Ray's X-Blog

(From Ray X X-Rayer #137.   http://efanzines.com/RXXR/index.htm ) A distraught woman called into the late night radio program.  She was upset, feeling sorry for the people who wer e abducted and taken to Mars to work on a secret project. For me the story causing her distraught was obvious: Alternative 3. Back in 1977 Anglia Television in the UK produced a factual series called Science Report.  But for the April 1st broadcast the company decided to become fanciful, creating a mockumentary called Alternative 3.  Distinguished newscaster Tim Brinton went along with the gag, serving as presenter-narrator for the program.  Everyone else involved in the production were actors pretending to be reporters and interviewees.  Brinton's participation led to some viewers assuming the story was real, not fiction.   The program, Science Report: Alternative 3 , [1] has been compared to the War of the Worlds radio broadcast in 1938.  Each broadcast h...

(From Ray X X-Rayer #137.   http://efanzines.com/RXXR/index.htm   ) I tried getting by without an ISP here at my new apartment.  Going around and using various public WiFi spots got old quick. There was a great coffeehouse, the perfect WiFi spot, quiet, good coffee – but it closed.  All that's left are fake cafes.  These establishments are run like bars, loud music blaring, caffeine instead of alcohol. Raucous rock and misogynistic rap driven into your head. One evening I went to a fake cafe and the music was blasting inside.  I went outside on the rear patio to get away from the distracting noise.  Across the street some bagpipers started up with their alfresco practice.  Then someone in the parking lot cranked up his car stereo.  Such a cacophony isn't conducive to creative thinking. For a quieter time I would sit outside a fake cafe after it had closed, using the WiFi on the street. At least there was a bench where I could ...

(From Ray X X-Rayer #137.) You got troubles?  Imagine what it must be like for the cyborgs depicted in the Space Man comic book series (Dell, 1962). The US government has joined the Galactic Guard, pitching in to defend peaceful worlds from evil aliens.  Some brave American men have volunteered to become cybernetic organisms that can handle living in outer space. High tech mechanisms have been added to each volunteer through surgery.  Cyborg conversion means no more need to breath oxygen or depend upon food for energy.  Human lungs have been replaced with an oxygen and carbon dioxide converter.  A cyborg is enwrapped in a special skintight protective covering that blocks his mouth and ears.  He can only communicate through a speaker embedded in his chest.  And as for hearing -- no go.  He has to lip read what a normal person is saying.  (Microphones couldn't be installed?  Lousy cyborgizing.) Not discussed is what happened ...

He was hooked in a Flash. A boyhood memory still vivid in the mind of Guy H. Lillian III. He remembers the particular comic book issue that changed his life. Guy: "My folks, little brother and I were visiting my grandparents in Rosamond, a bedroom town in the desert near Edwards Air Force Base. My grandmother had a basket of old magazines through which, one fateful day, I went leafing through and I chanced upon an issue of THE FLASH. The Mirror-Master was on it, beaming a light down on the Scarlet Speedster which reduced him in height. Hooked, gaffed, flopping in the floor of the boat ..." This was back in the days when a comic book cost a dime. Then there was a tremendous price increase to 12 cents but that didn't stop young Guy from following the adventures of the Scarlet Speedster. For your 12 cents not only did you have stories told in four colors but also a letter department where readers via envelopes and stamps submitted their comments. An editor wo...

(From Ray X X-Rayer #135.) Impetus: Cerebus The Aardvark. When he was around twelve years old Doug Arthur's three-years-older brother brought home a number of independent/underground comic books.  Cerebus The Aardvark left such an impression on him that today he produces his own independent comics. He and his brother Rick were really into comic books, frequenting the FantaCo comic book shop in Albany, NY.  Each brother grew from a fan into a creator, a writer/artist in the comic book medium.  (In Doug's case he developed an enthusiastic writing style apparently inspired by comic book dialogue that relied heavily on exclamation points.)  Doug: "[Rick and I] started reading comics regularly in the late 70's around the time of Star Wars.  It was a good time to be a kid!" The FantaCo shop offered more than the usual DC and Marvel superhero comics.  As a neophyte comic book fan Doug was exposed to independent titles like Eflquest and The Spirit r...