Future Shock! The Story of 2000AD - Teaser Trailer

The comic that changed my world in the 80's and redefined the way I viewed things as an adult! My music, the comics I read today, the books I enjoy and the fact that I make a living as a writer can all be traced back to reading 2000AD as a kid.

Watch this Space – Tales of the Gold Monkey

Tales of the Gold Monkey... Wow! Now here is a TV series that pretty much summed up all my interests as a kid in the mid 80’s – Second World War (hey I had English grandparents), cool planes, adventure stories and a pretty female lead (Catlin O’Heaney & I started early ok)...

Set in the South Pacific in 1938, Tales of the Gold Monkey told the story of ex Flying Tigers ace Jake Cutter (Stephen Collins) and his Red and White Grumman Goose (a type of seaplane) called Cutters Goose. It was a blatant exploitation of the “Indiana Jones” vibe that had hit the world after Raiders of the Lost Ark, but it worked... Well at least for me it did.

Although Tales of the Gold Monkey only lasted one season (due to high production costs) this TV series has always stuck in my mind as one of the greats. Great adventure storytelling with some added tongue-and-cheek humour was always a good mix in my book. Still is in fact!

Let’s take a look at the opening sequence (this is going to bring back some memories I promise):



Here is a later version of the opening sequence (with added scenes):



This clip below pretty much sums up the feel of the show... Just listen to Stephen Collins’s narration and you’ll see what I mean.



Cheesy? Hell yea! Fun? You betcha! Good stuff? More than we can remember!

PS: Unfortunately Tales of the Golden Monkey is not currently available on DVD (or Blu-Ray for that matter), but hopefully Universal will remedy this soon. Will update this post (and place my order) if things change.

Cape Town Lullaby

Hush my laaitie don't you cry
Daddy's gonna steal you a GTi,
And if that GTi don't Torque
Another GTi, I will stalk.
And if the stalking don't go to well
Daddy's gonna steal you a Caravelle
And if that Caravelle makes some tricks
Daddy's gonna jack you a VR6.
And if that VR6 won't fly
Daddy's gonna knock a BM from a Sandton guy.
And if that BM's sound is kwaai
Da Cape Flats cherries will go with you to elke braai!
And if the Cape Town cops ask why ?
Daddy will buy the docket from a Police spy!
And if all these things still make you cry
Then you're not my laaitie... Your mom told me a lie !!

Ok, ok it's true!

I admit it, I have an addiction! The damn Twitter craze has hit me hard and I’ve been spending an awful amount of time updating the world about... Well actually now that I think about it, I’ve just pretty much rambled on (can you ramble in 140 characters?) about whatever came to mind... Mmmmm, so maybe updating is not the right word... Arrghh, I digress! With me becoming a bit of a fan I thought I’d let you all in on a (not so little) secret. There is now a Twitter DICTIONARY!!! So without further ado my fellow friends and fellow TWEEK’s here it is, so god speed and use it wisely:

The Twictionary

ATTWACTION – a crush on another twitterer.

BLOCK – to stop someone’s tweets appearing in your feed.

DM – direct message.

DWEET – tweet sent while drunk.

EGOTWEETICAL – someone who tweets about themselves too much.

FAIL WHALE – the friendly whale character that appears on Twitter when the website is down.
FOLLOWER – user who follows another person’s tweets.

HANDLE – your Twitter name, beginning with @ – e.g. @joebloggs.

ILLTWITERATE – someone who doesn’t understand Twitter.

IM – instant message.

MICRO-BLOGGING – another phrase for tweeting.

MISTWEET – an error in a tweet, or a tweet you later regret.

NUDGE – a friendly reminder to someone to update their profile.

QWITTER – someone who stops using Twitter.

RETWEET – posting something already posted by another user.

SPEETS – spam tweets.

TWADD – to add someone as a follower.

TWADDLE – boring tweets.

TWAGGLE – gaggle of followers.

TWEAVESDROPPING – reading strangers’ Twitter conversations.

TWEEK – Twitter geek.

TWEET – a post on Twitter.

TWEETERITIS – injury caused by too much twittering, e.g. sore fingers.

TWEETHEART – someone you fall in love with while tweeting.

TWEETOUT – to sign out.

TWENDY – something trendy on Twitter.

TWIRTING – flirting on Twitter.

TWITCH – the need to tweet.

TWITLIT – stories or poems posted via Twitter.

TWITTERATI – the A-list celebrity twitterers.

TWITTICISM – a witty tweet.

140er – a tweet that uses exactly the maximum 140 characters.

You can follow me on Twitter here...

Watch this Space – Buck Rogers

During the 80’s in South Africa we were a little starved of choice when it came to TV shows, but we did still get many of the greats. TV series like The A-Team, Voyagers, Automan and Riptide to name but a few. But for me one stood out above all others... Buck Rogers!

Buck Rogers (with the original series of Battlestar Galactica) introduced me to what has now become a lifelong passion for Sci-Fi in all its forms. It also introduced me to my very first crush with the ever beautiful Erin Gray as crack Starfighter pilot Col. Wilma Deering...

The Buck Rogers TV series ran for only 2 seasons and was dubbed into Afrikaans, but it was still one kickass show. Gil Gerard stared as the erstwhile hero Buck Rogers, with Tim O’Conner staring as Dr. Huer and Felix Silla as Twiki.

I wanted to embed the video intros into the blog, but it seems like the copyright owner has requested that the embedding be disabled. That’s why I’ve provided you with the YouTube links to the 3 different intros below.

The first video clip is the intro to the pilot show that originally brought Buck to our screens. It is however in its original English.

Buck Rogers Pilot Intro

Next up is the season 1 intro

Buck Rogers Season 1 Intro

And finally season 2

Buck Rogers Season 2 Intro

Then for good measure I’ve also thrown in the end credits.

Buck Rogers End Credits

Man those were good times! Terribly cheesy, but damn good times.

UPDATE! I managed to find a copy that I can embed! Check it out below:

Springbok Radio... Man that brings back a memory or two!

Holly hell! Do you remember the Radio Dramas like “Squad Cars” and “Inspector Carr Investigates”? Or how about the classic comedy series “Men from the Ministry”? I spent many an evening as a kid listening to these shows and they truly were the theatre of the mind.

I remember sometime in the early 80’s my parents took me to a recording of Men from the Ministry at Northdene Primary School. It was an absolute blast! *Sigh* I just wish we still had such great broadcasting in this country. Unfortunately that is not going to change anytime soon, so instead I can offer you the next best thing...

The Springbok Radio Archive!

Another Pop Shop Post is up!

Check it out here!