Breathless Possibilities

Here's another selection of "mystery paperbacks."  That is, they're about the wonders or stupidities supposedly to be found in this unexplainable cosmos.

 Another of Brad Steiger's jaw-drop fests, reporting on actual things he might have heard that may have happened.

 From the files of Occult Review magazine, these tales of maybe ghosts and possible precognition will have you doubting either your worldview, or the writer's veracity.

 Veteran of the spooky overnight tale of boogeymen and saucers, Nebel can tell a story.  The racy implications of a foreword by Susann cannot be overestimated.

Biologist Ivan T Sanderson had a wide-range of interests and a laudably open mind.  Sometimes he was too credulous in evaluating the reports of others, but his dry sense of humor meld with the portentous possibilities of his speculations to make for an interesting read.

Note the cover comment by an earlier possessor of More "Things", written next to Sanderson's name.  Not the kind of blurb an author wishes!

See you Monday for this New Year's edition of ....

APRIL

FOOLISHNESS

"In My Dweams We Fwy"

So sang Joni Mitchell in "The Silky Veils of Ardor," the last song of 1977's double-LP Don Juan's Reckless Daughter.

  Dreams are often thought of as being one of two things:

• 1.      Refractions of the previous day’s thoughts and actions, while being filtered by the brain for dismissal or longterm storage
• 2.      Symbolic of conscious or unconscious desires, aspirations, or fears

.... let’s not get into the whole supernatural malarkey of dreams’ foretelling future events, shall we?

            Option 1 is simple observation.  Who hasn’t had something unusual or dramatic happen to them, which is often imitated crazily in a soon-following dream?

            Option 2 is our consideration for today, friends – specifically, dreams of flying.  According to one writer,

 ... according to Freud's 1953 classic, The Interpretation of Dreams, dreams of flying through the air reveal subconscious thoughts of sexual desire, while dreams of failing to fly (i.e. falling) through the air reveals thoughts of ... well ... eh  ... also sexual desire.

            Some people just have dirtier minds than others, I guess!

            (Quit looking at me.)

            I usually subscribe to the idea that many dreams of being able to fly are a sort of wish fulfillment.

            We wish for escape from a situation, or to be able to “rise above” life in general.

             Of course, we’ve always envied (from the ground) the perceived freedom displayed by birds, as they seemingly drift carefree, ’way above us.

            And other aerial things seem once-removed from the troubles of Earth, too.  In the words to one of my recent songs,

And I wish to fly

Ride in the sky

And never wane

Above my pain

            Nowadays, because of advances in visual arts and special effects, it’s a lot easier to imagine yourself flying.  We even envision ourselves as flying like any of a bunch of superheroes.

             When you’re a kid, this often involves Mom attaching a towel to your shirt with safety pins.

            Similarly, we can easily equate dreams of falling with a loss of control, or a fear that something bad is going to suddenly happen.

 * * *

            But, I’ve often had a somewhat different dream about flying, most recently last week.

          Many of these dreams begin with the joyful idea of being able to fly, just like the happy-flight dreams.  But then something bad takes over.

             You see, in these bad-flying dreams, I’m up there, but I can’t come down.  No effort of will, or arm-flapping, will get me coming down towards the ground, after I’ve left it.

             Sometimes it appears that I’m in danger of flying off into space.  Other times, I’m just suspended in a kind of limbo, disconnected from everything.

              “Disconnected from everything.”   In fact, that’s my best guess for the meaning of this dream.

            While I’m got plenty of family, friends, and people to love and to be loved by, nevertheless I think these dreams are inspired by the feelings of isolation sometimes experienced by just about everybody.

            Don’t you ever feel as if nobody understands you? or experience the “imposter syndrome,” in which you feel that folks wouldn’t like “the real you”?

            No matter what, I haven’t found away to banish worrisome thoughts or dreams, have you?  We’ll just have to be thankful when reality is way better than the dream we just shucked.

            “There’s no place like home” isn’t always corny.  Sometimes it’s a godsend!

            See you next Monday.

