It's the Time of Year for "Beach Fever" - Rose Aldridge Column #5

 

I made a special trip to the library to retake the columns using the library's scanning feature instead of my phone camera.  Well, I failed to do that - at least, I can't find the file anymore.  But don't give up on me.  I'm still working on it.

To the best of my memory, Alison and I did not take a beach trip with Rose.  Most trips centered on antique shopping or on seeing Benjamin (during college and professional years).

My own experiences with beaches were similar to Rose's.  The first time I went to a Florida beach was at 17, when we took our last family trip (before college years) to see the then-new Disney World, followed by a trip to Daytona Beach. I sorely disappointed my mother and sister by buying a bunch of comics, and then reading them in the motel room while they went on the beach. I didn't see the problem.  They had fun.  I had fun. What's the big deal?

Most of my subsequent appearances on any beach were with the purpose of making sure my children didn't drown. In that effort, I was successful.

One Science Crisis After Another!

 

There are a lot of different kinds of science fiction. It represents a broad playground for the human imagination and a wide range of structures and plotlines.

One of the most often used frames, particularly in hard SF, is the framing of one scientific crisis after another. A seemingly insurmountable problem faces the protagonists, and they must use quick scientific ingenuity to resolve it. Only to find that after that crisis is solved, they are soon faced by another one!

The book, Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, and the subsequent movie use this to great effect. Every time it looks like science teacher Ryland Grace and his alien friend have figured out a solution to deliver a much-needed microbe to save both their planets, something new and unanticipated will pop up to throw them off course. But together they solve each problem that comes up.

Another example of this is the 1966 film, Fantastic Voyage. I recently watched this as part of the 100 Best Science Fiction Movies of the 20th Century series I have been blogging*. It's not in the same league as Project Hail Mary (especially in terms of compelling characters and deeper emotional resonance). A team is miniaturized and sent into a man's body to eliminate a tumor that is affecting the man's ability to remember vital information. More far-fetched than Project Hail Mary, it nevertheless faces one unexpected problem after another. They are also under time pressure - 60 minutes and they start enlarging again.

One Science Crisis After Another!

What if we were faced with these in real life?

The record of our ability to handle it is mixed, at best.

We really should not have enough food to feed the many billions of people on the planet. But thanks to the Green Revolution of the mid-twentieth century, we were able to feed far more people than we otherwise would have.

The ozone layer in our atmosphere was developing holes. It was in danger of disappearing, but through international efforts, we were able to reduce the emissions of ozone-depleting chemicals, and the problem has been checked and reversed.

Through the efforts of Dr. Fauci and many others, we were able to develop a vaccine to greatly reduce COVID-19's harm in record time.

But science can't solve everything.

It can't solve how incredibly stupid some of us are.

Many science-based efforts to reduce COVID-19 were rejected by a stubborn and ignorant populace, particularly here in the USA. There were many, many, many unnecessary deaths because people refused to mask up, socially distance, or take the vaccine.

The biggest example is our reaction to global warming/climate change. Climate scientists know many ways we can mitigate the greatest harms caused by man-made climate change. But the most important nation on Earth has leaders who refuse to acknowledge this. Instead, they are galloping in the opposite direction.

Many in this country are more disturbed when the price of gas rises a dime than when the use of fossil fuels accelerates global temperature rise.

Scientists can come up with all the solutions in the world, but they mean nothing if we choose to ignore them.

Imagine if MAGA had been in charge of Project Hail Mary, or the micronauts inside a man's body. There would have been no solar system-saving microbe brought back, and that man's body in Fantastic Voyage would have just exploded.

Our one sience crisis after another is TRUMPed by our one MAGA crisis after another.

Our best minds are being silenced by our worst minds.

Until next time,

T. M. Strait

AOC '28

*please see my blog series Top 100 Sci-Fi Movies of the 20th Century. labeled Top 100 SciFi. Fantastic Voyage is No. 42. I am currently stuck on No. 40 - the 1966 movie Fahrenheit 451. I'm having a lot of trouble accessing it. It's like it just burned up or something.

Opening Doors

 

I can't figure it out.

I can't see where we're going.

Every door I try to open only leads to more misery.

There is a way through this maze.  I swear it.  But they are like the eye of the needle, and no one let go of enough greed to allow them to pass.

Every citizen should be able to vote, but we only make it harder.

We should be able to mitigate and reverse climate change, but instead, we only go through the doors that accelerate it.

