Tremors #sf42boston

    Val and Earl are our reluctant heroes in one of my favorite movies. Burt, or his ancestor, is the real star, in that he has been in all 5 movies. Yes, I’ve seen them all multiple times. I have a boxed set. I’m tired at the moment, so I may be off the mark here, but I seem to recall a new movie in the series. 

Garen Daly #sf42boston

    Our fearless, and tired, leader. He and his troop of roving volunteers do a bang up job of planning and executing the Thon every year  Bravo. ^_^

The Rocketeer #sf42boston

    This is one of the movies at this year’s Thon that I hadn’t gotten to seeing. That’s a handy aspect of the Thon, being able to catch films I haven’t seen yet. This was based on a graphic novel, and included beautiful women, Nazis, heroes, and JET PACKS. WHERE’S MY JET PACK. ^_^

This Paper-Mache Rock Is Really Heavy #sf42boston

    This Australian parody of low budget sci- fi films was a lot of fun, and fit right in at the Thon. I believe it was part of the full week long festival last year, and great reviews. Due to technical difficulties with DRM keys for Predator, they swapped it’s time slot with this movie. 

Predator #sf42boston

    A predator’s eye view of Billy and Dutch. This was a movie Alexei was not interested in seeing, and I think he was therefor disappointed to find it on when he came back from his nap. I was pretty much awake for this one, although I did have some trouble during This Paper-Mache Rock Is Really Heavy.  I’m feeling much better, and of course tired. 

Neither Heaven Nor Earth #sf42boston

    This French film started first time around with no subtitles. Yeah, most of us had no clue what they were saying. So they skipped to John Dies In The End, then tried this one again, after making some changes to the settings. Much more interesting when you know what they are saying, even though the folks in the movie may not know what’s going on. one of the guys falls asleep lying down. ^_^

John Dies In The End #sf42boston

    That’s John with the basketball. These 2 are introduced to a drug that helps them combat supernatural threats. I liked it. Being sick…and tired, as usual my posts are getting less verbose. 

ADHD #sf42boston

    Another regular event, which was renamed recently to Alien-Deflecting Helmet Device, used to be the tin foil hat contest. Not so much tinfoil, still some interesting creations. 

Brazil #sf42boston

    Brazil is a pretty dystopian film, and the second one from this line up with overtones of bureacracies using terrorism to exert free reign over their people. The other one was HGTTG, with the Vogons representative of bureaucracy and Zaphod winning the presidency of the galaxy through his popular appeal, and lacking intelligence. 

    I posted 2 pictures this time, allowing you to choose which side of Brazil you prefer. ^_^

Other activities #sf42boston

    Why yes, I take some time to play Ingress while at the Thon. ^_^

Alien Mating Call #sf42boston

    One of the non-film activities at the Thon is shown above, the Alien Mating Call Contest. As you can see we had a pretty good crowd. 

Mad Max Fury Road #sf42boston

    After grabbing a bite during the SGI Ning of this movie, Steve and Ken returned, only to have Steve head home. He is headed off on a 2 week trip this week, so he needs to rest up. Alexei wanted to see this movie, so he stayed here, and I’m trying to minimize my movements. The picture of Max as a hood ornament may seem odd if you saw the movie in the theatre. Turns out George Miller planned it as a black and white film, and the studio insisted it be released in color. After a successful release, they re-released it in black and white, which is the way it was meant to be for full effect. 

Creature from the Black Lagoon #sf42boston

    Turns out John wasn’t in a rush apparently,  as he stayed to the end. Wow, it’s been a long time since I saw this movie. A bit more of the live and let live ethos than I’m used to in a fifties movie. And despite having seen Gattaca before, at a Thon no less, I forgot to take any pictures. 
    Ken and Steve are taking the showing of Mad Max Fury Road to go get some dinner  Alexei wants to see it, and I’m taking easy by staying put. ^_^

Galaxy Quest #sf42boston

    Despite how fun this movie is, including inter-alien passion, it’s even more fun in a venue like this. Star Trek fans, Galaxy Quest fans, and sci fi fans looking for a good time enjoy this movie. I forgot to make bread, and couldn’t convince myself to make sandwiches. Of course, that is what I’m hungry for now. ^_^

Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy #sf42boston

    Being that the is the 42nd Thon, how better to start it off with the movie that attempts to ask the question that 42 is the answer to. Marvin the depressed robot is one of my favs.  Looks like John will be leaving pretty early, heading out in the middle of Creature from the Black Lagoon, as he claims to have seen it as an usher in his youth. 

Blast off #sf42boston

    And we are off. Steve and John arrived just before blastoff. And Ken arrived shortly after. They covered quite a long list in the memorial before blastoff. They also had Adria and someone else lead us in the song from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Oh and they have new seats, though they aren’t any more comfortable. 

