WEBVTT - Listener Mail: Big Black Shape with Eyes of Fire 0:00:02.960 --> 0:00:05.360 Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, production of My 0:00:05.480 --> 0:00:11.080 Heart Radio. Hey, welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind. 0:00:11.119 --> 0:00:13.960 A listener mail This is Robert Lamp and this is 0:00:14.040 --> 0:00:16.280 Joe McCormick, and it's Monday, the day of the week. 0:00:16.440 --> 0:00:20.080 We read back some messages from the mail bag. Oh 0:00:20.200 --> 0:00:21.720 and hey, if you ever want to get in touch 0:00:21.760 --> 0:00:24.319 with the show, and you've never done so before, you 0:00:24.360 --> 0:00:28.159 can do that by writing to contact at Stuff to 0:00:28.200 --> 0:00:31.080 Blow your Mind dot com. Whatever email you want to 0:00:31.080 --> 0:00:33.839 send this fair game, of course, we're always open to 0:00:34.120 --> 0:00:39.519 uh two, feedback, to corrections if necessary, to just interesting 0:00:39.560 --> 0:00:41.239 things you want to share with us, or if you 0:00:41.280 --> 0:00:43.919 just want to say hi, that's always cool. Contact at 0:00:43.960 --> 0:00:48.279 stuff to Blow your Mind dot com. Rob, if it's 0:00:48.280 --> 0:00:50.640 cool with you. I want to kick things off by 0:00:50.680 --> 0:00:54.080 reading this message from Josh about our episodes on fun. 0:00:54.600 --> 0:01:01.840 Go for it all right. So we asked people from 0:01:01.840 --> 0:01:06.200 other language cultures to share equivalence of the English word 0:01:06.319 --> 0:01:09.640 fun and any differences in connotation and so forth. And 0:01:09.720 --> 0:01:13.640 we heard from Josh about a word from Dutch. So 0:01:13.800 --> 0:01:17.759 Josh says, Hey, Joe, Rob Seth, I'm an American living 0:01:17.800 --> 0:01:19.840 in the Netherlands, and I wanted to pitch in on 0:01:19.920 --> 0:01:24.080 the word fun. In Dutch, the word is leuke. It 0:01:24.160 --> 0:01:28.520 has a wonderfully difficult pronunciation for an English speaker, something 0:01:29.480 --> 0:01:32.400 like the way he spells it as l e h 0:01:32.600 --> 0:01:37.360 dash o dash k. So luke, that's what I'm trying. Well, 0:01:37.400 --> 0:01:40.760 we'll see, um, Josh says. It is used frequently as 0:01:40.800 --> 0:01:43.800 what I would call a throwaway word, something you might 0:01:43.880 --> 0:01:47.039 use several times as an encouragement while being told a 0:01:47.080 --> 0:01:51.520 positive story, like nice might be used in English. Oh 0:01:51.640 --> 0:01:55.240 so somebody's saying, Hey, I did this cool thing, or 0:01:55.320 --> 0:01:57.520 I'm you know, I have plans to do this cool 0:01:57.560 --> 0:02:00.120 thing or whatever, and you you sort of encourage the 0:02:00.160 --> 0:02:03.600 anecdote to continue by saying nice. Nice. At least that's 0:02:03.600 --> 0:02:07.160 how interpret yeah, or or indeed, cool could be used 0:02:07.280 --> 0:02:10.920 in the in the sensense as well. Yeah, Josh goes on. 0:02:11.160 --> 0:02:15.080 It is also used to describe something particularly colorful or 0:02:15.120 --> 0:02:18.639 with an interesting or new design. I find it indicative 0:02:18.680 --> 0:02:21.919 of my observation that Dutch people tend to be neophilic, 0:02:22.480 --> 0:02:26.600 finding new and different things fun and not threatening. Thanks 0:02:26.639 --> 0:02:30.240 for the Luke podcast, Josh, excellent. Yeah, well, this is 0:02:30.280 --> 0:02:32.920 exactly the sort of thing we're asking for. Examples from 0:02:32.960 --> 0:02:43.400 from other languages related to the linguistics of fun alright. 