Author: somegeektoldme@gmail.com

Reacting to my wife’s favourite books

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Books

I want to talk about my wife’s favourite books. Why? Because my wife is an avid reader, and she loves rereading her favourite books. This is not hyperbole, I mean she really loves them. Being the social butterfly couple that we are, we read nearly every night.1 During this time, we often discuss what’s happening in our books; like explaining key events or “Guess what’s happened now?”

Over time I have noticed something with my wife; every so often, while I’m explaining what’s happening in my book, she will say something to the effect, “That book sounds awful, I’m never reading it”, or “Listening to you explain that book, has convinced me never to read it‘, or worse, “Why are you even reading that?”

After losing track of the number of times I have heard this, I’ve decided to do something about it. Hence, I will be reacting to my wife’s favourite books. Before I continue, I need to explain the book selection. Asking a reader to narrow down or choose their favourite books; regardless of genres, is like torture. How in the nine circles of Dante’s Hell do you choose?

My wife generally reads books that are part of a series, because it’s like an unofficial guarantee that the book is good. From her perspective, why would a company continue to publish books in a series, if they were crap? Also when she reads a stand alone book, she needs to know what happens after the last page, so why bother?

When life is going off the rails,2my wife finds comfort in rereading a favourite series. She enjoys revisiting old friends and familiar locations.

When I asked her to name three of her favourite books, she happily began discussing which series to choose. Being her husband, I then pulled the rug from underneath her and explained, that she could not select any book from a series; they must be stand alone books.

She was not exactly thrilled about this, so after five days of constant deliberation, my wife had created a list of her three favourite stand alone books. They are in no particular order, so let’s take a look at her selection. Ready?

Photo by Element5 Digital on Pexels.com

WARNING, there are spoilers, so read at your own caution.

1.) The Best of Adam Sharp by Graeme Simsion

I’ll be honest, I have not read this book; though I have read Simsion’s, The Rosie Trilogy, which is quite funny. I see a lot of Don Tillman in me, or maybe it’s me in Don Tillman?

I have a vague memory of my wife talking about this book, though I was probably eating pizza and watching rugby when it happened, so I probably wasn’t listening to the extent, I should have been. Sorry.

My wife wanted me to point out, that when she was at the library, looking for the second book in The Rosie Trilogy, she couldn’t find it. She needed something to read, so she grabbed The Best of Adam Sharp instead.

Anyway, I had to look this book up. The story goes like this: A guy named Adam is in a long-term relationship with Claire, but he often thinks about some ex-lover, named Angelina. Surprise, surprise, Angelina contacts him, and after some correspondence, she invites him to stay with her and her husband. What could possibly go wrong?

Upon asking my wife, why she likes this book, she explained that it’s for two reasons. The first reason is that, she thinks the characters are very complex and quite relatable. This is in spite of the notion of someone having a soulmate, that you can only ever love one person in your lifetime.3 She believes that a person can love different people, during their life time; so the concept of a soulmate is ridiculous to her.

The second reason is the apparent use of music within the book. Without reading it, I have to trust she knows what she’s talking about. Maybe. I’m getting side tracked here,…um…music.

She said music is woven throughout the book and it made her discover some new songs, that she could listen to as she read the book. It’s the opposite to me, I need total silence when reading; I’m quite simple.

So what do I think about this book?

I don’t know if I can be funny about this, but I think I’ll be giving this book a pass. Maybe it’s the thought about people talking through their feelings and relationships, or the concept of an ex-girlfriend, getting in touch with me,4 but this book does not seem to grab me; though I’m impressed and worried that my wife likes it.

2.) The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

This book is quite quirky. In a nutshell, there is a man named Henry, and he has a rare disorder called Chrono-Impairment. This allows him to travel backwards and forwards through time, but only to points within his own timeline. He can’t control the jumps, he just has to survive the experience.

Through time travelling, Henry’s timeline is crossed with Clare, a woman that he falls in love with and eventually marries, and other crazy stuff happens as well.

So, my wife rates this book, because it was very different. She liked the way time travel was portrayed, because it was somewhat opposite to time travel, being a plot device in movies and tv shows that she had seen.

She also could relate to the main characters’ fertility struggles, as well as the book reminding her about an episode of Doctor Who; just without the angry rubbish bins with plungers, or the psychotic potato heads.

So what do I think about this book?

The funny thing with this book, is that I have already read it, because I’m the one that recommended it to my wife! I enjoyed the book for it’s non-linear storytelling, thought that is not always a good thing. Anyway, full credit to me, for having already read the book; and liked it enough to suggest it to my wife.

3.) Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman: one guy created Discworld, and the other guy wrote the Sandman5, so the expectations are quite high for this book. This is my wife’s summary of the book:

There are two unlikely friends, that are trying to stop Armageddon.

There is more to the book than that; witches, angels, demons, the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, witchfinders, and of course, the son of Satan.

Once again, we turn to my wife’s opinion. She had never heard of the tv series, let alone the book, until she discovered that David Tennant would be starring in it. This convinced her to find the book, because she wanted to read it, before watching the tv show. She claimed she likes being superior in this way.

She found the book extremely hilarious, especially when you were expecting it to be serious, then something crazy happens. She also loves that Crowley’s car only plays Queen music. If you leave any album in the car, for an extended period of time, the car will covert it to Queen. As a Queen fan herself, she finds that quite entertaining.

So what do I think about this book?

Now, I have not had the honour of reading the book, but I have seen the tv mini-series. I enjoyed the show enough, to actually want to read the book. I have not moved the book to my to-read pile, but I promise you that I’m going to read it soon. Just don’t tell my wife.

Overall, her selection of books is not too terrible. At least there were no Mills & Boon, I would not have be able to handle that. Well that’s it. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next week for some special blogs.

1 Even on Friday and Saturday nights, we usually read at some point. Yes, we are that cool.

2 I’m looking at you COVID-19, I’m so looking at you.

3 I don’t know if I should be worried about this statement or not.

4 My first thought would be, “Do I owe her money?”

5 Among other things.

Three of the best underrated action films ever

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Movies

I want to talk about action films, in particular, underrated action films. Why? Because when they are done correctly, action films are simply amazing. From the fight scenes, vehicle chases, one liners, and stunts, action films can help push movie making into new and exciting territories.

Sometimes you want to relax and watch a film, where two cars hitting each other can cause an explosion, and the laws of physics have been screwed up and thrown in the bin.

Like my previous blog post about underrated science fiction films, I would like to shine my Bat-torch on to some great underrated action films, that I love and admire. And just like before, my definition of an underrated film can cover lower box office earnings, winning little or no awards, or conflicting receptions to the film; but still be an arse kicking action film.1

And just like before, films within action franchises will not be considered, because they could fall under their own list. The films have been listed in chronological order of release, so please enjoy; because I would happily watch these films at any time.

