Hola, Sneakers! Welcome to the podcast that is brining back common sense!
This week: daily chuckle; pet affirmation; just do it; musically mindful; list-o-mania; never forget to remember to forget; inner dialogues; Mr. Smarty-pants; back to schooldays; keep it unreal; Kamaleon Harris; Brexit Columbia; mathletes vs. athlematicians; multiple chance; good recitations; coach class; the hobgoblin of consistency; nerd-o-divergent; bolt upright; trust exercise; cavalier attitude; the sin of democracy; Professor X-rated; beach balls; Seinfeld walks it back; the McCarthy hearings; praise for murders; a public warning; bar hopping; hairy monsters and super streets; Boothby’s dilemma; cut ups; ideally scared; genre-hopping; thoughts on Predator; Dave enjoyed The First Omen; weaquels; horror re-animated; in sickness and ill-health; they are the X-Men; Oz rules; super marketing; traditional football; rubbed rhubarb; dental plans; and, finally, streaming mad.
Question of the Week: Did you have a teacher who made a difference in your life?
Task of the Week: Halloween is coming, recommend a horror film to us!
Department od Corrections
Dave was confused when discussing the new Rosemary’s Baby prequel, Apartment 7A, which stars Julia Garner, and not Kaitlyn Dever. Whoops!
Thanks for listening.
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I missed last week’s comment deadline, but Ian was asking about a costume choice from Star Trick: The Musical. In the words of the Captain…
“ONCE MORE I HAVE TO FIGHT TO SAVE MY SHIP.
I’VE GOT TO DO IT RIGHT TO SAVE MY SHIP.
I’M TAKING OFF MY SHIRT.
MY IMAGE MIGHT GET HURT.
I SHOULD HAVE SKIPPED DESSERT TO SAVE MY SHIP.”
I think it was Gary Jones who thought of wearing a girdle under his yellow “Spacefleet” shirt. The reveal always got him a huge laugh. It didn’t really work when Roman Danylo played the role in a remount since he so buff. But while we often talk about excellent Ian’s spoof of Scotty, we don’t always mention his other pivotal role as the voice of “Ball, a high-evolved disembodied super-intellect.” He really pinned down the voice and attitude of various non-corporeal entities from the original TV show. You might say he nailed his Ball. (Heh heh.)
Middle school here in Texas are grades 7th and 8th and that was my first opportunity to take an art class with real art projects and not just doing crafts like we did in elementary. My teacher was an older woman named Bobette King and I could tell she really loved art with a passion. Mrs. King’s love for art was infectious and she knew I was serious about it too, so sometime during my second year in her class Mrs. King asked me if I knew what a commercial artist was. I had no idea what that was, so Mrs. King took notice of my skills and went out of her way to teach me what I needed to be a commercial artist later in life. Mrs. King launched me into my profession at an early age and I’ll always be grateful for her guidance. However, there was a sadness to Mrs. King though that was all could see. As much as Mrs. King loved art she was restricted to only seeing it locally, her husband was terminally ill with cancer and Mrs. King was his caretaker. She’d mention from time to time how she wished to see all the world famous art in person and not just in books and on slides but she was confined to her husband’s illness.
The years went by and one day I called my middle school to see if Mrs. King was still around, the school took my number and said they’d pass it onto Mrs. King. About a week later I received a call from Mrs. King, she was thrilled I had remembered her. I thanked her for her guidance as I let her know I was indeed a commercial artist for Dr Pepper, just like she expected me to be. I asked Mrs. King how she was spending her retirement, what she told me was very rewarding for her. Mrs. King first informed me that her husband had died from his cancer years ago and that she had met a gentleman through church, married him and retired. This second husband, who also admired the arts, took her around the world to see everything Mrs. King wanted to see…twice. Italy, Spain, England, France, Egypt, all of it. I was choked up as I heard this, this was the rewarding life my favorite teacher deserved and received for being so dedicated. I could go on for a lot longer about a few others but Mrs. King is really the one who got me into the game first. I owe her for that and it makes me happy she completed her life loving art the way she always wanted to experience it.
About two weeks ago Susan and I were just scrolling through the movies on MGM and I saw “Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein”. Susan had never seen it and I remember loving it when I saw it in the theater originally. I’d forgotten how “theatrical” Kenneth Branagh can be with his directing with the over the top dramatics and opulent backdrops…but I love it for this film, like the massive winding staircases I think Susan thought she was getting another something similar to “Bram Stoker’s Dracula”, which she likes but this was kind of over the top for her. I still love the film with its stellar cast and Branagh’s longtime composer, Patrick Doyle. I mean what’s not to love about cramming John Cleese’s genius brain into the skull of a dead Robert DeNiro and then add on a leg? Now that is a madman.
My recomendation is a favorite vampire film of mine, “Only Lovers Left Alive” from 2013. I guess it’s kind of a romance/horror/comedy rolled into one with the centuries-old couple of married vampires, Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton…who I adore. If you’ve never seen it it’s like no other vampire film with a great cast and some really dark humor. Susan watch it first and then we watched it together and I was hooked. I watch it every year for Halloween.
A runner-up is Roger Corman’s bizarre “Frankenstein Unbound”. The poster itself is worth a look and also has a very notable cast. Ya gotta love Corman though, he loves this shit so much we love it right alongside him.
Had a BLAST at my 40th high school reunion which was a two night deal…really good time.
Now get out and feel alive, ALIVE my fellow Sneakers!!!
“It Follows” is a low-budget indie horror film I’d recommend. It poses the question, “Would you free yourself from a death curse by passing it along to someone else, or would you try to end the cycle?” “It” can be an allegory for many ills of society.
Such a great movie! The concept is so clever in the way it makes you scour every corner of the frame for potential threats. Maika Monroe is an equally great protagonist in ‘The Guest’.
Popping my head round the door with a few movie recommendations: Hopefully some of these are new to you, and some you’ll have seen and can share your thoughts.
A 30s classic:
Island of Lost Souls – the original and best adaptation of ‘The Island of Dr Moreau’, hugely atmospheric and with a stellar performance from Charles Laughton, walking the tightrope between creepy and campy.
Similarly atmospheric, the largely forgotten ‘80s gem ‘Paperhouse’ just showed up on Amazon Prime (in the UK, at least). A girl winds up in hospital for plot reasons; to pass time she draws, and when she dreams her drawings become a more and more twisted reality. I saw it once about 30 years ago, and it played like a grounded British arthouse take on ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’. Does it hold up? Let’s find out!
Two more because I can’t help myself:
‘The Vanishing’ remains the single most disturbing film I’ve ever seen – a meticulous psychological study of the banality of evil. No blood, no spooks – just ideas that worm into your brain.
For something a bit lighter, Peter Strickland’s ‘In Fabric’ might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s easily the best Cursed Womenswear film of the last ten years. The depiction of a 1970s department store as a fetishistic temple of whispering witchcraft makes perfect dream-logical sense – as if ‘Are you Being Served’ had been directed by Dario Argento. The whole thing had me giggling with delight, and I love Peter Strickland for following his obsessions.
Happy Halloween everyone!
Keep watching the skies,
Peter