TWENTY-SEVENTH DAY
You’ve Done it Again, Charlie Brown, Charles Schulz – Finally we see what that one comic strip from AD 2000 referred to. Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and other characters from Sunday “Peanuts” strips.
“The Damned Thing,” “Mysterious Disappearances,” Ambrose Bierce (h ss) – More scary tales, these by a fellow named Bierce.
Psycho (1960 horror) – Another Hitchcock film, this one the ancestor of all sorts of serial killer and slasher movies. Maybe Cubby is reading and watching too many scary things!
“The White River Monster of Jackson County, Arkansas: A Historical Summary of Oral and Popular Growth and Change in a Legend,” William Harris – an article of folklore from Mid-South Folklore, Vol. 5, No. 1, Spring 1977. A monster in an Arkansas river? Hard to imagine!
Thirty-Two books read = 1/150 of the way done.
TWENTY-NINTH DAY
“Some Haunted Houses,” “The Ways of Ghosts,” “The Death of Halpin Frasier,” Ambrose Bierce (h ss).
“The Borden Case,” a sizable portion of Studies in Murder by Edmund Pearson, plus “Legends of Lizzie” from More Studies in Murder.
Unsolved Mysteries, “Ghost Writer,” “The Marie Celeste,” Myrtle Plantation,” “General Wayne’s Inn.” More scary ghost stories!
Lone Ranger, “The Rustlers’ Hideout”
Jonny Quest, “Riddle of the Gold”
Legend of Boggy Creek (1972 horror) – docu-drama about the Fouke Monster in Arkansas. Certainly unique with its folk-song interludes!
THIRTY-FIRST DAY
Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949 animated) – A Disney more-or-less feature film. A rather hurried version of Wind in the Willows, but great adaptation of “Sleepy Hollow.” A harrowing final chase by the Headless Horseman at the end!
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966 animated short) – plus extras. We see more of those “Peanuts” kids (and that World War I flying ace, Snoopy) as they prepare for “Tricks or Treats.”
The Colour Out of Space, H. P. Lovecraft (h ss) – As much sf as horror, this story about something nasty in a meteorite brings us one HPL story before the end of the first month.
Excuse Me While I Wag, Scott Adams (comic strips) – this new comic collection introduces us to Dilbert, Dogbert, and co. – and what a workplace is really like.
Observations on the First Month: Cubby has seen, heard and read quite a bit during his first month. TV shows and movies, from the educational to pure entertainment, from funny to frightening. History: still mostly from Victory at Sea; the 9-11 LIFE magazine showed the modern world. Nature: Well, we learned a lot about whales and dolphins! Science: NASA shows and the Golden Book of Stars are still the leaders here.
Cubby’s read through most of the juvenile books I have. Next come more challenging books. He has read a few poems and one novel (a pulp Doc Savage though that was). Music is probably the smallest category in my personal collection, but, besides the CDs Cubby has listened to, he’s heard music in every DVD and VHS he’s seen.
I couldn’t help leaning toward horror tales and monsters as we swept towards Halloween. Cubby’s read about and seen ghosts and monsters, imaginary and (supposedly) real. A single issue of Famous Monsters gave him a passing acquaintance with all the Universal monsters like the Wolfman, the Creature, the Mummy, etc. He’s read stories by Bradbury, Wellman, Jackson, and others. Space travel he knows from Bradbury and the reality of NASA films. Wells introduced the concept of time travel. Monster movies were a staple in my own diet when I was young, then I made the leap into science fiction literature. That comes next!
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Saturday, October 29, 2011
21st, 22nd, 25th Days
THE TWENTY-FIRST DAY
Had to let items accumulate during the busy week. Anyway:
“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” by Washington Irving. A famous ghostly tale. Also Preface and first sketches of The Sketch Book.
The Spooky Thing, William O. Steele (jv) – Funniest thing I ever read (as a little kid), and Cubby agrees. A tall tale from Tennessee, adapted by Steele, full of exaggerations and quips that have stayed with me all my life. I often say I have double-distilled dropsy or the dry wobbles when I’m sick. But the Spooky Thing itself is quite a nasty monster!
“On the Trail of the Brontosaurus,” by “Fulann” (Captain W. Hichens) – from BFR website, originally from Chamber’s Journal, Oct. 1927. Dinosaurs, Chemosit, Nunda, and other monsters in Africa!
“Lizzie Borden’s House,” “Tatum’s Ghost,” “Ghostly Attraction,” “Comedy Store Ghosts,” “Devil’s Backbone,” ghostly segments from Unsolved Mysteries. We’re getting into the Halloween spirit, all right!