I am also very aware, there are some other awesome underrated action films, that have not made my list. For that, I am very sorry, but there are only so many hours I am actually conscious.

Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

WARNING, there are spoilers, so read at your own caution.

1.) The Running Man (1987)

To start my small ode to underrated action films, I have to discuss The Running Man, featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger. The film is loosely based on a Stephen King story, that is set in the future. 2017 to be accurate.2

To explain the film, here’s the opening crawl:

By 2017, the world economy has collapsed. Food, natural resources and oil are in short supply. A police state, divided into paramilitary zones, rules with an iron hand.

Television is controlled by the state and a sadistic game show called The Running Man has become the most popular program in history.

In this game, criminals are granted pardons, if they can win. The problem is that highly trained gladiators/stalkers are released to locate and kill them. All for television ratings; it’s the OG reality show.

Schwarzenegger plays Ben Richards, a man that has been framed and sent into the The Running Man tv show. From there, he has to build alliances with other contestants and try to win the game, by defeating the Stalkers.

I think I saw The Running Man on television, and I blown away by the entire structure of the movie. A dystopian society, television shows building empires, the injustice and oppression, Schwarzenegger kicking all different kinds of arse, and all in the futuristic year of 2017.

The Stalkers were creative, with names like Professor Subzero, Buzzsaw, Dynamo, Fireball, and Captain Freedom. They were all experts in dealing out death, and they were the people’s champions. And that was something that has never left me: the concept of live executions, to satisfy the masses, via a television game show.

I feel the film is underrated for all of these reasons, but also because it was ahead of its time, with the whole deadly game show gimmick; but also how easy it was for a government to distract the public with death and carnage, so they wouldn’t have to think of how terrible the world had become. It reminded me of the Ancient Romans and the Colosseum.

The Running Man’s social, media, and political messages, were very apt for our 21st century, but for 1987, it was too outrageous. Not only does the film have some bombastic action and violent scenes, but it works in with the tone of the film.

For a product of its time, The Running Man is simply outstanding and underrated. Do yourself a favour and watch this film; if only for Schwarzenegger’s one liners. They will never age.

2.) Payback (1999)

Payback is a film that I didn’t think I would enjoy, but I did. Mel Gibson stars as Porter, a thief that is out for, well, payback. He was betrayed by his best friend and his wife, and left for dead, all for $70,000. Porter goes through a lot to gain his revenge, but also to get his $70,000 back.

I found Payback underrated for three main reasons: the first thing is that the protagonist, is actually a criminal. For Porter to succeed in his quest, people are going to have to be tortured or killed. For me, that concept was interesting, because you were cheering on a bad guy. You wanted a bad guy to win. Now Porter, is no angel. He’s a con man, thief and a murderer, but liking him is actually quite easy.

The second reason is the amount of money Porter is trying to get back: $70,000. I still find it funny, when each character learns that Porter is trying to track down his $70,000, they can’t believe the carnage he has caused, all for $70,000. Not $7 million, not $700,000, or even $130,000; but $70,000 and not a dollar more. Some of their reactions are priceless.

For the last reason, Payback is an action film, but for some action loving fans, it may come across a little light in that area. Yes, there are gunfights, but they are spaced out throughout the film. Because of this, people could be dismissive of the action element.

Payback did turn a profit, but inspired a lot of average reviews. Don’t let that put you off, there are some great action sequences, especially with Lucy Liu stealing every scene, she’s in. It’s a excellent film, that deserves a little more attention.

3.) Dredd (2012)

This is an odd film, because it can easily fit into the action, science fiction and comic book genres. Putting aside my love for sci-fi and comics, I consulted the staff of Some Geek Told Me, and they agreed that Dredd should be placed the action genre. Mainly because I said so.

Dredd is based on the 2000AD character, Judge Dredd, the ultimate futuristic lawman. Set in the future (somewhere around 2080-2100, I think), Mega-City One is the home to 800 million people, with crime and unemployment out of control.

Because of this, law enforcement has evolved and changed into Judges; law enforcement officers that act as judge, jury and executioner, when attending a crime. The toughest Judge of them all, is Judge Dredd. Dredd is called in to assess a rookie cadet named Anderson, whom has psychic abilities, by taking her out into the field. Dredd’s assessment of Anderson is very comprehensive, because of the shenanigans in Peach Tress, a 200-storey slum tower block.

For me, I loved Dredd for multiple reasons. The first was Karl Urban’s portrayal of Dredd was bang on, including never removing his helmet, so you don’t see his face; just like in the comics. The soundtrack, along with the incredible action sequences, give you a front row seat to the chaos. It’s truly epic in its ambition, which fits with Lena Headey’s villain, Madeline “Ma-Ma” Madrigal.

To add to the film’s tone, it was shot in 3-D, and also has some mind blowing slow motion sequences, due to…oh, yeah, spoilers!!

Sadly, there were contributing factors, which led to the film’s low box office taking. It was released with a rating of R, because of the violence, swearing and drug use in the film. This meant, people under 17 years old, could not watch the movie without parental supervision. This automatically limited the range of the audience.

Another factor was the lack of marketing for the film. Dredd passed under the radar in several countries, because of the lack awareness of the film.

It’s not all doom and gloom though, Dredd was praised by audience members and the media, through the initial release, but mainly through the DVD release, which has turned it into a cult film. There’s been discussions about a possible sequel, which I have stated before, that I hope does not happen. Instead, I want a television show, because the world of Judge Dredd, needs to be explored next week. Drokk it!

Dredd is a criminally underrated film, that you need to see.

Alright, that’s it for me. If you ever get a chance to see The Running Man, Payback, or Dredd, please take it. And just like Aang marrying Katara, it’s something you won’t regret.

Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next week.

1 Pun, very much intended.

2 I know, who knew 2017 was going to be that interesting.

Climate Change: Can you do anything about it?

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn People, Science

I want to talk about Climate Change. Why? Because it’s a hot button topic currently and it needs to be discussed, and backed up with action. You may have noticed that I have used upper case letters for Climate Change; the reason is, at least to me, the situation is that severe, it deserves capital letters.

Before I go any further, we need to clear up two things about this blog post. Firstly, I try in vain to make my blog posts funny and entertaining, which is more difficult than I thought it would ever be. Talking about comics, being a parent, the DMZ, are lots of fun to me. However, I find nothing funny about the concept of Climate Change.

Secondly, I have to assume something about you.1 If you’re reading this blog, I have to assume you must accept two things: 1.) Climate Change is real, and 2.) Climate Change is caused by human activity and it’s increasing. Also let’s make sure we all agree what Climate Change actually is.

The way I understand Climate Change, are the overall global weather patterns, caused by an increased build up of greenhouses gases like carbon dioxide (CO2) and others, like methane. This is done through burning fossil fuels like coal, petrol and oil; deforestation; agricultural techniques and livestock farming; among other things.

