The Cruel Tea

No!  Not A Spelling Error
For heaven's sake, how many times do I have to tell you - Conrad does not make spelling mistakes.  If a word is spelled in a particular way, there's a reason for it.  The reason in this case is because, and I shudder so much at the prospect that it's hard to type, there may well be a world-wide shortage of Darjeeling tea in the near future.  

An England without tea.

I am strongly minded to bus it into Babylon-lite tomorrow and empty Sainsbury's of all their Darjeeling, although by waiting until Sunday I put myself at a tactical disadvantage, as all the other tea snobs will have got there on Saturday.
     So, no, this post is not about either the novel or the film "The Cruel Sea", which I recommend, by the way, as it is splendidly British - stiff upper lip and all that.  Art?

Back then, the Atlantic stayed in the Atlantic
(see yesterday's blog for this hilarity to be explained)

     Unusually, it has Denholm Elliot playing a character who is neither a cringing villain nor an incompetent baffoon.
     Now that I have broken the appalling news about Darjeeling, let the motley proceed!

Conrad: Spelling Nazi And Continuity Carper 
I gleefully pointed out to Sarah on Thursday that I'd found a couple of spelling errors in the Learning Guide that we trainees had been given; she took it well, as she didn't write them.
     Which has only a connection-by-analogy with what I want to type about, namely that 
classic film "The Time Machine", 1960 vintage.  In fact, if I mention it again, we shall completely ignore that remake from whenever.  1960 by default, right?
     Okay, I've already asserted that this film re-uses uniforms from that 1956 classic "Forbidden Planet", and that's not all - they also re-use the astrogation unit from that film as well, and this time I have proof.  Art?

The interior of C57D - note the astrogation unit behind the Captain

     Okay, and now we shall waken Art with a prod from a shock-stick -

How quaint - an Air Raid warden of the future from TTM

Contrast and compare ...

     Conrad did a bit of digging and found that both films were made by MGM Studios, so presumably some of the uniforms and props from FB were retained for future - ha!  get it?  "Future - O you do - use, as FB was an expensive film for the time.
     Nor is that all!  No, Conrad wanted to appreciate the stop-motion matte work when George arrives in the year 800,000 AD, so I slowed the video playback by a factor of about 5.  Imagine my surprise at 42:56 minutes when the following appears:

Well!

     Instead of scribbled lines on a card and a thumb, this ought to be a wall.
     I cannot tell you how delighted it makes my shrivelled little soul to find out a detail like this <snickers hideously with amusement>.  It is recorded on IMDB as a "Goof" but they don't give a time-stamp, whereas I do.
     Per Ardua Ad Astra!

Ah, The Youth Of Today
It is widely asserted that youth is wasted on the young.  But of course!  What else is youth for but to make mistakes and learn from them.  For example, never change a fuse when the plug is actually already in the socket; I shan't make that one again.
     Anyway - hang on, let me just check that Ben Folds is still alive - phew, yes, but he's feeling a bit peaky thanks to over-drinking and having a cigar last night - now that your talented typist is back in employment again - have I mentioned this at all? - I am on my very best behaviour*. None of that mordant wit, nor Conrad's sardonic humour, and most especially I have made a point of NOT banging on about nuclear weapons.  The world is not ready, yet**.

Ben, whilst alive.  Which he still is.  Honest.

     So, there I was, schmoozing and kibitzing in the training room, parleying with young Phil and Emma, and they were going on about mobile phones***.
     "Nexus Six," I said, to entirely no effect.  "Blade Runner in-joke" I further clarified, to less than any effect.  Then they moved on to more mobile phone talk, of Androids - so I once again ventured to mention Blade Runner - stony unresponsive Phil and Emma.
    Emma, it transpires, has NOT EVEN SEEN THE FILM.  !  In fact this is so shocking that !!
     Phil had, so I shall let him live off.  Emma has this weekend to amend her neglect.

Conrad:  old enough to have seen it first time around

*  For the moment.
**  It may never be.
*** I hate these bloody things with a passion, so much so that I have unequivocally sworn.