Randomized Subjects

I was just asking myself this question this morning…

2026-04-11T11:17:00.000-07:00

Why do shipments go into cargo and cars go onto ships?

And what's up with carpets... they are neither cars nor pets!

'Nuff said.

Oh I love legitimate theatre - Warhammer 40k: the Musical

2026-04-11T11:08:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm very late to posting this. (April 1st posting)

And the Making of... video

Though, I have to say "Hamilton" has spoiled me for all musicals... this comes close to bringing me back...

The best description of "Alien" I have read in a while.

2026-03-02T00:25:00.000-08:00

I think this speaks for itself.

'Nuff said!

Great history on the impact of the "New Jack" sound from the 80s and 90s

2025-12-18T10:20:00.000-08:00

This was a great podcast episode about the impact of the "New Jack" sound. Being really old, I loved so much of this music but did not know much about the origins and rippling impact on music to this day.

A lot other stuff from this podcast feed but this did a fantastic job of interleaving with behind the scenes history with my memories of enjoying this music.

I still know all the lyrics to Bobby Brown's "Don't Be Cruel" album. It is burned into my brain...

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5R6ksettY6VKxpyxlLOrAL?si=A6BaK5N1RwO7NKkhb-MU-w

Cool shop in San Jose - Zonkey

2025-11-14T18:58:00.000-08:00

Ran into this store totally randomly as we were walking around Japantown San Jose. Zonkey (link) . Not a huge store but they had a lot of cool stuff on display and some you could buy!

Here's some pictures I took.

Cool mural... only thing missing is Kamen Rider.

Some sort of backstraightener - you put this in front of you as you type so you are always leaning in.

Gigan!

Salaryman Godzilla Cosplayer

Love how they didn't draw in the webs on the chest and shoulders on this statue.

Kind of a Bisely(?) Batman statue.

Check it out! Location:

161 Jackson Street #3
San Jose, CA 95112, US

This one-woman orchestral rendition of the James Bond themes made me yearn to watch one of the 007 movies but...

2025-10-19T11:13:00.000-07:00

... I couldn't figure out which one I'd find time to watch.

Which lead me to think...

It made me realize that I loved the idea of a "James Bond" film more than an actual "James Bond" film. I mean there isn't a singular perfect James Bond movie that captures his extreme competence which I found so damn cool. And the gadgets. "The Spy Who Loved Me" "Thunderball" "Casino Royale (2006)"

I don't know what you call that? The memory of the action/activity being better/more than actually doing the action/activity. It isn't "nostalgia", is it?

This is similar to remembering how fun it was to play a certain game or eat a certain food which you can do right now.. only to discover something essential <friend, spirit, timing, experience, ??> is missing.

Just ran into this... "Space King" - a very silly animated riff on Warhammer 40k -

2025-10-17T23:38:00.000-07:00

I think I was looking for Ultraman Omega Ep 14 and I found this instead.

I wasn't quite sure what I was watching but it had the telltale armor design - bulky, heavy armor, and domed helmets.

In an instant I knew what I was watching an animated Terran campaign of Starcraft... er.. I mean Warhammer 40k.

Give it a whirl!

Full Playlist

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lknNsZgzG1g&list=PLxYwjZ98G_cwf3tA98NBdBriEzsNwrl9f

One less KISS to answer...

2025-10-16T20:03:00.000-07:00

https://www.npr.org/2025/10/16/nx-s1-5577128/ace-frehley-lead-guitarist-in-kiss-dies-at-74

I don't think I liked many Kiss songs.

I think I liked "Beth"?

I like them more for iconic look and their "Phantom of the Amusement Park" TV-Movie where they are more superheroes than musicians.

And some of the comic books they were in.

Still, I am sad that Ace died like this and this marks the beginning of the end of an era! Because together they were pretty cool looking.

"Adolescence" (2025) was a stunner of a show. But to see how they filmed it all as one continuous shot, AMAZING.

2025-10-16T13:16:00.000-07:00

"Adolescence" (2025) was a stunner of a show. I found it very much a slice of life with the messiness of "no pat clear answers." No voiceovers or anything to give you the "who's-right-who's-wrong." It is just people existing and trudging through in a normally inconceivable situation. Well acted and well written.

I recommend watching it.

But now I watched this Behind the Scene on how they achieved this "slice of life" though this one continuous shot (per episode), and I am gobsmacked.

How much stage planning had to go into this highwire act? Incredible.

Even more respect.

Funny admission about the TRON franchise

2025-10-10T11:52:00.000-07:00

This article has a lot of funny truths about where TRON fits in the nerd-verse: https://open.substack.com/pub/paulscheer/p/i-dont-get-tron

Tron has always been an odd bird. The art and the style of this Syd Mead world is incredible and really indelible in terms of its impact. I even bought a TRON doll from Disney World which has my face and a crappy sound chip saying weird TRON-like computer things after riding the TRON cycle rollercoaster. SO obviously a fan.