What this means, is that the Earth is slowly becoming warmer. Because global weather patterns are connected, and if the average global temperature continues to rise, the regions that are hot, will get hotter; the regions that are cold; will get colder. Basically, global weather patterns will take steroids, and dial worldwide disasters up to 11.

Sweet, we’re on the same page, now.

Photo by Markus Spiske on Pexels.com

So…. can you stop Climate Change by yourself? No, no you can’t. The situation is too massive for any one person to solve. However, can you do anything about Climate Change? Yes, yes you can.

From my perspective, Climate Change is a leveller. It doesn’t matter about your age, gender, religion, nationality, job, sexual orientation, or anything else; Climate Change affects every single person in the world, in addition to the non-human residents, that we share this spinning ball of rock and water with.

The world’s greatest living science communicator, Sir David Attenborough, recently said at COP26 (26th summit of Conference of the Parties):

“We are, after all, the greatest problem solvers to have ever existed on Earth.” “If working apart, we are a force powerful enough to destabilise our planet. Surely working together, we are powerful enough to save it.”

That man is 95 years old, and he can still kick more arse in one day, that I can do in my entire life. With that message, what can any one person do, to reduce the amount of CO2 in the Earth’s atmosphere? You can do it by making small changes in your lifestyle, but also inspiring others to change as well.

Slowing down Climate Change, can seem quite over whelming for a species, let only for a single person. Having said that, here are some simple lifestyle choices, that can help you reduce your CO2 emissions, on a daily basis. You don’t have to sacrifice anything, it’s all about making small changes, that slowly add up.

I need to point something out: Climate Change was not caused by you, and you alone. It’s not your personal responsibility to fix this problem; however you are more than entitled to help, and inspire others to help as well.

Central and local governments; international, national, and local companies; corporations; and communities, all have to help, not just you. There are many factors that stand in our way like technology, poverty, taxes, employment, politics, laws, and the economy, that need to be considered and solved.

This is because my CO2 emissions, will be different from somebody living in the USA, or Libya, or Ghana, or China, or any other place that ends with the letter “A”. You however, are allowed to make other people care, so they can act too.

Small changes can be:

  • Switching to an electric car or lawnmower.
  • Setting up a car pool.
  • Riding more public transportation.
  • Walking or cycling more.
  • Buying local produce.
  • Buying and planting more trees.
  • Eating less meat.
  • Turning off electricity, when you don’t need it.

These changes can help with the battle against Climate Change, but if we as a species want to win this war, we need to get very serious, very quickly. If you want real changes against rising CO2 emissions, then you only have one last resort: democracy.

Large changes can be:

The answer is about elections, in particular, voting. To really bring about meaningful and positive results in the campaign of lowering CO2 emissions, we need to do two things: influence the decision makers; and vote into power, people whom are passion about solving this problem. The decision and law makers hold the future of life on this planet in their hands; it’s our job to convince them to save this world.

You need to get them to care.

At local and national elections, you should look for candidates that have strong Climate Change polices, and vote for them. We do not need any more people of authority, dismissing or not understanding how severe the situation is. We need the right polices, the right technology and the right people in power.

It’s up to us to put them there, so they can execute our will and solve the problem of Climate Change; and we need it now.

Before I go and stop UMC1 and UMC2 from jumping on their beds again, I want to credit and thank Kurzgesagt for their Climate Change video. Their video can explain things to a far better clarity on the topic, than I could ever hope to achieve.

They are not a sponsor, because I am not popular enough to be sponsored; I just love their work. They are the best at what they do, and what they do is amazing.

To quote Jonathan Hickman, the writer of East of West:

“No. It’s not a game. This is the world. It is not the one we were supposed to have, but it’s the one we made. We did this. We did it with open eyes and willing hands. We broke it, and there is no putting it back together. But I’m damned already… so at least I’m going to try.”

With fighting Climate Change, we need to do better. I’m in; are you?

Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next week.

1 You know what they say; you should never assume, because it makes an ass out of you and me.

The KKK and their unintentional positive impacts

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn History, People

I want to talk about the Ku Klux Klan. Why? Well, I mentioned them in my blog introduction, a long time ago. I said, “I want to showcase and discuss some of my personal heroes and icons, people that I think have made a positive impact on me; but also shaped and changed the world for the better. Remember, I did say I’m a geek. However, I do want to also highlight people or groups that have had the opposite effect; the Ku Klux Klan, I’m looking at you.”

I recently realised, that I still hadn’t discussed them, so I thought it’s time I rectified that. Now I am not going to explain the history and origins of that happy little sunshine group known as the KKK, because I feel we all understand that their message is filled with racism, violence, bigotry, prejudice, and stupidity.

And if you have never heard of the KKK; firstly, congratulations; secondly, do yourself a favour and look them up.

SPOLIER ALERT: The KKK suck.

Image by Here and now, unfortunately, ends my journey on Pixabay from Pixabay

So what can be said about the KKK, that has not already been said before? People a lot smarter than me have made movies and documentaries exploring the KKK, in fictional and non-fictional contexts; and they have also written books concerning the KKK’s various negative impacts on history and society.

What can a white guy, living in the South Pacific, with the craziest eyebrows, this side of the 1984 Dune’s version of Thufir Hawat, add to the discourse? How about the KKK having three unintentional positive impacts on global society?

Now before you decided to stop reading this blog, please continue and have a little faith in where I’m going with this.

The first unintentional positive impact the KKK have had on our lives, is the power to unite people against them. Collective villains are easy to dislike or hate; Daleks, The Borg, Zombies, Nazis, and the list could go on. The KKK are a very easy target for people’s displeasure, which they deserve 100%.

The extremely badly written point I’m trying to make here, is that the majority of people dislike them. Whether you’re from left or right wing politics, and everything in between; straight or LBGTQ+; 15 or 95 years old; white or black, and everything in between; everybody across the different groups seem to all have one similar trait: they all dislike the KKK.

To unite people across society, and to share the same annoyance of the KKK, is truly positive. It must take a special group of fools, to piss off nearly everybody.

For the next positive impact, it’s all displaying the best and brightest of the white supremacy group. By this I mean, they are promoting the need for accurate spelling. What am I talking about? Well, the correct spelling of the word klan in English, is actually clan. So what the KKK have been doing, is running around, spewing out white supremacy garbage; but the entire time, one of the three words in their actual name, has been spelt incorrectly.

Whether this spelling was done intentional or someone down the line, thought it would be a great idea; the fact remains, the KKK spell clan, as klan. The unintentional positive impact is highlighting the need for correct spelling and the importance of education. Stay in school and do your homework; go Team Education!

