When The Lions Rock

We'll Get To That In A While

Meantime, BE PATIENT.  There's a lot to get through and we cannot predict when the Hamsters will go on strike or fall over dead.  

     First of all, let's return to "The Day Of The Triffids", in it's 1962 film iteration.  I don't feel like putting up another matte example, so instead let's have the very dangerous stunt work involving weed control in a fashion not often encountered.  Art!

Dangerous!

     It should be noted that Howard Keel's character is shown using this horribly dangerous improvised flamethrower, from his front, because they can safely film him from a distance with nothing around him to catch fire.  Conrad cannot find a picture on the internet - you want a photograph, don't you? <sighs>  Art!

     There you go.  In the scenes where there are actual burning triffids at close range, our hero never turns his head, because he's a stuntman wearing similar clothes.  Frankly, Conrad thinks it a small miracle that the fuel truck didn't suffer a blowback and explode, which would certainly have taken care of the weedy menace - and our protagonists, too.

      ANYWAY let us now abruptly shift focus, and get back to "This Island Earth", even if we don't yet have any matte work to focus on.  Conrad showed you a few scenes yesteryon that exemplified the difference between today and the society of 65 years ago.  A fair amount of smoking, of course, because the cancer stick still held sway.  Let us see more of the small mysterious elements that continue to prompt a subtle sense of unease in the audience, because there's clearly something amiss.  Art!

Mind your fingers

     This manual is a guide to Electronics Services' inventory, giving all the necessary components to build an 'Interocitor'; the technical crew cleverly gimmicked up a single page, which you see here, to lend a sense of verisimiltude, after which point Cal turns it away from the camera and continues to supposedly read out about all the components.  In another touch of minor genius, when he begins riffling through pages he remarks "Hey, this isn't paper, it's some kind of metal!".  Another notch on the bedpost of Suspicion, at nil overall cost.  In which case, Mister Meacham, beware of paper cuts, lest you lose a digit or two.  Art!

"TESLA AIRLINES WELCOMES YOU ABOARD"

     Cal takes the bait, and a remote-controlled airplane, which flies him to Georgia, South Canada, and the Georgia location is remote, too.  At this point both he and the audience should be wondering just what he's gotten himself into, because technology like this is completely beyond Hom. Sap. in 1955.

     Then we have the elephant in the room.  More precisely, a brace of elephants.  Art!

Meet Brack.  Brack's a prack.

     NOBODY mentions that both Brack and Exeter have gigantic bulging craniums that are so obviously alien that the fact is jumping up and down on your bed so hard the springs broke.  Given that this is only 1955 and is not the Allotment Of Eden, it cannot be adherence to Political Correctness nor politeness, so we can just put it down to It's In The Script.  Art!

Brack and his morally-superior superior, Exeter.

     And there we shall leave TIE for tonight, since I've not taken any more photographs.  We shall be coming back to this, gentle readers*!

     Motley, we have a choice for you: either test out this flame-proof suit we made out of tin foil, or there's this glider we removed the controls from, and installed radio-servos on the rudder and ailerons.

Breadventure #2

Earlier this afternoon The Mansion was resplendent with the smell of baking bread, since Wonder Wifey was having another go with a gluten and egg-free recipe in the newer bread machine.  Let us review the first attempt.  Art!

Not poisonous

     Okay, let us now have a picture of this afternoon's attempt.  Art!

     And do you know what?  It was really good!  Much lighter and fluffier than any wheaty loaf Your Humble Artisan has ever made.  The challenge is now to see if this success can be replicated ...

Okay NOW The Lions

Nothing to do with the ballfoot game, I assure you.  No, this is a reference, of course - obviously! - to 'Sigiriya', which in Sinhalese means "Lion Rock" and, because we are talking of events in the fifth century, it has nothing to do with Pink Floyd.

Them neither

     No, Sigiriya is a mountain-top fortress and temple constructed on the island of Sri Lanka back in the fifth century, to provide an effectively invulnerable fortification.  Art!

Ground level at the Lion Gate

     As you can see, any ascent is a long and tricky process, and a single soldier could block the stairway.  Once you get to the top, there is quite a vista.  Art!

     No puny humans to give scale but you can judge how large this site is.  Can we get a close-up of any of those interior structures, Art?

     There you go.  Given the location these cisterns must collect rainwater, as there's no springs or streams here.  Conrad also believes this site is utilised in Arthur C. Clarke's "The Fountains Of Paradise", where a space-elevator is constructed, a supposition that needs to wait for another day to be confirmed.

"Fighting In Normandy" Edited By David Isby

I recently finished this purchase, which has the subtitle "The German Army From D-Day To Villers-Bocage", which is a misnomer, since it only covers from D-Day (06/06/1944) to the 13th of June, with a few general essays after that.  A lot of it consists of Teuton general whining and complaining about Allied airpower; one of them aptly and shrewdly points out that the only thing that could have defeated the Allied invasion was a Teuton navy and air-force, and by that time they didn't possess either.

The tank crew here are Polish.  To judge from the reactions of several Teutons, they are not saying nice things.

     Another interesting mention is one Teuton general's explanation how dependent their forces were upon radio to keep formations of every size in touch; he also said they worried that the British would jam this network, as they have done very effectively in North Africa.  I remember over on Listy's blog, one of his items explained how Perfidious Albion jammed the radios of 12th SS Panzer division in one of it's counter-attacks, leaving it completely unsupported by artillery.  I would like to come back to this, but will have to dig around as it's not a commonly known subject.

     Which was an aside, wasn't it?  I do apologise.  We ought to come back to this subject, there are further ruminations and I'll try not to get sidetracked.

Look out - more triffids!

     And with that we are done.  Done done done!

*  I have profundities.