Author Archives: 9siduri

Review of “The Ancient Mesopotamian City” by Marc Van De Mieroop

According to received wisdom, ancient Mesopotamia gave rise to not only the city as we know it but a specific type of city, one that lasted from approximately 3000 to 300 BCE in the Middle East. While cities appeared in places such as the Nile River Valley, nowhere does urbanism seem to play such anContinue reading “Review of “The Ancient Mesopotamian City” by Marc Van De Mieroop”

Review of “Alien Species” (1996)

Plot: This opens with a white blob approaching earth from space and a voiceover about a prophecy about a mighty armada dominating the earth in the year 1999. A whole lot of trouble happens. The destruction of all mankind, blah, blah, blah… Max Poindexter (Aaron Jettleson) (good character name) and Holly Capers (Barbara Fierentino) areContinue reading “Review of “Alien Species” (1996)”

Review of “Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster” (1965)

This is this week’s Saturday night pizza and bad movie offering. Good thing the pizza and cabernet were good. Plot:Bald Dr. Nadir (Lou Cutell) informs Princess Marcuzan (Marilyn Hanold) that they continue to hear “a modulated hydrogen frequency signal of twenty-one centimeters.” When the Princess asks what that means, Dr. Nadir replies he’s not sure,Continue reading “Review of “Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster” (1965)”

Review of “House of Frankenstein” (1944)

This is this week’s Saturday pizza and bad movie offering. We watched it with Svengoolie and just about every frigging Universal monster. Plot: From the slot in his jail cell in Neustadt Prison, Doctor Gustav Niemann (Boris Karloff) grabs the throat of a jailer (an uncredited Charles Wagenheim) and demands chalk. From inside, the viewerContinue reading “Review of “House of Frankenstein” (1944)”

Review of “The Cosmic Code”

I read this book on a dare some time ago. This is the sixth book in the late Zechariah Sitchin’s (1920-2010) Earth Chronicles series detailing his ideas on how humans and human culture are the byproducts of ancient extra-terrestrial meddling. He sees evidence of this in Sumerian mythology, in particular, positing that Sumerian gods were,Continue reading “Review of “The Cosmic Code””

Review of “Contamination” (1980)

Plot: A cargo ship speeds toward New York Harbor. The crew is not aboard, although the life rafts remain. Half-eaten meals sit on tables. The log book reveals nothing. But the investigators find corpse after bloody corpse looking as if they’ve exploded from inside. Spilling out of boxes marked “café” (coffee) are what look likeContinue reading “Review of “Contamination” (1980)”

Review of “Son of Frankenstein” (1939)

This is this week’s Saturday pizza and bad movie night offering, another classic. We watched it with Svengoolie. Plot: In a German village, children run down a lane. One pauses to pick up a rock and throw it toward a building where a sign hangs warning Eingang Verboten. A man with wild hair and beardContinue reading “Review of “Son of Frankenstein” (1939)”

Review of “Frankenstein” (1931)

This week’s Saturday pizza and bad movie offering is a film about as classic as they come. The clip you’ve probably seen of Boris Karloff’s (as the monster) fingers twitching while Colin Clive, as Henry Frankenstein, dances around crying, “It’s alive!” is from this movie. The scene is imitated and parodied so often it’s easyContinue reading “Review of “Frankenstein” (1931)”

Review of “Nightmare Alley” (1947)

This was our Saturday pizza and bad movie offering. The movie was good, but boy, was it depressing little film noir. Plot: Stanton “Stan” Carlisle (Tyrone Power) finds himself fascinated by everything at the carnival. How does one sink so low as to work as the “geek,” eating live chickens? “It can happen,” says MadamContinue reading “Review of “Nightmare Alley” (1947)”