Ray's X-Blog

ThanX For Nothing Google

2024-07-17T09:17:00.002-04:00

This blog used to feature five posts upfront but no more thanX to Google. Last time this happened I changed the theme but it didn't work a second time. This is a sticky post with a link of all my RX XR ezines:

https://efanzines.com/RXXR/

If a blog or website doesn't do what I want then it's over. I don't want to spend time figuring out how to fix a problem. I was thinking about new article posts here but forget it. Most of my ezines feature older posts that can still be found at this blog if you scroll down far enough.

XR #178 - Dracula the novel, unknown brains

2024-05-18T05:48:00.001-04:00

https://efanzines.com/RXXR/RXXR-178.pdf

Previous issues: https://efanzines.com/RXXR/index.htm

XR #177 - The SF Writer Who Wasn't Meek Hating Commies

2024-02-21T05:04:00.000-05:00

The latest edition of my ezine available at https://efanzines.com/RXXR/index.htm

XR #176 - Comic Book Censorship & The Plattsburgh Connection

2024-01-23T11:54:00.004-05:00

The latest issue: Comic book hysteria. And weird Happy New Year postcards.

https://efanzines.com/RXXR/RXXR-176.pdf

XR #175 - Cyborgs Are Here

2023-12-31T02:54:00.002-05:00

Find XR #175 here: https://efanzines.com/RXXR/RXXR-175.pdf

Previous issues: https://efanzines.com/RXXR/index.htm

Did G5 Zombies Attack You?

2023-12-07T04:35:00.001-05:00

That and other interesting topiX in the latest issue of the Ray X X-Rayer:

https://efanzines.com/RXXR/RXXR-174.pdf

Previous issues: https://efanzines.com/RXXR/index.htm

Enough! eXmas 365 Days A Year

2023-11-10T18:05:00.004-05:00

Details in Ray X X-Rayer #173.

https://efanzines.com/RXXR/RXXR-173.pdf

Previous issues:

https://efanzines.com/RXXR/index.htm

Ten Foot Tall Aliens Crashed In The Backyard!

2023-10-12T23:33:00.002-04:00

And other eXtreme stuff in the latest issue, download here: https://efanzines.com/RXXR/RXXR-172.pdf

Life Isn't Always Flowers

2023-07-25T00:17:00.002-04:00

There's conspiracies & aliens & all sorts of outre stuff. Learn more in the latest edition of the Ray X X-Rayer.

Download here: https://efanzines.com/RXXR/RXXR-171.pdf

Or sign up for a free sub: raypalmx[at]gmail[dot]com . Subject: XR sub

How about some flying saucer with your wine?

2023-03-06T02:14:00.012-05:00

Details about UFOs & vineyards in Ray X X-Rayer #170.

https://efanzines.com/RXXR/index.htm

Besides the latest RX XR issue check out previous e-ditions.

You can subscribe to my ezine via email. Write to raypalmx[at]gmail[dot]com for info. Subject: Subscription.

Qing Up All Over The World

2022-12-30T22:23:00.001-05:00

Details in Ray X X-Rayer #169: https://efanzines.com/RXXR/RXXR-169.pdf

Previous issues: https://efanzines.com/RXXR/index.htm

Demonic Symbols In Middle School Student Art!!

2022-11-07T19:27:00.003-05:00

Read all about it here:

https://efanzines.com/RXXR/RXXR-168.pdf

Previous issues:

https://efanzines.com/RXXR/index.htm

Are Aliens Bumbling Ghosts?

2022-09-24T16:30:00.000-04:00

The topic is raised in Ray X X-Rayer #166.

https://efanzines.com/RXXR/RXXR-167.pdf

Previous editions: https://efanzines.com/RXXR/index.htm

What's The Connection?

2022-09-09T02:54:00.002-04:00

Bobby Knight, vegetable czar, and Coke soda? The issue is raised in

Ray X X-Rayer #166.

Previous editions: https://efanzines.com/RXXR/index.htm

Hot Off The Screen! Ray X X-Rayer #165

2022-07-18T19:16:00.004-04:00

Deceptive Movie Posters! Miracle Spring Water! This and more awaits you in the latest ezine edition of the Ray X X-Rayer #165: https://tinyurl.com/4muwsz37

7/21/22 XR #165 just added to efanzines: https://efanzines.com/RXXR/RXXR-165.pdf

Enjoy previous issues: https://efanzines.com/RXXR/index.htm

Snowmen Attack!?