TWENTY-SECOND DAY
“The Lottery,” “Biography of a Story,” “Tootie in Peonage,” “Janice”, Shirley Jackson (ss) – finally stories by a female writer. “Biography” tells of all the lunatics who wrote in about “The Lottery”. And “Lottery” is another scary tale.
“Then I Wasn’t Alone,” “Shiver in the Pines,” M. W. Wellman (ss)
The Pied Piper of Hamelin, Robert Browning – more poetry, this effort is about a mysterious character who can control rats – and children – with his music.
How to Take Care of Your Monster, Norman Bridwell (jv) – funny book on owning a monster as a pet. We’ve seen all these monsters in Famous Monsters. Now how about movies and stories about them?
“How It All Began,” Kenneth Arnold, from Proceedings of the First UFO Congress by Curtis Fuller – Don’t usually list a single article by itself (unless Xeroxed or clipped from a magazine), but this tells us of the origin of “Flying Saucers” in 1947 (the name, at least). Much like “Ishtar Gate” is like the seed of Cryptozoology, and the Ford’s Theater clipping, telling of Lincoln being seen after death, slid us into the area of ghosts.
Lone Ranger, “The Legion of Old-Timers”
Jonny Quest, “Pursuit of the Po-Ho”
Thirty books read = 1/160 of the way through!
TWENTY-FIFTH DAY
Mazeppa, “Chinchilla Attack #2,” “Slow-Motion School”; Superman, “The Mechanical Monsters”; Zorro’s Fighting Legion, “Chapter Two: The Flaming Z”; Nosferatu (1922 horror) – We learn about vampires big time!
“The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Black Cat,” “The Masque of the Red Death,” “The Premature Burial,” “The Raven,” and “The Conqueror Worm,” stories and poems by Edgar Allen Poe – very Halloweeny.
Whales, Dolphins, and Other Marine Mammals, George S. Fichter – a Golden Nature Guide.
Had to let items accumulate during the busy week. Anyway:
“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” by Washington Irving. A famous ghostly tale. Also Preface and first sketches of The Sketch Book.
The Spooky Thing, William O. Steele (jv) – Funniest thing I ever read (as a little kid), and Cubby agrees. A tall tale from Tennessee, adapted by Steele, full of exaggerations and quips that have stayed with me all my life. I often say I have double-distilled dropsy or the dry wobbles when I’m sick. But the Spooky Thing itself is quite a nasty monster!
“On the Trail of the Brontosaurus,” by “Fulann” (Captain W. Hichens) – from BFR website, originally from Chamber’s Journal, Oct. 1927. Dinosaurs, Chemosit, Nunda, and other monsters in Africa!
“Lizzie Borden’s House,” “Tatum’s Ghost,” “Ghostly Attraction,” “Comedy Store Ghosts,” “Devil’s Backbone,” ghostly segments from Unsolved Mysteries. We’re getting into the Halloween spirit, all right!
TWENTY-SECOND DAY
“The Lottery,” “Biography of a Story,” “Tootie in Peonage,” “Janice”, Shirley Jackson (ss) – finally stories by a female writer. “Biography” tells of all the lunatics who wrote in about “The Lottery”. And “Lottery” is another scary tale.
“Then I Wasn’t Alone,” “Shiver in the Pines,” M. W. Wellman (ss)
The Pied Piper of Hamelin, Robert Browning – more poetry, this effort is about a mysterious character who can control rats – and children – with his music.
How to Take Care of Your Monster, Norman Bridwell (jv) – funny book on owning a monster as a pet. We’ve seen all these monsters in Famous Monsters. Now how about movies and stories about them?
“How It All Began,” Kenneth Arnold, from Proceedings of the First UFO Congress by Curtis Fuller – Don’t usually list a single article by itself (unless Xeroxed or clipped from a magazine), but this tells us of the origin of “Flying Saucers” in 1947 (the name, at least). Much like “Ishtar Gate” is like the seed of Cryptozoology, and the Ford’s Theater clipping, telling of Lincoln being seen after death, slid us into the area of ghosts.
Lone Ranger, “The Legion of Old-Timers”
Jonny Quest, “Pursuit of the Po-Ho”
Thirty books read = 1/160 of the way through!
TWENTY-FIFTH DAY
Mazeppa, “Chinchilla Attack #2,” “Slow-Motion School”; Superman, “The Mechanical Monsters”; Zorro’s Fighting Legion, “Chapter Two: The Flaming Z”; Nosferatu (1922 horror) – We learn about vampires big time!
“The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Black Cat,” “The Masque of the Red Death,” “The Premature Burial,” “The Raven,” and “The Conqueror Worm,” stories and poems by Edgar Allen Poe – very Halloweeny.
