Your Humble Scribe - On A Diatribe!

No!  Nothing To Do With The Family
 - nor 'The Omega Man' except perhaps tangentially.  A "Diatribe", for your edification, is a ranting invective screed of hatred, or what passes for Business As Usual round here at BOOJUM!   From the Greek, don't you know. 

Vangelis Pappathanasiou - a Greek

     "What has set the old fool off now?" I hear you asking, and apart from pulling you up about the 'old' bit, I shall elucidate.
     Just as Amazon seem to rule the planet when it comes to retailing stuff, so does Netflix when it comes to televisual entertainment.  They appear to have at least 25,000 fingers, and each ends in a pie.  One of those pies (I'm not straining analogies too far here, am I?) is labelled 'Denmark'.
     Now, you would have to work hard to get offended by Denmark.  After all, what's not to like about lager and bacon?  Oh, and Mew.

No, Art, no!

     The band, not a furry - bah, never mind, never mind.  Back to Denmark; Netflix are launching a post-apocalyptic thriller set in the land of the Danes, entitled "The Rain".  Art?


     We are told that 99% of the world's population has been wiped out by a rain-borne virus.  Phew!  is that all?  If it had been 99.9% then I'd have been really worried.  Now, take a look at the cast assembled above.
    DO YOU SEE A SINGLE UMBRELLA?
     Well, do you?  These people are just asking for trouble, and I can tell you, because I am typing this from the Pond of Eden where we have regularly scheduled rain.  In fact, if the camera and phone are being co-operative -

     There you go.  Gomorrah-on-the-Irwell, viewed as if from the bottom of a lake.  I know whereof what I speak. 

Speaking Of The End Of The World -
SPOILERS FOLLOW!  Be warned, if you haven't been keeping up with "The Walking Dead" then look away now.

 

I SAID LOOK AWAY!  NOW!  LOOK AWAY FROM THE SPOILERS!

      I do like to be thorough.  Okay, whilst eating my tea, and frowning at the shambling hordes of rotting corpses on-screen,* I did notice that Rick's wife and son didn't appear.  Nor did anyone appear to be wearing a boilersuit, with boots, gloves and a motorcycle helmet.

Well, it's a start

     Why such sartorial selection?  Because then there's no bare skin showing, and because zombies are basically rotting apart, they have far less bite/upper body strength, and will thus protect your sacred skin.

BARE SKIN!  TOO MUCH BARE SKIN!
(Why not just wear a flipping bikini whilst you're at it)

Well, I feel much better now; expelling a little bile always goes down well.

"The Fighting Seabees" Circa 1944
I did mention the laughably bad Japanese 'tanks' that whichever studio responsible for this film gimmicked together from baked beans tins and sellotape.  There is no denying that Japanese tankettes were - er - how can I put this? - rather rubbish.  Art?

The mighty Type 94, propelled by pedals, one suspects

     Apparently they were for reconnaissance only, because they were easily broken, as was their elastic band engine.  A Browning .50 would turn them into a colander at 500 yards, and the South Canadians had an awful lot of .50s.
     Anyway, that's not what I wanted to wibble about today.  Art?

You win the world's most camouflaged helmet award!

     Who are these people?  It's a serious question because a)  they have to look Japanese and b) they can't actually be Japanese - it being 1944 and there's a war on, you know.
     A quick check on IMDB shows some of these actors with European names, and more with Chinese ones.
     So now you know.

Ah, Words
Conrad, as you ought to know by now, cannot resist mucking about with words.  Suduko?  Not so much.  Crosswords?  Yes please!  Word quizzes?  Cannot pass up the chance.  Art?

 
     Of course I knew exactly what 'Schadenfreude' means, because I frequently experience malicious enjoyment of other's suffering.** I live for the day when Russell Brand, Alan Carr and Graham Norton all go for a cruise in a bathysphere.***

Physalis
I got a pack of these yesterday, because they were going cheap, and the lady at the checkout was mystified by them.  They are from the Nightshade family (though not deadly), look like a berry and have a sharp, sweet flavour.  Art?

You peel off the husk

     And thus we are at count.  Later!


*  Which still didn't stop me from scoffing the lot, regardless of rot.
**  Aren't I awful?  Tee Hee!
***   And never come back ...