The DVD is interesting because it’s the only feature-length DVD release I’ve seen that’s not divided into chapters. It includes this note from the director: “I know that most DVDs have chapter stops. It is my opinion that a film is not like a book—it should not be broken up. It is a continuum and should be seen as such. Thank you for your understanding.”

Silly, imaginative steampunk. Pity that Mike Mignola only wanted to do one episode.

The CD included with this book amounts to a complete album in its own right, titled “Dead Dog Records.” As a Negativland fan, I think it is the best work they’ve ever done next to Helter Stupid.

Negativland is best known by those in the know as an experimental band that usually creates audio collages from other people’s recordings. But Free’s “Crumpled Farm” is a real surprise—a recording that’s original and, of all things, melodic. It’s a sad and haunting tune that I think is one of the best and most unique things they’ve ever done.

This is a subject near and dear to my heart. I have a couple of family members who are always grappling with the vagaries of U.S. health care.

I, personally, have no insurance because I’m out of work. I’ve asked my insurance agent about individual health coverage, but because I’ve gone to the ER with chest pain once in the last 5 years, I was disqualified—in spite of the fact that the ER had ruled out any kind of cardiovascular disease or event as the cause.

So my only health coverage has been to cross my fingers and hope that nothing happens to me until I get married and my wife can put me on her policy. (I guess I also have to hope that her insurer won’t disqualify me for the same reason.)

As with most products in Glacéau’s vitamin[anything] line, the label copy is worth sharing:

evolution is a good thing, right? just think, if you didn’t change, you’d still be rocking your calculator watch, sporting your fifth grade mullet, and using expressions like “gag me with a spoon.”
well, evolution is also a good thing for energy drinks. they’re full of artificial ingredients that not only taste bad, they set you up for a quick take off and an even quicker crash. call us crazy, but that doesn’t sound like a smart idea. so we cracked open our 8th grade science books and learned two very important lessons. first, nutrients give you energy and second, kissing someone in your bathing suit won’t make you pregnant.
that’s why we packed this drink with key nutrients to give you that extra sumthin’ sumthin’. things like natural caffeine for immediate energy, c and b vitamins for metabolic energy and ribose for sustained energy. so while you other energy drinks are rolling in your pintos and grooving to your 8 track decks… we’ll just be over here with our ipod®, prius® and this cool new thing called “the future.”

This film is noteworthy not just for having Alec Guinness as star, but also for being the only released film for which he wrote a screenplay (according to IMDb).

P.S. In his old-man makeup, he is a dead ringer for himself 20 years later in Star Wars.

This rare gem of a Raul Julia movie is easiest to find as part of Volume 4 of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 DVD collection. But it can also be found at times as a used VHS tape on eBay.

This movie was my introduction to William Castle’s wonderful world of campy horror. Joan Crawford is at her unhinged best.

The ending credit for Columbia with the modified Columbia logo was-smirk-a classy touch. (Was this the earliest instance of a movie getting to play with its studio’s logo?)

A couple of other things interesting for 1963: An on-screen decapitation and an on-screen use of the G-D-word. (Were these also firsts for a major studio film?)

Action flick, drama, comedy, heart-tugging morality tale, biting commentary on consumerism. Three Kings is all of these, and does its job marvelously.

It also wins my personal award for all-time best use of Chicago’s “If You Leave Me Now.”