0:02:43.480 --> 0:02:46.400 This next one comes to us from Cat. It is 0:02:46.680 --> 0:02:51.760 a response to our episodes on incense Cat Rights. I 0:02:51.800 --> 0:02:54.400 was taken aback when Rob mentioned it is more common 0:02:54.480 --> 0:02:59.280 for bad smell hallucinations. From my own personal experience as 0:02:59.320 --> 0:03:02.440 well as experiences from a few of my family members, 0:03:02.520 --> 0:03:06.200 a good sometimes floral smell is typical for us. For 0:03:06.240 --> 0:03:10.320 the occasional smell hallucination, the floral smell usually does have 0:03:10.480 --> 0:03:13.480 a sort of associations with past loved ones, which in 0:03:13.560 --> 0:03:17.120 turn does have a spiritual religious connotation. I have search 0:03:17.360 --> 0:03:20.519 and low for a source during these hallucinations to see 0:03:20.520 --> 0:03:23.320 if there's a real life cause with no luck, which 0:03:23.360 --> 0:03:26.639 strengthens the spiritual connection angle. So Rob, I think you're 0:03:26.720 --> 0:03:30.160 right about that. I absolutely love the podcast. You guys 0:03:30.160 --> 0:03:32.840 are my all time favorite and always look forward each 0:03:32.919 --> 0:03:35.840 week to learning from any new topic you cover, however 0:03:35.920 --> 0:03:38.560 random it may seem. It always makes me think and 0:03:38.640 --> 0:03:40.840 I appreciate how you look at it from every possible 0:03:40.880 --> 0:03:43.480 angle and with an open mind. All the best and 0:03:43.560 --> 0:03:47.280 keep it up. Cat. Oh thanks Cat, Now I do 0:03:47.360 --> 0:03:49.240 want to see Yeah. First of all, yeah, thanks for 0:03:49.280 --> 0:03:52.200 writing in. But but I do want to say that 0:03:52.280 --> 0:03:55.960 I don't mean to imply that that positive aroma hallucinations 0:03:56.040 --> 0:04:00.960 are necessarily less common in general, just that I had 0:04:01.000 --> 0:04:05.080 seen or remembered fewer mentions of of the phenomenon or 0:04:05.240 --> 0:04:08.920 or at least, you know, recollections of it. Um. I 0:04:09.520 --> 0:04:12.280 so so don't tank to that to the bank just yet. 0:04:12.640 --> 0:04:16.560 I did pick up my copy of Oliver sacks Is Hallucinations, 0:04:16.600 --> 0:04:19.240 which is a great book on this very topic. And 0:04:19.360 --> 0:04:22.760 he gets into he does get into into uh these 0:04:22.760 --> 0:04:28.400 sorts of hallucinations, smell hallucinations, m old factory hallucinations, and 0:04:28.520 --> 0:04:32.360 it looks like at least with cases of parasomnia and 0:04:32.560 --> 0:04:38.040 uh disomnia, unpleasant odors are more common. But yeah, this 0:04:38.120 --> 0:04:40.840 is I think a topic we could potentially look into 0:04:40.920 --> 0:04:44.760 more in the future. Uh do a give give old 0:04:44.800 --> 0:04:50.599 factory hallucinations a proper episode? So anyway, greatly appreciate the 0:04:50.600 --> 0:04:59.680 feedback and perspective on this topic. Alright. This next message 0:05:00.040 --> 0:05:04.279 us in response to Rob's squid interview. Uh, and this 0:05:04.400 --> 0:05:08.039 is from Ian Ian says, Dear Rob and Joe, as 0:05:08.080 --> 0:05:11.000 seems to be my eternal condition. I'm several months behind 0:05:11.040 --> 0:05:14.159 on podcast episodes. I just finished the episode in which 0:05:14.279 --> 0:05:18.320 Rob interviews Martin Walland about his recent book Squid. I 0:05:18.400 --> 0:05:21.560 love the discussion revolving around squid intelligence and wanted to 0:05:21.560 --> 0:05:24.359 share a recommendation for some science fiction reading in the 0:05:24.400 --> 0:05:29.120 same vein Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky, the second 0:05:29.160 --> 0:05:32.320 book in the Children of Time series. I will try 0:05:32.360 --> 0:05:34.800 to keep this as spoiler free as possible, but arguably 0:05:34.880 --> 0:05:37.840 even describing the premise is somewhat of a spoiler, so 0:05:37.960 --> 0:05:41.240 be warned. The book isn't technically about squid, but does 0:05:41.279 --> 0:05:47.000 heavily involve they're quite intelligent cephalopod cousins octopuses slash octopi 0:05:47.120 --> 0:05:52.120 slash octopodes slash octo whatever's The basic premise involves far 0:05:52.240 --> 0:05:56.800 future human space explorers who encounter a long lost colony 0:05:56.839 --> 0:06:00.520 that has been taken over by accidentally uplifted oct to podes. 