the 'really? Is that it?' category.

47)

 

Tron

Year: 1982  IMDb: 6.7 Tom: 4.8  Had I seen before? Yes  Service found on: Disney+

I think this was pretty big at the time, and has spawned two sequels.  It did have Jeff Bridges and David Warner.  I had a hard time with the premise, and the look of the digital universe.  I guess it made sense with the way video games looked at the time, but it just dodn't hold my interest. 

46)

Tron

Year: 1989  IMDb: 7.5 Tom: 6.9  Had I seen before? Yes  Service found on: Disney+

Director James Cameron and his obsession with the oceans and the briny deep! Exciting in some places, slow in others, it features groundbreaking special effects and a fair-to-middling story centered around a rescue of a nuclear submarine and the discovery of a unique, intelligent life form on the ocean floor.

45)

Tron

Year: 1981  IMDb: 7.1 Tom: 8.7  Had I seen before? YES!  Service found on: Prime

Anyone who follows this list knows I loves my some John Carpenter! And this is one of his best! Introduces one of my favorite actors, Kirk Russell, in his iconic role of Snake Plissken. Manhattan has become a federal prison, and the President of the United States has crash-landed onto it.  Snake is brought in to rescue the President in 24 hours, or a bomb wired into him will go off.  Exciting and thrilling, with an eerie dystopian New York City, it's an action-filled journey enhanced by a tremendous musical score. There are two directors whose movies I watch over and over again: Mel Brooks and John Carpenter.

 As an added feature, I would like to keep a running list of those movies I have rated 8 or higher.

90) Akira 8

89) Cocoon 9

88) They Live 9

84) Face Off 8

77) The Time Machine 8

75) The Truman Show 8

          70) Galaxy Quest 8

          68) Time After Time 8

          67) Superman 8 

          63) Men In Black 8  

           56) Starman 8.1

           55) Strange Days 8.3

           45) Escape From New York 8.7

Next up? Rsy Brsdbury! A fantastic voyage, an excellent adventure, an animated giant, and Arnold Schwarzenegger fighting a predatory alien in Central America!

Until next time!

T. M. Strait (thanx, H. G. Wells!)

AOC '28

My Pillows, Guys! (guest starring Gemma!)

 Welcome to my reading chair!

It's not very new.  In some ways, it's halfway to being a bean bag. But it's comfortable to me.  Maybe a bit too comfortable, as I sometimes fall asleep.

I'm proud of my small collection of throw pillows. They are interesting reflections on my personality.

First up, we have Marvin the Martian.  I love Looney Tunes, and Marvin is my favorite character.  I love mimicking his voice.

"This makes me very angry. Very angry indeed."

"Oh goodie! My Illudium Q-36 explosive space modulator." 

"Don't worry folks! After all, it's only a cartoon." 

It hearkens back to fourth grade when my overactive imagination led me to fantasize that I was a Martian.  Eventually, fellow fourth-graders started mocking me, calling me "Martian".

Next up is a pillow with bookcases.  I like that part.  Reading books is my middle name (along with Martian).  

The flowers? Eh, not so much.  Whatever gene that makes one excited about flowers and plants is completely missing in me,

And what would a T. M. Strait reading chair be without politics?

I have not been shy about my endorsement of AOC (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez).  

I endorsed her just days after Kamala Harris's defeat.  

And every day since has convinced me of her competence, capabilities, and her desire to help all Americans, especially the working class.

And, of course, what collection of T. M. Strait pillows would be complete without a comic book-themed pillow?

This pillow features some of DC's iconic, extraordinary female heroines: Batgirl, Wonder Woman, and Supergirl.

And yes, Supergirl was a great movie.  I'm sorry so many of you missed it.  Maybe sometime in the future, it will be recognized for the classic it is.

The movie Superman involved fighting an evil billionaire and stopping a foreign dictator veering into genocide.

The movie Supergirl involved stopping a trafficker of young girls.

Oh. I guess that's why the MAGA bros don't like them.

We live in dark times.

But also bright pillows,

Thanx and a hat's tip to our beautiful young kitten, Gemma, for playing Vanna White for this post!

Until next time,

Thomas Marty Martian Strait

AOC '28

NepoOcracy

 

0

Everybody is loved by somebody  (hopefully). Even Lindsey Graham was loved by his sister. He helped raise her, and they remained close all of his life.

Darline Graham Nordone appears to be a nice person.  Her experience has focused on working with the South Carolina Rehabilitation Department and as Commissioner for the South Carolina Commission for the Blind. She spent her career helping people with disabilities.

This doesn't make her highly qualified to be the Senator of South Carolina, but I don't know what to say about that. We have a narcissistic game show host running the country - one who has been duly elected (more or less).

But we have to be clear on why she was selected to fill Senator Graham's seat.

Nepotism.

Plain and simple.

As much as America has supposedly been formed in opposition to royalty, we keep creeping back to it.

In his recommendation, Trump immediately leaped to a dynastic legacy.  He has the same desires for his own family. Trump is big on superior genes.  Some genetic lines are just meant to lead.

Many nepos obtain their position in transition.  Their parent/spouse/close relative dies while in office, and the nepo becomes the chosen replacement.  Then, they often run in the next election, and since they already hold the office, they have a huge leg up.

Some run on their own, but still parlay off the name recognition of their previously serving family member.  Jim Kingston is running in my congressional district, a district his father, Jack Kingston, served in for many years.  Sometimes that doesn't work out, but more often than not, IT DOES.

But, hey! It's not just Republicans.  

It's also Democrats.

In 1933, John Dingell Sr. won his congressional district. 