2022-03-10T05:38:00.000-05:00

So what's the story behind this insane cover? What was the editor smoking in his corncob pipe? Ray X uncovers the story behind the story and discusses science sleuths in science fiction in the latest issue of Ray X X-Rayer: https://efanzines.com/RXXR/RXXR-163.pdf

And grok previous issues: https://efanzines.com/RXXR/

All Hail Romana Didulo, QAnon Queen of Canada

2021-12-28T05:20:00.002-05:00

Like COVID-19 QAnon quackery is not limited to national borders.

Romana Didulo says Queen Elizabeth committed crimes against humanity and was killed, making Didulo Queen of Canada. She has instructed her followers to send form letters accusing healthcare providers and pharmacies of war crimes for providing coronavirus vaccinations. One person spent $65 to send out the letters via certified mail to various businesses.

Using her online Telegram account she told her followers to spam people like school officials with fake cease and desist letters.

On November 25th she stated online that “Duck Hunters” should shoot anyone vaccinating children to protect young lives from the “coronavirus bioweapon.”

All of this QAnon stuff sounds amusing but sometimes its delusions can be deadly. A California father claimed Illuminati and QAnon conspiracies had enlightened him, visions revealing his wife had “serpent DNA.” To spare his children from turning into monsters he killed them with a spearfishing gun.

This article and others can be found in Ray X X-Rayer #161. Back issues here.

Hey, Kids, It's Valiant Thor!

2021-11-04T03:58:00.003-04:00

In my review in Ray X X-Rayer #160 of the American Horror Story: Death Valley TV mini-series I mention how Valiant Thor is involved with the evil gray aliens. Valiant is known in UFO conspiracy circles from the non-nonfiction book Stranger at the Pentagon by Dr. Frank Stranges (1967). I'm more than happy to give Val eXposure. Did you know he was a close friend of Mamie Eisenhower? Read all about it in XR #160.

For earlier issues of my ezine: https://efanzines.com/RXXR/

This SF Short Story Was Intended To Be The Butt of Many Jokes

2021-09-21T17:33:00.003-04:00

From the latest edition of Ray X X-Rayer #157 ezine. This issue and previous ones are available at https://efanzines.com/RXXR/index.htm .

Spaceways, v. 3, issue 4, May 1941 | The University of Iowa Libraries –

https://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/islandora/object/ui%3Ahevelin_3517_2_2

On page 8 of this scanned fanzine there is a story The End of Pennywhistle listed under “HUMOUR by “damon knight.” The story opens in the year 1989 in the metropolis of Thickerwhichet-on-theStinglebottom, the unnamed narrator explaining how civilization fell apart.

The cause of the Great Catastrophe is one Mortimer Pennywhistle – well, actually his hind end. A strange radiation emitted from that area disintegrates ratchet handles and the straws on brooms. These objects are destroyed when they enter the unearthly radiation zone.

At first the odd effect only occurs within a few feet of Pennywhistle’s posterior. It’s thought lead pants might alleviate the problem but the radiation intensifies, overcoming any thickness of lead. While growing in power the radiation starts to expand, broom staws and ratchet handles miles away falling apart under its energy.

And what multiplies the problem even more is that suddenly ten people suffer from the same condition. These newly infected are exiled to either the North or South Pole. But no sooner than those ten are isolated ten more show up. (Radiation symbolizing the spread of STI?)

At the end the narrator ends with this clincher: he wonders if Pennywhistle, now confined to the frigid wastes of Antarctica, is sending his selectively destructive radiation out into the universe, affecting other worlds.

The narrator mentions that civilization will rise again thanks to floorpaint and radio tubes.

But what about plastic ratchet handles and vacuum cleaners?

Maybe that’s why this tale, unlike Damon Knight’s short story To Serve Man, was never adapted into a Twilight Zone episode.

NOTE: Spaceways v.3, Issue 4, is listed as Spaceways #20 at https://www.fanac.org/ .

Get A Move On

2021-07-20T00:41:00.002-04:00

As I mentioned before I haven't been posting any articles lately due to the new and improved Blogger being a pain in the ass when I'm trying to properly format. So I'll try it one more time.

* * *

U.S. Representative Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) doesn’t believe climate change is man-made, it’s just the forces of nature at work. (He also claimed he got Covid 19 from wearing a mask but I digress.) During a subcommittee hearing he asked the associate deputy chief for the National Forest System if climate change could be fixed by altering the orbit of the moon or the Earth’s orbit around the sun. ( https://bit.ly/3krbo8S ) I didn’t know the Forest Service was part of the Space Force.