But the story lore doesn't fully hang together and even the sequels don't really explain too much how this world hangs together. Why doesn't Bruce Boxleitner show up more prominently if he is the titular character of the whole universe? I mean they say "Welcome to TRON." ; not "Welcome to Jeff-Bridges-character-who-has-no-real-name."

And yet, I will probably watch TRON:Ares.

So true and perfect line up with LoTR

2025-10-01T20:07:00.000-07:00

This is so much truth. I can barely stand it.

For me, the funniest part is at 1:39. (And our company is doing one soon.)

MOAR Ultima IV: Quest for the Avatar. Your prayers are answered

2025-09-29T22:17:00.000-07:00

I was very surprised to find that there is new DLC (free-as-in-beer) for this 40+ year old game!

https://cambragol.github.io/advent-of-the-trinity/about

Look at the link to find the Download and more details... but if you need to see the list of changes - look to the end of this post for the REALLY REALLY long list of features.

And if you need Ultima IV the game, here's a legal way to get it for FREE! BLESS GOG!!

https://www.gog.com/en/game/ultima_iv_quest_of_the_avatar

EDITORIAL: I have to say that this one game still stays deep in my heart in shaping my concept of what a "good" person is and hit at a formative time in my life.

For those who played this adventure completely through, you KNOW what I mean.

There is a piece of the Codex of Infinite Wisdom lodged deep in my being.

Complete Feature List for "Threat of The Trinity"

I thought this was hilarious - the worse UI control for volume control

2025-09-29T22:01:00.000-07:00

I don't know why but I thought this was hilarious.

Maybe I am a horrible person.

Godzilla vs Megalon is 51 years old today!

2024-03-16T23:14:00.000-07:00

At a time when there was precious little live-action Kaiju-fighting ROBOTs on TV, I was literally starved for anything.

So every now and then I would chance upon a random Godzilla movie on Saturday afternoon and this one had Jet Jaguar!

I am from the planet Remulak... er.. France, I mean.

A complete non-sensical Ultraman-like robot. How does he gain sentience? How does this simple robot have the energy to create mass to be Godzilla sized? Why does he become dumb as a stump after the fight is over? Why is he smiling like the freaking Joker?

All good questions. All questions that I did not care about because I got a live-action Kaiju-fighting Robot teaming up with Godzilla!

Sure, Captain Cosmic (God Rest His Soul) eventually brought me "Space Giants", "Ultraman", "Spectreman", and "Johnny Socko and his Flying Robot"... All of which I loved dearly.

Space Giants and Gandalf

Ultraman (1966) - His breast enhancements were still settling into place at the taking of this photo.

Resting Frown Face Spectreman

I would have literally killed for a voice-activated-robot-controlling watch like that. ..as a child of course.

What I REALLY wanted and I longed for Red Baron Super Robot which I finally got on DVD somewhere in the 2000s.. but that's a different subject.

Ear lasers? Shoulder AND Breast Rockets? Upside down jet wings? He's got everything!

ANYWAYS, but I think I watched "Godzilla versus Megalon" before Captain Cosmic got "Space Giants" on KTVU Channel 2. It is all a little hazy now.

But Happy 51st Birthday "Godzilla versus Megalon" - You brought me Jet Jaguar and I think I love you.

Though I couldn't stay up for "Creature Features", I believe I know the secret identity

2023-11-01T16:39:00.002-07:00

I think I have this as an autographed picture.

Bob Wilkins was an important part of my childhood.

Less for his more famous creation of "Creature Features", but more his afterschool mainlining a steady stream of tokusatsu giant monsters and superheroes in glorious video action to me like "Space Giants", "Spectreman", "Ultraman" or anime like "Star Blazers" dressed as "Capt. Cosmic!"

I think he even came to my elementary school. I remember everyone asking if he was "Capt. Cosmic" and he would say "I don't know what you are talking about." So patient he must have been!!

Below are two documentaries about Bob Wilkins / John Stanley and the legacy of their work.

"Watch Horror! Keep America Strong" (2008) (video link here)

and "Up Late with Bob Wilkins" (2019) (embedded below)

It continues on with an YouTube channel with actual movies! (video link here) as well as festivals to celebrate Bob Wilkins and John Stanley which I accidentally stumbled into at the Orinda theater a year back (link).

Instead of instant demand, it is almost hard to remember when shows would appear on TV and disappear forever leaving only a (mostly) indelible memory.

And I will forever associate the "Creature Features" theme song (based on the very few times I was allowed to stay up to watch it) with "Creature Features" instead of the proper source from the "Dawn Raid on Fort Knox" from "Goldfinger."