0:06:00.839 --> 0:06:02.839 I'm going to use this version of the word because 0:06:02.839 --> 0:06:06.960 it's my favorite. Tchaikovsky clearly put great effort into trying 0:06:07.040 --> 0:06:11.880 to keep the octopussy nous of their intelligence and not 0:06:12.040 --> 0:06:14.480 fall in the common sci fi trope of having everything 0:06:14.560 --> 0:06:18.200 think basically like a human. It's a very interesting exploration 0:06:18.240 --> 0:06:21.000 of the concept of human level intelligence and something that 0:06:21.160 --> 0:06:23.760 is probably as alien to us as it is possible 0:06:23.800 --> 0:06:27.599 to be without being literally extraterrestrial. And I recommend it 0:06:27.640 --> 0:06:30.600 to anyone who enjoys speculative fiction, which I imagine is 0:06:30.640 --> 0:06:34.600 a large proportion of your audience. I would also recommend 0:06:34.600 --> 0:06:37.360 the first book which gives the series its name, Children 0:06:37.360 --> 0:06:40.640 of Time, And in fact, you would likely be quite 0:06:40.720 --> 0:06:43.039 lost in Children of Ruin if you did not read 0:06:43.120 --> 0:06:47.360 Children of Time first, but it explores similar ideas, though 0:06:47.400 --> 0:06:50.679 in its case there are no molluscs insight. As always, 0:06:50.720 --> 0:06:54.599 thank you for your wonderful content. Cheers in ah. Yeah. 0:06:54.640 --> 0:06:57.599 Back to an old favorite speculative topic of ours, the 0:06:57.600 --> 0:07:02.200 the supposed Minds of Cephalopods. I have not read the 0:07:02.200 --> 0:07:04.760 books you're talking about, Ian, but there is a great 0:07:04.800 --> 0:07:08.080 nonfiction book I've recommended on the podcast before by Si 0:07:08.240 --> 0:07:12.360 Montgomery called The Soul of an Octopus, which I really 0:07:12.400 --> 0:07:16.320 liked because it just has some wonderful, very surprisingly emotional 0:07:16.400 --> 0:07:20.480 observations about octopus minds, about the kind of baffling otherness 0:07:20.600 --> 0:07:25.400 of octopus intelligence, but also some moving thoughts about octopus 0:07:25.480 --> 0:07:31.120 emotions and connection to human handlers and uh, continuing on 0:07:31.160 --> 0:07:33.360 the subject, I think we may have talked about this 0:07:33.400 --> 0:07:35.480 on the show before, so I apologize to the extent 0:07:35.520 --> 0:07:38.960 that I'm repeating myself. But uh, to whatever extent I haven't, 0:07:39.000 --> 0:07:42.920 I have done the intelligent octopus thought experiment before, you know, 0:07:43.000 --> 0:07:46.520 meaning like, if an octopus were to possess a capacity 0:07:46.560 --> 0:07:49.520 for language and human level technology, that sort of thing, 0:07:50.200 --> 0:07:53.720 And I recall thinking that a major ecological influence on 0:07:53.800 --> 0:07:58.760 the nature of that intelligence would be the comparatively solitary 0:07:59.400 --> 0:08:03.600 intelligence of the octopus contrasted with the deeply social intelligence 0:08:03.640 --> 0:08:06.520 of the human. I'm I'm very much of the opinion 0:08:06.560 --> 0:08:09.560 that one of the most profound influences on the character 0:08:09.680 --> 0:08:12.640 of human intelligence and human thought is the fact that 0:08:12.680 --> 0:08:14.960 we evolve to live in groups and to survive by 0:08:14.960 --> 0:08:17.840 working together, and so the human brain is formed for 0:08:17.920 --> 0:08:23.200 maintaining and manipulating social relationships, and this fact colors basically 0:08:23.280 --> 0:08:26.120 every aspect of our intelligence. I'd argue that even when 0:08:26.160 --> 0:08:28.520 we're alone, even in the case of people who like 0:08:28.640 --> 0:08:31.520 spending a lot of time alone, our thoughts are very 0:08:31.640 --> 0:08:35.320 social in character. So how would an octopus be different? Like, 0:08:35.360 --> 0:08:38.680 I wonder if the human brain's obsession with a sense 0:08:38.720 --> 0:08:42.760 of belonging would be replaced with a need for something 0:08:42.840 --> 0:08:46.080 else in the case of an intelligent octopus, maybe something 0:08:46.120 --> 0:08:51.959 like like a sense of sheltered nous or hiddenness or something. Yeah, 0:08:52.280 --> 0:08:55.800 it's yeah, it's such a a fascinating thing to try 0:08:55.840 --> 0:09:00.600 and comprehend. Um. I was just looking here at uh 0:09:00.640 --> 0:09:06.040 Adrian Chukovsky's um various writings. This is not an author 0:09:06.040 --> 0:09:08.920 I've read