1 00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:06,040 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:10,320 --> 00:00:13,240 Speaker 2: Hey you welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind. Listener Mail. 3 00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:15,040 Speaker 2: This is Robert Lamb. 4 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:18,079 Speaker 3: And this is Joe McCormick, and today we are bringing 5 00:00:18,120 --> 00:00:21,240 Speaker 3: you some messages from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind 6 00:00:21,440 --> 00:00:24,480 Speaker 3: email address, Folks at home, if you like this show 7 00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:27,320 Speaker 3: and you've never written in to tell us your thoughts before, 8 00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:30,160 Speaker 3: now would be a great time. You know, It's weird 9 00:00:30,200 --> 00:00:33,240 Speaker 3: how I feel like our email really comes in like floods, 10 00:00:33,240 --> 00:00:35,600 Speaker 3: and then it dries up, and then it's a flood again. 11 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:38,120 Speaker 3: I wish we could do something, if we could prod 12 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:40,120 Speaker 3: y'all out there in some way to make the flow 13 00:00:40,159 --> 00:00:43,000 Speaker 3: more steady. It's like we live. We live in a 14 00:00:43,080 --> 00:00:46,600 Speaker 3: kind of Nile inundation cycle of emails, where like sometimes 15 00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:48,760 Speaker 3: we're struggling to keep up to read enough of them, 16 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:51,320 Speaker 3: and other times they dry up and I don't know 17 00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:52,120 Speaker 3: what to do about that. 18 00:00:52,479 --> 00:00:54,520 Speaker 2: Well, I mean it get the impression that some episodes 19 00:00:54,520 --> 00:00:56,920 Speaker 2: are just more relatable than others and are going to 20 00:00:57,000 --> 00:00:59,720 Speaker 2: be sorts of episodes that folks feel like they have 21 00:01:00,120 --> 00:01:03,560 Speaker 2: something to contribute on. Certainly we see this when we 22 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:08,080 Speaker 2: do episodes on things like dreams, oh yes, or universal experiences, 23 00:01:08,880 --> 00:01:11,720 Speaker 2: and then sometimes we do deeper dives into areas that 24 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:14,399 Speaker 2: you know no one has personal experience with, like no 25 00:01:14,480 --> 00:01:18,880 Speaker 2: one has actually been a warrior and an ancient army 26 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:23,600 Speaker 2: and so forth. But yeah, you know it's sometimes it's 27 00:01:23,600 --> 00:01:24,520 Speaker 2: hard to predict as well. 28 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:27,240 Speaker 3: Well, whatever the reason they're folks, I just I would 29 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:29,319 Speaker 3: always encourage you. If you want to get in touch, 30 00:01:29,480 --> 00:01:31,959 Speaker 3: please do. If you're thinking about it, do it. Make 31 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:35,760 Speaker 3: it real. You can write us at contact at stuff 32 00:01:35,800 --> 00:01:39,319 Speaker 3: to Blow your Mind dot com. We of course always 33 00:01:39,319 --> 00:01:42,360 Speaker 3: loved responses to recent episodes or series. If you have 34 00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:46,600 Speaker 3: a correction if necessary, certainly send that our way. If 35 00:01:46,600 --> 00:01:49,560 Speaker 3: you have something interesting you'd like to add to a 36 00:01:49,640 --> 00:01:51,840 Speaker 3: topic we talked about, If you would just like to 37 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:55,640 Speaker 3: tell us something you find interesting, even unrelated to episodes 38 00:01:55,680 --> 00:01:59,440 Speaker 3: we've done, that's all fair game. Contact at Stuff to 39 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:00,240 Speaker 3: Blow your Mind. 40 00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:03,960 Speaker 2: If you ever find yourself thinking, boy, I wish they 41 00:02:03,960 --> 00:02:07,720 Speaker 2: would do more episodes like X, well, whatever X is, 42 00:02:07,880 --> 00:02:10,600 Speaker 2: write in and tell us because in all likelihood, you know, 43 00:02:10,639 --> 00:02:12,800 Speaker 2: we always have any number of episodes we'd like to 44 00:02:12,840 --> 00:02:15,799 Speaker 2: cover any number of topics, and it's just kind of 45 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:18,280 Speaker 2: week to week on whether we'll spring on one or not, 46 00:02:18,400 --> 00:02:22,040 Speaker 2: so you know, a little prodding in one direction or 47 00:02:22,200 --> 00:02:23,560 Speaker 2: the other can work wonders. 48 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:26,520 Speaker 3: That's right. We can't promise to do topics on request, 49 00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:29,680 Speaker 3: but we absolutely have done that before and we'll do 50 00:02:29,760 --> 00:02:31,160 Speaker 3: that at some points in the future. 51 00:02:31,400 --> 00:02:34,320 Speaker 2: All right, Well, let's dig into this mailbag. What does 52 00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:35,600 Speaker 2: Carnie have for us this week? 53 00:02:35,680 --> 00:02:37,880 Speaker 3: Joe, Let's see, maybe we should kick things off with 54 00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:42,079 Speaker 3: this response to our series on predators of the Deep Ocean. 55 00:02:42,160 --> 00:02:45,600 Speaker 3: This was a series we did about predatory animals that 56 00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:49,720 Speaker 3: operate in the darker parts of the sea, the lower 57 00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:53,440 Speaker 3: strata away from the sunlight, including the abyssle and the 58 00:02:53,480 --> 00:02:57,400 Speaker 3: hadel zones. Now, Rob, this message makes reference to a 59 00:02:57,840 --> 00:03:02,359 Speaker 3: Monsters of the Deep wall poster. That's ringing a bell 60 00:03:02,440 --> 00:03:04,760 Speaker 3: in my brain. But I actually don't remember the context 61 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:07,160 Speaker 3: in which that originally came up. What was the deal there? 62 00:03:07,600 --> 00:03:11,200 Speaker 2: I think I was reminiscing about a possibly national geographic 63 00:03:11,280 --> 00:03:15,360 Speaker 2: fold out poster of various organisms in the ocean, including 64 00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:19,960 Speaker 2: deep sea organisms, and not everything was to scale, nor 65 00:03:20,120 --> 00:03:22,200 Speaker 2: was it intended to be to scale, but it kind 66 00:03:22,200 --> 00:03:24,800 Speaker 2: of led my young mind to assume that some of 67 00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:27,840 Speaker 2: these creatures were bigger than they actually were. And as 68 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:30,600 Speaker 2: we've chatted with folks since that episode, it sounds like 69 00:03:30,639 --> 00:03:32,359 Speaker 2: I wasn't the only one to have this experience. 70 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:36,520 Speaker 3: Yeah, okay, that's what it was. So this message comes 71 00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:46,760 Speaker 3: from Jeff. Jeff says, Greetings, deep ones. I didn't have 72 00:03:46,920 --> 00:03:49,960 Speaker 3: a Monsters of the Deep poster on my wall, but 73 00:03:50,120 --> 00:03:54,480 Speaker 3: I did have access to my grandfather's Encyclopedia Britannica and 74 00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:58,920 Speaker 3: spent many hours studying the illustrations of horrible deep sea 75 00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:03,160 Speaker 3: creatures and earning their names. Other kids had dinosaurs. I 76 00:04:03,320 --> 00:04:08,600 Speaker 3: had the spiny batfish and the gulper eel. I always 77 00:04:08,760 --> 00:04:16,040 Speaker 3: highly recommend reading outdated encyclopedias and reference books any like 78 00:04:16,160 --> 00:04:19,760 Speaker 3: nonfiction books of factual information about the world, especially if 79 00:04:19,760 --> 00:04:23,640 Speaker 3: the selection criteria is like what would be interesting to 80 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:26,920 Speaker 3: a general reader and it's from I don't know, more 81 00:04:26,960 --> 00:04:29,960 Speaker 3: than eighty years ago. That is always a gold mine, 82 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:34,720 Speaker 3: not necessarily because the information in it is still considered correct, 83 00:04:35,040 --> 00:04:38,120 Speaker 3: but just because it gives you such an interesting window 84 00:04:38,200 --> 00:04:41,800 Speaker 3: into the intellectual and literary landscape of the past. 85 00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:47,040 Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, outdated reference books, you know, outdated encyclopedias. That's 86 00:04:47,080 --> 00:04:48,880 Speaker 2: how some of us got the sex talk Growing up 87 00:04:49,640 --> 00:04:51,360 Speaker 2: World books from the nineteen sixties. 88 00:04:51,520 --> 00:04:55,160 Speaker 3: Yeah, I love stuff like that anyway. Jeff goes on 89 00:04:55,200 --> 00:04:59,680 Speaker 3: to say, along the lines of pre Discovery Channel, pre Internet, 90 00:04:59,760 --> 00:05:04,200 Speaker 3: re life, monster data, I highly recommend the X Do 91 00:05:04,440 --> 00:05:08,479 Speaker 3: the Strangest Things series of children's books from the nineteen 92 00:05:08,560 --> 00:05:13,159 Speaker 3: sixties and seventies. They include birds do the Strangest Things, 93 00:05:13,640 --> 00:05:18,919 Speaker 3: Animals they mean, mammals do the strangest things, prehistoric monsters 94 00:05:19,080 --> 00:05:24,080 Speaker 3: did the strangest things, and plants do amazing things. Why 95 00:05:24,080 --> 00:05:25,560 Speaker 3: not strange things for plants? 96 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:30,080 Speaker 2: But you don't want to vilify plants too much. 97 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:34,880 Speaker 3: These books are filled to the brim with animals with 98 00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:39,159 Speaker 3: superpowers and great backstories. Each chapter is just a few 99 00:05:39,160 --> 00:05:44,080 Speaker 3: pages long, with beautiful drawings, a large, friendly serafont that 100 00:05:44,400 --> 00:05:47,880 Speaker 3: encourages reading, and a solid sense of humor. Some of 101 00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:51,679 Speaker 3: the humor comes from the dated writing style. Animal couples 102 00:05:51,720 --> 00:05:55,719 Speaker 3: are often referred to as husband and wife. There are 103 00:05:55,760 --> 00:06:00,160 Speaker 3: some errors based on lack of modern data apocryphal stories. 