(jump to about 1:40 in the song)

The article that sparked this memory... https://www.sfgate.com/sf-culture/article/wild-show-kept-bay-area-up-all-night-18420339.php

1981 - my world was rocked by Wizardry - Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord. Now there is a remake!

2023-09-15T09:52:00.005-07:00

How can it be 42 years old?

There is the remake of Wizardry (link) which brought back memories.

Story here: (link)

All of my head memory space is used for the spell names like: LOMILWA (the longer version of MILWA), MALIKTO (priest word of death), MAHALITO (fire group attack), and of course, TILTOWAIT.

But of course, I'm sure that I probably won't have as much fun playing the actual game versus my rose-tinted nostalgic memories of playing this 42 years ago. Play it here online (link)

I loved how the Priest's staff came "out" of the picture.

Never sure why samurai wore a cowboy hat.

Also I never saw this Wizardry based anime before (from 1991)

Amazingly Cool Star Trek Fanfic: The Oral History of the Battle of Wolf 359.

2023-07-05T07:18:00.000-07:00

https://twitter.com/Wolf359Project/status/1676186701335592960?s=20

22 Months 500+ Pages 151518 Words #StarTrek #Wolf359 tinyurl.com/Wolf359Project

From https://twitter.com/Wolf359Project

Looks like a lot of stuff to dive into! And lovingly laid out with everything you'd expect from a "real" Star Trek novel!

Enjoy!

The OLD Zoom, anyone?

2022-02-27T23:21:00.004-08:00

I grew up watching KQED in the San Francisco Oakland area.

In my kid brain, there was a progression.

Mr Rogers' Neighborhood was for the youngest kids and babies..(of course, I was wrong - what Mr. Rogers was doing was deeply thought out.)
Sesame Street was for slightly older kids - K to 2nd grade
Electric Company - 3rd to 5th grade

But Zoom was like the crazy wild eyed cousin who would show up randomly and stay awhile. (link)

Oh man. THIS I want to see. "Everything Everywhere All At Once"

2021-12-14T16:01:00.005-08:00

This trailer made me smile and I'm notoriously difficult to amuse...

..Especially only with a movie trailers.

Coming in 2022.

So much for Ozymandius' plan for human-wide unity from a global threat.

2021-10-02T19:17:00.002-07:00

From the Tumbler of medi20 - https://medli20.tumblr.com/post/628989343189565440

Beautiful "diorama" of Gotham City - A "Tilt-Shifted" Batman Arkham Knight

2021-08-22T22:04:00.002-07:00

It is funny how much I love staring at well-done "Tilt-Shifted" pictures and videos.

This one of various Gotham City (in-game) places from the video Batman: Arkham Knight is really mesmerizing!

There is also one for Cyberpunk 2077 but it is actually more impressive looking at it from first person perspective in game.

Flurdeh is the person behind this appreciation of the art of video games. It is pretty genius!

70's DC Superfriends retrospective

2021-07-13T23:30:00.000-07:00

Why is Aquaman standing in front of Wonder Woman? No justice nor respect.

My favorite memory of Saturday mornings back in the 70's was finding any random Godzilla movie (even the ones with Minilla in them) on instead of some sporting event preempted the usual flow of Saturday Morning cartoons.

Even then I knew Minilla was not cool.

My NEXT favorite memory was watching the Superfriends. And this article (link) is a great walkthrough all of the various seasons which are back on HBO Max after disappearing from the short-lived DC Universe streaming site.

I really can't watch them because they sully my glorious memory of serious heroic storylines and important lessons they taught me: Seaweed is deadly to Aquaman and possibly any person who swims in the ocean.

Also Alex Toth's character designs are just amazing.

FILE UNDER Make-Me-Feel-Old: The in-comic age of Avengers reset to be Millennials aged.

2021-05-24T15:25:00.005-07:00

I guess it had to happen...

To let Black Panther, Spider-Man and Black Widow stay their properly adult but not AARP-eligible age.

The in-comic book age of Avengers has been reset - so they are all Millennials.

Image: Danny Lore, Luciano Vecchio/Marvel Comics

So weird that they are of that age. (link)

Save your quarters! Play Missile Command from the 70's on your browser...

2021-04-23T14:52:00.003-07:00

I know it is (more-than-ever) clear and present danger... US walks away from 31 year 31-Year-Old Nuclear Weapons Treaty but....

.... I can't help be smile when I hear the sounds of the 1980 video game "Missile Command."

Play it here (link) (Needs Javascript on!)

Norton Juster, author of 'The Phantom Tollbooth', died at 91

2021-03-09T19:54:00.002-08:00

'The Phantom Tollbooth' is one of my favorite books.

I remember reading this book as a child and, as I finished the book, I felt the optimism and joy of reading Milo felt at the end of his story.

It felt like magic to me.

Rest in peace, Mr Juster.