Horror Block - May 2015

It is June 4th, and I finally received my May Horror Block! This is my first Horror Block subscription box, and WOW, it took a while to get here. My patience was rewarded, however, with a black and red box of quality loot.

The shirt of the month is a black Silent Hill tee with red and white artwork. For those not familiar, Silent Hill is a series of survival-horror video games. There have also been a couple of movies made based on the games. Being a fan of the Silent Hill game series, I can dig this shirt!

About half of the space in the box was wasted by a Jack Crawford (Hannibal) Pop Vinyl figure. Maybe I am being a tad harsh using the word "wasted". There is nothing wrong with Pop Vinyl, but this is, in my opinion, the least interesting item in the box.

Next up: A DVD, "Horror Block Short Film Festival 2015". I haven't watched it yet, but how bad could it be? I love that these guys put video in their boxes. I have seen previous month reviews that included Blu-Rays, and this is part of what attracted  me to Horror Block.

There is no shortage of reading material in the box. Two Rue Morgue publications, the monthly magazine and a book called "Weird Stats and Morbid Facts", are buried at the bottom.

Lastly, there is a picture of the Creature from the Black Lagoon included. I thought I could scare the cats with it, but they just stared at it, yawned, but said nothing.

Like I said, this is a box of quality loot. Retail value of the items is somewhere between 50-70 dollars, and this is stuff I am happy to have. For comparison, this blew my May loot Crate out of the water. Based on this month's delivery, I can recommend Horror Block for anyone interested. Of course, this is just one month. We'll see what they send next month. Can't wait!

Nine Dollar Computer

And to think I almost ordered a Raspberry PI!. This is the coolest Kickstarter of the week, a $9.00 computer by "The Next Thing Co." The novelty of cheap computers faded a few years ago, as it has become pretty easy to score a used system for almost free. But this thing is tiny, looks like it draws but a minuscule amount of power, and costs less than the keyboard you will connect to it.

I am certain the size and the price will make this a future favorite for a wide variety of home projects. Want to build a dedicated retro gaming machine? Nine bucks. Wanna build a home server? Nine Bucks. Plus a drive. Out on a remote excursion doing some "penetration testing" on a corporate network and need to destroy the evidence fast? You're only out nine bucks.

So what's the catch? There is none, really. You will, however, possibly be wanting some accessories. For example, only composite video is built in. VGA and HDMI adapters are available, so you'll probably want to order one of those along with the computer. With the HDMI adapter, the total cost come to $24.00. Still not too shabby. If you want a battery, the option adds about ten bucks to the price.

Response to this Kickstarter has been enthusiastic, to say the least. With 21 days to go, The Next Thing Co. has cleared their $50,000 original goal by a few bucks. Currently they have $1,323,576. I guess we can add nine bucks to that, because I'll be ordering one myself. I have an old, dead Nintendo console that is begging for nine dollars' worth of new guts.

TARDIS blue piano, and a closet full of costumes. Well done indeed!

Tomorrow, at 1pm Central, the next actor (or actress) to play The Doctor will be announced during a live television event. I am excited, but also almost afraid to watch. Perhaps I should not be. The casting of the role has been nothing short of brilliant so far.

I do know what I would love to see happen. I want the BBC to fill in some backstory, and name both Paul McGann and John Hurt as The Doctor for the upcoming series. This is feasible, but I don't truly expect it to happen.

(Crossing fingers....)

A Fix With Sontarans

This Classic Who 9-minute episode is nothing less than a gem. While it is certainly not cannon, it is fun to pretend that it is. Just ignore the beginning and end.  

The "episode" features the forgotten companion and Sontaran slayer, Gareth Jenkins. It is also notable in that it is the only time Tegan traveled with The Doctor during his 6th incarnation. Finally, behold the tallest Sontarans you'll ever see.

Enjoy!

A Fix with Sontarans by TheNextDoctor

Looking Back: Doctor Who Celebration '87

About a week ago, on a whim, I searched the internet for signs of future Doctor Who conventions. It didn't take long to discover the upcoming Chicago Tardis event. Chicago is a leisurely drive from where I live, and with Colin Baker himself as one of the guests, how could I resist? Of course I registered. 

As I keyed in my information, I realized that it has been  many years since I attended a Doctor Who convention. Decades, even. No, make that a quarter-century! In the mid 80's I went to two conventions. One of them (the later of the two) was Doctor Who Celebration '87 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.  This was a small affair, held in a high school auditorium, lasting only 8 hours. I believe it was hosted or sponsored by the local PBS station, WPNE, channel 38. During the classic Who era, the Public broadcast stations were the main source of Who. 

The Doctor Who USA Tour was there, which included a small museum built into a semi-trailer, and Bessie the car. Sadly, it took less than 20 minutes to walk through the trailer and to view Bessie. After that, it was into the auditorium, where they were showing video tapes on a large TV with terrible audio. The highlight of the event, however, was Sylvester McCoy. Sylvester hit the stage mid to late afternoon. His episodes had not yet aired, and this was one of his earliest convention appearances in the United States. We were quite excited to see him, and he did not disappoint! Sylvester's on-stage antics were entertaining. He definitely had a penchant for comedy, juggling, and slapstick. I clearly remember being impressed by him, and confident that the role of the Doctor was in good hands. 

The thermometer topped 91 degrees that day. During his time on stage, Sylvester commented that he wasn't accustomed to such temperatures. When I got through the autograph line, the poor guy looked hot, exhausted, and sweaty. But come to think of it, most of us in attendance looked that way by late afternoon. 

If I had a beef about the event, it would have been the merchandise. There were a precious few booths set up in the vendor area, and they all seemed to have the exact same collection of PBS-branded Doctor Who swag. They couldn't fool me. They were just selling left over junk from the fund raiser they held at the station just a few months back. I could recognize those "I (heart) (heart) Doctor Who" coffee mugs anywhere!