Today I’ll continue to talk about one of my personal passions – Old Sci Fi Movies.  I started this series here.  And yes, I already know what a nerd I am!

Let’s get started:

The Thing From Another World

OK, put this one on late at night in a darkened room!  It may be over 70 years old but it’s still scary!  And it is one of my favorites.

The movie is from 1951 and in black and white.  It begins with a call from an arctic research station for help investigating a downed aircraft.  The Air Force responds and discovers a flying saucer buried under the ice.  They then proceed to try and uncover it using some kind of thermite and manage to blow up the craft.

They then find a huge alien humanoid frozen in the ice and bring it back to the base contained in a huge block of ice.  A guard manages to unfreeze the alien by accidentally leaving an electric blanket on the ice block.  What follows are some scary scenes after the alien escapes and the discovery that the alien is actually plant based.

The climax is the alien attacking the isolated base and our heroes killing the alien.  I’ll let you watch this scary one and see how they do it!

An interesting fact is that when the film was released it actually made more money than “The Day the Earth Stood Still” and “When Worlds Collide,” two of my other favorites.  The year was a good one for science fiction fans!

The Beast from 20 Thousand Fathoms

This one came out a couple years later in 1953.  It is probably the first popular monster movie based on results of nuclear bomb testing.

The basic plot is of a prehistoric dinosaur released as a result of an atomic test in the arctic.  The monster is spotted by a witness, but nobody believes him.  He sticks to his belief and eventually becomes a hero of the story.

The monster makes its way down the east coast.  Along the way he destroys some fishing boats, demolishes a lighthouse and gobbles up a famous old scientist.  Eventually it ends up in New York where it causes general mayhem and destruction.   An interesting side effect is it releases a deadly bacteria or virus that had long been dormant before being released from the ice.

The climax happens in an amusement park where our hero saves the day.  Special effects were by Ray Harryhausen, who was the genius behind many films.  They hold up fairly well.

Them

Them is another sci fi monster film, this time with giant ants!  It was released in 1954.  Again the giant ants were a result of atomic testing, this time in the New Mexico desert.

I love the initial setting for this movie.  It takes place in a remote desert area and some parts are made spookier by a howling wind storm.

The queen ants can fly and they eventually make their way to Los Angeles, where they take up residence in the city’s river drainage system.  The climax involves a hero rescuing two young boys trapped by the ants, and the ants being destroyed by the army.

Like many movies from the fifties I enjoy the scenes of life from the time.  This includes things like old cars and clean city infrastructure.  It represents a simpler time, if only in movies!

I hope you enjoy this series.  There is much more to come. 

Growing stuff is a great hobby.  And it’s good for your health and general well being.  Not all of us have green thumbs (and some of us may even think we have black thumbs!)  However most of us can grow at least something, and who knows where it might go from there.

Indoor Plants

We haven’t had many indoor house plants recently.  We did when we were younger but somehow busyness has taken over and so fewer and fewer house plants.  However when I look at all the possibilities at the home centers and even the grocery stores they are hard to resist.

I’ll mention two easy possibilities.  First there is cactus, and there is an unbelievable number of varieties.  Some don’t even look like cacti!  The big advantage here is for those of us that forget to water our plants until they are dried up sticks!  In fact the biggest mistake would probably be watering too much!

I also want to suggest an Aerogarden.  I covered this in detail here.  An Aerogarden is a product that is basically a little hydroponic system.  It consists of a tank to hold the growing medium, an overhead light for artificial sunlight, and electronics that keep track of everything.  I had great luck growing an assortment of lettuce varieties, and next I think I’m going to try cherry tomatoes.

Flowers

I can remember gorgeous catalogs of flowers and bulbs showing up every winter.  It seemed like once you got on one mailing list you were on many.  The variety was incredible and it was hard to resist giving gardening a try.  Of course the reality of what they showed in the pictures and the amount of time and work it takes to get there would soon become apparent!  Now with the Internet there are less paper catalogs and more online, but the draw is the same.

One more idea on flowers.  Instead of giving cut flowers maybe give something to grow.  I would often bring my wife flowers for anniversaries and Valentines
Day, regardless of her being somewhat allergic!  I suggest instead switching to something that can quickly be planted in a garden.  The sentiment will still be appreciated but the flowers might be around for years instead of just days.

Vegetable Garden

A vegetable garden is a great way to get into growing things. It is probably the area I’ve had the most experience, although I’m certainly not a guru!  Here are some pointers for what I’ve learned.

Start Small

A new gardener wants to try growing everything.  I was guilty of that early on.  When you plant a lot of things they will grow all over the place, and you can’t keep up with weeding, watering, and even basic care.

So What Is Easy To Grow?

Of course you’ll get different answers depending on who you talk to.  I’ve always had good luck with tomatoes.  I would usually try two varieties and some cherry tomatoes for salad.  There is no comparison between a tomato fresh out of the garden and store bought.  I’ve also had good luck with cucumbers and green peppers.  Only issue with cucumbers is that the vines go all over the place, and when they start ripening you can’t use them fast enough.

Not Much Space or Bad Soil?

If you don’t have much space consider container gardening.  There are books and a lot of information available on how to do this.  Tomatoes do well in containers.

If you have bad soil don’t despair.  When we first moved into our house the developer had scraped away all the topsoil leaving only clay.  The first couple years were tough, but gradually over time the soil improved due to fertilizer and plants left over the winter to decompose.  

Another option is a raised bed, which is something I would like to try.  This is basically just an above ground frame that you fill with good soil.  This option is a little easier to care for and again, gets better over time.

So I hope this article has got you thinking.  It has me.  I think I’ll get my Aerogarden working again now and think about spring!