Hark! Hark! Respect The Shark!

No!  I Don't Mean The James Woods Television Series
- although given that it was James Woods, probably best to deliver respect anyway.  Nor do I mean the actual big bitey ocean-dwelling fish, although given the conveyor-belt arrangement of teeth that they have, once again respect and a healthy distance is probably the safest option.

If he smiles, I swear you'd see fangs

     I refer, in fact, to the "Sharknado" films, which I had been vaguely aware of in the sense that there were big bitey fish and weather phenomena, although not necessarily in that order.  It was not until I perused Tomorrow's Litter-tray Liner and the television section that I noticed "Sharknado 4: The Fourth Awakens".
     "Good grief!" I can hear you expostulate from here.  "They made four of them?"
     Yes indeed, Apollo Creed.  I didn't know whether to be impressed or depressed at such news.  If they're still making them then you fools must still be watching them*.  

Chainsaw versus flying shark - Hell, I'd pay to see that!

     Conrad, being both inquisitive and a bean-counting bore, wondered what the box office returns for these films might be, and checked over on IMDB and Box Office Mojo.
     Aha, but Asylum, the people who churn this stuff out, made them as Television Movies to be broadcast, not shown in cinemas.  They thought that one through, eh?  So there are no box office dollars to count.  The budget for each can be totalled at about $1 million, and since DVD sales for the original came to $2 million, they're onto a winner straight away.  Not only that, one of their statements linked the franchise (I think we can admit that's what it is) to a profit of $19 million that year.
     Nice work if you can get it.

The Weasel Shark, long a favourite here at BOOJUM!

     How we laughed.  Back in 1975, I mean.  Your humble scribe clearly remembers reading a wargaming magazine about <deep breath> a GI in Vietnam who tinkers with his transistor radio and gets zapped into an alternate reality where he has to combat - er - "land-mobile" sharks.  This was back when I was routinely sober so it's not my imagination at work, either.
     I also noticed how the Rating on IMDB increases over time: 3.3; 4.1; 4.2; 4.9.  That last figure is almost "Okayish (if you're not too fussy and/or drunk)" and Conrad confidently predicts an Oscar nom by 2020.

Stranger Things
Conrad caught up with this new series yesterday and watched three episodes one after another, although - since I like to mix it up - not the first two episodes.  
     Colour me impressed.  Set in the Eighties, it automatically does away with that Magic Plot Wand, the mobile phone.  Frankly, for all your humble scribe cares, Gandalf and Superman could magic and move all the mobile phones into the heart of the sun and he'd not miss them one iota.
     It has a definite "Twin Peaks" vibe to it, and yes, that was Matthew Modine, playing a bad guy.  As noted by folks already, the soundtrack also has a very John Carpenter feel to it, which is a good thing in case you were wondering.  JC gets referred to, though not excessively.

How to scare cats - the John Carpenter way!

     So, what was there to worry about?
     The serrated teeth of the Coincidence Hydra, that's what.  There I was on Monday, talking to Sophie about Hugh Everett, dad of Mr. E of Eels and a scientific genius to boot, who dreamt up the "Many Worlds" concept of quantum physics.

Mister E, looking a bit pugnacious

     Who and what do we get mentioned on "Stranger Things" last night?  Yes, Hugh Everett and the Many Worlds concept.
     What are the chances, eh?

Hugh Everett, looking clever

Mea Culpa!
I don't have the evidence to hand, but - go on, a confession is in order.  We were notified last week that the walls next to our office lifts had been repainted with special scrawly paint, which folk were encouraged to write upon.
     Pete, being innately conservative, respectful of authority and with no sense of mischief, asserted that these walls were only for official - excuse me - Official Writing.
     Conrad, having the heart of an anarchist**, believes that anyone can write anything on these walls, providing it's not slanderous, an incitement to riot or obscene.  So!

Heart of anarchist, face of a bottom

     'Did you write something in Latin on the wall?' asked Russell the next day.  He and Tom both eyed yours truly with interest.  Their list of suspects amounted to one: me.
     'Ah yes, was it that obvious?' I replied.  Apparently so.
     And the tag?

"QUI CUSTODES IPSOS CUSTODIET?"

     And because I'm a bit of a swine, I ain't going to translate.

This, though, is a clue

*  FOOLS!
** I keep it in jar on my desk.