This week, the BBC aired a program where a group of retired diplomats and generals war gamed a WWIII scenario between NATO and Russia. It was worth a watch for alt-history fans if a bit melodramatic, but it reminded me of a similar, much better, version of this done during the cold war with some very big name people…
I personally don’t think that KIC 8462852, the star Kepler discovered with still-unexplained properties, has some sort of Dyson object/swarm around it. More level-headed astronomers suggested that a cloud of comets might actually be the explanation, but one compelling piece of evidence against the comet theory was…
Fans of Sense8 no doubt love Caephus’ wonderful bus, the Van Damn. This is based on an actual art movement in Nairobi and other parts of Kenya with their privatized bus services known as matatu. As Sense8 shows, bus owners pimp out their buses in various ways to get attention from prospective riders.
I hate to sound alarmist, but this BBC article scares the hell out of me:
Can you think of any other explanations for these men escaping? Because I’m pretty sure they’re special agents for Hydra and by Marvel Universe rules, since they’re Asian, they’re definitely all ninjas.
I’m currently pretty much stuck at home due to a not especially fun medical condition, but it means I have a lot of time on my hands, so I thought I’d review some of the latest films from the Prelinger Archives. The first is a 20 minute color gem from Golden State Film Productions full of vintage clothing and…
My father passed away a week ago. His life story will probably be of interest to Observation Deck readers because he was an expert on King Kong and H. G. Wells. Here is the obituary I wrote for him along with the eulogy I delivered.
This will be printed in my local paper this Sunday, but I wrote it, so I’m preserving it for posterity here.
I’ve been really enjoying Berkeley Breathed’s revived Bloom County. It’s just as funny and sharp as it was back in the 80s, but now we have Trump in Binkley’s anxiety closet and, today, Oliver in the virtual world with his new VR goggles.
I never thought I would see this again, but I stumbled upon it today. Back in the early days of Cinemax, Harry Shearer directed (and narrated) this hilarious mockumentary about what life is like for that unusual rarity, the white American family. It’s never been put out on DVD and it’s a must-watch for any fan of 70s…
We’ve all had wrong numbers, but how many of us can say that the person on the other end of the line was an astronaut? British astronaut Tim Peake, part of the current ISS crew, tried to make a Christmas call back home, but apparently got some lady he didn’t know instead.
Once upon a time, back in the 1950s, Groucho Marx was the host of a popular radio and then TV program called You Bet Your Life. Maybe that was why some Civil Defense official decided that he was the best person to tell people about how they can survive a nuclear war.
I’m being haunted by the last visit with my father. It didn’t feel so bad at the time, mostly because I think I was so numbed by it, but it has been creeping up on me over the last few days, giving me nightmares, making me dwell on events...
During the Apollo Program, many nations put out stamps commemorating it. My mother tried to collect as many as she could and put them in this album. The ones from Bhutan are in 3-D!
