In 1983-ish, there was a night when there were three movies on TV at the same time that I wanted to see. In a world without DVRs, and in which a VCR cost as much as a home computer (Commodore 64, $200), there was no way I could record more than one movie. So I had to prioritize.
One movie got watched, another got taped, and the third--well, I just had to resolve to keep an eye out for the third in the movie listings. That's how it was.
Every Sunday thereafter, for years, I looked for the movie in the TV listings, and it was never, never, ever run again. I don't remember what the other two movies were now, but I know they've been shown on TV many times over in the intervening three decades. But Flash and Firecat never was.
Fast-forward to last year, when Mrs. Fungus bought me a VHS copy of the movie. Fast-forward one more time to last night, when we watched it.
Made in 1976, it's cheesy as all get-out, but it was a fun movie. Mrs. Fungus and I had a grand time watching it. I'm sure it must have been unintentional, but the inclusion of Richard Kiel (the 7'2" giant who played "Jaws" in a few James Bond films) added a comedic element the movie did not really need. Overall the whole thing was meant to be a comedy (rather than a tragedy) so the cracker sheriff (in California?) was already pretty much over the top.
We did enjoy it, even so. I have a feeling that I would have loved it if I'd seen it when I was 17; as it is I think it was pretty entertaining and will definitely watch it again.
I do have to admit it makes me want to build a sand rail. Dang.
One detail that bothered me, until I figured it out: both of the sand rails featured in the movie used VW engines and suspension components, but one of them had a radiator. That kept niggling at me, because WTF movie people trying to make something look like something it isn't but perhaps a third of the way through I realized that it was probably just an oil cooler, especially considering how the thing was plumbed. There's absolutely no reason why a sand rail can't have that sort of thing, and in fact it makes sense.
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Last night I decided to dust off Diablo III and fiddle around with it. I made a demon hunter named "Lovelyfuuka". It's been long enough since I last played the game that I'd pretty much forgotten everything, so I'm starting from scratch.
...comparing that to D2 and the original game, though, I realize how far computer technology has come in the last 18 years. And in 30--the graphics in D3 could not have been done on the fastest computer in the world when I was in high school, at least not in real time.
I suppose that's how someone who was 17 in 1903 might have felt in the 1930s, about aircraft: "When I was 17, the Wright brothers did their thing. Now look!" Except computer technology has advanced faster than aircraft technology did.
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Anticipating today's 80+ weather, I cold-soaked the bunker last night. Had to get up around 8 to hit the can, so I closed the windows; and now it's nice and cool inside even as it's seasonably warm outside. Got to love that.