The third reason is actually quite easy to identify: their clothes make them look like ghosts. Now I personally don’t know any ghosts, so I have no idea whether they would be alright being linked to the KKK or not. It does make me think though, what would happen if ghosts were asked about their connection to the KKK? Their response would be, “Hell no, they have nothing to do with us. Don’t you dare group those losers with us!”

I think there are very few things as funny, as grown men dressing up in sheets, explaining how superior they are, while others are not. This is the unintentional positive impact: making people smile and laughing at you, while you walk around looking like a broke arse ghost, with a racism addiction.

There you have it, three unintentional positive impacts the KKK with given us; because everything else they have given us, has been crap.

Anyway, I have to go; my children are fighting over imaginary cupcakes. Again. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next week.

Being a bloke in an industry largely dominated by women

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn People

I want to talk about being a guy and working in an industry dominated by women. Why? Because I have been doing that for 12 years, and a work colleague suggested I write about it.

It’s been an interesting 12 years and I have learnt that there are both positive and negative sides to being surrounded by females.

Whenever I meet somebody new and they ask the inevitable, “So what do you do for work?”, 100% of the people are surprised with my answer. Everyone always has follow up questions and they want to know more, but honestly it’s not even that interesting. Jobs should not have genders, unless you have the type of job that you use your genitals for; which I do not.

Image by Ronile from Pixabay

I spend a lot of my work week listening to my co-workers chat about clothes, haircuts, small town gossip and TV shows, I have no knowledge of. I find it hard to join in these conversations, as I wear the same black cargo pants every day.1 On work days, I wear my uniform shirt and on the weekends, I wear various geeky t-shirts that my wife buys me for every anniversary, birthday or Christmas. I am not the person to ask for fashion tips or to include in any fashion related conversation.

I have had the same haircut for the past 15 years. Short back and sides and slightly longer on top, cut with clippers by a barber or my lovely wife. The only difference in my haircut, has been the amount of grey hairs slowly taking over as I get older. Personally, I blame this solely on fatherhood and the stress of refereeing my two unmatured clones on a daily basis.

Also, I didn’t grow up in the town I live in currently; I’m not even from the same district. But most of my co-workers were born and raised here, so they all know everyone and everyone’s business. So when they talk about Bob’s new girlfriend, Sue, who was married to that doctor, but got divorced because her mother-in-law crashed their boat at the lake, 4 years ago; I AM CLUELESS. I don’t even know what lake they are referring to. There are so many, which one are you talking about?!

Reality TV shows seem to be standard office conversation, but no matter how hard I try, I just don’t understand the shows. Perhaps I need to take a course, “Reality TV for Dummies” or something similar. Whenever I hear about, “So and so got booted off” or “Did you see that girl, got to go through?“, I know I can’t add anything to the conversation.

So what do I talk to my co-workers about? Well other than work, I like it when someone asks me science, history or sport questions. It makes me feel glad I took the time to remember the 967,886,430,774 useless facts, rattling around in my big, ugly head. I do have to be careful when answering questions, partly because I don’t want people to think that I believe I’m superior or a know it all. But mostly I don’t want to be accused of mansplaining.

I like working with women when it comes to a problem-solving situation, as they offer a different perspective, I wouldn’t have thought of otherwise. They are very detail oriented, which works well, as I’m usually oblivious when it comes to the finer points. To be honest, most of it is pretty positive, although there have been the odd few occasions where I have experienced sexism.

Like when my co-workers hung a nude male firefighter calendar in the staffroom; if I was to hang the straight male equivalent, I’m 100% sure it would be frowned upon! Or when clients assume I’m gay and then I have to somehow try and mention that I have a wife, in a non-obvious way.2

Clients can be great though, especially at Christmas when they give my co-workers all the same generic girly gift, but they go out of their way to get me something more neutral.

I also think I have forgotten how to speak to other men. I used to play football every weekend, but haven’t for the last two years; so now 98% of the conversations I have are with women, and I get tongue tied when I have to speak to anyone else. Not that I’m especially chatty anyway.

I think that seeing a man do a stereotypical female job seems weird to people, because that is not what you see in the media. There are always movies, TV shows, books and adverts, showing women doing the “male” jobs, which is so important for young girls and boys to see those women out being firefighters, builders and CEO’s. However men being nurses, caregivers or secretaries, is hardly ever shown in media and if it is, that character is usually the butt of a joke.

I think that there are probably many men in my situation and that my story is neither interesting nor unique, it’s all about representation.

Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next week.

1 Black shorts for summer, though. Sweet!

2 The joys of living in a conservative country.

It’s a fine line between keepsakes and hoarding

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Children2 Comments

I want to talk about passing on or donating your children’s old belongings. Why? Because being a bloke, I didn’t foresee the different emotions that I would have, when donating items that previously belonged to my boys.

When my wife and I announced our first pregnancy, we did it by posting a photograph of three Super shirts: two t-shirts and a baby singlet. When we announced our second pregnancy, we did it with four Star Wars shirts: three t-shirts and one baby singlet.

We kept the Superman baby singlet, along with the baby Star Wars singlet, because they hold sentimental and emotional value for us; especially me. What I didn’t expect was to have an emotional attachment to furniture and other items.

Now I realise that every family would have to go through this at some stage; about decluttering the house and the kids’ belongings. This can mean sorting out books, that they no longer read; toys they no longer play with; and also clothes that no longer fit them.

Over the last few years, we have tried to pass on as much stuff, as we possibly could; purely because a lot of those items, were actually given to us. I think it would bring us some type of negative karma, if we were going to sell things that we were given to us. Does that make sense?

Image by PX41-Media from Pixabay

As a parent, but especially as a father, I’ve been having conflicting feelings about this. An easy example of this, is when we donated some clothes recently; which were clothes that UMC2 no longer fits. As I was packing the clothes into a bag, I came across a blue Spider-Man t-shirt, that I purchased for UMC1. I remember the day and the store that I purchased that t-shirt. As I was holding it in my hands, I was hit with a mixture of feelings; it’s a small piece of clothing, that no human member of our family fits anymore.

I was surprised that I felt some sadness because of it. Both my boys had worn that t-shirt, and now it was too small for either one of them. I knew I had to pass it on. I had to donate it, so it could find its way to another child, that would love it as much as what my two boys did.

Another example was six months ago, when we sold our wooden cot. I remember buying it, because I didn’t have enough money, so I had to sell some of my Spawn comics to cover the cost. Spawn actually helping children sleep is such a crazy concept to me!

Both my boys have their own beds now, but my house is very small, so they actually have to share a bedroom. UMC2 has not slept in the cot for an extremely long time, so we had packed it up and left it in our tiny bedroom.