Rice Chex, Wheat Chex #sf42 #BSFM42

    One of the regular bits of fun at every Thon is the equivalent of ‘tastes great, less filling’ <drum roll please> ‘Rice Chex, Wheat Chex’. Someone starts by shouting either Rice Chex or Wheat Chex, and everyone joins with some shouting Wheat Chex, and others alternately shouting Rice Chex. This ad started a round, and I wasn’t attending the Thon when this started, although it wouldn’t surprise me if this was involved. 

^_^ 

Early Arrival #sf42 #BSFM42

    Alexei and I have arrived at the balcony,  were there are lots of empty seats, and we have reserved seats for 5, to cover Ken, Steve, John, David, and David’s son. As you can see from this picture, we were entertained by a Flash Gordon short. I have no idea when the rest of the troops will arrive, and they have time, since the Thon does officially start for another hour. 

Waiting #sf42 #BSFM42

    We did avoid the problem from last year and going 1 stop beyond our stop, then needing to wait for 20 minutes for a train back. And we left earlier this year, so you can see we are behind the theatre waiting in line, and the 2nd picture gives you an idea of how many folks are in line behind us. I went to CVS while Alexei stood in line, so I could get my Nantucket Nectars. While looking for them I noticed the Naked juices and realized I left mine at home, so I got some more. 

    

    Now it’s Alexei’s turn to go to CVS for batteries and double stuff Oreos. The line is starting to move, so he may just head in when he gets back. ^_^

#sf42 #BSFM42 The Line Up

    The weather is usually pretty consistent for the Thon, cold. A couple of times I thought we might catch a warm spell, and found it cold with snow around. Even this year, which has been pretty mild for Bew England winters, I thought maybe. Then we got a couple snow storms last week/weekend, and have plenty of snow around. This has been a season of indecision, more than usual, for the New England weather, with warm and freezing days in the same week. Looks like another case of that here, with the heavy snow and freezing temps giving way to 50s on Thon Sunday. Time will tell, this is still New England, and a specially odd winter for weather. 

    Usually we have to wait until the day of the Thon to get the schedule with times. Not this year. Klaatu sent an email today with just that, and here it is. 

Here is the SF42 Marathon line-up and schedule. Times are approximate. 

12:00 HITCHHIKERS GUIDE TO THE GALAXY

2:00 GALAXY QUEST

4:00 CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON

5:00 GATTACA

7:00 MAD MAX FURY ROAD

9:00 BRAZIL

12:00 TIME CRIMES

1:00 JOHN DIES AT THE END

3:00 NEITHER HEAVEN NOR EARTH

5:00 PREDATOR

7:00 THIS GIANT PAPER MARCHE BOULDER…

8:30 ROCKETEER

10:00 TREMORS

Tickets are still avail at the SomervIlle Theatre Box office and at BostonSciFi.com.
    Tomorrow my son and I need to do some food shopping, so I’ll review old posts and notes to remind me of what I’ve enjoyed, and what to avoid. I’ve been fighting a cold for over a week now, and it seemed to be getting better, although the last day it seems to be reclaiming a hold on my throat. I’m really hoping I won’t be coughing by Sunday. I’m not sure I can deal with disturbing folks at the Thon. 

BSFM (SF42) is nearly upon us

    Try not to be jealous. Yes indeed, those are my Limited Edition tickets for SF42, the 42nd Boston Science Fiction Marathon, purchased at last year’s ‘Thon. Never before have tickets for the next year’s ‘Thon been available at the current ‘Thon, and I didn’t hesitate. 

    This year only my oldest son will be joining. My youngest decided not to join us this year, and my Dad’s dementia precludes him from leaving his nursing home. There will be a number of my neighbors joining us again, and we continue to recruit as best we can. 

    This year my company actually gives us the holiday, so I won’t need to take a vacation day. As it turns out though, I will be headed to Florida for work the day after. I’ll need to pay more attention to getting enough sleep. I wonder how late I can leave on Tuesday. ^_^

    The full slate of films for the ‘Thon has not been posted yet, although the full schedule for the Boston Science Fiction Festival leading up to the ‘Thon has, and I am again wishing I lived close enough to pop over for some of those films. Here is what has been communicated as being at the ‘Thon, with some expected, and some surprises. Really? Creature from the Black Lagoon has never been shown at the ‘Thon? Who knew. 

The Rocketeer – Forced to Become An Extraordinary Hero

Creature from the Black Lagoon – Thon premiere!

Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – because, you know, 42

John Dies at the End – from Bubba Ho-Tep director

Kingdom of Spiders – Shatner fights bugs, bugs fight back.

SSSSSSSS – Terror ready to sssssstrike, w/ SSSSStrother Martin

This Giant Paper Mache Boulder is Actually Really Heavy – SF41 winner

Midnight Special – one of the best SciFi films of 2016!

Neither Heaven Nor Earth – Cannes Fest winner!

more to come including a 70 mm film, cartoons, a vintage TV show, and more. 
    More to come at SF42, if not before. Please leave a comment if you plan to be there. ^_^