before, but I knew the name. I knew 0:09:08.920 --> 0:09:10.280 I'd heard the name before. I was trying to figure 0:09:10.280 --> 0:09:12.440 out what it was, and I have found it. So 0:09:12.760 --> 0:09:15.760 he's seems fairly prolific. Has written a number of different 0:09:15.760 --> 0:09:18.520 science fiction and fantasy books, many of which seem to 0:09:18.559 --> 0:09:20.240 have some sort of an animal theme in there. I 0:09:20.320 --> 0:09:25.840 believe there's one that involves with genetically augmented dog. But 0:09:26.400 --> 0:09:28.280 where I had heard of him is that he has 0:09:28.320 --> 0:09:33.960 written one Warhammer forty Thou novel, Day of Ascension, which 0:09:34.160 --> 0:09:38.520 has to do with the gene Steeler hybrids, which this is. 0:09:38.640 --> 0:09:41.840 This is a this is a fascinating faction in the 0:09:41.840 --> 0:09:46.040 Warhammer forty Thou universe. These are like there's they're the Tyrannids, 0:09:46.080 --> 0:09:49.880 this threat from another galaxy. Uh, that is entering into 0:09:49.920 --> 0:09:52.640 our galaxy, and they're, you know, just a big biomass 0:09:52.679 --> 0:09:55.640 that wants to consume everything. But they kind of seed 0:09:55.720 --> 0:09:59.800 worlds ahead of time with these gene Steeler colts, with 0:10:00.040 --> 0:10:04.840 these uh these partially mutated factions that are sort of 0:10:04.920 --> 0:10:09.199 vying to um to control the population and destabilize things 0:10:09.200 --> 0:10:13.199 ahead of the arrival. Uh So anyway, Uh, fascinating faction. 0:10:13.360 --> 0:10:15.280 And I'd heard good things about that book when I 0:10:15.320 --> 0:10:17.280 was coming out, but I wasn't familiar with the author here, 0:10:17.320 --> 0:10:19.040 so it sounds sounds like something I might want to 0:10:19.080 --> 0:10:30.000 check out. Yeah, either way, Thank thank you. Ian. Alright, 0:10:30.040 --> 0:10:33.440 let's get into a little weird house cinema listener. Mailison 0:10:33.480 --> 0:10:35.679 comes to us from Bruce. Bruce says, Hello, Robert, Joe, 0:10:35.720 --> 0:10:38.520 and Seth. Some of the recent weird houses have been 0:10:38.600 --> 0:10:42.880 right in my wheelhouse. That's a that's a that's that's 0:10:42.960 --> 0:10:46.920 suddenly a mouthful. Uh, the weird house wheelhouse. That'll be 0:10:46.960 --> 0:10:51.880 our wheelhouse anyway. Bruce says, I had a job in 0:10:51.880 --> 0:10:54.520 a movie theater to help pay for college during the eighties. 0:10:55.040 --> 0:10:56.960 It was a great job at the time for a student. 0:10:57.280 --> 0:10:59.720 Once the movies were playing, the lobby had been cleaned up, 0:11:00.080 --> 0:11:02.800 was plenty of time to study. The theater i was 0:11:02.880 --> 0:11:06.880 a manager at played both Krawl and The Last Starfighter. 0:11:07.480 --> 0:11:10.680 My memory of Kroll that makes it distinct was when 0:11:10.720 --> 0:11:13.480 people would call to ask what we were showing. This 0:11:13.559 --> 0:11:16.880 was before the days of movie phone and other automated services, 0:11:17.120 --> 0:11:20.480 so typically the cashier or one of the ushers would 0:11:20.480 --> 0:11:24.880 answer the phone. When they'd say Krawl, they invariably had 0:11:24.880 --> 0:11:26.960 to repeat themselves as the person on the other end 0:11:26.960 --> 0:11:29.640 of the line would misinterpret the title as our employee 0:11:29.640 --> 0:11:34.480 clearing their throat or some other vocalization unrelated to a word. Yes, 0:11:34.720 --> 0:11:37.960 that's so good. It's It's not like the movie was 0:11:38.000 --> 0:11:41.640 called The Adventures of Kraal or like The Tyranny of Krall. 0:11:42.080 --> 0:11:46.320 It's just Krall that clearly. It's almost it seems perverse. 