We should be able to increase our life expectancy, but instead we shrink it by rejecting science - vaccines, food inspections, universal healthcare -those paths they want closed.

I try and try to open the doors to a more beautiful existence, to bring the Kingdom of God closer to Earth, but I can't get them open.  They require more strength than just my own.

Help me open the right doors.

Please.

While we still have enough light to see.

Young Again for at Least One Weekend! Rose Aldridge Column #4

 

Again, I apologize to those without enlarging rays.  I'm continuing to work on solutions.

13 hours in Disney World would be enough to wear anyone out.

After taking Benjamin to Disney World, Universal, and SeaWorld (all different trips), Alison and I decided to swear off amusement parks.

But when Doug called and wanted us to go to California and accompany my one-and-only grandchild to Disneyland.  It took only milliseconds for us to disavow our avowal.

My favorite memory of Disney World did not occur at the park.  When Benjamin was five or so, we went to Orlando and were ready to go to the park on Monday.  Only a hurricane came through, and the park decided not to open on Monday. 

We did not know what to do with our planned day at Disney World.  We found an open flea market, and Benjamin found a Pokémon board game.  It was fun and easy to play.  It began a lifelong passion for collectible card games, board games, and role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons.

And to think, none of that might have happened had Disney World been open that day.

Say My Name!

 

 Many children go through a phase where they like to write their name on EVERYTHING.

With all due apologies to my sister for calling her out, she went through a phase where she did it. CAROL on her toys, CAROL written down on all her papers and books, CAROL on her clothes, CAROL written on paper in different forms and styles, CAROL inked on her body (not permanently, of course, - this was the 60s, and she was early elementary).

I didn't go through that. I looked at what she was doing and thought it was silly, borderline obsessive, and a bit narcissistic. But, heck, she was just a child. I was probably the weird one for not doing it.

And, yes, she did grow out of it.

Once in a while, however, we do run across someone who never grows out of it. Someone who insists on slapping their name on everything. 

Guess who that is?

They have 'branding' as their number one asset.

And it's getting as obnoxious as all get out.

Can there be anything more narcissistic and borderline evil than wanting to slap your name alongside a beloved assassinated president's on a performing arts center that you really have nothing to do with?

Imagine wanting to change the planned renaming of an aircraft carrier from black Naval World War II hero Doris Miller to Trump.

Sticking your face on money, passports, airports. Is there anyone who doesn't think the ballroom will be called the Trump Ballroom? The Trump Arch?  

He hates Obamacare. If he could eliminate that program, and recreate it exactly as it was, but call it Trumpcare, he would be the happiest camper on Earth.

Trump Accounts. Trump tariffs. Trump Steaks. Trump casinos. Trump University. Trump Tower. Trump, Trump, Trump.

He honestly thinks the more he sees his name, the more popular he is. The longer his legacy will endure.

But he's just a child. An 80-year-old man-baby.

There is very little left from my sister's name-writing stage. The toys and notebooks are gone. The name on her skin has washed away. But that is okay. Because that phase has long been over, and she knows who she is, and doesn't have to have her name everywhere for those who love her to know what a special woman, mother, and grandmother she is.

Give it time.

All this coloring his name on everything will quickly wash away once he is gone. Because, unlike my sister, he has not built a mature legacy- very few will love or remember him. And no matter how much he tries to scrawl his name over everything, that fact won't change.

I can't wait.

Until next time,

T. M. Strait

AOC '28

Disregard the Obsessed Sycophant Behind the Curtain!

 I don't care bout Natalie Harp.

As a Christian, I care about her as a person. But as to whatever's happening between her and the orange clown, I don't much care.

Yes, it's a concern because she is close enough to the Narcissist-in-chief to be filtering what he sees and bases his impulsive decisions on. Yes, for all I know, she may be a foreign spy of some sort, especially since she resisted having a security check for so long. Yes, that bag may be full of diapers. I don't know, and I don't much care.

Is this affecting his purchased relationship with Melania?  I doubt it.  But in the words on the back of Melania's jacket - "I REALLY DON'T CARE - DO U?"

Is anyone surprised by this? Does anything not fit the profile of this serial adulterer and someone who wants to be surrounded by sycophantic loyalists?

She is a symptom of what is rotten in Trump World, but she is not central to what is happening in the everyday lives of American citizens and, really, people all around the world.

We're concerned about the soaring cost of goods and services - groceries, gas, housing, education, medical care. We're smart enough to see that a candidate who ran on affordability is now disavowing the word and calling it a 'Dumbocrat Hoax'.