Whales, Dolphins, and Other Marine Mammals, George S. Fichter – a Golden Nature Guide.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
15th, 16th, 18th Days
THE FIFTEENTH DAY
Ren & Stimpy, “Ren’s Toothache,” “Nurse Stimpy,” “The Cat that Laid the Golden Hairball” plus two Powdered Toastman commercials. A bit of a jump from early, basic Warners and Disney cartoons to this, but – just felt like seeing them.
All Creatures Great and Small, “Horse Sense” – The perfect follow-up to Usborne Farm Animals. More real animals are seen, and Cubby wonders where places like Yorkshire and Glasgow are.
At Last the 1948 Show episode #1 – Ancestor of Monty Python from 1967 – John Cleese, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Marty Feldman, and Graham Chapman.
Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919 horror) – should have gone with “Mazeppa” airing last week. Just about the oldest horror movie.
THE SIXTEENTH DAY
“The Attempt on Everest” (London Times, Oct. 21, 1921); “The Abominable Snowmen” (ca. Nov. 1, 1921); “Abominable Snowmen: A Traveller’s Experience” (Nov. 3, 1921 p. 11) – Cryptozoological news clippings. The Howard Bury expedition gave us the name “Abominable Snowman.”
Goofy in “Giant Trouble”, Don Christensen – a Big Little Book from 1968. Part of my childhood. Odd reading Mickey Mouse and Goofy in prose.
The Lone Ranger, “The Lone Ranger’s Triumph” – third episode ends a storyline, like a mini-serial.
Jonny Quest, “Curse of Anubis” – Whatever a “mummy” is, says Cubby, don’t violate its tomb!
Biography: Ed Gein – VHS copy. Account of a weird killer. Kind of appropriate for an autumn evening.
Doc Savage #1: The Man of Bronze, Kenneth Robeson – first in the series of pulp books about the proto-superman Clark Savage, Junior and his Fabulous Five!
THE EIGHTEENTH DAY
Famous Monsters of Filmland no. 37 (February 1966) – Many years ago a little child flipped through this very issue of Forry Ackerman’s magazine in a tiny Tulsa drugstore, but his mother made him put it back on the shelf. Now Cubby has finally read it! He at least knows the names and faces of quite a number of – well – famous monsters. Frankenstein, Dracula, the Wolfman, the Mummy . . . And like any red-blooded American lad, he wants more!
Kennedy Half Dollars, 1964-2003 – Coin collecting albums, surprisingly full. More half-dollars to go with his 2000 S “proof” coin. Coins are shiny and round . . . he might collect more of these, too.
The Avengers, “The Cybernauts” – Can John Steed and Emma Peel stop these steel automatons that go around terminating people? The talk in this programme (Brit. Spelling), about a new “circuit” that’s going to replace the transistor – computers and TVs that will fit in your pocket – is pretty amazing for 1965, and does better than some actual SF films and fiction of the era.
“Dragon of the Ishtar Gate,” an excerpt from The Lungfish and the Unicorn by Willy Ley (1941) – a chapter from the earliest cryptozoological book, which gave the world the word “Mokele-Mbembe”. Could the Sirrush of ancient Babylon and the Mokele-Mbembe of central Africa be dinosaurs? Fun to imagine, at least.
Ren & Stimpy, “Ren’s Toothache,” “Nurse Stimpy,” “The Cat that Laid the Golden Hairball” plus two Powdered Toastman commercials. A bit of a jump from early, basic Warners and Disney cartoons to this, but – just felt like seeing them.
All Creatures Great and Small, “Horse Sense” – The perfect follow-up to Usborne Farm Animals. More real animals are seen, and Cubby wonders where places like Yorkshire and Glasgow are.
At Last the 1948 Show episode #1 – Ancestor of Monty Python from 1967 – John Cleese, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Marty Feldman, and Graham Chapman.
Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919 horror) – should have gone with “Mazeppa” airing last week. Just about the oldest horror movie.
THE SIXTEENTH DAY
“The Attempt on Everest” (London Times, Oct. 21, 1921); “The Abominable Snowmen” (ca. Nov. 1, 1921); “Abominable Snowmen: A Traveller’s Experience” (Nov. 3, 1921 p. 11) – Cryptozoological news clippings. The Howard Bury expedition gave us the name “Abominable Snowman.”
Goofy in “Giant Trouble”, Don Christensen – a Big Little Book from 1968. Part of my childhood. Odd reading Mickey Mouse and Goofy in prose.
The Lone Ranger, “The Lone Ranger’s Triumph” – third episode ends a storyline, like a mini-serial.
Jonny Quest, “Curse of Anubis” – Whatever a “mummy” is, says Cubby, don’t violate its tomb!