0:11:46.400 --> 0:11:49.880 It was like it was intended to cause problems. Yeah, 0:11:50.160 --> 0:11:54.200 Kral Kral, because yeah, it sounds like there's some sort 0:11:54.240 --> 0:11:58.199 of an issue going on. Um they continue. Last Starfighter 0:11:58.320 --> 0:12:00.560 was one of my favorites to show at the time. Yes, 0:12:00.600 --> 0:12:03.640 the computer graphics were not quite up to resembling anything 0:12:03.640 --> 0:12:06.640 close to realistic even at the time, but they were 0:12:06.679 --> 0:12:10.240 still impressive as being a relatively new application of this 0:12:10.320 --> 0:12:13.280 type of special effects technique. They seem to add to 0:12:13.320 --> 0:12:16.720 the lighthearted overall tone of the film. One scene I 0:12:16.760 --> 0:12:21.040 always enjoy recalling when describing the movie to neophytes that 0:12:21.160 --> 0:12:24.360 I was looking forward to hearing your take on was 0:12:25.840 --> 0:12:28.080 the scene in which Grigg and Alex are hiding in 0:12:28.080 --> 0:12:33.319 an asteroid cave and then, uh, Bruce, here includes some dialogue. 0:12:33.800 --> 0:12:37.120 Uh we should we read this in character? Joe? Do 0:12:37.160 --> 0:12:39.520 you want to be Alex? Who's who? Who's Alex? And 0:12:39.559 --> 0:12:41.120 who's Gregg? I don't know. Do you feel like you 0:12:41.160 --> 0:12:43.680 have a Greg voice in you? I? I can be Greg? 0:12:44.080 --> 0:12:47.920 All right, all right, I'll be Alex. Uh this reminds 0:12:47.960 --> 0:12:51.080 you of home? Ah? Yes, I live below ground with 0:12:51.160 --> 0:12:55.040 my wife Oyd and six thousand little grigglings, at least 0:12:55.120 --> 0:12:58.880 until Zoor turns them into slaves. Where does your kind 0:12:58.960 --> 0:13:03.040 live in houses? Mostly that's caves above ground. I live 0:13:03.080 --> 0:13:06.040 in a mobile home. What is that? It's like a 0:13:06.080 --> 0:13:09.199 cave that goes places, only we never went anywhere, a 0:13:09.200 --> 0:13:15.960 mobile cave that never went anywhere. Fascinating, Bruce finishing my Greg. 0:13:16.040 --> 0:13:18.240 Come on, it's pretty good. It was a good grig. 0:13:18.320 --> 0:13:22.199 It was a good grig solid Dano, Harla, hey vibes 0:13:22.240 --> 0:13:26.160 there anyway. Bruce finishes out by saying, never fails to 0:13:26.200 --> 0:13:28.520 elicit a smile whenever I recall it. Thanks for the 0:13:28.520 --> 0:13:31.480 fun podcast now, Joe. This is also the scene, isn't 0:13:31.480 --> 0:13:34.880 where Greg is showing family photos of yes, yes, the 0:13:35.240 --> 0:13:38.320 children and the wife boyd Yes. He's got like a 0:13:38.400 --> 0:13:43.160 grig little wallet full of pictures and uh, how do wait, 0:13:43.200 --> 0:13:45.480 what form do the pictures take? Does he literally have 0:13:45.520 --> 0:13:47.560 a print out? I don't recall, I don't look. I 0:13:47.600 --> 0:13:50.679 just remember them splashing on the screen. There, So Gregg 0:13:50.760 --> 0:13:55.600 has six thousand children. That's that sounds stressful. It's probably 0:13:55.600 --> 0:13:58.680 also pretty hands free. It's pretty hands off when it 0:13:58.720 --> 0:14:06.840 comes to parenting. I'm guessing yeah, okay. We also got 0:14:06.880 --> 0:14:10.600 another message about The Last Starfighter, this one from Brad. 0:14:10.640 --> 0:14:13.720 Brad says, Hello, gentleman, what a treat this episode was 0:14:13.800 --> 0:14:16.040 for me. I'm a huge fan of your various shows, 0:14:16.320 --> 0:14:19.520 Weird House Cinema included. However, I'm ashamed to admit I've 0:14:19.520 --> 0:14:22.320 only seen a few of the movies you've covered. It's 0:14:22.400 --> 0:14:25.400 nothing to be ashamed about, Brad. Brad says, I'm a 0:14:25.480 --> 0:14:28.960 huge movie fan, but unfortunately never had anyone introduced me 0:14:29.040 --> 0:14:31.640 to the weirder side of cinema. You guys do such 0:14:31.680 --> 0:14:34.120 a great job of covering the films. It has prompted 0:14:34.120 --> 0:14:36.080 me to check out a couple of the ones I 0:14:36.120 --> 0:14:39.640 was previously unaware of. The Last Starfighter, on the other hand, 0:14:39.680 --> 0:14:42.760 was one of my favorite movies as a child. In fact, 0:14:42.800 --> 0:14:45.520 I have plans this November to swing by the place 0:14:45.680 --> 0:14:49.680 quote where it happened on our way to Disneyland. The 0:14:49.760 --> 0:14:52.360 mobile home park has since closed in the general store 0:14:52.360 --> 0:14:55.600 has gotten a huge facelift, but I know I know 0:14:55.680 --> 0:14:59.240 what happened there. Anyway. My tidbit is, you guys may 0:14:59.280 --> 0:15:03.240 have noticed Beta Alex's hair in the film look fake. 0:15:03.440 --> 0:15:06.040 Remember that there's a side plot in the movie where 0:15:06.680 --> 0:15:09.720 uh Lance guests character while he goes up into space, 0:15:09.840 --> 0:15:12.800 is replaced by a robot that looks exactly like him, 0:15:12.880 --> 0:15:16.480 named Beta, and he's there to take his place on Earth. 