We can see with our own eyes and brains that the 'no new wars' candidate has charged America into a new forever war, one that is stupid, purposeless, and unwinnable. We've destabilized the entire planet because our moronic leader was led by the nose into a conflict all other presidents were smart enough to tell Netanyahu NO,

Global warming leading to dangerous climate change is ruining our future faster than ever before, and what does our fear-filled nincompoop do? Doubles and triples down on fossil fuels, slaughters wild horses, opens our national parks to destructive development, and deregulates the EPA, gleefully turning his back on reason and science. What does he care what happens as long as he and his family accumulate billions and live like royalty?

Americans are quickly learning the dark side of deregulation as more and more products once considered safe are now dangerous. Our food supply is contaminated, AI Data Centers are stripping us of water and power, and diseases once defeated are surging back.  

The right to vote is being challenged, unless you're white and live in the right area. ICE, surveillance, and Flock cameras are coming for you all, noncitizen and citizen alike.

Our media is increasingly in fewer and fewer hands, and those billionaire hands are streaked with the fecalness of the Trump administration. 

Separation of church and state is now a fiction, as the reich-wing Chrustians are intruding into public schools and destroying/neutering public libraries. We're a Christian nation? Really? Which version of Christianity are we? Because the version that is taking hold is about as far away from anything I recognize as Christianity as you can get.

So, do I care about Natalie Harp?

Not really, no.

Maybe she'll help take him down. But I doubt it.

We have to stop counting on other people. It has to be you and me. Especially if you've supported him in the past. His popularity needs to tumble further. The candidates he endorses must lose, and lose badly. 

Toto is pulling back the curtain. You must see what's really happening.

Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain? PAY EVERY ATTENTION TO HIM, and don't overthink the obsessed sycophantic nursemaid standing back there with him.

Until next time,

T. M. Strait

AOC '28

Choosing the Right Sacrifice is a Task: Rose Aldridge Column #3

 This is Rose's third column, from March 4, 1982.  It presents what sacrifices to make during Lent.  At this time, Rose was a member of Blackshear Presbyterian.  Later, with Grace Episcopal, Lent would become even more prominent.

It's always hard with Lent, trying to balance something that will be a sacrifice, but not in a criplling way. When I was working as a CPA, I wanted to give up tax returns for Lent, but that really didn't fit.  So, it usually wound up being some sacrifice of social media and/or certain foods.  I also interpreted it as doing something more, whether charity or Bible/devotioanl reading,

I'm continuing to work on the presentation of these columns.  Right now, they're not really readable unless you enlarge them, which, based on last week's, many of you can do.  But I know that is still leaving many of you out, so I will continue to work on it.

Today is Rose's birthday.  She would have turned 77.  We're doing our best to remember the good times.

We miss her dearly.

Skating Near the Abyss

 

We are skating on the abyss. Every day seems like one where it could crack, and we get dragged under.

Some things happen that make one hope that we will avoid the freezing abyss, where democracy ends, where our fragile hold on this planet erodes, where love and charity and hope are dragged under and drowned by hate, intolerance, and fascism. 

No one can listen to a speech from Senator Jon Ossoff and not hope there is a way out. His rhetoric crushes the illusion of Trumpism, and we most clearly see the petty narcissist behind the curtain.

Many times our beleaguered court system holds as a bulwark against some of the most egregious edicts of Trump. Not always. Judge shopping is a favorite Trump sport. Sometimes, though, they put a stop to or slow some truly heinous stuff. I am very impressed by a Judge who halted the disastrous ballroom by the most common-sense ruling - the White House is OUR house, not his. He is merely a short-term tenant, and only Congress can approve these idiotic projects.

And it continues that anything he touches turns to crap, like the National Mall's State Fair disaster, the brutally stupid and nonsensical Trump Hunger Games, and the destruction of the Reflecting Pool.

His popularity is in the low 30s. Should it be lower? Absolutely! But our media is dominated by reich-wing voices, and that is a hard filter to get through.

It has been inspiring to see so many progressives emerge from the Democratic Party primaries. It is a process, though. Some of those candidates will win. Some will lose. But I am convinced that if we have any hope of surviving, they represent the future.

But many other things are occurring that make me fear we will not make it off the ice.