Biography: Ed Gein – VHS copy. Account of a weird killer. Kind of appropriate for an autumn evening.
Doc Savage #1: The Man of Bronze, Kenneth Robeson – first in the series of pulp books about the proto-superman Clark Savage, Junior and his Fabulous Five!
THE EIGHTEENTH DAY
Famous Monsters of Filmland no. 37 (February 1966) – Many years ago a little child flipped through this very issue of Forry Ackerman’s magazine in a tiny Tulsa drugstore, but his mother made him put it back on the shelf. Now Cubby has finally read it! He at least knows the names and faces of quite a number of – well – famous monsters. Frankenstein, Dracula, the Wolfman, the Mummy . . . And like any red-blooded American lad, he wants more!
Kennedy Half Dollars, 1964-2003 – Coin collecting albums, surprisingly full. More half-dollars to go with his 2000 S “proof” coin. Coins are shiny and round . . . he might collect more of these, too.
The Avengers, “The Cybernauts” – Can John Steed and Emma Peel stop these steel automatons that go around terminating people? The talk in this programme (Brit. Spelling), about a new “circuit” that’s going to replace the transistor – computers and TVs that will fit in your pocket – is pretty amazing for 1965, and does better than some actual SF films and fiction of the era.
“Dragon of the Ishtar Gate,” an excerpt from The Lungfish and the Unicorn by Willy Ley (1941) – a chapter from the earliest cryptozoological book, which gave the world the word “Mokele-Mbembe”. Could the Sirrush of ancient Babylon and the Mokele-Mbembe of central Africa be dinosaurs? Fun to imagine, at least.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Twelfth and Fourteenth Days
THE TWELFTH DAY
“How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and “The Lorax”, Dr. Seuss – A Christmas classic and a tale of environmental catastrophe from the good doctor. They finish off the volume “Six by Seuss.”
LIFE Magazine vol. 11 no. 12 (September 2, 2011) – “In the Land of the Free,” September 11 memorial issue, updated. Didn’t intend to read it so soon, but couldn’t put it down. Cubby has seen war and murder, so he might as well see terrorism. (Don’t know what the volume number signifies. A “new series,” as old magazines often had?) This is the most recent publication he has yet come across.
Twenty-four books down = 1/200 of the entire lot. Quite a bit for twelve days! Of course, the majority are longer and more involved than Dr. Seuss . . .
THE FOURTEENTH DAY
We skipped a day! After the tumult of trying to get tons of reading and viewing and listening done early on, Cubby will settle down into a pattern. After all, real world things like work slow things down.
“Besides a Dinosaur, Whatta Ya Wanna Be When You Grow Up?”, “Lo, the Dear, Daft Dinosaurs!”, “What If I Said, the Dinosaur’s not Dead?”, “Tyrannosaurus Rex,” (sf ss) finish off Dinosaur Tales by Ray Bradbury.
“Lithobolia, or, the Stone-Throwing Devil,” excerpt from Legends of the New England Coast by Edward Rowe Snow – Early poltergeist story.
The Thing from Another World (1951 sf) – the earliest ‘50s SF movie I have starts off “Fantastic Theater.” Superman was a benevolent visitor from another planet – here’s a nasty one!
Observations after the first two weeks (a fortnight): The Cubster has seen six movies, fifteen TV episodes, and numerous cartoons and assorted bits. He’s read 25 books and many excerpts.
Science fiction he knows mainly from a few Bradbury stories, Superman’s origin, and a few TV viewings, like Twilight Zone and “The Thing”. This definitely needs improving! Fantasy – mainly juveniles so far. Horror – the Silver John stories, though science fiction shows can be scary. Mysteries – two mystery-type movies so far. Comedy comes from cartoons, Red Skelton, and the Marx Brothers. Westerns – there’s been Stagecoach and The Lone Ranger.
Some of the ghost and cryptozoology articles were certainly scary. I’d like to have more history and science before unleashing forteana on Cubby, though.
Science has come mainly from the little book Stars, as well as the NASA shows. Dinosaurs and prehistoric eras have popped up several times. History has come from Victory, NASA, and books like Discovering the World. The LIFE magazine has shows us a harsh bit of modern history. Washington and Lincoln, so far, are the names of individuals he knows best, though he has seen Churchill, FDR, Alan Shepherd, and John Glenn. The biggest need is for more female authors and historical personages.
“How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and “The Lorax”, Dr. Seuss – A Christmas classic and a tale of environmental catastrophe from the good doctor. They finish off the volume “Six by Seuss.”
