The Russian Caravan Teas Are Coming

The Russian Caravan Teas Are Coming!

This is a bit of a stretch, but bear with me – there is a fillum entitled “The Russians Are Coming!  The Russians Are Coming!” starring Alan Arkin and John Phillip Law.  They are the lead characters, playing Russian submariners, in a sub that gets stranded off the coast of Gloucester.  Gloucester, New Hampshire, in South Canada, for your information, not the English county.  We would be considerably less hostile, and would probably kill them with kindness and too many cups of tea.  Which brings us back to where we started.

It's actually in colour

    

Further Adventures With The Coincidence Hydra

Yes indeedy Ally Sheedy.  Apropos of tea, on the day I posted about Earl Grey, what happened but The Flop House Facebook crew post about tea, and the first thing to hand is – Earl Grey.  Art?

I did scroll through the list and ticked Earl Grey, English Breakfast, Darjeeling, jasmine, Lapsang Souchong, Assam and Oolong, and I made sure to point out it had to be loose leaf, for CONRAD HATES MUSICALS! Oh and teabags, too.  Colour me somewhat surprised at how many South Canadians are into tea.  The civilising influence of Britain at work, I dare say.  That dream I have of the Union Jack fluttering proudly over the White House looms ever closer …

“Navy Seals Versus Zombies”

I am watching this again due to it’s sheer brilliance in it’s lo-fi rendition of a zombie epidemic.  It does manage to avoid most of the trope’s clichés (except for the “O I’ve been bitten but I shall keep it a secret, for did I not run it under a cold tap and what could possibly go wrong?”).

     I also have to question IMDB and the Goofs section.  Were these people watching the same film as your humble scribe?  “Ooh ooh they said ‘no heavy weapons or grenades’ AND YET THEY HAD GERNADES!” and fanboy falls off his chair in demented glee at catching the film-makers out.

     NOT! 

Does exactly what it says on the tin

     Yes, they have grenades.  Did you not see the Lieutenant’s character give a cheeky wink when issuing the ‘No grenades’ order?  Did you not see the other SEALs PICKING UP THE GRENADES?

     Really, some people abuse the right to be stupid.  Take the doofus who quibbles about the helicopter that  the SEALs fly in on – note the “FLY IN” bit there, because he then argues that the helicopter is the wrong one for extraction.  That’s because it’s NOT THE ONE USED FOR EXTRACTION.  Really, which film were you watching?

     I think the reason Michael Dudikoff has a great big scar down his left cheek is to show that, yes he’s stuck in HQ flying a desk, but at one point he was out in the field, and doing dark deeds whilst he was.

     Of course, I could be overthinking this …

“The Strain” By Guillermo Del Toro & Chuck Hogan

Really enjoying this!  Quite the compulsive page-turner.  Of course, I already know what happens, as I’ve seen the first series of the television program, but it’s still an interesting journey getting there.  I’ve caught sight of the later television programs, which appear to have moved on wildly from the first series.  Is that chap Roman? 

Carrier Command

Not sure why, but this game popped up in my mind recently.  I haven’t played it in decades, and the version I had was for the venerable and ancient Spectrum 120+, if I recall correctly (it’s been a while!).  The processing power for this device was so low that all the graphics were wireframe, because creating filled polygons would have been far beyond the ancient computer.  Frankly, an electronic car key has more processing power than the 120+ …

Look at all them buttons!

     Checking back, the game was quite complex in design and intent, which is what drove it, good gameplay rather than flashy graphics.  You were in charge of a carrier warship, tasked with colonising a chain of islands, armed with fighter aircraft and amphibious tanks.  Easy, right?  WRONG!   Because there’s an enemy carrier doing the same thing, except it’s faster than your carrier, and it has better jets and tanks.  So, you had to Plan Ahead.  Which Conrad never did*.  So I never got to win, or get to the end, though I did have a blast playing.

     I wonder if it’s available as Abandonware?  Because it makes excellent practice for us apprentice World Dictators.

    

*  I know, I know, I’m just so headstrong.