The Iran War dribbles on, rudderless and purposeless, destroying our standing in the world and only increasing Iran's power. The conditions aboard a navy vessel, the USS Abraham Lincoln, are pooh-pooed and denied, coldly saying that their extended mission is not too long yet, not nearly long enough.

Inflation persists due to the war and to his tariffs.

Deregulation and vaccine-deniers have destabilized the medical system and caused a noticeable uptick in diseases once defeated, like measles, and in uninspected foods, leading to things like an avalanche of explosive diarrhea. 

Many are harassed and endangered by ICE, undocumented immigrants and documented immigrants alike, and also include citizens as well. No one is safe from their reign of terror.

He continues to dance with the devil (dictators throughout the world). Just yesterday, he proclaimed his love for North Korea over South Korea. I cannot even fathom that, and what it might lead to.

He continues to threaten that IMPERIAL America will take over and subsume vast swaths of the planet - Canada, Cuba, Greenland, Mexico, the Straits of Hormuz. It never ends.

We are no longer trying to stop or mitigate global warming*, and instead accelerating it. The rise in average temperature is undeniable, and its effects are already felt. All life on Earth will be negatively affected. We are running out of time.

He is making it clear that he will dismantle and RIG our electoral system, and if that doesn't work, he will void the elections and declare martial law. We still have some who think he won't go that far. I'm not one of them.

We continue to see his health deteriorate, both physical and mental. Impeachment and the 25th Amendment should have been used months ago. But the Republican Party, the same Party that forced out Nixon, continues its shameful, cowardly dissent into subservience to fascism.

The ice we are skating on is getting increasingly fragile. We are at risk of falling in and never coming back out.

I have no magic answers as to how we get out of this.  

We can only hold on to everything we can, and pray and hope that a better time will come.

Until next time,

T. M. Strait

AOC '28

* I know that many are using the alternative term climate change in the hopes it may placate some deniers. I do recognize climate change as a threat, but it stems from global warming - as the Earth warms, it leads to more and more destabilization of climate and weather - increasingly violent storms, including changes in precipitation, leading to drought in some places and deluges of rain and/or snow in other places. And yes, this is primarily a man-made phenomenon.

Some views on living in a small town: Rose Aldridge Column #2

 

This is Rose Aldridge's second column, appearing in The Blackshear Times on February 28th, 1982.

I find it difficult to read at this size, but I've been told that some people can enlarge it so they can read it. That might be true for my mobile phone users, but I'm less sure about my desktop readers.

Please let me know if you find it readable or not.  

I'll keep searching for alternatives.

Thanks,

T. M. Strait

Lunch With the Telly

 Yeah. I watch TV. DEAL.

Many (not all)* of my generation were the first TV generation. With multiple channels (sometimes as many as FIVE!), the rise of prime time, local shows from Afternoon movies to children's shows like Bozo or jumping Kenny Rogers, Saturday Morning Cartoons, and the advent of LIVING COLOR, TV was spectacular! Especially for an imaginative introvert like me.

Now that I am retired (for the most part) and with dozens of channels and streaming services, I could turn to an Ursula with a remote.

But I haven't. I still have my prime time habit. The big difference is I no longer have to be at the TV at a set time, or I miss the show. I don't even have to record a show on a VHS tape (like I often had to do with Buffy). I can call up any of tens of thousands of programs when I'm ready to watch.

During the rest of the day, there is not much. I used to watch morning news, but they've all been swallowed by right-wing media moguls, blathering far-right talking points. Even MSNOW has the interminably awful Joe Scarborough.

About the only thing in the daytime now is an occasional soccer game.

And, of course, my lunch program.

I'm a den eater. I like to eat while watching something. Particularly when it's just me. So, I have my lunchtime program.

I rotate between watching three programs. They change over time, as I complete different series. These are the three I'm rotating between now -

Smallville, which I am currently in Season 9, is part of a broader Superman re-watch that I have been doing for several years. I started with the Max Fleischer cartoons of the forties and have been moving forward chronologically. This includes movies (Christopher Reeve Superman), cartoons (Superman: The Animated Series), and TV shows (The Adventures of Superman)**

Currently, Season 9 puts me in 2009 of my re-watch. I like Smallville. Tom Welling does a good job of portraying a young Clark Kent. Erica Durance is outstanding as Lois Lane, capturing her wise-cracking intensity and bold spirit.

Sometimes the storylines are repetitive, focusing too much on characters being possessed so that the actors can present a different personality. And the WB network made teenage angst a specialty. But over the years, they presented a good number of characters from the DC comics. Green Arrow is portrayed by Justin Hartley, who went on to some minor series like This Is Us and Tracker.