0:15:17.000 --> 0:15:20.040 Um so they say a Beta Alex's hair in the 0:15:20.040 --> 0:15:24.040 film looked fake. Yes, I did notice that, Brad. Brad continues, 0:15:24.280 --> 0:15:27.920 that's because it was. They originally only had a couple 0:15:27.960 --> 0:15:31.440 of Beta scenes, but test audiences loved them so much 0:15:31.520 --> 0:15:35.040 they went back and filmed more weeks after Lance Guest 0:15:35.160 --> 0:15:38.800 had cut his hair all already, so they had to 0:15:38.840 --> 0:15:41.720 have him wear a wig. Love all your shows. Thank 0:15:41.760 --> 0:15:45.280 you for providing me with knowledge and entertainment. Brad Ah. 0:15:45.400 --> 0:15:50.000 That's that's fascinating and that is that is something. The 0:15:50.000 --> 0:15:53.160 films we cover on Weird House, they cover a wide range, 0:15:54.040 --> 0:15:55.960 so I sometimes I forget that. Yeah, when we start 0:15:56.000 --> 0:15:59.080 looking at films off the caliber of The Last Starfighter, 0:15:59.320 --> 0:16:01.680 you are dealing with test audiences. You are going in 0:16:01.760 --> 0:16:05.560 situations where where people are saying, we love Beta and 0:16:05.600 --> 0:16:07.440 we want to see more of Beta, and then they 0:16:07.480 --> 0:16:09.800 go back and feel more scenes. You're not finding that 0:16:10.120 --> 0:16:14.240 that level of a forethought going into to some of 0:16:14.280 --> 0:16:17.240 the flicks that we're talking about. Yeah, Last star Fighter 0:16:17.320 --> 0:16:19.440 is definitely one of the bigger to do is we 0:16:19.520 --> 0:16:23.800 have covered on. Yeah. I don't think Horror Arises from 0:16:23.840 --> 0:16:26.920 the Tomb was really benefiting from any test audiences where 0:16:26.920 --> 0:16:28.960 they're like, you know, we we wanted to see more 0:16:29.000 --> 0:16:31.280 beheadings and they're like, well let's shoot it again. Like 0:16:31.280 --> 0:16:32.720 you know, now many of these films is like it's 0:16:32.800 --> 0:16:35.480 kind of a miracle they finished some of these films. 0:16:35.840 --> 0:16:38.440 They're not going to go back and shoot more for them. 0:16:38.560 --> 0:16:41.440 What if they did test audiences for the brain Eaters, 0:16:41.800 --> 0:16:44.800 but they'd be like, I don't understand the glowing globes? 0:16:45.040 --> 0:16:48.440 What's with the globes? Test audiences wanted to know did 0:16:48.480 --> 0:16:53.320 literarymoy get paid at any rate? Thanks for the tidbit, 0:16:53.440 --> 0:16:55.960 and best of luck on your pilgrimage to the place 0:16:56.120 --> 0:17:03.680 where it happened? All right? This next one comes to 0:17:03.760 --> 0:17:10.960 us from Dan subject w HC. Colin The Apple. Dan says, Hello, 0:17:11.080 --> 0:17:13.640 Robert and Joe. I recently listened to your Weird House 0:17:13.640 --> 0:17:16.040 Cinema episode on The Last Starfighter, and I have a 0:17:16.040 --> 0:17:18.800 personal story that I have to share with you regarding 0:17:19.320 --> 0:17:23.359 The Apple. Several years ago, I used to work at 0:17:23.359 --> 0:17:25.840 a movie theater in New York City that often held 0:17:26.320 --> 0:17:30.800 um repertory series devoted to a particular director, actor, or country. 0:17:31.320 --> 0:17:34.320 One year we had a cannon film series and one 0:17:34.359 --> 0:17:37.399 of the movies we screened was The Apple. It was 0:17:37.840 --> 0:17:41.000 a one night only showing with an introduction by Catherine 0:17:41.000 --> 0:17:46.760 Mary Stewart, your m Globus and mena him Golon. Miss Stewart, 0:17:46.800 --> 0:17:49.400 as I recall, was very lovely happy to be there. 