In 1955, John Dingell, Jr. succeeded his father.

In 2015, he was succeeded by his wife Debbie Dingell (her husband was born in 1926, she was born in 1953).

Today, in 2026, she is still serving. 

That represents 93 years under the same family!

But, hey! It's not just Democrats and Republicans.

It's also me!

When I was younger, I wanted there to be a Kennedy dynasty.  I was a huge Bobby Kennedy fan.

But I changed over the years.  I thought Hillary was competent and skilled, maybe more so than her husband.  But the idea that the 2016 election might be between Hillary and Jeb Bush made me more nauseous.  Of course, what we got instead has made me vomitous and depressed.

And RFK, Jr. cleared me of any nostalgia for the Kennedy clan.

We have so many exciting non-dynastic alternatives.  In the past, of course, we had Barack Obama and Joe Biden.  In the present, we have AOC, Mamdani, Malcolm Frost, and many others.  New faces that bring energy, new ideas, and fresh connections to everyday people.

I'm done with dynasties.  I have no royal impulses left in me.

Until next time,

T. M. Strait

AOC '28

Super Monday Musings

 

Back in my blog's glory days, I used to post more regularly, and I had many special features, some of them designated by days - Monday Musings, Tuesday Tidbits, Wednesday Wanderings, Throwback Thursdays, Friday Fiction, Saturday Political Soap Box.

I can't do that no more, partly because my blog frequency has shrunk. And it's hard for me to associate specific days with specific topics. 

But lo! When the planets and blog align, I can still bring one out!

Here are a few of my musings on this sweltering Monday Musings -

It's Hot!

Today, the high is actually lower than it was over the previous few days.  We're only projected to reach a high of 86 today, down from the 90s. The feels like temps have been even higher, yesterday reaching 103.  That's hot.  And I can't stay out in it for more than a few minutes. 

My body does not stand heat very well.  I'd pass out or have a stroke long before I get a sunburn. 

Supergirl Is Awesome!

Yes, I finally got to see Supergirl last weekend.  I had to do it quickly because it wasn't going to be in theatres for long.  The showing we watched had only two other people at it.

I enjoyed the movie immensely.  No, it wasn't as good as Superman, but it was still a great experience.  The character growth the movie demonstrated in both Supergirl and Ruthye was something I really appreciated.  The immersion into alien cultures was about as good as I've seen since the original Star Wars.

Except for ome psrt near the end, involving the same problem I had with the Man of Steel, the movie was a very accurate representation of Supergirl.  

A Precipitous Decline

I'm not going to toss bricks or bouquets.  A political figure with whom I had little in common passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. Senator Lindsay Graham of South Carolina, 71, left this mortal coil on Sunday.  

This happened at a time when most of our attention has been on Mitch McConnell, Senator from Kentucky, and Donald Trump, Autocrat. 

I have no idea what's going on with McConnell. The release of information about his condition has been minimal and confusing. The suspicion is that they are trying to delay confirmation of demise until after the August 3rd deadline (after which no special election will be held). I don't know.  That seems like a pretty big conspiracy to pull off, but we'll see.

Petpourri

Anyhoo, this is what you're all paying money for -

Cute pet pictures!

Gemma sleeping in the cat tree!

Musingly yours,

T. M. Strait

AOC '28

Bowl Cat!

 

There's a new addition to OUR family!

Meet Gemma, our new kitten.

She is a dilute calico, which I guess means a calico with muted colors (?). Whatever. She's a darn purty little kitten.

Alison wanted Scout, our now one-year-old tabby, to have a companion. I had more mixed feelings about it, but I decided it was best to go with her judgment.

She is a very rambunctious, active kitten. Gemma explores the house with an aggressive curiosity.  

The name Gemma comes from the series Severance, and is Mark Scout's wife outside of work (outie is what Lumen's workers are outside of work - innie is at work; the two personalities are severed). Guess who Scout is named after?

Scout and Gemma get along pretty well. I'm not sure how thrilled Scout is over Gemma being in my lap. Scout and I have a special connection, and I hate that being "severed".

If I put my foot on the Ottoman, it will be attacked.  

I will continue my pet posts to keep y'all updated.

Meow and woof!

Trump Ruins Everything

 

Trump ruins everything.

Yes, the red card against the American soccer star seemed iffy at best. 

But sports are full of decisions fans don't like.

The refs called it.  The VAR (video review) confirmed it.  It was deemed a red card.

And by virtue of that decision,  Folarin Balogun was banned from playing in the next game.  That seems weird for those who don't usually follow soccer, but that's just the way it is.

But then, Trump intervened.

FIFA, the syncophants that they are, reversed the suspension.  NOT THE RED CARD.  Just the suspension of one game.

Trump is bragging his heart out that he put his thumb on the game, altered the rules, and restored Balogun's ability to play against Belgium in the next game, the Round of 16.

Rules don't matter to Trump.  He feels like he can get away with anything.

Belgium is furious. So is most of the rest of the international football community.

It has deligitimazed the rest of the USMT's run at the cup.  Everything that happens after this is tainted.

Hopefully, the US coach will not play Balogun to minimize the controversy.  But it will not make it go away entirely.  FIFA has once again shown how craven and corrupt they are.*

The topper is that Balogun is presumably the type of American that Trump hates the most - an anchor baby.  Under Trump's proposed ban on birthright citizenship, Balogun wouldn't even be eligible to play for the USA.

Trump ruins everything.  America's deacde long descent down the escalator of decency continues unabated.

*The history is long and disgusting, and would require a very long post to detail.  Please feel free to Google for more details.