I usually watch half a season at a time, one episode each lunch hour.

After that, the next one in rotation is -

The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, filling my mystery/anthology slot.

Before this, I watched Alfred Hitchcock Presents, a half-hour anthology that ran seven seasons. Any anthology series will have a mix of really great episodes with some meh episodes. It's amazing how many spouses wanted to kill each other.

For someone of my age, seeing some of the actors I recognize from that time is fascinating. Some are in their pre-movie star phase, such as Robert Redford.

I usually watch six episodes before rotating to -

The Avengers, filling my spy/SCiFi slot.

I'm in season 3, and Emman Peel isn't even in it yet. John Steed's partner is Honor Blackman, who played the Bond girl, Pussy Galore, in Goldfinger.

The episodes are ok, in black and white, with cheap sets. Sometimes the episodes are suggestive of what's to come as it veers more into camp and sci-fi. I'm patient, though. We'll get there.

Earlier this slot was filled with The Man From U.N.C.L.E, a favorite from my youth. I still have Season 4 to see, but I have to buy that. It's not accessible any other way.

This is all courtesy of the power of streaming.  

Happy viewing - whatever your cup of tea and crumpet!

**I mean, all of that generation were in that TV era - just not all became as absorbed in it as I did. In fourth grade, some of my classmates proclaimed loudly that they NEVER watched TV.  Then those same classmates did a skit in class based on The Jack Parr show (the forerunner to Johnny Carson). At the time, I didn't even know who the hell that was.

* Those mentioned are just examples of each category.  There are a number of others, such as The Adventures of Lois & Clark, where Dean Cain, the far-right extremist and short-lived ICE agent, plays Superman.  To be fair, I did not know that when the show was originally on.

MAGA in the Upside Down: Saturday Political Soap Box 306

 

First, we had to read the book. Alison read it. Then I finished it a few days ago. So, last night, we finally watched it.

Project Hail Mary.

It was excellent. Very worth the wait. Yes, it was slightly different than the book, but not in any way that took away from it.

A recent Academy Winner (which I am pretty sure Project Hail Mary will be joining that rank) was One Battle After Another. Thinking of that title made me realize that Project Hail Mary is...One Scientific Crisis After Another!

And that's true to the way science is. It's not a straight line. It's discovery and exploration, trial and error, solving and evolving. Every discovery leads to a new set of questions to resolve.

Our handling of COVID-19 was like that. As we gained more experience with what we were dealing with, the advice to handle it became more precise and refined.

Compared to other pandemics, the science progressed fairly rapidly. And that was in large part due to a man who had devoted his life to analyzing infectious diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Millions of lives were saved because of the hard work of Dr. Fauci and many scientists and health care workers.

But we can't leave that alone, can we?

History has to be revised by fools like Senator Rand Paul, the orange conman, and an army of misled MAGidiots.

It was masking, social distancing, and eventually the vaccine that mitigated the extent of the Pandemic. As new information and discoveries emerged, scientists would refine their advice (e.g., how the virus spread less effectively outdoors).

America had a higher casualty number than virtually all other nations, but it DEFINITELY wasn't because of Dr. Fauci. It was MAGA didn't want to mask up. They didn't want to social distance. They refused to vaccinate. They didn't care who else they infected, because it impinged their own rights. Personal "freedoms" mattered more than human life.

This is evidenced by the fact that MAGA red counties had the highest death rates, especially during the time that the vaccine was available.

Last week Senator Paul led a committee whose sole purpose was to denigrate Dr. Fauci and use an unearthed PRIVATE diary to catch Dr. Fauci in a contradiction that could be used to accuse og him of perjury and send him to jail.

MAGA and Paul were trying to put us in the Upside Down. They were trying to turn the heroes into villains and the villains into heroes.

Disgusting.

We are now living in a time when diseases that were under control, like measles, are now roaring back, when lettuce has become feared because it may contain cyclosporiasis, when the corporations' right to pollute supercedes our right to be safe, when the Depatrment of Health and Human Services is led by an anti-vaxxer who swims in raw sewage, eats road kill, and drinks raw milk.

And what happens if the next pandemic hits while this parade of fools reigns?

God help us all.

We are so far from the cooperative, inquisitive, evolving science of Dr. Fauci and Project Hail Mary that it makes me weep.

T. M. Strait

AOC '28

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