0:17:49.440 --> 0:17:52.760 And even thanked Mena him during the introduction for giving 0:17:52.800 --> 0:17:56.439 her her start in the movie industry. The show was 0:17:56.640 --> 0:17:59.200 close to, if not sold out, and ended up being 0:17:59.359 --> 0:18:02.720 more of a cess than predicted. Nearly everyone in attendance 0:18:02.760 --> 0:18:05.840 was quite young college age and came wearing little triangle 0:18:05.880 --> 0:18:09.600 stickers like the characters in the movie. This confused myself 0:18:09.640 --> 0:18:11.360 and many of my co workers, as we had never 0:18:11.400 --> 0:18:14.000 seen the movie and didn't know why people had triangles 0:18:14.000 --> 0:18:16.840 all over their bodies. Some of them also came under 0:18:16.880 --> 0:18:20.200 the influence of certain substances, but they were very nice 0:18:20.240 --> 0:18:23.800 and enthusiastic about watching the Apple. Since I was working, 0:18:23.840 --> 0:18:25.600 I didn't get a chance to watch the movie, but 0:18:25.640 --> 0:18:27.679 I did sneak a peek early on during one of 0:18:27.680 --> 0:18:30.600 the musical numbers with a couple of coworkers. We were 0:18:30.680 --> 0:18:35.000 left speechless, bewildered even by what little we had witnessed. 0:18:35.440 --> 0:18:37.639 As we came out of the screening room, one person 0:18:37.720 --> 0:18:41.800 I remember saying, well, their costumes are very nice. All 0:18:41.840 --> 0:18:44.320 in all, it was a very odd night and one 0:18:44.320 --> 0:18:47.119 of the more memorable experiences I had working there, Probably 0:18:47.160 --> 0:18:49.640 as close as I've come to being at a midnight 0:18:49.720 --> 0:18:54.159 screening of Rocky Horror Picture Show. Also regarding Robert Preston 0:18:54.240 --> 0:18:57.200 being in the Last Starfighter, did you know that Brian 0:18:57.240 --> 0:18:59.840 Cox played Harold Hill in a run of the Music Man. 0:19:00.160 --> 0:19:02.880 Does this add more credence to Joe's theory that anything 0:19:02.920 --> 0:19:06.560 could be made better simply by adding Brian Cox? Wow, 0:19:06.600 --> 0:19:10.000 I had no idea. Dan attaches a link to a 0:19:10.160 --> 0:19:12.560 version of You Got Trouble right here in River City, 0:19:12.600 --> 0:19:16.320 the song about the pool table where Brian Cox is 0:19:16.359 --> 0:19:21.840 playing Harold Hill. Wonderful, Absolutely wonderful. I notice one major 0:19:21.920 --> 0:19:25.359 difference in the way the character comes across. The version 0:19:25.400 --> 0:19:27.600 I'm familiar with is, of course the one with Robert 0:19:27.600 --> 0:19:32.439 Preston as as Harold Hill. And either way, this song Trouble, 0:19:32.480 --> 0:19:34.879 You Got Trouble you know, uh is? It has so 0:19:34.960 --> 0:19:41.200 much fast talk crammed in, and Preston delivers it so smoothly. 0:19:41.440 --> 0:19:44.600 The the impression he gives is that he is the 0:19:44.680 --> 0:19:47.199 slickst con man in the world, and he's done this 0:19:47.280 --> 0:19:50.639 a million times. He's five steps ahead of the locals. 0:19:50.680 --> 0:19:53.359 They're never going to figure him out. He's he's just 0:19:53.560 --> 0:19:58.320 like he's a machine. But with Brian Cox, you actually 0:19:58.400 --> 0:20:01.240 feel how much of a mouth full all the fast 0:20:01.280 --> 0:20:03.960 talk in the song is and you can hear him 0:20:04.040 --> 0:20:06.560 kind of scrambling to keep up with the tempo of 0:20:06.600 --> 0:20:09.679 the song, and it creates a very different impression, a 0:20:09.680 --> 0:20:13.359 really cool one too. In the Brian Cox version, there's 0:20:13.400 --> 0:20:16.479 more of a precarious feeling to the con like Harold 0:20:16.560 --> 0:20:20.720 Hill is talking fast enough to scam the town's folk, 0:20:20.800 --> 0:20:23.359 but instead of being five steps ahead, he's only one 0:20:23.480 --> 0:20:27.440 step ahead. He's constantly on the edge, struggling to make 0:20:27.560 --> 0:20:30.440 up everything as he goes, and it feels like any 0:20:30.440 --> 0:20:33.440 minute he might finally draw a blank where somebody might 0:20:33.440 --> 0:20:36.560 be like, hey, wait a second there, And both approaches 0:20:36.600 --> 0:20:39.200 to Harold Hill really work. It just creates a