Halloweirdness

Grocery shopping this morning -

* An older gent commented on my "Star Trek" T-shirt and explained how Lucille Ball had been instrumental in getting the original program off the ground. Googled it when I returned home: he was correct.

* The music coming over the supermarket speakers suddenly changed from hit techno tracks to Elvis' "(You're The) Devil In Disguise". Heard at least three ladies singing along. The King lives on.

* Saw a young woman buying lunch in a Dracula outfit, with wig and red-lined black cape. There are offices and other businesses on the nearby industrial estate, so I'd put money on it being for a work function.

Rewatched "Forbidden Planet" yesterday. It remains charming AF. So innovative - concepts like FTL travel, the beaut use of Robby The Robot, the electronic score... And wasn't Anne Francis something as Altaira? Imagine seeing it in 1956!

While the artwork is merely adequate, this hot-off-the-press CYOA is competently written and cleverly structured, and makes great use of the titular folkloric critter (while keeping it/them enigmatic). Secret passages, codes, time jumps, MIB, UFOs and alien factions, oh my! A sprinkling of history and popular culture. It even makes passing reference to "Choose Your Own Adventure" books within the narrative :-) The author's afterword made me like it more. As did the little preview of the "At The Mountains Of Madness" CYOA, which appears to mix Lovecraft with a bizarre Antarctic summer camp run by an A.I. Yeah, 10-year-old Addster woulda counted "Mothman" among his favourites, I reckon. Shame about the art.