Some months had passed and I made the observation that our bedroom was fast becoming a scene from Steptoe and Son. We needed to get rid of the cot. We both decided we should paint it, so we could try to sell it. The strange thing is that, when the entire time the cot was dismantled, I was just frustrated with it. The reason was because it was just sitting there doing nothing, taking up a massive amount of space, in an already small bedroom.

It was a first world problem; I get it, but it was still something that we needed to rectify. We managed to sell the cot and mattress online, so I was relieved that it was going. A problem was created though, when the buyer arrived to pick it up. It was my job to assemble all the pieces, to make sure nothing was missing. It was at this point; and as stupid as it sounds, I felt an emotional attachment to the cot, that I didn’t know was actually there.

This piece of bedroom furniture had protected both my boys, while they were asleep for five years and I couldn’t help but think, this was a massive chapter in our children’s lives that was closing. I really didn’t think it would have that much of an impact on me, but it did. I remember my wife and I building the cot for the first time, and I remember the first night UMC1 slept in it.

Later on, I had to dismantle and pack it up when we moved cities, and finally be able to reassemble it when we purchased our house. It was just some pieces of wood and a mattress, but it had been a huge part of our lives. When the buyer came to pick it up, I helped him take it to his car and hoped his children would get joy from it, as he drove away.

I’ve discovered that as a parent, I’ve wanted to keep many things from the boys’ childhoods; whether it’s socks, shoes, t-shirts, shorts, or any type of clothing and toys. But if I did this, the house would be chaos. Like I said before, as a guy, I really didn’t think I would have an emotional attachment to children’s furniture, but also to their old toys and t-shirts; things the kids no longer or can use.

The books that the boys would ask us to read, 100 times a day, no longer get touched. They will be replaced with new and more complicated books, so they can be read 100 times a day. Even with the meagre amount of toys that we have, a lot of them don’t get played with anymore.

I think with donating and passing on old items, it’s great knowing that they are going to be used by someone else, even if you never meet them. However this also means, the boys will receive new and donated items, so the cycle can continue. And over time, those items will get replaced as well. I guess what I’m really talking about, is the fact that with a lot of the items that we donated, I discovered that I had more of an emotional attachment to them, compared to the boys.

I know this sounds strange coming from a guy, but I would love to have some type of profound and wise quote about this, but I just don’t; it’s just life. It’s always been like this and that’s how it’s going to continue to be like this. I think as a parent, I really don’t want us to be a family of hoarders. Though to be fair, with the boys collecting sticks and stones in their room, maybe hoarding is in their blood as well.

Thanks for reading and I’ll see you soon.

What I’ve learnt after watching 3,850 minutes of Dragon Ball

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Television

I want to talk about Dragon Ball. Why? The reason is because my awesome wife gave me the complete Dragon Ball Saga on DVD for Christmas. I had watched Dragon Ball Z a long time ago, but no other Dragon Ball series regularly since then.

My wife thought it would be a great idea for us to watch them together on Saturday nights, to witness the beginning of the whole story, but also to understand some of the events we had heard about.

So instead of hiring some baby sitters to watch UMC1 and UMC2, and hit some bars, nightclubs and parties on Saturday nights, we stayed at home and watched Dragon Ball. We are that cool.

Image by Anthony Gallon from Pixabay

22 discs, 3,850 minutes, and 153 episodes later, we have finished it. There are so many different things that we have learnt, but since we went into Dragon Ball without a huge amount of knowledge; other than what we have picked up over the last few decades, everything was revealing and entertaining.

Below are 25 of the most craziest, interesting, entertaining, and favourite moments from Dragon Ball, that we have discovered, in no particular order. Also I realise a lot of people would have already seen Dragon Ball, so this list will not be a surprise to some of you; I’m only a few decades late.

WARNING, there are spoilers, so read at your own caution.

1.) Krillin has always been loyal, short and bald.

2.) The craziest building in Dragon Ball, has to be Muscle Tower, the six-story fortress, belonging to General White, of the Red Ribbon Army. When Goku enters it, he encounters mazes, monsters and mayhem.

3.) The original reason Bulma was searching for the Dragon Balls, was for the Eternal Dragon to grant her a boyfriend. Yes, a boyfriend.

4.) The Red Ribbon Army soldiers were under the assumption, that the reason they were searching for the Dragon Balls, was for world domination. The real reason was for Commander Red, the leader of the Red Ribbon Army, to become taller.

5.) DynoCaps are some of the greatest inventions, we have ever seen. Why has someone not invented them for real?

6.) Mercenary Tao’s mode of transportation, is both extremely bad arse and bat-shit crazy.

7.) The origins of some crazy character names: the Red Ribbon Army’s generals were all named after colours; King Piccolo and his Demonic Clan were named after instruments; Goku’ grandfather Gohan, is named after rice; Krillin is named after chestnut; Bulma is named after girls’ gym shorts; and the list just goes on and on.

8.) Goku promised to marry Chi-Chi when they were children, by an innocent mistake; but he still went through with the wedding, when he was older.

9.) Master Roshi is a complicated character: on one hand, he is a gifted martial artist and wise mentor, who cares deeply about his students; however he is one of the worse perverts ever.

10.) The names of some of the finishing moves like Wolf Fang Fist, Four Witches Technique, Devilmite Beam, Solar Flare, Crane Style Assassin Strike, Kamehameha, Explosive Demon Wave, were truly epic.

11.) Krillin’s technique to defeat See-Through, the Invisible Man, was very different. Wow, Bulma will never forgive him for it.

12.) I didn’t know it was possible for anybody to be squeamish, when watching a cartoon, but my wife could not stand the sight and sounds of King Piccolo, coughing up his eggs.

13.) Fortuneteller Baba and Master Roshi were siblings, and their interactions were priceless.

14.) We got to see how the origin of Goku’s power pole and the Flying Nimbus. Roshi would never be worthy of riding the Flying Nimbus again!

15.) At no point, was the location of Goku’s parents, the subject of conversation; by anybody.

16.) My wife and I would start trying to guess the number of episodes a particular fight or mission would last.

17.) The theme song actually tells you, exactly what happens in the show.

18.) The number of episodes the Ox-King’s castle was being destroyed by Fire Mountain’s lava; while the Ox-King was still trapped inside, was truly insane.

19.) The final episodes with the Furnace of Eight Divisions was bonkers, because of what Goku had to do, but also the fact the Furnace actually existed in the first place.

20.) The Devil’s Toilet was the most absurd, yet funniest name for a building in Dragon Ball.

21.) The mystery of Goku’s transformation by the full moon, is never truly resolved.

22.) Launch is very much like Bruce Banner; sometimes the Dragon Team needed Nice Launch, other times, they needed Violent Launch.

23.) The first wish granted by the Eternal Dragon in Dragon Ball, was for Oolong. He wished for a comfortable pair of underwear.

24.) Watching Yajirobe and Korin together was hilarious, because even though Yajirobe was on the support team, he was still a jerk.

