Jon @ Homer

Miscellania

Over the weekend flipping through channels I came upon The Day the Earth Stood Still as I flipped back and forth I caught the seen where Klaatu tells Patricia Neal's character Helen to says to Gort (the giant robot) "Klaatu barada nikto". Then later when Helen tells Gort "Klaatu barada nikto" it hit me that was Ash's (Bruce Campbell) line that he couldn't remember in Army of Darkness when he picked up the Necronomicon. So I googled it and bingo - I am not the first, far from it to make this connection. It even is referenced in Wikipedia.

For example from Blather.net Shitegeist " In the movie Army of Darkness (Evil Dead III), '"Klaatu Barada Nikto" is the shibboleth needed to negate the demonic forces of evil, or something'. Lead actor Bruce Campbell (Ash) can't quite remember it; "Klaatu Barada. . . necktie!" " Link to Shitegeist plus the comments about the subliminal story of Christ embedded in the 1951 scifi movie. Also, I remember some movie commentary regarding the doctors at Walter Reed talking about Klaatu's remarkable recovery while smoking... (this was 1951 tobacco lobby). Plenty of good reasons to see "The Day the Earth Stood Still" again or for the first time, it should be part of any pop cultural literacy.

I figure Sam Raimi payed homage to one of the classics of science fiction and "B" movies by using Klaatu barada nikto as the incantation required to pick up the "Book of the Dead" in Army of Darkness (the third Evil Dead movie). In a way this is sort of like what directors or more likely sound editors have been doing for years with "The William"(link to the scream - brings Grizzy to the computer with his head cocked over like Victor the RCA dog) See Bob Garfield report on On the media for an interesting tidbit regarding a sound effect that you have all heard in such movies as Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, the Wild Bunch, the John Wayne film The Green Berets going way back to the same year as The Day the Earth Stood Still - 1951.

I really should take time to discuss Eli Roth's film Cabin Fever as a continuation in the line of good "B" horror movies that pay either conscious or unconscious homage to Sam Raimi's Evil Dead among other good independent horror scifi movies. I have yet to see his more recent movie Hostel I only heard his interview with Elvis Mitchell on The Treatment. That interview was enough to get me to pay $5.50 at Walmart for a copy of Cabin Fever - interesting movie - another twist on the old college kids in a cabin in the woods movie premise.

On to more important news Jack the Cat made the Colbert Report tonight. If you have not heard of Jack the bear treeing cat see this AOL News report or the New Jersey rag The Star-Ledger or of course see the video when it is posted at Motherload. One of these days I need to report the Franklin Co Medical Center Bear to Colbert.

And finally - my work platform performs great - once I got some supports that hold up table leaf or folding sheaves. The thing is very solid but I should have built it so the legs were wider - I thought wrong, measured twice and cut once. Making an accurate cut is one thing but not thinking what I was measuring is what forced me to have legs that aren't as wide as the platform. I might make a set of extension if it really start to worry me. I am nearly finished with the drywall in the bathroom - I just need to piece in around the shower stall and the curved area, finish sanding, prime and paint. Hopefully first flush on Saturday...

posted by Jon at Homer @ 11:39 PM