Category: Sci-Fi

Nifty gifts

I don’t consider myself to be a particularly good gift giver, but a couple of my sisters can have a knack for finding fun and/or unusual presents. For Christmas my sister Jean gave me a Peanuts wall clock that plays the “Linus and Lucy” theme on the hour, but not when it’s dark. It’s hanging in my office now.

My sister Marianne found some cool things this Christmas. 3D Holiday Specs look like 3D glasses, but when you look at Christmas tree lights with them you see them transformed into Santa’s face, or snowflakes, or stars, etc. It’s fun seeing which patterns give the best effects.

Something else Marianne found, that’s both fun and practical, is a type of wallet I’d never seen before, made of a folded sheet of Tyvek. Mighty Wallets come in all sorts of designs, including some with Star Trek themes. Highly recommended!

Starring Margaret Phillips and….?

Tales of Tomorrow was a science fiction anthology show in the early days of live television. On May 1, 1953 episode 80 of the 85 that were broadcast in the series was The Evil Within. It starred the Welsh-born actress Margaret Phillips. The Evil Within opens with no mention of two relatively unknown actors who appear, named Rod Steiger and James Dean. Hulu includes their names in the complete end credits, but to avoid commercials I’m embedding a copy that’s on archive.org that cuts off the last few seconds. Dean appears starting at the 17-minute mark. I’m not so sure Steiger’s rather overwrought style of acting worked well here.

P.S. According to the BLS inflation calculator, one of those $10 Kreisler watch bands would cost $85 today.

All the Whos down in Whoville

Before I took time off from blogging I linked to a delightful and spirited Doctor Who video with the cast and crew before David Tennant left the series. The video was made poignant by the presence of Elisabeth Sladen, who passed away earlier this year. The song is I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) by the Scottish duo of identical twin brothers who call themselves the Proclaimers.

Note: the movie clips are from Benny & Joon, with Johnny Depp and Mary Stuart Masterson.