25.) The way Goku would determine if someone was a boy or a girl, had us in disbelief and laughter.

There are a lot more things I would like to discuss, but I feel 25 observations of Dragon Ball is enough. We loved watching it; even every single recap of the previous episode. The show is a product of it’s era, but it was outstanding.

From the fights scenes, trash talking, powering up scenes, Roshi and his nose bleeds, Goku being hungry, and Emperor Pilaf and his gang losing yet again, Dragon Ball is a gem; but I would not have it any other way.

Thanks for reading and see you in a few days!

Misadventures in Internet Dating

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn People

I want to talk about first dates and internet dating. Why? A friend of mine went on a first date recently and it got me thinking about some of the first dates, I’ve been on. Some were good, some were ok, and some were just shockers.1

Image by athree23 from Pixabay

There were two first dates that I went on, that I can look back on them now and laugh; well try to laugh. This was about 11-12 years ago, and I had joined two dating sites. The reason I joined was because I didn’t travel in the same social circles of single women, and making eye contact with females at the comic shop was vastly discouraged.

I liked internet dating, but I also disliked it for probably the same amount of reasons; I mean, I’m a geek and I wanted to discuss geek related things, but I didn’t want to bore women to death. An example of this, was when after chatting to one woman on a dating site, we agreed to meet at one of my favourite bars.

We were talking about music, movies and television shows, which was great. She asked me what television shows I liked, and I rattled off a few, including Doctor Who. Granted, this was her own fault, but she mentioned that she had heard of the show, but she had never watched it and asked me to explain it.

I’m going to be honest with you, I have no idea how long I talked about Doctor Who for. It could have been 2 minutes or 20 minutes2, but at some point after I allowed unbridled geek culture to fall out of my mouth, I noticed the glazed look in her eyes. I had discussed a two-hearted alien with regeneration capabilities, that travels through space and time in a stolen box; on a first date. Amateur.3

Another classic first date was when I had been chatting to one particular woman for a couple of weeks, so we decided to meet up. Now I’m going to call this woman Lois, purely to make the story entertaining and flow. Lois suggested that we meet at the casino on Thursday night, which was fine by me.

At the time, I lived in the CBD, so the casino was only a 15 minute walk for me. Now I need to point something out; when I would meet someone for a first date, it was usually at a cafe, bar or restaurant. I had never agreed to meet anyone at the casino before, so this really should have been a red flag for me.

When I arrived at the casino, I walked through the main doors, then preceded to go up the stairs to the main foyer, where we had agreed to meet. I was standing there for a few minutes with no one around. It was about this time, my Spidey-Sense was going off.

I was starting to wonder if she could see me and if I’ve been stood up. I decided to wait one more minute then leave, when I heard my name being called. I turned around and there was Lois walking towards me. We introduced ourselves, which was about the same time, when I noticed something was very odd about Lois.

It could have been my imagination, but I was getting the distinct impression that she was drunk. We had agreed to meet at 6:30 pm, so the notion of someone being drunk at that time, as well as being on a first date, was extremely weird.

Now we’re standing in the middle of the foyer, still talking; we haven’t moved to the bar. It was at that time that I finally noticed that Lois had a glass of wine in her right hand, and her phone was in her left.

Lois then started apologising about the situation, which went something like this: Earlier on that day, someone offered to buy Lois’ business. The business was a hair cutting salon and Lois was quite surprised about this, because it wasn’t for sale.

She had explained to me that this particular person had offered a huge amount of money for the business, but there was a catch; she needed to make a decision before 7.00 pm that day. I asked her why was it such a short deadline?; why wasn’t she given more time to think about it?

The answer went along the lines of the businessman liked to buy and own hair-dressing salons, so they can join his hair-dressing empire. He needed to make the deal as fast as possible, because he was flying back to Auckland the next day.

I’m hearing this story and my Spidey-Sense has just gone off again. I’m thinking this is situation is bonkers; I don’t know what I’ve stepped into here, but this just seems mental.

Now the apology part was the fact that she was drunk. Lois told me that she was so stressed about her decision, that she needed to drink to think about the problem. The issue was that she said it’s a huge amount of money and with that money, she could invest in another businesses or go overseas or do whatever she wanted to do. However she went on to explain, that she previously had no intention of selling the business, because it was doing so well.

This was the conundrum; to sell or not to sell, but the answer was to drink.

I was thinking about what would I do if I was in her position, and someone had offered to buy my business extremely quickly for a huge amount of money. I would probably have a couple of drinks and be stressed about it too.

However, the one factor in this whole equation I didn’t understand, was that why she had agreed to go on this date with me. I mean, Lois could have said she couldn’t make it and she’s really sorry. That would have been ok. But I didn’t understand why she went through with the date, if she had all these personal issues happening to her.

I know personal issues can happen to anybody, at any time. I understand that and I can probably relate to that, but it was the fact that the sale of your business would be extremely important.

However badly the date was going, it was going to get worse. As Lois has been telling me about her situation, her phone started ringing. She looked at it and said “Oh no. I’m really sorry, but I’ve got to take this call.” So Lois walked off to the side to have a conversation. I assumed it was the businessman, whom was inquiring about the business proposal. Oh how wrong I was, I was so, so wrong!

As I was standing there, Lois began shouting. Not just myself, but other people around her could tell she was in a very heated argument. At this time, I was thinking if this was the businessman, it can’t be going well.

Four minutes go by, and Lois ends the phone call. She walks over to me to give another apology. Lois was apologising for the conversation, she just had with her boyfriend. Yes, her boyfriend.

Lois went on to say that he gets like this, as in jealous and angry; when she goes on dates with other men. It’s cliche to say, but it was at that precise time when I realised what a train wreck of a night this was turning into.

Lois apologises and informs me that her boyfriend is going to be here in under 10 minutes, to pick her up and take her home. Now I hear this and I’m thinking that I need to leave. I need to go home. This is a disaster, so cut your losses and go home.

The problem was that I felt like I was a character in the story, and I wanted to see how this would play out. I mean, this was just nonsense. It was just crazy. I just wanted to go home, but there was another part of me, that was quite fascinated with this train wreck of a night, that I needed to see how it would end.

So with that, the die was cast and I decided to stay. I realised I haven’t done anything wrong, I had no idea Lois had a boyfriend. So to me, I’m in the clear and the thing was, if the boyfriend was going to start anything or do anything to me, I felt I was going to be ok, because there were security guards everywhere. It was a casino after all.

So we talked in the foyer about jobs and interests, basically waiting for the boyfriend to arrive. I think it was about 15 minutes later when he appeared. When he turned up, I could tell it was him, because I saw a guy coming up the stairs and he looked pissed. It was like I was staring at an angry cartoon character, that had been brought to life.