LIFE Magazine vol. 11 no. 12 (September 2, 2011) – “In the Land of the Free,” September 11 memorial issue, updated. Didn’t intend to read it so soon, but couldn’t put it down. Cubby has seen war and murder, so he might as well see terrorism. (Don’t know what the volume number signifies. A “new series,” as old magazines often had?) This is the most recent publication he has yet come across.
Twenty-four books down = 1/200 of the entire lot. Quite a bit for twelve days! Of course, the majority are longer and more involved than Dr. Seuss . . .
THE FOURTEENTH DAY
We skipped a day! After the tumult of trying to get tons of reading and viewing and listening done early on, Cubby will settle down into a pattern. After all, real world things like work slow things down.
“Besides a Dinosaur, Whatta Ya Wanna Be When You Grow Up?”, “Lo, the Dear, Daft Dinosaurs!”, “What If I Said, the Dinosaur’s not Dead?”, “Tyrannosaurus Rex,” (sf ss) finish off Dinosaur Tales by Ray Bradbury.
“Lithobolia, or, the Stone-Throwing Devil,” excerpt from Legends of the New England Coast by Edward Rowe Snow – Early poltergeist story.
The Thing from Another World (1951 sf) – the earliest ‘50s SF movie I have starts off “Fantastic Theater.” Superman was a benevolent visitor from another planet – here’s a nasty one!
Observations after the first two weeks (a fortnight): The Cubster has seen six movies, fifteen TV episodes, and numerous cartoons and assorted bits. He’s read 25 books and many excerpts.
Science fiction he knows mainly from a few Bradbury stories, Superman’s origin, and a few TV viewings, like Twilight Zone and “The Thing”. This definitely needs improving! Fantasy – mainly juveniles so far. Horror – the Silver John stories, though science fiction shows can be scary. Mysteries – two mystery-type movies so far. Comedy comes from cartoons, Red Skelton, and the Marx Brothers. Westerns – there’s been Stagecoach and The Lone Ranger.
Some of the ghost and cryptozoology articles were certainly scary. I’d like to have more history and science before unleashing forteana on Cubby, though.
Science has come mainly from the little book Stars, as well as the NASA shows. Dinosaurs and prehistoric eras have popped up several times. History has come from Victory, NASA, and books like Discovering the World. The LIFE magazine has shows us a harsh bit of modern history. Washington and Lincoln, so far, are the names of individuals he knows best, though he has seen Churchill, FDR, Alan Shepherd, and John Glenn. The biggest need is for more female authors and historical personages.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Tenth and Eleventh Days
THE TENTH DAY (Oct. 10, 2011)
Stars, Herbert S. Zim and Robert Baker – This Golden Nature Guide really opens up the Universe! Now we know of stars, galaxies, comets, and other planets; we know the Main Sequence of stars, and that Antares, if placed where the Sun is now, would reach past Mars, and that the Great Comet of 1843 had a tail three hundred million miles long. One page tells us of men landing on the Moon!
Detective Comics No. 28 (June 1939), “Frenchie Blake’s Jewel Gang,” another Bat-Man adventure.
Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories, Dr. Seuss (jv).
The Lone Ranger, “The Lone Ranger Fights On” – Will the Ranger and Tonto triumph?
Jonny Quest, “Arctic Splashdown” – The Quest group has been joined by a character named Hadji.
Twilight Zone, “Where Is Everybody?” – A mysterious tale that ends up, again, with men heading into space.
“Chinchilla Attack #1,” “Dialing for Dullards,” from the local show Mazeppa Pompazoidie’s Uncanny Film Festival and Camp Meeting, starring Gailard Sartain, circa 1971. Fleischer animated Superman, “The Mad Scientist;” Zorro’s Fighting Legion Chapter One, “The Golden God.” Creating my own Saturday matinee-type show, with a funny skit, a cartoon, a serial chapter, and an old movie. Cubby recognizes Superman, at least.
THE ELEVENTH DAY
Victory at Sea, “Sealing the Breach” – those Nazi U-Boats are nasty.
NASA, “The Four Days of Gemini IV” – The world learns a new word: EVA. Although technically that’s not a word, but an acronym for Extra-Vehicular Activity.
The Avengers, “Town of No Return” – British action and intrigue with John Steed and Emma Peel.
“Why They’re Called That,” “One Other,” Manly Wade Wellman (horror ss) – more Silver John.
Strangely Enough!, Carroll B. Colby – The one true introduction to ghosts, flying saucers, mysterious disappearances, and other fortean phenomena, plus lost treasures, historical oddities, and amazing adventures!