104 00:06:00,600 --> 00:06:04,240 Speaker 3: For instance, they propagate the myth of suicidal lemmings, not 105 00:06:04,360 --> 00:06:08,359 Speaker 3: to mention amusing moral judgments of animal behavior, and some 106 00:06:08,560 --> 00:06:13,080 Speaker 3: classification of animals as either friends like the honeybee or 107 00:06:13,560 --> 00:06:17,440 Speaker 3: enemies like the mosquito. But what always stuck with me 108 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:21,920 Speaker 3: was the fascinating animal facts and great art. The Fish 109 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:25,320 Speaker 3: Book featured an archerfish in action on the cover and 110 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:29,160 Speaker 3: was always my favorite. Creepy images of the alligator gar 111 00:06:29,279 --> 00:06:32,640 Speaker 3: have haunted my nightmares my entire life, but I have 112 00:06:32,800 --> 00:06:37,000 Speaker 3: rarely experienced as much pure delight as when some real 113 00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:41,440 Speaker 3: life archerfish spat on me at the National Aquarium when 114 00:06:41,440 --> 00:06:43,760 Speaker 3: I was allowed to feed them a cricket on a stick. 115 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:46,559 Speaker 3: Below our links to the books, which you can still 116 00:06:46,600 --> 00:06:50,880 Speaker 3: purchase used copies of on Amazon and eBay. Also attached 117 00:06:50,920 --> 00:06:53,800 Speaker 3: are some pages from the Fish Book, including a section 118 00:06:53,920 --> 00:06:57,440 Speaker 3: on the mysterious eels recently discussed in Rob's interview with 119 00:06:57,640 --> 00:07:02,120 Speaker 3: the Mycologist and Rabbi. Pull in the images from Jeff's email. 120 00:07:02,200 --> 00:07:06,000 Speaker 3: These are like photos of some spreads from This Fish 121 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:10,120 Speaker 3: to the Strangest Things books. So one is a spread 122 00:07:10,240 --> 00:07:12,240 Speaker 3: on the anglerfish, and I'm just going to read a 123 00:07:12,280 --> 00:07:16,120 Speaker 3: selection here, and so this is it's already introduced the 124 00:07:16,160 --> 00:07:19,760 Speaker 3: idea of the size disparity between the kind of anglerfish 125 00:07:19,760 --> 00:07:22,680 Speaker 3: they're talking about, at least the size disparity between the 126 00:07:22,680 --> 00:07:27,280 Speaker 3: females and the males. And the second paragraph on the 127 00:07:27,320 --> 00:07:30,320 Speaker 3: second page in the spread begins almost as soon as 128 00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:33,720 Speaker 3: he is born, the male anglerfish starts looking for a wife. 129 00:07:34,240 --> 00:07:37,000 Speaker 3: When he finds her, he fastens onto her side with 130 00:07:37,080 --> 00:07:41,040 Speaker 3: his mouth. Soon their skin grows together. After this, they 131 00:07:41,080 --> 00:07:44,240 Speaker 3: can never be parted. Now he will never lose her 132 00:07:44,280 --> 00:07:44,840 Speaker 3: in the dark. 133 00:07:45,320 --> 00:07:45,960 Speaker 2: Oh my god. 134 00:07:46,280 --> 00:07:49,640 Speaker 3: The male angler has no fishing rod. He does not 135 00:07:49,800 --> 00:07:55,280 Speaker 3: need one. His wife does the fishing for him. 136 00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:58,760 Speaker 2: I mean, it implies that he wants to fish, But 137 00:07:59,120 --> 00:08:02,400 Speaker 2: I mean it's like you personify these creatures at your peril, 138 00:08:02,520 --> 00:08:06,200 Speaker 2: Like it's just they're not humans. They have their own 139 00:08:06,320 --> 00:08:09,040 Speaker 2: thing going on, and they're pretty far removed from us. 140 00:08:09,280 --> 00:08:12,200 Speaker 3: But I would not be without this stuff. I love this. 141 00:08:12,560 --> 00:08:15,560 Speaker 3: It's great. I also was looking at some of the 142 00:08:15,600 --> 00:08:19,000 Speaker 3: other pages. There's a page on the archer fish which 143 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:21,680 Speaker 3: has an illustration of the fish spitting above the water 144 00:08:21,800 --> 00:08:23,760 Speaker 3: line at a bug to make it fall, and it 145 00:08:23,800 --> 00:08:28,480 Speaker 3: describes how the fish does this, but then it says, quote, 146 00:08:28,840 --> 00:08:31,520 Speaker 3: the drops of water shot from the archer's mouth hit 147 00:08:31,560 --> 00:08:34,520 Speaker 3: the insect so hard it is knocked out. It falls 148 00:08:34,559 --> 00:08:37,520 Speaker 3: into the river. The archer swims over and eats it up. 149 00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:40,320 Speaker 3: He can hit a bug over three feet away. The 150 00:08:40,400 --> 00:08:44,640 Speaker 3: little sharpshooter almost never misses. It is a wonderful way 151 00:08:44,679 --> 00:08:47,800 Speaker 3: to catch an insect. But don't you try it. Spitting 152 00:08:47,880 --> 00:08:49,679 Speaker 3: is only for archerfish. 153 00:08:49,840 --> 00:08:52,480 Speaker 2: Yeah, there's a lesson here for all of us. But yeah, 154 00:08:52,480 --> 00:08:54,800 Speaker 2: I have to agree. These are These were not part 155 00:08:54,840 --> 00:08:58,199 Speaker 2: of my upbringing, or at least I don't remember these books. 156 00:08:58,440 --> 00:09:03,280 Speaker 2: But I do love the layout here. The illustrations are fabulous. 157 00:09:03,840 --> 00:09:06,400 Speaker 2: I can basically smell these books looking at them, you. 158 00:09:06,320 --> 00:09:10,240 Speaker 3: Know, Yeah, that old book smell. I love that. Yeah. Oh, 159 00:09:10,280 --> 00:09:12,640 Speaker 3: and there also is By the way, Jeff includes a 160 00:09:12,679 --> 00:09:15,400 Speaker 3: spread on the eels, eels making a trip to the 161 00:09:15,440 --> 00:09:19,040 Speaker 3: Sargasso Sea from each side of the Atlantic, from America 162 00:09:19,120 --> 00:09:22,040 Speaker 3: and from Europe, swimming down and then laying their eggs 163 00:09:22,120 --> 00:09:25,000 Speaker 3: and then dying and then somehow the European eels go 164 00:09:25,040 --> 00:09:27,680 Speaker 3: back to Europe and the American eels go back to America. 165 00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:30,920 Speaker 3: And I think that was the one referring to the 166 00:09:31,200 --> 00:09:33,559 Speaker 3: eels you talked about in the episode you did, Rob. 167 00:09:33,640 --> 00:09:36,560 Speaker 2: That's right. That episode was the Queerness of Nature with 168 00:09:36,679 --> 00:09:39,640 Speaker 2: Patricia Keashian. And by the way, that episode is going 169 00:09:39,679 --> 00:09:41,240 Speaker 2: to rerun here in just a week or so. 170 00:09:41,640 --> 00:09:44,599 Speaker 3: Oh nice? Is that to time with the publication of 171 00:09:44,640 --> 00:09:44,920 Speaker 3: the book. 172 00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:49,200 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a special circumstance here to correspond with publication date. 173 00:09:49,559 --> 00:09:52,680 Speaker 3: Nice. But anyway, yeah, oh wait, no, I was going 174 00:09:52,760 --> 00:09:55,000 Speaker 3: to mention one more page that Jeff includes from the book. 175 00:09:55,040 --> 00:09:57,479 Speaker 3: It's about sharks. So there's a page about how hammerhead 176 00:09:57,520 --> 00:10:00,000 Speaker 3: sharks are. You know, they're dangerous, they could bite you. 177 00:10:00,440 --> 00:10:02,960 Speaker 3: And then it starts talking about the whale shark. It's like, 178 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:05,680 Speaker 3: it's the biggest fish in the sea, but it doesn't 179 00:10:05,679 --> 00:10:10,360 Speaker 3: want to eat people, just eats fish, tiny fish and plants. 180 00:10:10,800 --> 00:10:13,320 Speaker 3: And then it says the whale shark may let people 181 00:10:13,440 --> 00:10:16,320 Speaker 3: ride on him. Quote, it would not be wise to 182 00:10:16,360 --> 00:10:19,000 Speaker 3: try to ride any other kind of shark. Other sharks 183 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:20,000 Speaker 3: cannot be trusted. 184 00:10:21,240 --> 00:10:24,120 Speaker 2: And it's my understanding that your advice not to write 185 00:10:24,120 --> 00:10:26,400 Speaker 2: on whale sharks either of these problems, like, yeah, they 186 00:10:26,400 --> 00:10:29,640 Speaker 2: don't like. My understanding is that they do not really 187 00:10:29,679 --> 00:10:31,079 Speaker 2: seem to care for it, and it just sort of 188 00:10:31,160 --> 00:10:33,720 Speaker 2: drives them away. So it kind of gets in the 189 00:10:33,760 --> 00:10:36,960 Speaker 2: way of humans getting to experience being in the water 190 00:10:36,960 --> 00:10:37,720 Speaker 2: with whale sharks. 191 00:10:37,960 --> 00:10:40,959 Speaker 3: Anyway, Jeff says thanks again for sharing your research and 192 00:10:41,040 --> 00:10:44,679 Speaker 3: personal stories with us. Jeff, Well, thank you so much, Jeff, 193 00:10:44,720 --> 00:10:47,600 Speaker 3: I really appreciate you sending in the pages from these books. 194 00:10:47,640 --> 00:10:50,480 Speaker 3: They look fabulous. I would love to own these things. 195 00:10:51,160 --> 00:11:02,480 Speaker 2: Yeah, they're beautiful. This next one comes to us from Andrew. 196 00:11:02,559 --> 00:11:05,040 Speaker 2: Andrew says, Hello, Joe and Robert. I am still loving 197 00:11:05,040 --> 00:11:07,720 Speaker 2: Stuff to Blow your mind. It's my favorite podcast and 198 00:11:07,760 --> 00:11:09,640 Speaker 2: has been for a long time. I'm just finishing the 199 00:11:09,679 --> 00:11:12,480 Speaker 2: second episode about Jupiter's Great Red Spot. Some of my 200 00:11:12,520 --> 00:11:15,440 Speaker 2: favorite episodes were about the moons of Jupiter and sat 201 00:11:16,040 --> 00:11:18,280 Speaker 2: I love how many different topics you cover and how 202 00:11:18,280 --> 00:11:21,000 Speaker 2: consistently good they are. Sometimes I see the title and 203 00:11:21,120 --> 00:11:24,760 Speaker 2: think I won't be interested, but I basically always enjoy 204 00:11:24,880 --> 00:11:27,680 Speaker 2: the episode. I have the same experience. Sometimes I see 205 00:11:27,679 --> 00:11:30,000 Speaker 2: the topic and I'm like, I'm not going to be 206 00:11:30,000 --> 00:11:32,160 Speaker 2: able to get into this one, but I always am 207 00:11:32,160 --> 00:11:34,480 Speaker 2: able to get into it because I've found over the 208 00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:38,040 Speaker 2: years that any topic that pops up on our radar, 209 00:11:38,760 --> 00:11:41,400 Speaker 2: if you dig into it a bit, you'll find those 210 00:11:41,400 --> 00:11:44,720 Speaker 2: interesting angles and you'll find something to be fascinated about. 211 00:11:45,480 --> 00:11:48,880 Speaker 3: I agree, it's quite rare that we commit to doing 212 00:11:48,920 --> 00:11:52,640 Speaker 3: something and then I can find almost nothing actually interesting 213 00:11:52,640 --> 00:11:55,840 Speaker 3: about it. I'm gonna admit it has happened, but really 214 00:11:55,880 --> 00:11:57,920 Speaker 3: only like a handful of times over the years. 