After completing a quick scan of the foyer, the boyfriend walked straight towards us. I mentioned to Lois that it looked like her boyfriend was here. She turned around and quickly walked towards him. What happened next with absolutely insane.

The two of them started yelling and swearing at each other. The argument escalated extremely quickly, because after 45 seconds, there are two security guards talking to them.

While this was unravelling, I was still standing there, watching this apocalyptic mess. After yelling at each other, Lois and the boyfriend started yelling at the security guards, and it was at this point, more security guards were called over. The result was both of them were escorted out of the casino. I stood there watching the whole thing, not fully believing or accepting what had just happened.

After ordering a bourbon and cola, and drinking that beautiful reward, I decided that I was going home. When I got there, I told my flatmate all about it, to which she laughed and said she had a prediction for me.

She said that she knew a few people like Lois, and then she predicted that the next day, I was going to be contacted by Lois to arrange a second date. I told her that was just mental and that wasn’t going to happen, to the extent we bet some house cleaning duties on it.

And so, the next day I received an email from Lois apologising for the previous night. She was very sorry that we didn’t get to talk more, but she was hoping we could arrange another date. When I was reading the email, I wasn’t thinking of how I was politely going to say no, but the idea of the extra household cleaning duties I was going to have to do now.

I hope this was entertaining for you, because it’s funny to me now. Do you have any funny experiences through internet dating? If you do, please let me know. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you in a few days.

1 I need to point out, for all I know, I’m one of the world’s worst first daters.

2 Time is very much relative.

3 My wife can actually handle my geek rants. That’s why she’s my wife.

One Punch man: A guilty pleasure

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Comics, Television

I want to talk about One Punch Man. Why? Because I’ve fallen in love with the series and not ashamed to admit it. It’s become a guilty pleasure of mine now, for better or worse. For those people out there that have never heard of One Punch Man; 1.) I’m sorry to hear that, and 2.) I’ll explain what it’s all about.

The story of One Punch Man started off as a webcomic, then transitioned to magna (print) anime (television) video games and a live action movie, which is being developed. One Punch Man was created by ONE1 and Yusuke Murata; while the manga has sold over 30 million copies and has been translated into several different languages.

Image by Some Geek Told Me

So, who or what exactly is One Punch Man? One Punch Man follows the story of a man named Saitama, that has trained and developed his body to a point that he has become so absurdly strong, that he can defeat any opponent with only one punch. He has also gained super speed and invulnerability through his training.

For his training, Saitama spent three years completing the same daily fitness workout: 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, a 10 km run, as well eating healthy food, and not using the air conditioner or heater to reinforce his mental toughness. This training regime transformed Saitama into quite possibly, the strongest person in the world, but at the cost of his hair falling out, and slowly being disconnected from emotions.

There are many more facets about Saitama and his world, that I could explain to you, but I feel a lot of that can be found on other websites. Because of this, I want to talk about why I actually like this series, whether it’s the manga or anime.

I have the first 21 volumes of the manga, while the 22nd and 23rd volumes are still on pre-order for me. I have also watched both seasons of the anime, so I can come at this from both mediums. It’s just so much fun and entertaining! To me it’s just a guilty pleasure, it’s just so much fun.

I love how Saitama has deep and philosophical questions about himself, his role as a hero, as well as his place in the world. I find this very refreshing to see this coming from a protagonist, because Saitama is actually a complex character. He’s bored and he’s trying to find some adventure and bring meaning to his life. I think that’s awesome, I really do.

Another thing I love about the series; regardless if we talking about the manga or anime, is the fact that there are strong background characters. I mean, they really are amazing. There could be many spinoffs from these characters. I mean, I would love to have a backstory for Speed-o’-Sound Sonic; or for some of the Class S heroes, especially Pig God.

I also love the ranking system for the heroes, which I feel is very original and quite innovating, because it shows you superheroes from a completely different prospective and in my humble opinion; it works, it really works.

I don’t know if the ranking system could have been pulled off in American comics, because it would possibly come off as nonsensical. However, I think this is one of the advantages manga has over American and Western comics.

Sorry, I just love this series. Whenever I get a new volume, I try to make it a priority and read it within the first week; but usually, I go back and read the previous volume beforehand. This is because, it could have been four-eight months since I read the series, so it’s better to refresh myself with the story again.

I love how with the Class S heroes, everyone is quite different and they all have various motivations; and since I’ve already mentioned him, take Pig God for example. From what I have read and seen about him, he defeats his villains by eating them; that’s completely horrifying and hilarious at the same time.

Also there’s Puri-Puri Prisoner; he’s an amazing character because of his Angel Style fighting move, which can only be performed naked and the fact that he has a harem of men. He likes being in prison, because he’s closer to his “honies”. He is wickedly funny.

This series is so much fun, it’s rare for me to be reading something that makes me laugh so much. The series is so hilarious and it works, because Saitama is not a serious character, but Genos is. I feel the fact that these two have become heroes for different reasons, actually works in their favour, when working together. They are actually learning from each other.

There have been some magnificent scenes in the series, but I think one of best ones, is the practice fight between Saitama and Genos, especially in the anime. Reading it in the manga was brilliant, but to see it translated into anime, was simply just awe inspiring; it seriously was.

It was one of the coolest fight scenes I have ever witnessed; at one point Genos was fighting Saitama’s after images, and then displaying just how unbelievably and ridiculously overpowered Saitama is, his non-connecting thrown punch caused mountains to be smashed. It’s absurd and awesome at the same time. I can’t say enough about this series, I love it, I really really love it.

I feel that One Punch Man; just like Invincible, has added something to the superhero genre. The dialogue is funny, the art is exquisite and you can’t but help root for Saitama; not just to win, but because you are watching his internal growth.

One Punch Man is more than a comical or superhero spoof, it’s intelligent and it’s also very hilarious. This could be very naive of me to say, but I feel this series can make a lot of people happy.

And isn’t that the reason for storytelling; to make people think about things and themselves, but also to be entertained and One Punch Man does this. It doesn’t matter how long this series exists, I’m in for the long haul.

I can’t forget to mention about everybody’s fighting styles. Some of these are the best sounding names, this side of the Dragon Ball Saga. Lion Slash Meteor Shower, Tank Top Tackle, Void Shaking Tiger Fist, Hell Storm, and Collapsing Star Roaring Cannon, are just some of the epic fighting styles.

I think when it comes to One Punch Man, Saitama has become one of the new faces of superheroes in the 21st century; along with Class S, Class A, Class B, Class C heroes, and the monsters too.

I also think it would be a mistake for me to not discuss Mumen Rider. I think he is Class C, Rank 1 and to me, I think he is one of the most outstanding characters in the series.

This is because he has no powers; he is a rider for justice! When he turns up for a fight, he’s got his bicycle helmet, goggles and his bike, and that’s it. He get his arse kicked very single time, but that’s not what I like about him.