very 0:20:39.240 --> 0:20:44.800 different vibe about the story. Interesting. Uh yeah, there there 0:20:44.880 --> 0:20:47.359 is a lot of fast talking in the music Man. 0:20:47.520 --> 0:20:49.720 In fact, if memory serves, I think I had a 0:20:50.280 --> 0:20:53.919 drama teacher once who was a great drama teacher, and 0:20:53.960 --> 0:20:55.720 I think he was, but he was also trying to 0:20:55.760 --> 0:20:58.880 like connect with with the kids, and he was like, 0:20:58.960 --> 0:21:01.080 you got your rap, Well, let me tell you about 0:21:01.080 --> 0:21:09.159 the music man. Um So I don't. I don't remember 0:21:09.200 --> 0:21:12.040 the finer points of the argument, but h but I 0:21:12.040 --> 0:21:13.480 think it was just an excuse to show us a 0:21:13.480 --> 0:21:15.840 scene from The Music Man Trouble with the capital T 0:21:16.040 --> 0:21:18.159 and that rhymes with P and that stands for pool. 0:21:19.720 --> 0:21:22.240 All right, dad. Dan ends it up out here by saying, 0:21:22.240 --> 0:21:24.240 apologies for the lengthy email, but I just thought I 0:21:24.280 --> 0:21:27.800 would share since you've mentioned this intensely weird movie now 0:21:27.880 --> 0:21:30.639 twice referring to the Apple. Um when it came up 0:21:30.680 --> 0:21:33.800 in our h let's the Last Starfighter because there was 0:21:33.840 --> 0:21:36.920 a direct reference to it, and then um Athor and 0:21:36.960 --> 0:21:39.760 Mary Stewart was in it. Yeah, yeah, and then we 0:21:39.760 --> 0:21:42.760 were we were talking about Adam and Eve pictures. Oh 0:21:42.840 --> 0:21:45.919 it was the check film. Oh yeah, Furtive Paradise by 0:21:46.000 --> 0:21:49.040 very Chalova. Yes, yes, that was it. Yeah, yeah, the 0:21:49.119 --> 0:21:52.800 Surreal Garden of Eden movie. Yeah. Because The Apple, for 0:21:52.920 --> 0:21:55.080 anyone who doesn't remember, is essentially an Adam and Eve 0:21:55.480 --> 0:21:58.720 and the Devil kind of tale, except lavishly told as 0:21:58.760 --> 0:22:01.720 a big New York Ork City sort of sci fi 0:22:01.920 --> 0:22:04.720 musical piece. Anyway, Dan says, looking forward to what you 0:22:04.720 --> 0:22:07.040 have planned in October, can we expect the return of 0:22:07.119 --> 0:22:11.320 Dr Anton Jessop all the best? Dan Um? Well, first 0:22:11.359 --> 0:22:14.080 of all, no, Dr Anton Jessop is dead. He died 0:22:14.359 --> 0:22:19.600 Um during an expedition in Antarctica. But I know I 0:22:19.600 --> 0:22:23.240 just found it out too. I'm heartbroken. But but as 0:22:23.280 --> 0:22:25.399 far as the Apple goes, yeah, the Apple is super 0:22:25.440 --> 0:22:29.320 weird and super fun. And I did not know it 0:22:29.400 --> 0:22:31.280 had such a following enough to fill up a whole 0:22:31.840 --> 0:22:36.120 uh theater like this. I'm basically I don't think i'd 0:22:36.119 --> 0:22:39.119 heard of it until Riff Tracks did a riff off it, 0:22:39.200 --> 0:22:42.320 and that's that was my introduction to the Apple. I 0:22:42.359 --> 0:22:44.640 still haven't seen it. No, it's well, it's out there. 0:22:44.680 --> 0:22:47.000 It's wait ninety next time you're in the mood for 0:22:47.040 --> 0:22:49.080 a crazy musical. I don't know. Maybe we'll do it 0:22:49.119 --> 0:22:50.920 on the show at some point. We uh, we haven't. 0:22:50.920 --> 0:22:53.680 We haven't. We haven't. We haven't done a lot of musicals. Um, 0:22:53.720 --> 0:22:56.000 but there's always room. Okay, should we call it there? 0:22:56.520 --> 0:22:58.560 We should? We should go ahead and call it there. 0:22:58.560 --> 0:23:01.640 But we'll be back with more listener mail in the future. 0:23:02.080 --> 0:23:06.040 Um when in the future, Well, Monday's Monday's in the future, 0:23:06.119 --> 0:23:08.760 Monday's or when we do listener mail in the Stuff 0:23:08.760 --> 0:23:12.040 to Blow Your Mind podcast feed on Tuesdays and Thursdays 0:23:12.320 --> 0:23:16.159 in the future. We do core episodes on Wednesdays, in 0:23:16.160 --> 0:23:19.199 the future we do artifact or monster fact episodes. And 0:23:19.240 --> 0:23:21.760 on Fridays in the future, well that is when we 0:23:21.760 --> 0:23:23.640