Super Clothes #3

Welcome to more explications of habiliment dedicated to superhero nocturnal dressage.

This outfit is odd because it seems to put Superman into the Old West.  Or at least turns him into a trick roper.  It’s a size 2T, from Sears.

 This zip-up-with-footsies is a 2T-3T, but I can’t see any kid older than about 18 months fitting into it ... unless the kid was really undersized.

On the other hand, this zipper-upper from Sears is labeled Size 14 ... but one of our six-year-olds filled it right out!

 See you next Monday, fellow Super Fashion Followers!

Super Clothes #2

This week we’ll look at some footwear that was marketed to fans of the Dark Knight.

The Caped Crusader, in all his incarnations, is a pretty popular guy to walk around in.

These Bat-Sandals are size 9-10 and appear to show a 1980s-type of Batman.

These are obviously based on Batman: The Animated Series.

When you wear these, even your footprints will strike terror into the hearts of criminals!

These Batman slippers not only include Robin, but Batgirl makes an appearance, too!

HOWEVER, Pride of place must go to these puffy Batman-and-Robin slippers, now commandeered by the 5-year-old grandson.

Well, that’s all for now, Super-Friends.  We’ll see you next Monday!

 

Super Clothes #1

Here are the results of a couple of decades of poking around in thrift stores for PJs and other clothing items that I could force my kids to wear, while they were too little to know any better.

We’ll start with a few distaff outfits.

The Wonder Woman onesie in the middle is from the clothing line “SuperGirl”, and is for a large infant, “24-28 lbs.”

This cute pink terrycloth sundress is size 3T and comes with matching panties.

This is the top to a PJ set.  Although we don’t have the pants, it might make a fine solo top, yes?  This is a fine riff on the 1980s Supergirl. 

 The art is adapted from a piece by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez’s 1982 stylesheet for DC.

This size 6 Supergirl is by Wormser, and has a button-on cape, not the preferred Velcro.  It’s also a costume, not strictly a PJs set.  However, it IS labeled “Supergirl,” not “man.”

See you next Monday, Super Friends!

 

Lost in Space, Volume 3 Is Here!

            Well, my friends, this particular trip through time and space is at an end.  The product of years of research and dozens of interviews with cast and crew, Irwin Allen's Lost in Space: The Authorized Biography of a Classic Sci-Fi Series, Volume 3 is in release.

            Amazon listings for  the first two books:  Volume 1 and Volume 2.

            As with Cushman’s previous books on Star Trek, the production of each TV episode is given an exhaustive summary, from story idea to casting, special effects, and contemporary opinions of the show, including fan letters.

            What a ton of fun!

            All kinds of fascinating but little-known stories are told.  This big book tells the story of LiS’s final season, and the latter lives and careers of the headliners.  For example, the cast appeared several times on Family Feud for fundraising.  And did you know that Guy Williams enjoyed a huge following in Argentina, due to his Zorro series?  I didn’t know about the wild adulation he received “south of the border.”  You’ll learn all about the proposed Zorro sequel series, and more.

            Here’s an image of the uncorrected version of the penultimate chapter.  This is from my editing file:

            As you may know, Lost in Space was picked up for a fourth season.  In this book you’ll learn why that never happened.  And all about the various proposals for reunion series or films.  You’ll gain a new appreciation for how hard the production crew and the stars had to work, as you read about the various stage, TV, and movie projects that they worked in.

            And before long you’ll gain an appreciation for the wacky dedication of the author to his topic.  His affection for the show brings his research to life, so you’re not reading a dull listing of facts.  It’s fun.

            If you like Lost in Space, 1960s Tv, televised sci-fi, or show business in general, you’ll really like this book.  I know that I said, “Huh.  Wow!” more times than I could count.

            Future books on SF TV are forthcoming, just give us time!

            You can buy this book from Amazon or from Jacobs/Brown Press, the publishers.

TRUTH IN REVIEWING:  I’m the editor of this book.  That means I got to read it first – pretty neat, huh?

See you next Monday.