Sh*! Alan Howe Says

The Time Machine

Cover of The Time Machine

The Time Machine is a sci-fi film made in 1960 by George Pal and stars Robert Taylor. It roughly follows the plot of H.G. Wells‘ novel from the late 19th century in which an inventor creates a time machine and goes into the future to discover that mankind has torn itself apart through war. It does of course deviate away from the novel as it features scenes of World War I, World War II and the possibility of nuclear annihilation, things that Wells could not have possibly predicted.

When Taylor’s character H. George Wells goes into the future (1966 to be exact) and discovers that the world has been destroyed in a nuclear holocaust, he then decides to go thousands of years into the future to see i anything could have survived this destruction. He discovers that the human race has split into two species, the surface dwelling Eloi who are beautiful and seemingly carefree and ignorant, and the underground Morlocks, who are ugly and beastly and cruel. The Eloi have everything that they need provided to them by the Morlocks, who breed them like cattle only to cannibalize on them once they reach an age of maturity.

George ends up saving the Eloi and destroying the Morlocks and in doing so falls in love with the beautiful Eloi girl Weena. He then goes back to his own time where he relates his tale but is not believed by his friends. Because of this he returns to the future at the conclusion of the film.

The film is a typical 1960s type sci-fi film, of which their were hundreds. It is a very good fantasy film but the special effects are not all that special by 21st century standards. The use of stop motion animation and time-lapse photography is very quant when compared to today’s CGI but it was state of the art for its time. All in all the film is quite enjoyable as there has been a lot of thought put into the plot and the feelings of Taylor’s character. While the acting is a bit over the top, which was standard for 1950s and 60s sci-fi I still liked the movie.

By the way you may recognise Alan Young who plays Wells’ friend Filby. You may even recognise the Scottish accent he uses throughout the film. At around the same time that the Time Machine was released he was appearing in the first season of TV’s Mr. Ed as Wilbur Post. Since the 1980s he has lent his voice and Scottish accent to Uncle Scrooge McDuck for Disney.

Detective Chimp

Bobo the Detective Chimp was created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino in 1952. Here’s his first appearance from Rex The Wonderdog #4.

Sh*! John Michael Howson Says

Hinch’s take on JMH’s rant. Why does anyone take John Michael Howson seriously when it comes to current affairs?

Mark Webber and the Tall Poppy Syndrome

I first said this four or so years ago, but could the Australian media PLEASE GET OFF MARK WEBBER‘S BACK?!!! I am really fed up with these clowns in the media who constantly criticise Mark Webber because he has not lived up to their expectations. Even after a stunning lights to flag victory in the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona the media still has to try to knock down the tall poppy instead of celebrating his dominant performance.

What shines through every time that morons such as Triple M’s Roy & HG or 3AW’s Dwayne Russell or the Herald Sun’s Daryl Timms criticise Webber is just how ignorant they are about Formula 1. I have watched every single Formula 1 race since the 1985 Australian Grand Prix, but it is obvious that these big-mouthed buffoons only ever watch one race a year, the Australian Grand Prix . For instance all have made comments about Mark not finishing races, yet ever since he joined Red Bull he has only failed to finish a handful of times. Last year he had just two DNFs. GUYS, 2006 WAS FOUR YEARS AGO!!!

As I said earlier, the big problem is that Mark never lived up to the knockers expectations. They wanted him to be a Schumacher or Prost yet are so ignorant about Formula 1 that they don’t realise there is no level playing field in the sport, and that to win you have to be driving for the one of the best teams, which Mark has only done in the last couple of years. They will point to his stint at Williams as a time when he was in a top team but Williams have become a shell of their former self. When Mark was there Williams went through an acrimonious split with BMW, who were replaced as engine supplier by the horribly unreliable and underfunded Cosworth. Juan Pablo Montoya told Mark that he made a huge mistake going to Williams despite the fact that JPM won the last GP of 2004.

This year Mark is the clear second favourite for the World Drivers Championship. Adrian Newey and Red Bull have built the fastest car on the grid and despite the fact that I have tipped Webber’s team-mate Sebastian Vettel to win the championship, I hope that Mark can do it just to shut all the idiots in the media up.

By the way, with three wins so far, Mark has won more Grands Prix than…

Chris Amon (0)
Jean Alesi (1)
Nick Heidfeld (0)
Martin Brundle (0)
Elio de Angelis (2)
Stefan Johansson (0)
Patrick Depailler (2)
Patrick Tambay (2)
Eddie Cheever (0)
Derek Warwick (0)
Olivier Panis (1)
Jarno Trulli (1)
Mika Salo (0)
Alex Wurtz (0)

He has won the same amount of races as…

Didier Pironi
Thierry Boutsen
Johnny Herbert
Giancarlo Fisicella
Heinz Harald Frentzen

He is in striking distance of…

Keke Rosberg (5)
John Watson (5)
Michele Alboreto (5)
Ricardo Patrese (6)
Jacques Laffite (6)
Eddie Irvine (4)
Ralph Schumacher (6)
Juan Pablo Montoya (7)

That Library Really Is An Awesome Place!