215 00:11:58,040 --> 00:12:01,319 Speaker 2: Yeah, and usually that realization comes pretty early in the 216 00:12:01,360 --> 00:12:05,280 Speaker 2: episode preparation process, Like we don't we quickly realize, oh, 217 00:12:05,280 --> 00:12:07,040 Speaker 2: maybe we should pivot and do this instead. 218 00:12:07,280 --> 00:12:08,199 Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, all. 219 00:12:08,200 --> 00:12:11,200 Speaker 2: Right, Well, Andrew continues more praise. So hey, I'm going 220 00:12:11,240 --> 00:12:14,480 Speaker 2: to read it. I'm gay, they say, I really enjoy 221 00:12:14,520 --> 00:12:19,200 Speaker 2: weird house cinema, even though you choose rubbish movies. Now, 222 00:12:19,320 --> 00:12:21,320 Speaker 2: now this I do take a little bit of issue with. 223 00:12:22,480 --> 00:12:24,760 Speaker 2: In all seriousness, I find something to love in all 224 00:12:24,800 --> 00:12:27,280 Speaker 2: of them. Not a rubbish film in the bunch, as 225 00:12:27,280 --> 00:12:30,199 Speaker 2: far as I'm concerned. But to each their own, your 226 00:12:30,240 --> 00:12:31,080 Speaker 2: mileage may vary. 227 00:12:31,480 --> 00:12:33,160 Speaker 3: Well, I think the way I would put it is, 228 00:12:33,400 --> 00:12:38,240 Speaker 3: there is such a thing as the quality of a film. 229 00:12:38,320 --> 00:12:42,280 Speaker 3: Most people generally know what we mean when we make 230 00:12:42,360 --> 00:12:44,880 Speaker 3: reference to that, though it's quite hard to define, actually, 231 00:12:44,920 --> 00:12:47,360 Speaker 3: I mean, it's generally kind of hard to define quality. 232 00:12:48,880 --> 00:12:53,040 Speaker 3: So that is a thing, and as it is normally understood, 233 00:12:53,240 --> 00:12:55,720 Speaker 3: a lot of the movies we cover are not high 234 00:12:55,880 --> 00:12:58,960 Speaker 3: in that thing, are not high in that quality. But 235 00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:02,600 Speaker 3: that doesn't mean they are without interest, and so I 236 00:13:02,640 --> 00:13:04,920 Speaker 3: think you know, a lot of movies we cover, they're 237 00:13:04,920 --> 00:13:07,240 Speaker 3: not going to get a lot of stars on your 238 00:13:07,280 --> 00:13:10,240 Speaker 3: classic on the on the IMDb scale, but they are 239 00:13:10,280 --> 00:13:14,240 Speaker 3: still fascinating artifacts, enjoyable to watch, interesting to talk about. 240 00:13:15,200 --> 00:13:17,160 Speaker 3: I mean, this has just been I guess part of 241 00:13:17,200 --> 00:13:19,720 Speaker 3: my personality, going back as long as I could remember, 242 00:13:19,800 --> 00:13:24,200 Speaker 3: is that I could find interesting things about things that 243 00:13:24,240 --> 00:13:27,120 Speaker 3: were not typically understood as good art. 244 00:13:27,440 --> 00:13:29,559 Speaker 2: Oh that's fair. That's fair. Though I think some of 245 00:13:29,640 --> 00:13:30,600 Speaker 2: them are pretty great art. 246 00:13:31,280 --> 00:13:32,160 Speaker 3: Of course, some of them are. 247 00:13:32,280 --> 00:13:35,080 Speaker 2: Yeah, all right, Well anyway, Andrew continues and says, this 248 00:13:35,160 --> 00:13:37,640 Speaker 2: may seem random, but I bring it up because the 249 00:13:37,640 --> 00:13:40,880 Speaker 2: first time I experienced it was listening to the episode 250 00:13:40,880 --> 00:13:44,840 Speaker 2: about Rods from God. Oh that was a long time ago. Yeah, 251 00:13:44,920 --> 00:13:47,960 Speaker 2: I've had the experience of a sound or other sensation 252 00:13:48,200 --> 00:13:52,199 Speaker 2: incorporating itself into a dream. For example, a telephone ringing 253 00:13:52,240 --> 00:13:54,600 Speaker 2: in reality will work its way into a dream, and 254 00:13:54,600 --> 00:13:58,000 Speaker 2: I'll experience a telephone ring in the dream. The first 255 00:13:58,080 --> 00:14:01,200 Speaker 2: time I listened to the Rods from God episode to 256 00:14:01,240 --> 00:14:04,200 Speaker 2: refresh everyone, This I believe had to do with we 257 00:14:04,200 --> 00:14:11,040 Speaker 2: were talking. This is a theoretical orbital bombardment technique about 258 00:14:11,080 --> 00:14:15,960 Speaker 2: taking very massive objects, essentially large rods, and dropping them 259 00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:19,800 Speaker 2: strategically from orbit, and they would you know, they would 260 00:14:20,400 --> 00:14:23,480 Speaker 2: enter the Earth's atmosphere and do you know, devastating harm 261 00:14:23,520 --> 00:14:26,160 Speaker 2: when they reach the surface. Not necessarily the sort of 262 00:14:26,160 --> 00:14:28,560 Speaker 2: episode i'd do today, but it was a different time. 263 00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:33,640 Speaker 2: Andrew continues and says, Yeah, the first time I listened 264 00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:35,680 Speaker 2: to the Rods from God episode I fell asleep with 265 00:14:35,720 --> 00:14:38,720 Speaker 2: the podcast on. I had a dream about the idea 266 00:14:39,240 --> 00:14:41,720 Speaker 2: where I was in a room and someone was explaining 267 00:14:41,760 --> 00:14:44,880 Speaker 2: the idea of rods from God to me. Oh and 268 00:14:44,920 --> 00:14:46,960 Speaker 2: one more thing. It's just called rods from God. It 269 00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:49,640 Speaker 2: has nothing to do with the divine being the one 270 00:14:49,640 --> 00:14:52,680 Speaker 2: sort or another. It's just they come from up from. 271 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:56,880 Speaker 3: Where that is, right, could have called him rods from Zod. 272 00:14:57,800 --> 00:15:01,120 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, that would work so any Andrew says, the 273 00:15:01,160 --> 00:15:03,720 Speaker 2: first time I listened to the Rods from God episode 274 00:15:03,720 --> 00:15:06,080 Speaker 2: I fell asleep with a podcast on. I had a 275 00:15:06,160 --> 00:15:08,280 Speaker 2: dream about the idea where I was in a room 276 00:15:08,320 --> 00:15:11,600 Speaker 2: and someone was explaining the idea of rods from God 277 00:15:11,680 --> 00:15:14,080 Speaker 2: to me. I was surprised that when I woke up 278 00:15:14,080 --> 00:15:16,880 Speaker 2: Stuff to Blow your mind was talking about this very concept. 279 00:15:17,280 --> 00:15:19,920 Speaker 2: When I put the podcast back about thirty seconds, I 280 00:15:19,960 --> 00:15:23,040 Speaker 2: was very surprised that I had incorporated full sentences from 281 00:15:23,080 --> 00:15:26,960 Speaker 2: the podcast into my dream with high accuracy. I'm not 282 00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:29,440 Speaker 2: surprised that something like this can happen with something like 283 00:15:29,480 --> 00:15:32,200 Speaker 2: a phone ringing, but I never would have thought it 284 00:15:32,280 --> 00:15:36,440 Speaker 2: possible for full sentences. I often fall asleep listening to podcasts, 285 00:15:36,440 --> 00:15:39,120 Speaker 2: and I've experienced this more than a few times. I 286 00:15:39,160 --> 00:15:43,000 Speaker 2: remember one time distinctly being somewhere and someone told me, 287 00:15:43,520 --> 00:15:47,240 Speaker 2: I know Joe McCormick, instead of just hearing I'm Joe McCormick. 288 00:15:47,840 --> 00:15:51,480 Speaker 3: Andrew. Yeah, Andrew. So this is actually an interesting subject. 289 00:15:51,560 --> 00:15:53,160 Speaker 3: I wonder if we could come back and do a 290 00:15:53,160 --> 00:15:56,320 Speaker 3: whole series on this. I'm sure it's a familiar experience 291 00:15:56,360 --> 00:15:59,560 Speaker 3: to many listeners. This is not the first time we 292 00:15:59,600 --> 00:16:02,360 Speaker 3: have had an email talk about this that like we 293 00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:05,360 Speaker 3: ended up in their dreams by being on the podcast 294 00:16:05,400 --> 00:16:08,480 Speaker 3: they were listening to as they fell asleep. But I 295 00:16:08,560 --> 00:16:10,640 Speaker 3: did briefly look up to see if there was any 296 00:16:10,720 --> 00:16:14,120 Speaker 3: research on this, and yeah, there actually is a good 297 00:16:14,160 --> 00:16:19,000 Speaker 3: bit of research that seems to from what I could tell, 298 00:16:19,320 --> 00:16:22,080 Speaker 3: it's kind of inconsistent in its results. But I was 299 00:16:22,120 --> 00:16:26,960 Speaker 3: looking at a literature review called Influencing Dreams through Sensory Stimulation, 300 00:16:27,600 --> 00:16:30,960 Speaker 3: a systematic review. This was published last year in twenty 301 00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:34,680 Speaker 3: twenty four in a journal called Sleep Medicine Reviews. This 302 00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:38,320 Speaker 3: was by Salviason at All, and I didn't have time 303 00:16:38,320 --> 00:16:40,240 Speaker 3: to get deep into this research here, but it was 304 00:16:40,280 --> 00:16:42,800 Speaker 3: trying to collect all the different studies that had been 305 00:16:42,840 --> 00:16:49,080 Speaker 3: done on whether sensory information from the physical environment actually 306 00:16:49,160 --> 00:16:53,600 Speaker 3: gets incorporated into dream content, and then in some cases 307 00:16:53,640 --> 00:16:57,520 Speaker 3: testing the fidelity of how it gets incorporated. Like you, 308 00:16:58,240 --> 00:17:04,000 Speaker 3: if you play verbal information in a room, will while 309 00:17:04,040 --> 00:17:07,960 Speaker 3: somebody is sleeping, will the person later say that they 310 00:17:08,040 --> 00:17:10,480 Speaker 3: experienced that verbal information in the dream, And then will 311 00:17:10,480 --> 00:17:14,320 Speaker 3: they actually have accurate recall of what information was transmitted? 312 00:17:14,680 --> 00:17:17,640 Speaker 3: And in some cases it seems yes. Other research has 313 00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:23,640 Speaker 3: had to do with nonverbal auditory stimuli and also other 314 00:17:23,720 --> 00:17:27,000 Speaker 3: sensory modalities as well. But in terms of auditory stimuli, 315 00:17:27,280 --> 00:17:31,600 Speaker 3: I know there's some research that began testing fire alarms 316 00:17:31,760 --> 00:17:33,680 Speaker 3: because it was trying to say, like, you know, will 317 00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:37,280 Speaker 3: fire alarms successfully wake people up from their sleep and 318 00:17:37,960 --> 00:17:39,640 Speaker 3: get them to, you know, get out of bed and 319 00:17:39,680 --> 00:17:43,439 Speaker 3: respond to an emergency. Some research in that Vein found 320 00:17:43,520 --> 00:17:47,600 Speaker 3: that people often reported having dreams about alarms when the 321 00:17:47,640 --> 00:17:49,960 Speaker 3: alarms were going off, and then they wake up or 322 00:17:49,960 --> 00:17:52,320 Speaker 3: they at least have the impression they had dreams about that. 323 00:17:53,320 --> 00:17:56,400 Speaker 3: Other things are like if you place sounds of traffic 324 00:17:56,520 --> 00:18:01,040 Speaker 3: at people while they are sleeping, they will often increased 325 00:18:01,600 --> 00:18:04,560 Speaker 3: reports of having dreams about like being in a street 326 00:18:04,600 --> 00:18:07,720 Speaker 3: with cars going by and things like that. So apparently 327 00:18:07,800 --> 00:18:10,960 Speaker 3: it's a it's a common phenomenon that somehow sensory information 328 00:18:11,040 --> 00:18:14,320 Speaker 3: from the physical environment gets incorporated into the dream state 329 00:18:14,440 --> 00:18:15,639 Speaker 3: this one way or another. 