Stars, Herbert S. Zim and Robert Baker – This Golden Nature Guide really opens up the Universe! Now we know of stars, galaxies, comets, and other planets; we know the Main Sequence of stars, and that Antares, if placed where the Sun is now, would reach past Mars, and that the Great Comet of 1843 had a tail three hundred million miles long. One page tells us of men landing on the Moon!
Detective Comics No. 28 (June 1939), “Frenchie Blake’s Jewel Gang,” another Bat-Man adventure.
Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories, Dr. Seuss (jv).
The Lone Ranger, “The Lone Ranger Fights On” – Will the Ranger and Tonto triumph?
Jonny Quest, “Arctic Splashdown” – The Quest group has been joined by a character named Hadji.
Twilight Zone, “Where Is Everybody?” – A mysterious tale that ends up, again, with men heading into space.
“Chinchilla Attack #1,” “Dialing for Dullards,” from the local show Mazeppa Pompazoidie’s Uncanny Film Festival and Camp Meeting, starring Gailard Sartain, circa 1971. Fleischer animated Superman, “The Mad Scientist;” Zorro’s Fighting Legion Chapter One, “The Golden God.” Creating my own Saturday matinee-type show, with a funny skit, a cartoon, a serial chapter, and an old movie. Cubby recognizes Superman, at least.
THE ELEVENTH DAY
Victory at Sea, “Sealing the Breach” – those Nazi U-Boats are nasty.
NASA, “The Four Days of Gemini IV” – The world learns a new word: EVA. Although technically that’s not a word, but an acronym for Extra-Vehicular Activity.
The Avengers, “Town of No Return” – British action and intrigue with John Steed and Emma Peel.
“Why They’re Called That,” “One Other,” Manly Wade Wellman (horror ss) – more Silver John.
Strangely Enough!, Carroll B. Colby – The one true introduction to ghosts, flying saucers, mysterious disappearances, and other fortean phenomena, plus lost treasures, historical oddities, and amazing adventures!
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
The Eighth Day/ The Ninth Day
THE EIGHT DAY (October 8, 2011)
Thistle & Shamrock #805, “A Celtic Harvest” and #806, “The Water is Wide.”
Horton Hatches the Egg, Dr. Seuss – Pretty funny, yet Horton the Elephant’s faithfulness and friendliness impressed Cubby.
Superman comic strip, “Jewel Smugglers” (3/20 – 4/1, 1939) and “The Skyscraper of Death” (4/3 – 4/28, 1939).
The Strength of Lions & the Flight of Eagles, Joe Nigg – The greatest birthday card ever, a mini-pamphlet about gryphons! At last the bird-beasts have come into their own.
“The Rocket Man,” “The Golden Apples of the Sun,” Ray Bradbury (sf ss)
Ice Age Monsters: Woolly Rhinoceros, Rupert Oliver (jv nf) – Another look at prehistoric critters. The Homotherium that attacks the rhino looks like a prehistoric werewolf (although Cubby hasn’t officially discovered werewolves yet).
Warner Brothers Cartoons: “A Tale of Two Kitties,” “An Itch in Time,” “Ding Dong Daddy.”
The Maltese Falcon (1941 mystery) plus DVD extras – It feels like Cubby has covered the basics of classic movies – John Wayne, Hitchcock, The Lost World for science fiction and monsters, and now Humphrey Bogart.
THE NINTH DAY (Oct. 9, 2011)
The Sneetches and Other Stories, Dr. Seuss (jv) – more funny stories, but those empty walking pants freaked Cubby out!
Excerpt from The Story of My Life, Augustus Hare – includes a phantom carriage, a banshee tale, and the Vampire of Croglin Grange. Pretty scary, but Cubby wanted scary stories!
“A Sound of Thunder,” Ray Bradbury (sf ss) – astounding use of language, of dinosaurs, and of time travel!
Heavener, Oklahoma – map of Heavener Runestone State Recreation Area and the general area around. A bit more of Oklahoma’s “Green Country” seen. Did Vikings reach Oklahoma and carve runes in boulders?
“Terror Reigns in Whitechapel as Jack the Ripper Strikes” – London Times coverage reprinted in A Treasury of Great Reporting (1949), edited by Louis Lee Snyder and Richard Brandon. Now we know the basics of the most infamous of killers, Jack the Ripper. Hope it’s not too scary for Cubby!
Twenty books read = 1/240 of the way done.
Thistle & Shamrock #805, “A Celtic Harvest” and #806, “The Water is Wide.”
Horton Hatches the Egg, Dr. Seuss – Pretty funny, yet Horton the Elephant’s faithfulness and friendliness impressed Cubby.
Superman comic strip, “Jewel Smugglers” (3/20 – 4/1, 1939) and “The Skyscraper of Death” (4/3 – 4/28, 1939).