Such statements cast the image of the Republican party as anti-science. Louie’s moving statement was the source of amusement for some.

Don’t despair, Louie. Just take a look at the 1962 Japanese SF movie Gorath ( https://archive.org/details/1962Gorath_201811 ). The title refers to a runaway star entering our solar system with a mass 6000 times that of Earth. It’s gravitational pull is so great that it sucks off Saturn’s rings.

Like Louie’s proposal to fix climate change this movie involves moving the Earth of out its normal orbit. This move will help the planet dodge the approaching death orb.

But how to change the Earth’s orbit? Check this out, Louie: mankind unites to build gigantic atomic powered jet tubes at the south pole.

But there’s a setback when the jets disturb the sleep of a prehistoric creature. Godzilla? No, its a blubbery giant walrus called Maguma, flippers flapping, destroying part of the jet tube installation. Don’t worry, Louie. We can use a laser to kill any such kaiju that might intefere with our plans.

One detail not addressed by moving the planet is what happens to the moon, how its orbit would be affected by a disruption in the normal interplay between it and Earth. But it doesn’t matter after Gorath devours the moon.

So watch the movie, Louie, and show the way to realistically fix climate change. Keep in mind the movie doesn’t address how to return the Earth to its normal orbit but hey – if climate change is eliminated then why worry?

NOTES OF INTEREST:

Director Indiro Honda didn’t want a kaiju in this film but was forced to add one. He thought the story stood on its own without a monster on the loose. The above link in the article takes you to the original Japanese version with English subtitles that includes Maguma. The American version excised his scenes. Maguma looked too silly, earning the nickname Wally the Walrus.

I thought Maguma looked familiar and then I remembered an episode of the TV series Ultra Q that recycled the suit in a story about a plane that lands in another dimension.

Yes, Louie Gohmert is real even though Maguma is more believable.

* * *

Now I'll wait and see if anyone comments. If not I'm going to save time by not bothering with the duplication of effort and just publish articles in my ezine.

https://efanzines.com/RXXR/index.htm

Or you can subscribe directly via email; just send me your address.

For Your Perusal: XR #155 ezine

2021-06-26T00:59:00.011-04:00

PDF file at this link: https://efanzines.com/RXXR/RXXR-155.pdf

Back issues: https://efanzines.com/RXXR/index.htm

LOCs welcome.

XR #154 Available

2021-04-15T23:02:00.007-04:00

Click here to automatically download: https://efanzines.com/RXXR/RXXR-154.pdf

Back issues listed here: https://efanzines.com/RXXR/

Letters of Comment welcome.

XR #153 Is Here

2020-12-31T20:44:00.002-05:00

Ray X X-Rayer #153 is available at https://efanzines.com/RXXR/RXXR-153.pdf . You can find back issues at https://efanzines.com/RXXR/ . Free email subscription: email raypalmx[at]gmail[dot]com. Subject line: Subscription.

XR #152 Ready To Read and Download

2020-12-03T23:26:00.005-05:00

https://efanzines.com/RXXR/RXXR-152.pdf

My ezine is also available via email listed at the top of each edition. Subject: SUBSCRIBE.

In the past I would post a direct link to my email but Google has fucked up blogger so much I can't do that. ThanX, Google, for wrecking this service. From now on I'm only posting links to my ezine. Even doing this little has become a major PIA.

A Good Memory Can Save The World

2020-09-22T01:59:00.001-04:00

From Ray X X-Rayer #151.

Back issues here: https://efanzines.com/RXXR/index.htm

A while back Presidentoid Trump was boasting how he aced what he claimed was a difficult memory test. He was able to recall five words: Person, man, woman, camera, TV.

After an alien visitor is apparently killed in the movie The Day The Earth Stood Still(1951) a robot named Gort is activated to destroy the planet. Only one woman has the key words to stop the robot: Gort Klaatu Barada Nitko. She faces the robot, repeating the four key words. Just in the nick of time she stops Gort's Cyclopean eye beam from disintegrating her. Gort stands down, the rampage is ended.

So what if Memory Master Trump had to recall the same keywords?

It would go like this:

"Uh... Mort. Kahlua Bacardi nicotine."

Ergo the world ends.

(9/25/20: Edited sentence for clarity.)