Trees Of TERROR In The Forest of FEAR!!

Except Not Really
I also apologise for being positively Continental in the use of two exclamation marks - that's me making a point.
     Today, gentle reader, we are going to be talking Transylvania, because I went to the Gobe Festival yesterday, which is itself a celebration of Hungarian culture, especially the Szeckely region, which is in Transylvania.

There they are - the trees of TERROR!

     Here an aside, or that title won't make sense.  "Transylvania"'s root comes from the Latin "Sylvanus", meaning"Trees", and I think you'll agree, looking at the above, that whomsoever named it got the name spot on.*
     Wikipedia mentions that most Westerners associate Transylvania with vampires, thanks to that Bram Stoker chap and a tome he scribbled called "Dracula".  Indeed, when I related where I'd been to Wonder Wifey, she asked if the event was full of Goths.
     No.  It was not.  Plenty of Hungarians, and families; no pasty-skinned black-haired wannabes wearing black lipstick.  In black clothes.  Art?

Okay, so there are several people wearing black.
BUT THEY AREN'T GOTHS!

     Conrad was also enlightened about "Chimney Cake", which is a curious sounding item.  Art?

     It turned out to be a prepared spindle coated with batter, which is baked over a bed of charcoal as it's rotated.  Those brownish items at the left are the final product.  Sadly, all I could do was watch and drool - you know, being a diabetic and all that.

The Haul
It would be downright rude to attend an event like this and come away without buying anything; almost un-British, in fact, so -

      That's a packet of 5 Mints tea - did you know there were more than 2 types of mint? - a set of gluten-free hand-made sweets, and a jar of Rose Petal Jam, which I tried on a bit of biscuit and instantly fell in love with.  I can only have a teaspoon at a time, mind, so that jar is going to last me ages.  Ages!

      Enough of Transylvania for this afternoon - time to show the rest of the haul, and to throw the motley off the clifftop wearing a Batman suit!**

The Rest Of The Haul
I have not been to Fopp! for lo, these many months, so of course they've changed the upper floor layout, meaning a bit of a trek to find stuff.  This does not cause me to buy what I'm not looking for, as I have a ferocious concentration when it comes to shopping.  Art?

     Now, once I saw that DVD of "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension" I simply had to have it.  HAD HAD HAD!  I wore out my video copy, you know.  If you haven't seen it THEN THE EXIT DOOR IS THAT WAY!  It is one of those hidden gems that enrich your life for merely encountering it, and it has a fantastic cast.  Also, it gives a nod to Thomas Pynchon, which goes a long way to securing a place in Conrad's heart.***
     As for the others, I've seen p<cough>e t<cough>t versions of same and enjoyed them, which means they have to then be bought.
     Enough gloasting wibble!^

"Star Crash" (1979)
Erm a bit of a confession here.  I mentioned this film in passing yesterday, and then, because your humble scribe is nothing if not inquisitive and curious - alright, downright nosy - I went and had a look at it's background over on IMDB.  All I knew is that it was a cheap Italian knock-off of "Star Wars", and that it had Caroline Munro present.  Art?

Caroline doing what she did best - looking good.  Acting wise - er -

     The visible review gave it about eight stars (out of 10!) and proclaimed it an archetypal example of a film so bad it's good.  None of it makes sense and it's filmed in eye-popping Italian Psychedelic.  
     So.  I have to get hold of a copy!

About the only SFW photo I could find of Cas in this film

     Yes, that is David Hasselhoff, back in the days before "Baywatch" when he'd do anything in order to get paid.  The other (unkind!) question is who can emote better, Caroline or that robot?

Finally -
Here's a picture of the 'General Patton' about to drop it's dredging arm - if that's what the long black thing is called - Art?

Your introduction to the romance and glamour of - dredging!

     Okay, so dredging is neither romantic nor glamourous, but it is essential to keep shipping lanes open, so let's give the ol' GP a big round of applause!



*  There is also a "Spotsylvania" in South Canada, but that's getting waaayy off topic.
**  Suit?  Uniform?  Costume?  One of those.
***  "Fusion-powered pumping unit" if we're being picky.
^  I am proud to say that this combination defeated Google completely. Go me!