330 00:18:16,200 --> 00:18:19,560 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's interesting. I know in the past we've talked 331 00:18:19,600 --> 00:18:24,080 Speaker 2: to about certainly getting into different phases of sleep and dreaming, 332 00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:27,840 Speaker 2: you know, those sensitive areas where we're coming in or 333 00:18:27,880 --> 00:18:31,000 Speaker 2: out of sleep where reality and dream can kind of 334 00:18:31,040 --> 00:18:37,720 Speaker 2: be combined and in subtle and even disturbing ways. But yeah, 335 00:18:37,760 --> 00:18:40,240 Speaker 2: I guess I tend to kind of take this personally 336 00:18:40,280 --> 00:18:42,399 Speaker 2: for granted, says I don't listen to podcasts when I 337 00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:45,040 Speaker 2: go to sleep, or often I don't even listen to music. 338 00:18:45,080 --> 00:18:49,439 Speaker 2: I just have like, well, white noise on. And you know, 339 00:18:49,640 --> 00:18:52,160 Speaker 2: if you have to dream about white noise, well that's great, 340 00:18:52,240 --> 00:18:54,120 Speaker 2: but it's not necessarily going to be memorable. 341 00:18:54,480 --> 00:18:59,560 Speaker 3: I had a dream that the fan was blowing. Yeah, okay, Rob, 342 00:18:59,600 --> 00:19:02,400 Speaker 3: Now we've had a bunch of messages about Weird House cinema. 343 00:19:02,440 --> 00:19:03,920 Speaker 3: Do you want to go ahead and jump into those. 344 00:19:04,359 --> 00:19:07,040 Speaker 2: Yeah, let's go ahead and get into the Weird House mail. 345 00:19:07,359 --> 00:19:09,760 Speaker 3: All right, maybe I'll do this first one from Ian. 346 00:19:10,560 --> 00:19:12,520 Speaker 3: This is referring to something that came up in a 347 00:19:12,520 --> 00:19:16,160 Speaker 3: previous Listener mail about Weird House. The subject is Flight 348 00:19:16,200 --> 00:19:25,280 Speaker 3: of the Navigator. Dear Robin Joe, I'm currently listening to 349 00:19:25,400 --> 00:19:28,160 Speaker 3: the listener mail episode from early April and just wanted 350 00:19:28,160 --> 00:19:30,000 Speaker 3: to shoot a quick message to say I had the 351 00:19:30,160 --> 00:19:33,879 Speaker 3: exact same reaction as Rob to Flight of the Navigator, 352 00:19:34,240 --> 00:19:36,639 Speaker 3: which I watched at a friend's house as a child. 353 00:19:37,200 --> 00:19:39,840 Speaker 3: At the time, I didn't have the words to describe 354 00:19:39,920 --> 00:19:43,280 Speaker 3: the feeling, so I would have just said it's scared me, 355 00:19:43,520 --> 00:19:47,520 Speaker 3: despite not being scary in any traditional sense. Now, as 356 00:19:47,520 --> 00:19:51,119 Speaker 3: an adult, I can say it actually deeply unsettled me, and, 357 00:19:51,320 --> 00:19:54,840 Speaker 3: like Rob, I have avoided rewatching it ever since. Almost 358 00:19:54,880 --> 00:19:57,359 Speaker 3: all of my memories of the actual content of the 359 00:19:57,359 --> 00:19:59,840 Speaker 3: movie have faded. Over the thirty years or so since 360 00:19:59,840 --> 00:20:03,359 Speaker 3: I watched it, all that's left is a vague memory 361 00:20:03,359 --> 00:20:05,439 Speaker 3: of a scene where the spaceship has to stop so 362 00:20:05,520 --> 00:20:11,240 Speaker 3: the little boy can be But the unsettled feeling remains, 363 00:20:11,240 --> 00:20:13,960 Speaker 3: and I'm still and I still inwardly recoil at the 364 00:20:14,040 --> 00:20:16,879 Speaker 3: idea of watching it again. It's fascinating how things can 365 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:19,960 Speaker 3: leave such a lasting impression even when so little of 366 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:23,520 Speaker 3: the actual content of the experience sticks with us. Anyway, 367 00:20:23,640 --> 00:20:26,080 Speaker 3: just wanted to share that Rob is definitely not alone. 368 00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:30,439 Speaker 3: Thanks for the show, Ian, Well, thank you, Ian. This 369 00:20:30,640 --> 00:20:33,800 Speaker 3: is really interesting. I would say, Rob, if I'm remembering 370 00:20:33,840 --> 00:20:37,080 Speaker 3: what you said about it last time correctly, it was 371 00:20:37,160 --> 00:20:41,240 Speaker 3: that even though the movie is not intended to be 372 00:20:41,320 --> 00:20:43,760 Speaker 3: scary in anyway, it's presented as kind of a family 373 00:20:44,119 --> 00:20:48,600 Speaker 3: friendly children's adventure, there's just something that kind of like 374 00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:51,120 Speaker 3: makes your blood run cold about it. 375 00:20:51,760 --> 00:20:54,920 Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, it's been for ever since I watched it again. 376 00:20:55,000 --> 00:20:57,920 Speaker 2: For all the reasons we reference, but yeah, it has 377 00:20:57,960 --> 00:21:02,360 Speaker 2: some unsettling, kind of disturbed being concepts of like time 378 00:21:02,440 --> 00:21:06,399 Speaker 2: dilation and that, you know, our standard trope of science fiction. 379 00:21:06,880 --> 00:21:09,280 Speaker 2: But I think for many obviously this was our first 380 00:21:09,320 --> 00:21:13,240 Speaker 2: introduction to that concept, and it was, Yeah, it was 381 00:21:13,359 --> 00:21:14,320 Speaker 2: it was a little unnerving. 382 00:21:14,600 --> 00:21:18,919 Speaker 3: It actually makes me wonder what sorts of stories or 383 00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:23,920 Speaker 3: movies would have this quality that they might be more 384 00:21:25,320 --> 00:21:29,359 Speaker 3: frightening or unsettling to a child in ways that adults 385 00:21:29,440 --> 00:21:31,760 Speaker 3: might not pick up on. So all the adults who 386 00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:35,000 Speaker 3: are vetting this, they say, Okay, this looks family friendly, 387 00:21:35,080 --> 00:21:36,880 Speaker 3: you know, give it the okay stamp. This is good 388 00:21:36,880 --> 00:21:40,119 Speaker 3: for kids. But there's actually something in there that like 389 00:21:40,320 --> 00:21:43,280 Speaker 3: really messes with a lot of the kids who experience it. 390 00:21:43,320 --> 00:21:46,560 Speaker 3: It's sort of invisible or passes under the radar of adults, 391 00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:47,680 Speaker 3: you know what I mean. 392 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:50,560 Speaker 2: Yeah, Yeah, I mean, And I guess it's just hard 393 00:21:50,560 --> 00:21:53,520 Speaker 2: to really identify sometimes because we can all think of 394 00:21:53,680 --> 00:21:58,440 Speaker 2: cases where there's something identifiable in the movie that clearly 395 00:21:59,680 --> 00:22:02,040 Speaker 2: can stir a child, like I instantly think about a 396 00:22:02,040 --> 00:22:04,240 Speaker 2: lot of people have that experience with The Dark Crystal. 397 00:22:05,119 --> 00:22:07,640 Speaker 2: Dark Crystal was wonderful. I've always loved it, My child 398 00:22:07,680 --> 00:22:10,639 Speaker 2: has always loved it. But there is some dark content 399 00:22:10,680 --> 00:22:13,000 Speaker 2: in there, and it's in a dark and immersive world 400 00:22:13,040 --> 00:22:16,800 Speaker 2: that doesn't pull any punches with some of it. Another 401 00:22:16,840 --> 00:22:20,200 Speaker 2: example I've mentioned before on the show is Revenge of 402 00:22:20,240 --> 00:22:24,760 Speaker 2: the Sith, which I think for many people, many for 403 00:22:24,840 --> 00:22:28,560 Speaker 2: many people out there. For many kids, it was perhaps 404 00:22:28,600 --> 00:22:35,119 Speaker 2: their earliest encounter with a tragic story arc, with the 405 00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:40,040 Speaker 2: story of someone's downfall into darkness, and you know, even 406 00:22:40,080 --> 00:22:42,320 Speaker 2: knowing like what happens in the rest of the series 407 00:22:42,359 --> 00:22:45,240 Speaker 2: and how it ties in with the larger franchise like it's, 408 00:22:45,280 --> 00:22:47,119 Speaker 2: it can be a pretty dark ride, especially if you 409 00:22:47,119 --> 00:22:51,520 Speaker 2: have no experience with other tragedies. But to you to 410 00:22:51,560 --> 00:22:54,080 Speaker 2: your point, yeah, there there's that other case of something 411 00:22:54,280 --> 00:22:58,160 Speaker 2: that we wouldn't as adults, wouldn't wouldn't identify, and could 412 00:22:58,160 --> 00:23:02,000 Speaker 2: easily fly under our radar, either due to our exposure 413 00:23:02,119 --> 00:23:05,280 Speaker 2: to other pictures in a given genre, or just the 414 00:23:05,280 --> 00:23:07,320 Speaker 2: fact that we're no longer in the mindset of a 415 00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:11,120 Speaker 2: child and we're not as privy to the more pressing 416 00:23:11,320 --> 00:23:13,800 Speaker 2: fears and concerns of a child. 417 00:23:14,200 --> 00:23:16,399 Speaker 3: This really hits home for me right now actually because 418 00:23:16,960 --> 00:23:19,399 Speaker 3: currently my daughter is about two and a half years old, 419 00:23:19,520 --> 00:23:24,680 Speaker 3: and she there was recently a day where we were, 420 00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:27,280 Speaker 3: you know, getting her ready for bed, and she mentioned 421 00:23:27,280 --> 00:23:29,639 Speaker 3: to me something. She got kind of serious and she 422 00:23:29,760 --> 00:23:32,840 Speaker 3: told me she was worried about something, and I was like, oh, no, 423 00:23:32,960 --> 00:23:35,520 Speaker 3: what is it? And she kind of didn't want to say. 424 00:23:35,560 --> 00:23:38,520 Speaker 3: But then she said something in my crib and I 425 00:23:38,640 --> 00:23:42,199 Speaker 3: was like, oh, what's going on? And so we, you know, 426 00:23:42,280 --> 00:23:44,240 Speaker 3: figured out that there was something in her bed that 427 00:23:44,359 --> 00:23:46,200 Speaker 3: was bothering her. And it turns out it was this 428 00:23:46,240 --> 00:23:49,760 Speaker 3: one stuffed animal that she used to love, but now 429 00:23:49,800 --> 00:23:52,639 Speaker 3: it had become scary to her, and she was almost 430 00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:55,600 Speaker 3: scared to say anything about it. Like it's like she 431 00:23:56,040 --> 00:23:57,919 Speaker 3: there was some kind of power she was afraid of 432 00:23:57,960 --> 00:24:02,359 Speaker 3: invoking by talking about the little stuffed lion, the cute 433 00:24:02,359 --> 00:24:05,800 Speaker 3: stuffed lion that she previously liked. But we you know, 434 00:24:05,960 --> 00:24:07,560 Speaker 3: so we took it out of the bed, like okay, 435 00:24:07,560 --> 00:24:09,920 Speaker 3: it's not in there anymore. The problem was solved. Then 436 00:24:09,920 --> 00:24:13,160 Speaker 3: she was fine, But I wondered. I wanted to get 437 00:24:13,160 --> 00:24:16,520 Speaker 3: inside that emotion, like what had evolved inside her mind? 438 00:24:16,560 --> 00:24:19,399 Speaker 3: You know, how did the cute lion that she was 439 00:24:19,480 --> 00:24:22,480 Speaker 3: hugging just a few days before, how did it become scary? 