The Strength of Lions & the Flight of Eagles, Joe Nigg – The greatest birthday card ever, a mini-pamphlet about gryphons! At last the bird-beasts have come into their own.
“The Rocket Man,” “The Golden Apples of the Sun,” Ray Bradbury (sf ss)
Ice Age Monsters: Woolly Rhinoceros, Rupert Oliver (jv nf) – Another look at prehistoric critters. The Homotherium that attacks the rhino looks like a prehistoric werewolf (although Cubby hasn’t officially discovered werewolves yet).
Warner Brothers Cartoons: “A Tale of Two Kitties,” “An Itch in Time,” “Ding Dong Daddy.”
The Maltese Falcon (1941 mystery) plus DVD extras – It feels like Cubby has covered the basics of classic movies – John Wayne, Hitchcock, The Lost World for science fiction and monsters, and now Humphrey Bogart.
THE NINTH DAY (Oct. 9, 2011)
The Sneetches and Other Stories, Dr. Seuss (jv) – more funny stories, but those empty walking pants freaked Cubby out!
Excerpt from The Story of My Life, Augustus Hare – includes a phantom carriage, a banshee tale, and the Vampire of Croglin Grange. Pretty scary, but Cubby wanted scary stories!
“A Sound of Thunder,” Ray Bradbury (sf ss) – astounding use of language, of dinosaurs, and of time travel!
Heavener, Oklahoma – map of Heavener Runestone State Recreation Area and the general area around. A bit more of Oklahoma’s “Green Country” seen. Did Vikings reach Oklahoma and carve runes in boulders?
“Terror Reigns in Whitechapel as Jack the Ripper Strikes” – London Times coverage reprinted in A Treasury of Great Reporting (1949), edited by Louis Lee Snyder and Richard Brandon. Now we know the basics of the most infamous of killers, Jack the Ripper. Hope it’s not too scary for Cubby!
Twenty books read = 1/240 of the way done.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
The Sixth Day/The Seventh Day
THE SIXTH DAY (Oct. 6, 2011)
The Lone Ranger, “Enter the Lone Ranger” – More cowboys and the old West. Amazingly, the map of the western USA here shows mostly the “Four Corners” area – the only part left blank by the Abe Lincoln book!
Jonny Quest, “Mystery of the Lizard-Men” – Pretty exciting! Laser beams, the Sargasso Sea, and a mention of men to the moon!
Thistle & Shamrock #692, “Hammer Out a Tune” – more great Celtic music.
Superman, “The Comeback of Larry Trent,” (2/20 – 3/18, 1939) – More of this Superman person.
The Monster at the End of This Book, Jon Stone (jv) – Lovable, furry old Grover is sure scared of the approaching Monster. (Oh, I am so embarrassed!) Cubby wants to read more about monsters. Forry Ackerman will take care of that.
When the Wolves Returned, Dorothy Hinshaw Patent (jv nature) – We learn about wolves with a vengeance! Never thought that the lack of wolves would cause the disappearance of songbirds, aspens, willows, badgers, foxes, eagles . . . but it did!
“Little Orphant Annie,” “The Fishing Party,” “The Raggedy Man,” poems by James Whitcomb Riley – since a poem slipped in with “Ghosts I Have Known,” here are some more. “Annie” is kind of creepy, with the Gobble-uns going to get you if you don’t watch out! The coming of fall puts a Halloween feeling in the air, and Cubby wants to read/see some scary stories. Well, we’ll see.
“Sunnybank’s Canine Ghost,” an excerpt from Sunnybank: Home of Lad, by Albert Payson Terhune. Now a ghost dog!
The Lost World (1925 sf) – A movie about dinosaurs still living in a distant jungle. A logical extension of Cubby’s interest in dinosaurs and monsters, and of the hints of cryptozoology we’ve seen. This movie will be the precursor to “Mazeppa” (local host who showed old horror films) and “Fantastic Theater” (which long ago featured ‘50s SF, Toho films, Hammer films, odd horror and sci-fi, etc.) After all, the brontosaur loose in London bit is the ancestor of King Kong, the Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, and all other rampaging giant monsters.
THE SEVENTH DAY (October 7, 2011)
Victory at Sea, “The Pacific Boils Over” – Pearl Harbor and all that. The first episode made Germany look bad; this one does the same for Japan. Cubby assumes things “got better” if something like the Japanese Fantasy Film Journal eventually came out.
NASA, “The Flight of Friendship 7” – Godspeed, John Glenn! An American orbits the earth. Neither NASA film so far even mentioned Yuri Gagarin or the Russians.