The reason is that they’ve created a character, that whenever there is someone that needs help, or if there is a crisis, Mumen Rider is usually the first person to put his hand up or the first person to turn up. Even though he is going to lose, he still turns up, which is actually extremely heroic.

One Punch Man is a series I only discovered 3 years ago, but it’s now become one of the greatest titles in my reading diet. If you have already read or seen One Punch Man, let me know. If you haven’t, do yourself a favour and correct that mistake.

Thanks for reading and I’ll see you soon.

1 ONE originally created the webcomic, then Murata came on board as the artist for the manga.

Three of the best underrated science fiction films ever

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Movies6 Comments

I want to talk about science fiction films, in particular, underrated films. Why? Because I love underrated projects in mediums like film, comics, novels, etc. They can be diamonds in a cart full of coal, and they can stay with you a lot longer than a successful mainstream version.

I’m a geek, so I want to celebrate and highlight underrated films across different genres, so I’ve selected science fiction to start with, because…well…it’s sci-fi, why the hell not?! Maybe you have seen or heard about these films or maybe you haven’t. Maybe you would agree with me; if you were to make a list of underrated science fiction films, what would you choose?

Also a film being classified as underrated; at least to me, can cover lower box office earnings, winning little or no awards, conflicting receptions to the film; but still be an amazing science fiction film.

In addition to this, films within sci-fi franchises will not be considered, because they could fall under their own list. I’ve also listed them in chronological order of release. Clear as mud? Awesome, let’s do this, without giving away too many spoilers!

Image by Reimund Bertrams from Pixabay

1.) The Quiet Earth (1985)

I have to admit, I am a little bias here, because my first selection is a New Zealand film. The Quiet Earth was released in 1985 and it was directed by Geoff Murphy, of Young Guns II, Under Siege 2: Dark Territory, and XXX: State of the Union fame. The film is based on the book of the same name, written by Craig Harrison.

A quick summary of the film, is that one day a scientist named Zac Hobson (Bruno Lawrence) wakes up to discover, that potentially, he is the last human on Earth. Hobson can find no trace of any humans; alive or dead, so he needs to try and figure out what has happened to the human race, and whether his research is linked to the disappearances or not. Hobson also has to grapple with the concept of being the last human on Earth; hence the title. There are other things within the film going on, but…spoilers!

The Quiet Earth is not a traditionally 1980’s science fiction film about space battles, alien worlds, or futuristic cities. It’s set in 1985, New Zealand, along with everything that was crazy about the 80’s, that goes with it. As a New Zealander, I can’t but smile about it.

I feel because of the above reasons, The Quiet Earth is quite often over looked in the science fiction genre. It’s a shame, because the film’s good. Really good, because it’s a slow burner. As the viewer, you are learning about what happened, at the same rate Hobson is.

There is no CGI (it’s 1985, not 2015), there are not dozens of different actors; just one guy trying not to go crazy at the concept of being the last human of Earth. It’s character driven, along with the notion of science pushing boundaries, because of society’s need for more resources.

And as the ending, it’s famous because of the music, the gorgeous imagery, and the feeling of, “I don’t know what I’m looking at or what has happened, but it’s so beautiful!”

Seriously, if you have never seen The Quiet Earth, please correct that mistake as fast as you can. You won’t regret it.

2.) Enemy Mine (1985)

I don’t quite remember how or where I saw Enemy Mine, but I remember the impact it had on me as a kid. Enemy Mine was released in 1985 and directed by Wolfgang Petersen. The two main actors were Dennis Quaid and Louis Gossett, Jr, and the film had a budget of US$29 million, while box office takings were US$12.3 million.

Enemy Mine was set sometime during the 21st century, where humans and an alien race called the Dracs, were at war. One day, Willis E. Davidge (Dennis Quaid), a human pilot and Jeriba Shigan (Louis Gossett, Jr.) a Drac pilot, were engaged in a space battle, when both spaceships are damaged, where they land on a hostile world.

The two pilots have to work together, in order to survive the horrible environment, as well as overcoming their own hatred from each other and their species. As the movie progresses, there are many obstacles to their survival and freedom. I’m trying not to include spoilers here, but the third act of the film; at least to me, is where the core of the film rests.

I had always thought Gossett, Jr’s portrayal of Jeriba Shigan; was outstanding. From his alien speech, movements, mannerisms, costume, and make up, it left me thinking this was a very believable alien, by Hollywood standards of course.

I think one of the reasons Enemy Mine is underrated, is because of it’s poor box office performance. However in it’s defence, Enemy Mine was released in the same month as Hollywood heavyweight films like Spies Like Us, The Jewel of the Nile, The Colour Purple, and Out of Africa. Enemy Mine came in over budget and was lost in the 1985 December cinematic carnage.

It’s difficult to discuss more of the film, without talking about spoilers, but let’s just say, once upon a time, Hollywood gave us a science fiction film with the perfect balance of special effects, set designs, evolving characters and an ending, that may bring a tear to your eye. Do yourself a favour, go out and watch Enemy Mine.

3.) Primer (2004)

Primer is one of these films, that lives between science fiction and possible believable Hollywood science. What if time travel was actually possible and it was discovered by a happy accident? Primer was released in 2004, and it was directed, written, produced, edited and starred Shane Carruth; he also did the music as well.

The budget for Primer was US$7,000 and the box office performance was US$841,926. However, at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, Primer won the Grand Jury Prize. The film centres around two engineers, that while working on a garage project, they accidently create a way to time travel. After some tweaking of the design, the two engineers can travel back in time for 6 hours for money making purposes, only to discover things are not that simple.

Over the years, Primer has become a cult film, because of the various aspects that mark this film different, from other time travelling films. To me, it’s one of the best believable time travelling films I have ever seen.

It’s underrated for many reasons; poor box office performance, a low budget and no big-time stars attached to the project. However; again only to me, I think that’s why it works. The plot is simple, but the huge amount of closed loop time travel used, means past, present and future versions of characters are walking around, causing untold shenanigans. Sorry, spoilers!

The implications of the time travelling engineers, brings up a lot of scientific and technical terminology, moral and ethic questions, but also the notion that if time travel was possible, would you use it to change your life? And if you did, how would you know if someone else has not already messed with your timeline?

Primer is a dangerously underrated science fiction film, because it has taken a simple concept of fictional time travel, and built twists and turns into it; along with the idea that the first people to ever time travel, were not exactly good people. This film is seriously amazing, so please watch it.

All of the three films that I have mentioned here, deserve a lot more attention and credit, than they have received. They all rock in different ways, but they all help push the boundaries and assumptions on what makes a great science fiction film. The Quiet Earth, Enemy Mine and Primer. Remember their names, because after you’ve seen them, you won’t forget them.

Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next week.