440 00:24:22,920 --> 00:24:24,840 Speaker 3: Something happened? And we don't know. 441 00:24:25,680 --> 00:24:26,960 Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't know. 442 00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:29,679 Speaker 3: Being a parent, especially if a very young child, is 443 00:24:29,720 --> 00:24:32,800 Speaker 3: often like that, like you can't get the child to 444 00:24:32,840 --> 00:24:35,840 Speaker 3: put into words exactly what it is that caused a 445 00:24:35,920 --> 00:24:39,639 Speaker 3: kind of emotional evolution or why they're thinking what they're thinking. 446 00:24:39,960 --> 00:24:42,080 Speaker 3: You have these little moments like that, and it's just 447 00:24:42,800 --> 00:24:47,400 Speaker 3: I don't know, like you. It's like these little changes 448 00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:51,040 Speaker 3: and moments that are emotionally powerful to you because they're 449 00:24:51,040 --> 00:24:53,840 Speaker 3: emotionally powerful to your child and you're connected to your child, 450 00:24:53,840 --> 00:24:55,320 Speaker 3: but they're also inscrutable to you. 451 00:24:55,680 --> 00:24:58,200 Speaker 2: Yeah, but this is a great example. If listeners out 452 00:24:58,200 --> 00:25:01,399 Speaker 2: there have any any other accounts of this sort of 453 00:25:01,440 --> 00:25:03,840 Speaker 2: thing from their own life, for the lives of children 454 00:25:03,880 --> 00:25:06,080 Speaker 2: in their lives right in, we would love to hear 455 00:25:06,119 --> 00:25:08,359 Speaker 2: from you. All right, This next one comes to us 456 00:25:08,359 --> 00:25:17,360 Speaker 2: from Leif. Leif Wright sentence says, Hi, guys, love your 457 00:25:17,440 --> 00:25:20,000 Speaker 2: show and have been listening for years. I especially enjoy 458 00:25:20,040 --> 00:25:22,400 Speaker 2: the Weird House Cinema episodes. You know, I should mention 459 00:25:22,600 --> 00:25:25,679 Speaker 2: now that we're talking about this. We haven't announced this 460 00:25:26,400 --> 00:25:30,280 Speaker 2: everywhere yet, but Weird House Cinema can now be found 461 00:25:30,320 --> 00:25:33,280 Speaker 2: as its own playlist wherever you get your podcasts. So 462 00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:37,200 Speaker 2: if you want to subscribe to Just Weird House Cinema 463 00:25:37,280 --> 00:25:39,679 Speaker 2: and rate Just Weird House Cinema, you can do that 464 00:25:39,760 --> 00:25:42,720 Speaker 2: wherever you get your podcasts. We're checking it out see 465 00:25:42,720 --> 00:25:43,280 Speaker 2: how it works. 466 00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:46,480 Speaker 3: Of course, assuming you still like our Core episodes. We 467 00:25:46,520 --> 00:25:48,600 Speaker 3: would love for you to subscribe to the whole feed 468 00:25:48,640 --> 00:25:51,000 Speaker 3: and listen to everything. But if you want to just 469 00:25:51,080 --> 00:25:53,560 Speaker 3: get yes, But if you want to just get Weird House, 470 00:25:53,760 --> 00:25:55,360 Speaker 3: go for it, all right. 471 00:25:55,400 --> 00:25:57,760 Speaker 2: So Leif says, Yeah, I love your show and have 472 00:25:57,800 --> 00:26:00,080 Speaker 2: been listening for years, especially enjoy the Weird House Cinema episodes. 473 00:26:00,119 --> 00:26:02,320 Speaker 2: But I want to posit something to you. I have 474 00:26:02,400 --> 00:26:07,080 Speaker 2: never heard you do an Australian osploitation movie, and indeed 475 00:26:07,119 --> 00:26:10,080 Speaker 2: I believe this is true. The closest we've come was 476 00:26:10,160 --> 00:26:13,359 Speaker 2: nineteen eighty two's Next of Ken, which I think qualifies 477 00:26:13,400 --> 00:26:16,440 Speaker 2: more as Australian new wave rather than osploitation. 478 00:26:16,760 --> 00:26:19,280 Speaker 3: I don't know what counts as osploitation. Have I seen one? 479 00:26:19,359 --> 00:26:20,800 Speaker 3: Is Mad Max osploitation? 480 00:26:21,280 --> 00:26:23,840 Speaker 2: I yeah, yeah, it's sometimes discussed as such. I mean 481 00:26:24,200 --> 00:26:26,239 Speaker 2: all these terms are kind of gray, right, I mean, 482 00:26:26,280 --> 00:26:29,399 Speaker 2: you can make a case for something being within or 483 00:26:30,359 --> 00:26:36,560 Speaker 2: outside of a particular subgenre. But you know, my loose 484 00:26:36,600 --> 00:26:39,320 Speaker 2: way of interpreting it is always, does it make Australia 485 00:26:39,359 --> 00:26:45,399 Speaker 2: seem scary? Does it seem to be you know, promoting 486 00:26:46,280 --> 00:26:51,520 Speaker 2: and or you know, exploiting some idea of like Australia's 487 00:26:51,560 --> 00:26:53,919 Speaker 2: and out of control wilderness sort of a thing, you know. 488 00:26:55,080 --> 00:26:57,000 Speaker 2: So anyway, a Live says, I'd love for you guys 489 00:26:57,040 --> 00:26:59,000 Speaker 2: to take a look and hear your take on some 490 00:26:59,040 --> 00:27:01,520 Speaker 2: of these gems from the seventies and eighties. Really the 491 00:27:01,560 --> 00:27:04,840 Speaker 2: golden era of these types of films. Like Canada during 492 00:27:04,880 --> 00:27:06,720 Speaker 2: the late seventies and eighties, there was a lot of 493 00:27:06,760 --> 00:27:10,040 Speaker 2: government grants and tax breaks to make movies here in Australia, 494 00:27:10,119 --> 00:27:11,879 Speaker 2: and so the upshot was a lot of weird and 495 00:27:11,920 --> 00:27:15,280 Speaker 2: wonderful B grade movies without their concepts that would never 496 00:27:15,320 --> 00:27:18,760 Speaker 2: have been made by mainstream film companies in Australia. You 497 00:27:18,840 --> 00:27:20,600 Speaker 2: kind of had to make period films or something set 498 00:27:20,600 --> 00:27:23,880 Speaker 2: in the outback to get made, to get funding were made. 499 00:27:24,040 --> 00:27:26,080 Speaker 2: Sorry that the sentence had a big aside in the middle, 500 00:27:26,119 --> 00:27:28,679 Speaker 2: but you get the idea. Lee says, I give you 501 00:27:28,720 --> 00:27:31,960 Speaker 2: a potential list of weird and wonderful OSSI films that 502 00:27:32,040 --> 00:27:35,200 Speaker 2: are literally a treasure trove of bizarreness to delve into 503 00:27:35,680 --> 00:27:39,280 Speaker 2: a rich sem of weirdness, or to mine if you like. 504 00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:43,320 Speaker 2: One of the filmmakers who is considered at the forefront 505 00:27:43,400 --> 00:27:46,560 Speaker 2: of this era of Australian cinema is the director Brian 506 00:27:46,880 --> 00:27:51,639 Speaker 2: Trenchard Smith, a favorite of one Quentin Tarantino. His films 507 00:27:51,640 --> 00:27:55,520 Speaker 2: to look out for are Turkey Shoot, highly recommended. It 508 00:27:55,520 --> 00:27:59,480 Speaker 2: gets strange. Think Deadliest Game on drug lace steroids, Okay, 509 00:28:00,280 --> 00:28:04,000 Speaker 2: death Cheaters, stunts, stunts and more, stunts, cheating on death, 510 00:28:06,119 --> 00:28:08,960 Speaker 2: dead in drive In? What if a drive in was 511 00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:11,760 Speaker 2: turned into a concentration camp for all the freaks and 512 00:28:11,800 --> 00:28:16,480 Speaker 2: weird of society? My ex girlfriend was in this one. Oh, 513 00:28:16,920 --> 00:28:18,679 Speaker 2: I've not seen this one, but I am familiar with 514 00:28:18,720 --> 00:28:19,680 Speaker 2: this one by reputation. 515 00:28:20,040 --> 00:28:23,240 Speaker 3: Okay, wait, so does the drive In here play movie? Still? 516 00:28:24,040 --> 00:28:24,520 Speaker 2: I think so? 517 00:28:24,840 --> 00:28:26,040 Speaker 3: Yeah? Okay. 518 00:28:26,240 --> 00:28:29,320 Speaker 2: The Man from Hong Kong an early classic insane martial 519 00:28:29,440 --> 00:28:33,359 Speaker 2: arts film Stunt Rock so weird? Is this movie about 520 00:28:33,400 --> 00:28:36,399 Speaker 2: death defying stunts or a rock band? I'm still not sure? 521 00:28:37,480 --> 00:28:39,920 Speaker 3: Oh no, wait a minute. This next one I have 522 00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:41,960 Speaker 3: talked about on the show multiple times. So I have 523 00:28:42,080 --> 00:28:43,760 Speaker 3: seen an osploitation. 524 00:28:43,240 --> 00:28:48,400 Speaker 2: Movie, Yes, Razorback Russell McKay Hilander and eighties music video 525 00:28:48,440 --> 00:28:52,320 Speaker 2: director Think Duran Duran. Yes, multiple Duran Duran videos, including 526 00:28:52,360 --> 00:28:57,120 Speaker 2: the excellent Wild Boys, which I'll both talked about before. Yeah, 527 00:28:57,520 --> 00:29:01,880 Speaker 2: great track, amazing video Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse of the Heart, 528 00:29:01,920 --> 00:29:06,080 Speaker 2: which again is amazing, amazing, a great track, amazing video. 529 00:29:07,520 --> 00:29:10,000 Speaker 2: But anyway, it points out that this was Russell's first 530 00:29:10,040 --> 00:29:12,840 Speaker 2: attempt at a feature film. Hungry Like the Wolf meets 531 00:29:12,840 --> 00:29:15,520 Speaker 2: a giant wild pig that terrorizes farm people in the 532 00:29:15,520 --> 00:29:16,479 Speaker 2: Australian Outback. 533 00:29:16,760 --> 00:29:19,320 Speaker 3: Yes, this has come up several times on the show. 534 00:29:19,320 --> 00:29:21,680 Speaker 3: I think we talked about it, certainly in our episodes 535 00:29:21,720 --> 00:29:26,240 Speaker 3: on Highland Er to the Quickening because same director or wait, no, dude, 536 00:29:26,280 --> 00:29:28,360 Speaker 3: yeah direct, Oh he did make the second he made 537 00:29:28,400 --> 00:29:30,880 Speaker 3: at least the first time he made him both. Yes, okay, yes, 538 00:29:31,560 --> 00:29:37,160 Speaker 3: but yeah. I described it as like Australian Texas Chainsaw 539 00:29:37,280 --> 00:29:40,000 Speaker 3: Massacre as the setting. It's like, you know, use the 540 00:29:40,040 --> 00:29:45,959 Speaker 3: outback instead of Texas there, so it's like a gross, grimy, gory, 541 00:29:46,600 --> 00:29:50,360 Speaker 3: redneck slaughter house sort of thing. But then it's also 542 00:29:50,400 --> 00:29:53,200 Speaker 3: at the same time as that Jaws, but with a 543 00:29:53,240 --> 00:29:54,480 Speaker 3: pig instead of a shark. 