Well, well, well ...
Not an awful lot to report for the day other than the usual. I did manage to get up a fabulous review yesterday afternoon (available right here, if I do say so myself), and it should go without saying that I'd love for readers to check it out and maybe even sound off on it. Vintage SciFi usually can be a mixed bag -- special effects were somewhat limited back in the day, and storytelling sensibilities for genre productions were a curious assortment of visual tricks -- and, yes, that leaves Beast From Haunted Cave an oddity from the days gone by. Still, it's worth a watch, especially for purists or fans of the cinema coming from Roger Corman. If nothing else, feel free to check out my thoughts.
Otherwise, news is still reasonably slow, resulting mainly from the Hollywood actors strike in the U.S. The scuttlebutt I'd read previously on that whole sad affair is that several pundits had long suspected the talent would hold out on any authentic changes until the new year -- at least, that's what I'd read -- so I'm not sure this is any real surprise. I did see that actors Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul (from Breaking Bad fame) did recently find a part-time gig as bartenders, so that's good that they're still working, earning some scratch, and able to put bread on the table. Sad that they took the jobs normally going to regular folks, but it's been my experience that our cultural elite aren't above sticking their thumbs in the eyes of the common man. Sigh. I guess ... it is what it is.
Also from what I've read: isn't it sad what's happened to the comic book industry? I don't read them all that much any longer -- far too many books started veering into some very weird politics, for my tastes -- but I grew up on a steady diet of so, so, so many great storytellers. Superheroes were a huge component of my childhood, and it's sad to think there could come a day -- based entirely on the economics of that industry -- when books aren't around in the same sense that they've been for years. I did read a column suggesting that the comics business really needs massive transformation if it's going to survive in the digital age, and maybe that's true. However, those of us who grew up holding them in our hands probably still wish that's how those stories could (and should) be enjoyed.
What can I say? It truly sucks getting old.
In any event, here's to the real business of day (so far as I'm concerned) ...
There are some truly interesting nuggets of genre joy in there today, folks, so I do encourage you to (naturally) check it out ... and please share far and wide on the Information Superhighway. Nothing brings me greater excitement than finding new readers, and that happens largely with all the help you can provide. True story.
As always, thanks for reading ... thanks for sharing ... thanks for being a fan ... and live long and prosper!
-- EZ