• Tag Archives Twilight Zone

  • “Ever since dying came into fashion, life hasn’t been safe.” Proverb

    Posted on by The Thousand Yard Stare Comment

    Hoppy July 4th. So far, I have the day off. This could change at any moment.

    I’m going through all my bookmarks – yes, those things that occasionally save your place on the internet. Usually, they’re all pointing to dead links, etc. So I’m looking at some of them and determining if they still exist. If not, “ Baleeted.”

    Some of the links go to some really cool T-shirt websites. You know the ones, the ones that have such cool designs you never thought you’d see in a million years. It makes you feel like a kid – picking out the coolest design.

    Unfortunately, there are very few of these t-shirts that don’t make you look like an oversized kid. Or, rather, a middle-aged balding gentleman who can’t seem to grow up. While anybody can buy those shirts, it doesn’t mean they should. I’m all for geek chic, within the proper age range. Much like the Twilight Zone episode I just glanced at, with Cliff Robertson – I thought, “Boy, that top hat looks great!”


    However I’m realistic enough that I know that I can’t rock a top hat. Very few people can.

    Slash.


    Ummm. And Charles DeMarr.

    And……uh…..Abraham Lincoln.

    That’s it. The only three people who can rock a top hat.

    I guess that’s about it. For me Steampunk is cool in limited doses, but walking around Texas in a top hat and tails in the middle of summer not only looks foolish, you’re severely risking heatstroke.

    Speaking of inappropriate – how many older white guys out there are wearing white tennis shoes? As a rule I don’t purchase white anything, but since it was pointed out to me I notice it a lot more. Guys out there, look in the mirror before you go out. Shirt? Check. Pants? Check. White tennis shoes? Turn around, try again. If all you own is white shoes, save one pair for yard work and buy something else.


    📂This entry was posted in Main 📎and tagged

  • “A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.’This was said by gene wilder … what does it mean ?” Gene Wilder

    Posted on by The Thousand Yard Stare Comment

    Wow, is it already the 40th Anniversary of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory? The original I mean, not the Burton remake.

    The first time I saw it was at my friend Justin’s house. He was one of the lucky few people that I knew in the late 70’s/early 80’s that had cable at home. For those of you keeping score, my childhood home never had cable – ever. Even up until the house was sold in the late 1990’s, there was no cable line. My father refused to have it installed because the line would have to be run through the crawlspace connecting the garage to the house. Which is strange since he wouldn’t ever have been the one installing – it would have been the cable installer’s problem. Anyway, Justin’s house at the time was different and to this day I still think has that weird decorative clear glass walls that everyone was so fond of. I still like the look, even if it was a little dated. I just google mapped it and it’s been remodeled. Shame.

    So back to the 80’s, watching the group walk into the main candy room (chocolate water fall, etc), for me, it was kind of like that moment in the Wizard of Oz where everything goes from black and white to color.  It was a fairly technicolor rainbow. TV colors were a lot more muted in those days – probably to scale back the horrendous fashion. But being the candy fiend I was, this was like my dream movie.
    Shortly after it came out, I bought craploads of Wonka candy and joined the Willy Wonka Fan club. I used to be able to say that I was a proud card-carrying member, but I lost the card. 🙁

    I’ve made myself sick before on the original everlasting Gobstoppers and I can’t remember the last time I ever had one.

    In 1997, it was the 30th Anniversary (obviously – do the math) and the studio re-released prints to the theaters. Since my ultra cool movie theater job entailed getting in free, I went to a late late showing (completely obliterated) and don’t remember much of it. Of course, it wasn’t as grand as I remembered it to be – but it was still pretty cool.

    The major upside for me having watched the original back in the 80’s was that I was turned onto the books by Roald Dahl – who wrote the original “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”. There’s actually a sequel to the book that is called “Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator” – taking over of course from when they burst out of the roof of the chocolate factory. Of course I’m going to complain that the book was way better than the movie, but the film does some pretty decent justice to most of the candy rooms. Roald Dahl was an extremely inventive writer. While I would never put him up against Kurt Vonnegut, it was a very similar vein.  Dahl’s writings were definitely unique. I’m thinking that I’ve read everything he’s ever written, but I need to check on that. There’s still a Dahl book or two on my bookshelf – ghostly stories I think. Kind of like Alfred Hitchcock and Twilight Zone type stuff. Very dry British humor (or humour) which of course I’m pretty partial to.

    My copies are pretty worn out.

    Roald Dahl Charlie and the Chocolate Factory & Great Glass Elevator


    📂This entry was posted in Main 📎and tagged