544 00:29:56,160 --> 00:29:59,240 Speaker 2: It sounds like a winner. I'm game. But there's more 545 00:29:59,320 --> 00:30:02,840 Speaker 2: on this list. Stone Aussie biker's on well if not 546 00:30:02,960 --> 00:30:06,840 Speaker 2: acid something or other. Hugh keys Burn in the role 547 00:30:06,920 --> 00:30:09,400 Speaker 2: that was the precursor to his role as toe Cutter 548 00:30:09,480 --> 00:30:11,680 Speaker 2: in the original Mad Max or road Warrior. 549 00:30:11,880 --> 00:30:13,800 Speaker 3: Wait a minute, or road Warrior. I feel like I'm 550 00:30:13,800 --> 00:30:16,400 Speaker 3: getting confused here, or was the title mixed up in 551 00:30:16,480 --> 00:30:18,600 Speaker 3: other versions because I thought toe Cutter was only in 552 00:30:18,640 --> 00:30:22,240 Speaker 3: the original Mad Max. And then also, of course the 553 00:30:22,400 --> 00:30:24,320 Speaker 3: Hugh keys Burn came back in Furry Road. 554 00:30:24,200 --> 00:30:26,680 Speaker 2: To play yeah, place the main antagonist in Furry Road. 555 00:30:27,040 --> 00:30:28,560 Speaker 2: You know, I don't remember. It's been so long since 556 00:30:28,560 --> 00:30:31,719 Speaker 2: I've seen any of the Mel Gibson Road Warrior films. 557 00:30:31,840 --> 00:30:35,200 Speaker 2: I've only seen the two new ones in recent memory. 558 00:30:35,560 --> 00:30:38,120 Speaker 3: Oh man, Well, you know, it's been a while since 559 00:30:38,120 --> 00:30:40,000 Speaker 3: I've seen the older ones. But I think of Mad 560 00:30:40,080 --> 00:30:42,440 Speaker 3: Max as ones where like the originals were great and 561 00:30:42,480 --> 00:30:44,760 Speaker 3: had their own gritty integrity, and the new ones are 562 00:30:44,800 --> 00:30:45,600 Speaker 3: amazing as well. 563 00:30:46,120 --> 00:30:48,960 Speaker 2: Yeah, the second one especially was a big favorite of 564 00:30:48,960 --> 00:30:51,760 Speaker 2: mine back when I was like in junior high. I think, 565 00:30:52,080 --> 00:30:55,960 Speaker 2: so I need to revisit that one at some point. Anyway, 566 00:30:56,640 --> 00:30:59,320 Speaker 2: they continue. There are a stack more, but these are 567 00:30:59,360 --> 00:31:01,920 Speaker 2: a good starting If you want to delve deeper into 568 00:31:01,960 --> 00:31:05,240 Speaker 2: the osploitation films of the seventies and eighties, you can't 569 00:31:05,280 --> 00:31:08,640 Speaker 2: go past this documentary that features Quentin Tarantino. He has 570 00:31:08,680 --> 00:31:11,360 Speaker 2: an abiding love of the Aussie films of this era, 571 00:31:11,680 --> 00:31:15,920 Speaker 2: not quite Hollywood, the wild, untold story of osploitation. I 572 00:31:15,920 --> 00:31:17,720 Speaker 2: hope you take a look at one or more of 573 00:31:17,720 --> 00:31:20,520 Speaker 2: these completely insane flicks for your show. All the best 574 00:31:20,520 --> 00:31:21,440 Speaker 2: and enjoy Leif. 575 00:31:21,600 --> 00:31:22,600 Speaker 3: Thank you so much, Leif. 576 00:31:22,680 --> 00:31:24,800 Speaker 2: Yeah, that documentary came out in two thousand and eight. 577 00:31:24,840 --> 00:31:34,760 Speaker 3: By the way, all right now, I think we should 578 00:31:35,440 --> 00:31:39,600 Speaker 3: shift into covering some responses to our couple of episodes 579 00:31:39,640 --> 00:31:43,760 Speaker 3: on The wicker Man. These messages and our responses to 580 00:31:43,800 --> 00:31:45,800 Speaker 3: them will have spoilers for the movie. So if you 581 00:31:45,840 --> 00:31:47,240 Speaker 3: haven't seen The wicker Man and you want to go 582 00:31:47,320 --> 00:31:50,440 Speaker 3: into it unspoiled, which I would recommend, this is the 583 00:31:50,440 --> 00:31:53,640 Speaker 3: place to go watch it now, or at least consider 584 00:31:53,680 --> 00:31:57,200 Speaker 3: yourself warn This first message comes from Joe, not from me, 585 00:31:57,320 --> 00:32:02,840 Speaker 3: from a different Joe. Subject line pluggs and cynics. Hello, gentlemen. 586 00:32:03,080 --> 00:32:06,000 Speaker 3: I have a confession. I almost never watch your weird 587 00:32:06,040 --> 00:32:08,760 Speaker 3: house movies. For some reason, I quite enjoy listening to 588 00:32:08,800 --> 00:32:12,040 Speaker 3: you talk about movies I haven't seen. My wife says 589 00:32:12,040 --> 00:32:14,600 Speaker 3: it's odd, and perhaps it is, but being odd rarely 590 00:32:14,640 --> 00:32:18,680 Speaker 3: stops me. However, taking note of your peculiar intensity. I 591 00:32:18,720 --> 00:32:21,480 Speaker 3: went ahead and saw the Wickerman between the first and 592 00:32:21,560 --> 00:32:25,280 Speaker 3: second parts, and it did not disappoint. I've been mulling 593 00:32:25,360 --> 00:32:28,880 Speaker 3: over it all week, particularly the many, many times the 594 00:32:28,920 --> 00:32:33,520 Speaker 3: Islanders gave the detective the opportunity to pull himself off 595 00:32:33,560 --> 00:32:37,280 Speaker 3: the path to the Wickerman, from the first moment, where 596 00:32:37,280 --> 00:32:40,440 Speaker 3: he could have subjected himself to Lord Summerle, but instead 597 00:32:40,840 --> 00:32:43,560 Speaker 3: insisted he came with the power of the crown to 598 00:32:43,640 --> 00:32:45,880 Speaker 3: the night. He could have given in to Willow's temptation 599 00:32:46,320 --> 00:32:49,080 Speaker 3: and no longer been the virgin they needed, but instead 600 00:32:49,160 --> 00:32:52,520 Speaker 3: chose his vows to choosing to wear the fool's raiment 601 00:32:52,840 --> 00:32:56,880 Speaker 3: at each turn, faced with the opportunity to choose uncivilization, 602 00:32:57,400 --> 00:33:02,040 Speaker 3: animal instinct, and base tribalism. I didn't watch the final cut, 603 00:33:02,080 --> 00:33:05,680 Speaker 3: but your description of the scene with the slugs captured 604 00:33:05,720 --> 00:33:08,520 Speaker 3: the essence of that. A core impulse of the film 605 00:33:08,680 --> 00:33:12,000 Speaker 3: was this sense that civilization is a high wire act 606 00:33:12,080 --> 00:33:15,080 Speaker 3: without a net, that the gravity of our animal state 607 00:33:15,160 --> 00:33:17,960 Speaker 3: is hungry to reclaim us, and that there is something 608 00:33:18,080 --> 00:33:22,000 Speaker 3: good and natural and above all tempting about just letting 609 00:33:22,040 --> 00:33:25,920 Speaker 3: yourself fall. It reminded me of your recent discussion of 610 00:33:26,200 --> 00:33:30,040 Speaker 3: Cynic philosophy. There's a through line there the nobility of 611 00:33:30,080 --> 00:33:33,720 Speaker 3: giving into your base animal self. Thanks as always for 612 00:33:33,840 --> 00:33:35,600 Speaker 3: the thoughtful discussion, Joe. 613 00:33:36,720 --> 00:33:39,200 Speaker 2: That's a good point. I mean really, in the later 614 00:33:39,360 --> 00:33:43,760 Speaker 2: portions of the film, like the townspeople embody animals, they 615 00:33:43,760 --> 00:33:48,200 Speaker 2: become animals, they transform into animals to elimined but powerful 616 00:33:48,240 --> 00:33:51,840 Speaker 2: extent in a way that people have throughout human history 617 00:33:52,200 --> 00:33:56,680 Speaker 2: via costumes. So it's yeah, I think there's some interesting 618 00:33:57,360 --> 00:33:59,880 Speaker 2: comparisons to be made to Cynic for the philosophy here. 619 00:34:00,400 --> 00:34:03,000 Speaker 3: Absolutely, And Joe, I think your description of the movies 620 00:34:03,080 --> 00:34:09,719 Speaker 3: ethos that that civilization and Christianity are, Yeah, there's a 621 00:34:09,760 --> 00:34:13,600 Speaker 3: precariousness to them. There's something about how they're you know, 622 00:34:13,640 --> 00:34:17,239 Speaker 3: they take great effort to maintain, and there's always sort 623 00:34:17,239 --> 00:34:21,640 Speaker 3: of like a wobbling, wobbling wire underneath them where any 624 00:34:21,680 --> 00:34:24,000 Speaker 3: moment they could they could just kind of plummet back 625 00:34:24,040 --> 00:34:26,960 Speaker 3: into something else, something deeper, something older. 626 00:34:29,080 --> 00:34:31,600 Speaker 2: All right, here's another wicker Man message system comes to 627 00:34:31,640 --> 00:34:39,000 Speaker 2: us from Lawrence. Hey, guys, just a few remarks on 628 00:34:39,480 --> 00:34:41,600 Speaker 2: or sort of related to part one of your discussion 629 00:34:41,600 --> 00:34:44,279 Speaker 2: on the wicker Man. I apologoz in advance for the 630 00:34:44,320 --> 00:34:48,400 Speaker 2: meandering and irrelelent quality of these remarks, but it's a sorry, 631 00:34:48,400 --> 00:34:51,239 Speaker 2: not sorry sort of apology. We're talking about weird house here. 632 00:34:51,680 --> 00:34:54,560 Speaker 2: True enough, I've seen a film twice, both times on 633 00:34:54,640 --> 00:34:57,280 Speaker 2: broadcast television. I think both times were in the eighties, 634 00:34:57,719 --> 00:34:59,960 Speaker 2: but the first might have been in the late seventies. 635 00:35:00,080 --> 00:35:02,520 Speaker 2: Pretty sure. Both were late shows, so I would have 636 00:35:02,560 --> 00:35:05,480 Speaker 2: been tired and watching mostly out of insomnia. Because it 637 00:35:05,480 --> 00:35:08,120 Speaker 2: was broadcast TV. There was, of course no nudity, but 638 00:35:08,320 --> 00:35:11,160 Speaker 2: as best I recalled, the girl was plenty sexy without it. 639 00:35:11,840 --> 00:35:14,800 Speaker 2: I was less impressed than you with the documentary style 640 00:35:14,880 --> 00:35:18,439 Speaker 2: camera work. I would have preferred something more cinematic than Again, 641 00:35:18,480 --> 00:35:21,200 Speaker 2: I was young, and I wasn't put off by Howie's 642 00:35:21,200 --> 00:35:23,480 Speaker 2: abrasive nature so much as you were. I figured he's 643 00:35:23,520 --> 00:35:25,920 Speaker 2: a cop and these people were hiding something, and I 644 00:35:26,000 --> 00:35:28,319 Speaker 2: missed a lot a lot of the same clues that 645 00:35:28,360 --> 00:35:31,040 Speaker 2: he did. I only caught them on my second viewing, 646 00:35:31,120 --> 00:35:33,920 Speaker 2: when I already knew the film's ending. I was struck 647 00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:37,040 Speaker 2: when you mentioned Charlton Heston in The Crucifer of Blood. 648 00:35:37,560 --> 00:35:40,320 Speaker 2: I was not aware that this had been adapted to film, 649 00:35:40,440 --> 00:35:43,280 Speaker 2: but I saw the world premiere production of the play 650 00:35:43,320 --> 00:35:46,840 Speaker 2: with my father back in the seventies in Buffalo before 651 00:35:46,880 --> 00:35:50,400 Speaker 2: the production went to Broadway. I remember that when the 652 00:35:50,440 --> 00:35:54,240 Speaker 2: Studio Arena Theater first announced the season, the working title 653 00:35:54,440 --> 00:35:57,760 Speaker 2: was The Blood Triangle. By the time the play opened, 654 00:35:57,880 --> 00:36:00,800 Speaker 2: they had changed it to The Crucifer of Blood Sherlock 655 00:36:00,960 --> 00:36:04,320 Speaker 2: was played by Paxton Whitehead in that production, and Glenn 656 00:36:04,400 --> 00:36:07,799 Speaker 2: Close played the character based on Mary Morston in The 657 00:36:07,880 --> 00:36:10,800 Speaker 2: Sign of Four, from which the play was freely adapted. 