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Review of “Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Invisible Man” (1951)

We had pizza and watched a bad movie with Svengoolie while waiting for Santa. Fortunately, we had enough leftovers we didn’t have to venture out. Plot: It’s graduation day 1951 at Dugan Detective School. Among those receiving diplomas are Bud Alexander (Bud Abbott) and Lou Francis (Lou Costello). Lou says, “This is the happiest dayContinue reading “Review of “Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Invisible Man” (1951)”

Review of “Invisible Agent” (1942)

This week’s pizza and bad movie offering is a fair-to-middling black-and-white bit of war propaganda. The wine was yummy, and the pizza was hot. We watched it with Svengoolie. Plot: Mild-mannered Frank Raymond (Jon Hall) is busy minding his print shop when four men barge in. They mention the name “Frank Griffin,”* lock the door,Continue reading “Review of “Invisible Agent” (1942)”

Review of “Papyrus: The Invention of Books in the Ancient World” by Irene Vallejo

The Stuff: In her preface, author Irene Vallejo asks: “Why did books first appear? What is the secret history of efforts to reproduce or destroy them? What was lost along the way, and what was saved? Why have some of them become classics? How much has succumbed to the jaws of time, the talons ofContinue reading “Review of “Papyrus: The Invention of Books in the Ancient World” by Irene Vallejo”

Review of “Wizards of the Lost Kingdom” (1985)

This is our Saturday pizza and bad movie offering. The pizza was yummy. We watched this insult to the nation’s youth with Mystery Science Theater 3000. Plot: The movie opens with a torchlit army marching under arches in a concrete (?) wall. “It was an age of magic,” announces the narration while a guy inContinue reading “Review of “Wizards of the Lost Kingdom” (1985)”

Review of “The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of The Women Who Helped Win WWII” by Denise Kiernan

Plot: Most of those who helped develop the atomic bomb at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, for the Manhattan Project were unaware of what they were doing other than their jobs benefited the war effort. Because many men were gone with the wartime draft, many were women. The author seeks to draw on the experiences of variousContinue reading “Review of “The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of The Women Who Helped Win WWII” by Denise Kiernan”

Review of “The Raven” (1935)

This is our latest Saturday pizza and bad movie night offering, a black-and-white horror mad scientist flick that borrows many Edgar Allan Poe motifs. We watched it with Svengoolie. Plot: Judge Thatcher’s (Samuel S. Hinds) daughter Jean (Irene Ware) crashes her car and receives life-threatening injuries. The doctors (uncredited Jonathan Hale and Walter Miller) agree onlyContinue reading “Review of “The Raven” (1935)”

Review of “The Haunting of Maddy Clare”

The Stuff: In 1920s London, Sarah Piper gets a call from the temporary agency that employs her. She must meet a man in a coffee shop for the details. Everything about this job screams no, but she is behind on the rent. Wealthy Alistair Gellis proposes an outlandish assignment. Sarah is to travel to theContinue reading “Review of “The Haunting of Maddy Clare””

Review of “The King’s Man” (2021)

This week’s Saturday pizza and bad movie came by way of recommendation the dearly beloved and I watched: The Critical Drinker. He sugarcoated nothing. I do have warn anyone turning to his channel, he’s got a bit of a pottymouth. While his evaluations are frank, they’re more thoughtful than, “This sucks, man.” And they’re funny.Continue reading “Review of “The King’s Man” (2021)”

Review of “The Magnetic Monster ” (1953)

This is our Saturday pizza and bad movie offering, the first of three movies following the doings of the (fictional) “Office of Scientific Investigation” (OSI). The two other later flicks are Riders to the Stars (1954) and Gog (1954). Plot: The opening narration tells the viewer about “new dangers” facing humanity’s existence: sound frequencies thatContinue reading “Review of “The Magnetic Monster ” (1953)”

Review of “The Measure of Reality: Quantification and Western Society 1250-1600” by Alfred W. Crosby

The Stuff: The author says in the first lines of his preface that this is his third book, “in my lifelong search for explanations for the amazing success of European imperialism.” Cyrus the Great, Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, and Huayna Capac were all “great conquerors,” but they were “homebodies” compared to Queen Victoria. HisContinue reading “Review of “The Measure of Reality: Quantification and Western Society 1250-1600” by Alfred W. Crosby”