The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins, Dr. Seuss (jv) – prose fairy tale from Seuss. Not even wizards and wise men can explain Bartholomew’s materializing hats, so this is a rather fortean tale.
“Case of the Chemical Syndicate,” from Detective Comics no. 27, May 1939 – first a Superman, now this Bat-Man!
Knott’s Berry Farm map of Southern California – a vacation map from 1977, showing Knott’s Berry Farm (obviously) but also a lot of California – actually the most intricate map Cubby has yet seen. We’ve all heard names like Burbank, Hollywood, Tarzana, Anaheim, Azusa, and Cucamonga – names like Tujunga Canyon, Devil’s Gate, and Riverside will become important later.
Excerpts from Cow By the Tail, Jesse James Benton – Haunted stage station, giant skull, monstrous snakes, and meteorites! The old West could be weird!
Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel, Virginia Lee Burton – amusing fantasy by the author of Life Story.
Monkey Business (1931 comedy) – funny Marx Brothers vehicle. The nearest Zeppo came to being one of the gang. Amazing clarity.
Eighteen books read = 3/800 of the way done.
The Lone Ranger, “Enter the Lone Ranger” – More cowboys and the old West. Amazingly, the map of the western USA here shows mostly the “Four Corners” area – the only part left blank by the Abe Lincoln book!
Jonny Quest, “Mystery of the Lizard-Men” – Pretty exciting! Laser beams, the Sargasso Sea, and a mention of men to the moon!
Thistle & Shamrock #692, “Hammer Out a Tune” – more great Celtic music.
Superman, “The Comeback of Larry Trent,” (2/20 – 3/18, 1939) – More of this Superman person.
The Monster at the End of This Book, Jon Stone (jv) – Lovable, furry old Grover is sure scared of the approaching Monster. (Oh, I am so embarrassed!) Cubby wants to read more about monsters. Forry Ackerman will take care of that.
When the Wolves Returned, Dorothy Hinshaw Patent (jv nature) – We learn about wolves with a vengeance! Never thought that the lack of wolves would cause the disappearance of songbirds, aspens, willows, badgers, foxes, eagles . . . but it did!
“Little Orphant Annie,” “The Fishing Party,” “The Raggedy Man,” poems by James Whitcomb Riley – since a poem slipped in with “Ghosts I Have Known,” here are some more. “Annie” is kind of creepy, with the Gobble-uns going to get you if you don’t watch out! The coming of fall puts a Halloween feeling in the air, and Cubby wants to read/see some scary stories. Well, we’ll see.
“Sunnybank’s Canine Ghost,” an excerpt from Sunnybank: Home of Lad, by Albert Payson Terhune. Now a ghost dog!
The Lost World (1925 sf) – A movie about dinosaurs still living in a distant jungle. A logical extension of Cubby’s interest in dinosaurs and monsters, and of the hints of cryptozoology we’ve seen. This movie will be the precursor to “Mazeppa” (local host who showed old horror films) and “Fantastic Theater” (which long ago featured ‘50s SF, Toho films, Hammer films, odd horror and sci-fi, etc.) After all, the brontosaur loose in London bit is the ancestor of King Kong, the Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, and all other rampaging giant monsters.
THE SEVENTH DAY (October 7, 2011)
Victory at Sea, “The Pacific Boils Over” – Pearl Harbor and all that. The first episode made Germany look bad; this one does the same for Japan. Cubby assumes things “got better” if something like the Japanese Fantasy Film Journal eventually came out.
NASA, “The Flight of Friendship 7” – Godspeed, John Glenn! An American orbits the earth. Neither NASA film so far even mentioned Yuri Gagarin or the Russians.
The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins, Dr. Seuss (jv) – prose fairy tale from Seuss. Not even wizards and wise men can explain Bartholomew’s materializing hats, so this is a rather fortean tale.
“Case of the Chemical Syndicate,” from Detective Comics no. 27, May 1939 – first a Superman, now this Bat-Man!
Knott’s Berry Farm map of Southern California – a vacation map from 1977, showing Knott’s Berry Farm (obviously) but also a lot of California – actually the most intricate map Cubby has yet seen. We’ve all heard names like Burbank, Hollywood, Tarzana, Anaheim, Azusa, and Cucamonga – names like Tujunga Canyon, Devil’s Gate, and Riverside will become important later.
Excerpts from Cow By the Tail, Jesse James Benton – Haunted stage station, giant skull, monstrous snakes, and meteorites! The old West could be weird!
Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel, Virginia Lee Burton – amusing fantasy by the author of Life Story.
Monkey Business (1931 comedy) – funny Marx Brothers vehicle. The nearest Zeppo came to being one of the gang. Amazing clarity.
Eighteen books read = 3/800 of the way done.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)