658 00:36:11,080 --> 00:36:14,120 Speaker 2: They changed her name in the play. No idea who 659 00:36:14,120 --> 00:36:17,920 Speaker 2: played Watson. I was impressed with Whitehead's performance, but when 660 00:36:17,960 --> 00:36:21,480 Speaker 2: I told my dad this, he muttered, He's no Basil Rathbone, 661 00:36:21,800 --> 00:36:24,319 Speaker 2: just as Jeremy Brett will always be Sherlock for you. 662 00:36:24,520 --> 00:36:27,880 Speaker 2: For him, it would always be Rathbone. He did, however, 663 00:36:28,040 --> 00:36:30,480 Speaker 2: like Brett in the role of Holmes on television, but 664 00:36:30,560 --> 00:36:33,040 Speaker 2: that was some time after we saw the play. I 665 00:36:33,080 --> 00:36:35,280 Speaker 2: think I was still living at home when we saw 666 00:36:35,320 --> 00:36:39,000 Speaker 2: the first season of Brett's Sherlock Holmes broadcast on the 667 00:36:39,040 --> 00:36:42,080 Speaker 2: CBC out of Toronto. You could view Toronto stations in 668 00:36:42,120 --> 00:36:46,120 Speaker 2: Buffalo with somewhat fuzzy reception. Later we would occasionally get 669 00:36:46,160 --> 00:36:49,600 Speaker 2: together to watch subsequent seasons on PPS. Your mention of 670 00:36:49,680 --> 00:36:52,680 Speaker 2: Heston as Holmes gave me what I think may be 671 00:36:52,800 --> 00:36:55,280 Speaker 2: the answer to a question you post. Is there another 672 00:36:55,320 --> 00:37:01,960 Speaker 2: example of a non comical detective who is sympathetic, unsympathetic, intelligent, obtuse, abrasive, 673 00:37:02,000 --> 00:37:04,680 Speaker 2: but likable, and who keeps missing clues and doesn't find 674 00:37:04,680 --> 00:37:07,640 Speaker 2: the solution until it is tragically thrust down his throat. 675 00:37:07,960 --> 00:37:11,399 Speaker 2: It's Heston as George Taylor in the nineteen sixty eight 676 00:37:11,440 --> 00:37:13,600 Speaker 2: film adaptation of Planet of the Apes. 677 00:37:13,960 --> 00:37:18,000 Speaker 3: Wow. I would not have made that connection, but Lawrence, 678 00:37:18,080 --> 00:37:20,480 Speaker 3: this is good. I feel like there are some strong 679 00:37:20,640 --> 00:37:23,360 Speaker 3: similarities between the Wickerman and Planet of the Apes. 680 00:37:23,480 --> 00:37:26,719 Speaker 2: Ooh goodness, Yes, yes there is. I mean right down 681 00:37:26,719 --> 00:37:29,920 Speaker 2: to some of the ooh I kind of want to 682 00:37:29,920 --> 00:37:32,840 Speaker 2: compare the final sequences in both films. 683 00:37:32,920 --> 00:37:35,560 Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean a lot of differences too, though, because 684 00:37:35,600 --> 00:37:38,480 Speaker 3: like the locals in Planet of the Apes are the 685 00:37:38,560 --> 00:37:40,880 Speaker 3: apes on Planet of the Apes do not embody a 686 00:37:40,960 --> 00:37:44,160 Speaker 3: kind of retreat into paganism, and they are representing more 687 00:37:44,200 --> 00:37:48,800 Speaker 3: the witch hunting civilizational authority. But in the main character 688 00:37:49,000 --> 00:37:53,239 Speaker 3: as the isolated investigator who's not himself all that you know, 689 00:37:54,239 --> 00:37:57,359 Speaker 3: powerful as an investigator in the structure of a lot 690 00:37:57,400 --> 00:38:00,520 Speaker 3: of the revelations, there are some major similarities that are 691 00:38:01,000 --> 00:38:03,120 Speaker 3: quite interesting. I like this observation. 692 00:38:03,880 --> 00:38:07,080 Speaker 2: All right, Lawrence continues and says, Okay, Taylor is an astronaut, 693 00:38:07,160 --> 00:38:09,520 Speaker 2: not a detective. But he's an astronaut solving a mystery, 694 00:38:09,719 --> 00:38:12,239 Speaker 2: which makes him a kind of detective, and I think 695 00:38:12,239 --> 00:38:14,200 Speaker 2: he fits the bill. There may be other candidates for 696 00:38:14,239 --> 00:38:16,320 Speaker 2: this category, but none come to mind at this moment. 697 00:38:16,680 --> 00:38:18,200 Speaker 2: That's all I have for now. I look forward to 698 00:38:18,239 --> 00:38:21,400 Speaker 2: hearing part two of your conversation. Thanks guys, Lawrence. 699 00:38:21,719 --> 00:38:23,480 Speaker 3: I'm gonna have to keep thinking about this Planet of 700 00:38:23,480 --> 00:38:28,080 Speaker 3: the Apes Wickerman comparison, especially in that both films involve 701 00:38:28,200 --> 00:38:32,000 Speaker 3: a twist, like a horrifying twist ending with the revelation 702 00:38:32,120 --> 00:38:35,720 Speaker 3: of a giant Let's just say not to spoil anything 703 00:38:35,719 --> 00:38:37,479 Speaker 3: about the Planet of the Apes if you actually haven't 704 00:38:37,480 --> 00:38:39,320 Speaker 3: seen it and don't know the ending from The Simpsons 705 00:38:39,400 --> 00:38:43,320 Speaker 3: or something. A giant anthropoid kind of structure. 706 00:38:44,200 --> 00:38:48,160 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, this one is often spoiled by popular culture. 707 00:38:48,200 --> 00:38:50,239 Speaker 2: I think somehow or another, I managed to see it 708 00:38:50,239 --> 00:38:52,720 Speaker 2: as a kid without knowing the twist, which was pretty 709 00:38:52,719 --> 00:38:53,680 Speaker 2: magical me too. 710 00:38:53,760 --> 00:38:56,240 Speaker 3: Yeah, I saw it actually at the beach. A relative 711 00:38:56,280 --> 00:38:59,240 Speaker 3: of mine rented it from Blockbuster when we were staying 712 00:38:59,239 --> 00:39:03,399 Speaker 3: at the beach time. Yeah, and I don't know why, 713 00:39:03,520 --> 00:39:06,560 Speaker 3: but I thought it was good anyway. This next message 714 00:39:06,600 --> 00:39:15,200 Speaker 3: is from Matt. Matt says, my name is Matt. Longtime listener, 715 00:39:15,239 --> 00:39:18,120 Speaker 3: first time writing. And of course this is also about 716 00:39:18,120 --> 00:39:21,279 Speaker 3: the Wickerman, the scene where Willow and her father were 717 00:39:21,360 --> 00:39:24,280 Speaker 3: using the hand of Glory. You said it didn't work. 718 00:39:24,719 --> 00:39:27,719 Speaker 3: My impression was that they were saying, gee, I hope 719 00:39:27,760 --> 00:39:31,160 Speaker 3: he's not lying awake in there listening to us. Conspired 720 00:39:31,200 --> 00:39:34,320 Speaker 3: to make him sleep with this macabre artifact. Wink wink. 721 00:39:34,600 --> 00:39:36,799 Speaker 3: I sure hope he doesn't leave the pub and try 722 00:39:36,840 --> 00:39:39,280 Speaker 3: to interfere with the Mayday festival. Wink wink. 723 00:39:40,360 --> 00:39:41,799 Speaker 2: That's a good point. That was a good point. 724 00:39:43,000 --> 00:39:44,960 Speaker 3: It seemed like it was part of the ruse to 725 00:39:44,960 --> 00:39:48,080 Speaker 3: provoke Howie to do that very thing, although I'm not 726 00:39:48,120 --> 00:39:50,359 Speaker 3: sure the innkeeper planned on getting hit in the head 727 00:39:50,360 --> 00:39:54,200 Speaker 3: and tied up on a lighter yet still dark note. 728 00:39:54,280 --> 00:39:57,360 Speaker 3: I found myself wanting to compare Sergeant Howie to Simon 729 00:39:57,400 --> 00:40:02,120 Speaker 3: Pegg's Sergeant Angel from the film Hot Fuzz. Sergeant Angel 730 00:40:02,239 --> 00:40:05,000 Speaker 3: is a London police officer who is reassigned to a 731 00:40:05,040 --> 00:40:08,600 Speaker 3: small rural village because he's such an overachiever he makes 732 00:40:08,640 --> 00:40:12,000 Speaker 3: everyone else look bad. Is it possible that Sergeant Howie's 733 00:40:12,080 --> 00:40:15,479 Speaker 3: colleagues and superiors, and possibly his fiance, whom I don't 734 00:40:15,480 --> 00:40:18,720 Speaker 3: remember seeing in the version I watched, dislike Sergeant Howie 735 00:40:18,840 --> 00:40:20,759 Speaker 3: so much that they set him up to be sent 736 00:40:20,840 --> 00:40:23,759 Speaker 3: off to be sacrificed by an island full of pagans. 737 00:40:23,800 --> 00:40:26,480 Speaker 3: What a horrible thought. Love the show best wishes. 738 00:40:27,280 --> 00:40:28,880 Speaker 2: Well, that's a good point. You know, I haven't seen 739 00:40:28,920 --> 00:40:30,840 Speaker 2: Hot Fuzz in a number of years that Edward Woodward 740 00:40:31,080 --> 00:40:35,120 Speaker 2: was of course in Hot Fuzz, so this comparison, potential 741 00:40:35,160 --> 00:40:37,080 Speaker 2: comparison might have very much been on their mind. 742 00:40:37,440 --> 00:40:40,520 Speaker 3: Yeah, a big city police officer goes to a rural 743 00:40:40,600 --> 00:40:44,879 Speaker 3: village and encounter as a conspiracy there. There's a similarity, 744 00:40:44,920 --> 00:40:47,080 Speaker 3: though the nature of the conspiracy and Hot Fuzz is 745 00:40:47,160 --> 00:40:51,799 Speaker 3: quite different. But yeah, yeah, I recall It's been a while, 746 00:40:51,800 --> 00:40:53,560 Speaker 3: but I recall quite liking Hot Fuzz. 747 00:40:53,680 --> 00:40:57,239 Speaker 2: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, I remember enjoying it. Oh Man, 748 00:40:57,600 --> 00:40:59,160 Speaker 2: every time I think about the Wickerman that I keep 749 00:40:59,200 --> 00:41:02,440 Speaker 2: coming back to this idea that entered my mind that 750 00:41:03,280 --> 00:41:05,239 Speaker 2: what if Howie, what if they couldn't send Howe, what 751 00:41:05,280 --> 00:41:07,560 Speaker 2: if they had to send another detective? And it was, 752 00:41:07,560 --> 00:41:11,000 Speaker 2: in fact a detective played by Oliver Reed, who you 753 00:41:11,040 --> 00:41:14,160 Speaker 2: know has been like divorced three times and like immediately 754 00:41:15,040 --> 00:41:18,960 Speaker 2: gets drunk in the pub, immediately sleeps with Willow and 755 00:41:19,000 --> 00:41:20,799 Speaker 2: then like gives them nothing to get. Like, we can't 756 00:41:20,840 --> 00:41:23,000 Speaker 2: sacrifice this guy. We can't put him in the wicker Man. 757 00:41:23,000 --> 00:41:24,880 Speaker 2: What are we gonna do? They try to make him 758 00:41:24,960 --> 00:41:27,680 Speaker 2: leave the island, and he's just like in bed smoking. 759 00:41:27,480 --> 00:41:29,440 Speaker 3: Yeah, no. 760 00:41:30,560 --> 00:41:34,799 Speaker 2: To do Yeah, all right, here we go. We have 761 00:41:34,800 --> 00:41:42,279 Speaker 2: another one from a different Matt. Matt writes in it says, 762 00:41:42,320 --> 00:41:46,000 Speaker 2: good day, Felons. I've written to you about agricultural subjects 763 00:41:46,040 --> 00:41:47,920 Speaker 2: a few times in the past, and this is another 764 00:41:48,040 --> 00:41:51,399 Speaker 2: such message. Loved The wicker Man revisit seems I enjoy 765 00:41:51,440 --> 00:41:54,160 Speaker 2: the film more each time I watch it. Something I 766 00:41:54,239 --> 00:41:57,279 Speaker 2: never caught before was Sergeant Howie, right prior to being 767 00:41:57,400 --> 00:42:00,880 Speaker 2: locked into the Wickerman's chest cavity, saying something to the 768 00:42:00,920 --> 00:42:05,240 Speaker 2: effect of it was your cultivars that failed you, implying 769 00:42:05,320 --> 00:42:08,480 Speaker 2: to a degree a lack of resilience in the particular 770 00:42:08,600 --> 00:42:11,920 Speaker 2: varieties of fruits in part apples in this case to 771 00:42:12,160 --> 00:42:16,239 Speaker 2: inclement conditions. This got me thinking, is there actually a 772 00:42:16,280 --> 00:42:20,080 Speaker 2: Summer Ale, or possibly even a witcher Man apple cultivar? 773 00:42:20,640 --> 00:42:23,720 Speaker 2: I checked, and unfortunately, no, there doesn't appear to be one. 774 00:42:23,920 --> 00:42:26,600 Speaker 2: I'd love to hear I'm wrong from another listener, though. 775 00:42:26,640 --> 00:42:29,520 Speaker 2: Still that means a new cultivar could be named in 776 00:42:29,520 --> 00:42:32,520 Speaker 2: this fashion, something any apple breeders out there might want 777 00:42:32,560 --> 00:42:33,120 Speaker 2: to consider. 778 00:42:34,160 --> 00:42:36,080 Speaker 3: I would buy so many of these apples. I would 779 00:42:36,120 --> 00:42:37,400 Speaker 3: get them every time at the store. 780 00:42:37,760 --> 00:42:41,520 Speaker 2: I mean, I love a good apple. It would depend 781 00:42:41,560 --> 00:42:43,200 Speaker 2: on it being tasty. I don't know how you're gonna 782 00:42:43,200 --> 00:42:47,400 Speaker 2: beat fuji. Fuji is the best apple for me. For me, 783 00:42:47,640 --> 00:42:50,160 Speaker 2: I love various various apples, but the fuji is might 784 00:42:50,200 --> 00:42:50,440 Speaker 2: go too. 785 00:42:50,800 --> 00:42:54,360 Speaker 3: I love every kind of apple except red delicious. I 786 00:42:54,400 --> 00:42:56,840 Speaker 3: don't understand how people eat red delicious apples. 787 00:42:57,040 --> 00:42:59,239 Speaker 2: Well, you know they had. They felt like they had 788 00:42:59,239 --> 00:43:01,040 Speaker 2: to put delicious in the title to sell it. They 789 00:43:01,040 --> 00:43:04,279 Speaker 2: don't call it the fuji delicious, Like everybody knows the 790 00:43:04,320 --> 00:43:07,120 Speaker 2: fuji is delicious, and you're not trying to force it 791 00:43:07,160 --> 00:43:10,600 Speaker 2: on anyone with some sort of a snappy title. Anyway, 792 00:43:10,800 --> 00:43:14,840 Speaker 2: they continue. I did speculate that historic Scottish apple varieties 793 00:43:15,120 --> 00:43:18,760 Speaker 2: could have conceivably grown well in a western Heberdeene Island, 794 00:43:18,840 --> 00:43:23,359 Speaker 2: presumably somewhere near Isle of Sky, as some of the 795 00:43:23,440 --> 00:43:27,839 Speaker 2: as seen from plain footage I believe features the sky landscape. 796 00:43:28,239 --> 00:43:30,640 Speaker 2: I should add here that if memories serves, some of 797 00:43:30,680 --> 00:43:34,120 Speaker 2: the aerial photography early on in the picture is actually 798 00:43:34,200 --> 00:43:35,560 Speaker 2: South Africa as well. 799 00:43:35,880 --> 00:43:38,960 Speaker 3: Yeah, there's some I think that is in Scotland or 800 00:43:39,000 --> 00:43:41,520 Speaker 3: the Hebridese, but there is some from South Africa. 801 00:43:41,560 --> 00:43:45,840 Speaker 2: You're right, they continue. Apparently there's one called the Bloody Plowman, which, 802 00:43:46,000 --> 00:43:49,240 Speaker 2: while not from the Hebridese, was developed from another highly 803 00:43:49,360 --> 00:43:54,000 Speaker 2: productive agricultural region in Scotland around eighteen hundred. Wikipedia sources 804 00:43:54,040 --> 00:43:57,680 Speaker 2: the following as a rather chilling source for the apple's name. 805 00:43:58,480 --> 00:43:58,920 Speaker 3: Quote. 806 00:43:59,160 --> 00:44:02,000 Speaker 2: It is reputed two have got its name after a 807 00:44:02,040 --> 00:44:05,840 Speaker 2: gamekeeper shot dead of plowman caught stealing apples from the 808 00:44:06,239 --> 00:44:09,919 Speaker 2: and I may be saying this wrong mcginch estate. When 809 00:44:09,920 --> 00:44:12,760 Speaker 2: his body was returned to his wife, she found stolen 810 00:44:12,800 --> 00:44:15,680 Speaker 2: apples in his pockets and threw them onto the rubbish heap. 811 00:44:16,239 --> 00:44:18,799 Speaker 2: One of the resulting seedlings bore apples of a deep 812 00:44:18,840 --> 00:44:21,920 Speaker 2: blood red. This tree gave rise to the cultivar that 813 00:44:22,040 --> 00:44:24,040 Speaker 2: was named after the unfortunate plowman. 814 00:44:24,520 --> 00:44:27,520 Speaker 3: That's funny, I have Okay, even if this story is 815 00:44:27,560 --> 00:44:30,360 Speaker 3: literally true, I really have doubts that the blood running 816 00:44:30,560 --> 00:44:33,799 Speaker 3: into the apples there would affect the colors of the 817 00:44:33,840 --> 00:44:35,279 Speaker 3: fruits produced. 818 00:44:36,520 --> 00:44:39,239 Speaker 2: They continued. There's also Galloway, developed some time in the 819 00:44:39,239 --> 00:44:43,560 Speaker 2: mid Victorian period, so seemingly around the original summer Lord 820 00:44:43,560 --> 00:44:46,200 Speaker 2: Somerle's efforts, and presumably near the west coast of the 821 00:44:46,239 --> 00:44:50,480 Speaker 2: Scottish mainland, but its name isn't as intriguing. And lastly, 822 00:44:50,640 --> 00:44:54,360 Speaker 2: if Summerle cultivars are indeed failing, one has to wonder why, 823 00:44:54,440 --> 00:44:57,920 Speaker 2: assuming it's not just Bread's or another farming deities wrath. 824 00:44:58,560 --> 00:45:01,640 Speaker 2: Is it the result of intermittent cl slimactic shifts eg 825 00:45:01,880 --> 00:45:05,120 Speaker 2: slight changes in c currents, a shifting frost free date, 826 00:45:05,800 --> 00:45:09,000 Speaker 2: the time of year when frosts become exceedingly unlikely, and 827 00:45:09,080 --> 00:45:12,880 Speaker 2: such like. If so, in the existing cultivars might for example, 828 00:45:12,920 --> 00:45:16,480 Speaker 2: experience bloom periods that don't line up with weather pattern changes. 829 00:45:16,760 --> 00:45:19,440 Speaker 2: Those islanders are in a bad way. They better get 830 00:45:19,480 --> 00:45:22,280 Speaker 2: apple breeding because doing so without the use of modern 831 00:45:22,280 --> 00:45:24,839 Speaker 2: tools like gene editing, means the process takes a very 832 00:45:24,880 --> 00:45:28,000 Speaker 2: long time. Trees don't grow overnight. Of course, if it's 833 00:45:28,000 --> 00:45:31,400 Speaker 2: not just weather patterns changing, perhaps there are new pests 834 00:45:31,440 --> 00:45:34,839 Speaker 2: in the area, even invasive ones. Maybe some new insects 835 00:45:34,920 --> 00:45:38,279 Speaker 2: arriving on the wind eight all the lady birds, thus 836 00:45:38,320 --> 00:45:42,520 Speaker 2: allowing aphid populations to explode. That's just a hypothetical example, 837 00:45:42,560 --> 00:45:45,880 Speaker 2: but new or otherwise crafty insect pests is a continual 838 00:45:45,960 --> 00:45:48,840 Speaker 2: challenge for farmers around the world. Adding to the problem 839 00:45:48,920 --> 00:45:52,200 Speaker 2: might be an ineffective use or lack of use altogether 840 00:45:52,280 --> 00:45:56,560 Speaker 2: of crop protection products like fungicides or insecticides. Even in 841 00:45:56,640 --> 00:45:59,480 Speaker 2: modern organic farming, there are some tools available in this 842 00:45:59,520 --> 00:46:02,320 Speaker 2: regard to help protect crops from disease and harmful insects, 843 00:46:02,320 --> 00:46:06,800 Speaker 2: which again could conceivably be getting worse from weather pattern alterations. 844 00:46:07,320 --> 00:46:11,080 Speaker 2: Perhaps the strong nature focus of Summer Islanders means they 845 00:46:11,080 --> 00:46:15,520 Speaker 2: have traditionally exkewed such tools for fear of offending the 846 00:46:15,600 --> 00:46:20,000 Speaker 2: old gods. Regardless, methinks the years following the Wickerman's filming, 847 00:46:20,680 --> 00:46:23,279 Speaker 2: were it real, would have a lot of burning going on. 848 00:46:23,719 --> 00:46:26,520 Speaker 2: Probably not somewhere a guy would want to be on 849 00:46:26,680 --> 00:46:29,600 Speaker 2: May Day, inviting though the local pubs. Certainly, it's a 850 00:46:29,640 --> 00:46:30,680 Speaker 2: great pair of episodes. 851 00:46:30,800 --> 00:46:34,560 Speaker 3: Matt, Well, thank you so much, Matt. That is fantastic. 852 00:46:34,680 --> 00:46:37,920 Speaker 3: Matt has many times in the past written great emails, 853 00:46:37,960 --> 00:46:43,759 Speaker 3: often about farming and agricultural technology, and my experience of 854 00:46:43,760 --> 00:46:46,080 Speaker 3: the Wickerman is so much richer now for having read this. 855 00:46:46,239 --> 00:46:46,640 Speaker 3: Thank you. 856 00:46:46,800 --> 00:46:48,200 Speaker 2: Yeah, these are a lot of points that I just 857 00:46:48,280 --> 00:46:50,640 Speaker 2: kind of took for granted focusing on other aspects of 858 00:46:50,719 --> 00:46:55,800 Speaker 2: the story. But yeah, the agricultural skeleton of the piece 859 00:46:55,840 --> 00:46:58,880 Speaker 2: is also pretty fascinating. And Matt goes on to recommend 860 00:46:58,920 --> 00:47:01,520 Speaker 2: that we do a futurepisode of following a crop from 861 00:47:01,880 --> 00:47:05,719 Speaker 2: its historical origin to its modern cultivation, and I think 862 00:47:05,719 --> 00:47:08,719 Speaker 2: this is a solid, solid idea. This, of course, has 863 00:47:08,760 --> 00:47:11,239 Speaker 2: been done particularly well in the past by the likes 864 00:47:11,280 --> 00:47:15,040 Speaker 2: of Michael Pollen, So if anyone out there hasn't read 865 00:47:15,120 --> 00:47:17,600 Speaker 2: or listened to the excellent audiobooks of Michael Polland's work, 866 00:47:18,520 --> 00:47:21,480 Speaker 2: he has several different books that get into this with 867 00:47:21,520 --> 00:47:24,120 Speaker 2: particular crops. All right, we're going to go ahead and 868 00:47:24,160 --> 00:47:26,080 Speaker 2: close this episode here, but we'd love to hear from 869 00:47:26,120 --> 00:47:29,840 Speaker 2: everybody right in with your listener mails to the email 870 00:47:29,880 --> 00:47:32,320 Speaker 2: address we're going to provide here in a minute, again 871 00:47:33,120 --> 00:47:36,320 Speaker 2: just about anything as fair game content related to past episodes, 872 00:47:36,360 --> 00:47:40,680 Speaker 2: future episodes, present episodes, you name it, just to remind 873 00:47:40,719 --> 00:47:42,200 Speaker 2: us of the Stuff to Blow Your Mind is primarily 874 00:47:42,239 --> 00:47:44,960 Speaker 2: a science and culture of podcast, with core episodes on 875 00:47:45,040 --> 00:47:48,680 Speaker 2: Tuesdays and Thursdays, short form episode on Wednesdays and on Fridays. 876 00:47:48,680 --> 00:47:50,759 Speaker 2: We set aside most concerns to just talk about a 877 00:47:50,760 --> 00:47:52,840 Speaker 2: weird film on Weird House Cinema. 878 00:47:53,040 --> 00:47:56,640 Speaker 3: Huge things, as always to our excellent audio producer JJ Posway. 879 00:47:56,920 --> 00:47:58,400 Speaker 3: If you would like to get in touch with us 880 00:47:58,400 --> 00:48:00,840 Speaker 3: with feedback on this episode or any other, to suggest 881 00:48:00,840 --> 00:48:02,840 Speaker 3: a topic for the future, or just to say hello, 882 00:48:03,160 --> 00:48:05,719 Speaker 3: you can email us at contact at stuff to blow 883 00:48:05,760 --> 00:48:13,080 Speaker 3: your Mind dot com. 884 00:48:13,160 --> 00:48:15,680 Speaker 1: Stuff to Blow Your Mind is a production of iHeartRadio. 885 00:48:16,040 --> 00:48:19,000 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 886 00:48:19,120 --> 00:48:21,880 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.