The Serpents of Mars

Just a bit of fun here with a panel I found on Kid Robson's blog, from his Conflict on Mars post which features a story from a TV21 annual. The story is illustrated by that classic British illustrator and comic artist Ron Turner, unfortunately the colour isn't that impressive, British annuals from that period had rather acetic look to the colour, not that I want to bad mouth the person responsible because in some instances it's quite passable and he probably had to contend with unreasonable deadlines or rates assigned to the completion of the work. However Turner is rather well known for his versatility with colour and that's especially true for his illustrations for the work of John Russel Fern, AKA Vargo Statten, which are noted for their -- boldness. So I had a go at giving a panel the Statten look, with only marginal success I'm afraid, I lost some the line detail and the black outline isn't really a feature of the Statten look but I though it was worth a post.

warm

It was very warm today and I wilted a bit in the heat, I don't have aircon and couldn't get a draught going. Unfortunately I perspire rather profusely in the heat,  so I'm sitting here with aura of stale sweat and a heat rash. I wasn't the only one suffering though, there's a problem with a leaky waterer I use to keep the hens watered, so I had to keep some water in shallow dish for them topped up. When I checked to lock 'em up for the night, I came across a hedgehog gasping for liquid refreshment so desperately, he/she ignored me as they imbibed from the dish. I jumped out of my skin as I first caught sight of it, which didn't prompt it to curl up instead it just stood still doing it's impersonation of bog brush. I left it alone, I'll clean the dish in the morning.

Kitchen tip 01-- Crispy Salads

Don't know if you're enjoying the fine weather we are at the moment, in one of the brief periods of summery weather we enjoy in Britain, if you are you might thinking of salad for supper instead of labouring over a frying pan. Ah yes but -- that lettuce you picked up from the supermarket, they got kind of limp and droopy when you had to leave 'em in the car to queue for those items you forgot to put in your shopping trolley when you did the rounds in the supermarket, either that or they were already in a pretty sorry state when you picked 'em up. You might have noticed that modern supermarkets keep the vegetables cooled on the shelf with air conditioning ducts, unfortunately this technique of cooling the vegetables to keep them fresh doesn't do too much for their condition and they can become limp an unappealing even while they're still on the shelves, this is especially a problem with leafy items like cabbage and lettuce. No need to worry though there's a tip that will restore them.

This technique works best if you buy your lettuce or cabbage the day before you intend to use it but it's probably possible to get good results on the same day if you give it enough time, it's just that I've never tried it. There are a couple of caveats: it will only work on vegetables that are reasonably fresh, the technique involves rehydrating the leaves (yes I know they seem soggy but they've actually dehydrated) if their not sufficiently fresh it wont work because the cell membranes with have broken down, so don't try it on that week old cabbage. The next caveat concerns hygiene, you're rehydrating the leaves, so you must take steps to ensure that water you use is safe to consume, this is especially important with uncooked vegetables. So be scrupulous in ensuring the utensils you use are clean as well.

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Step one: wash your vegetables thoroughly then give them an extra rinse.

Step two: now steep them in clean water for a couple hours, preferably cool water in cool conditions. You can change the water periodically if you wish.

Step three: remove your vegetables from the water and place them in a closed but unsealed bag, do not remove excess water from your vegetables.

Step four: place the bag with the vegetables in your fridge and leave there overnight.

That's it -- all you need to do now is open your fridge the next morning to retrieve your vegetables, that are now crisper than those packets of Golden Wonder that always to seem to materialise behind you, just as you've settled into your seat in the cinema. Don't ask me how it works, I haven't the faintest idea beyond it's obvious that the leaves are being rehydrated but I'm not sure why it shouldn't be apparent immediately you remove them from the water. Obviously if you leave 'em in the fridge for too long they'll probably go all droopy again, so it's probably best to consume them within 24 hours. Incidental it's also worth doing this with cabbage if it's a bit droopy and you intend to cook it, it improves the texture a lot. I only cook green cabbage myself and that does tend to suffer from droop more than the white stuff but you could try it with that too.

Savalas as Blofeld

Eon Productions had a long build up to their reveal of Fleming's Blofeld, introducing him in, From Russia with Love but keeping his features off screen. The incessant attention to his cat and his plummy voice the only clues to the character of this genius of evil, until he was finally revealed in, You Only Live Twice. The actor chosen for this denouement was Donald Pleasence, who was brought in as a replacement,  when the actor who originally portrayed Blofeld in the earlier films was judged to lack the menace to portray the character in full. Pleasence did a passable job as Blofeld, preserving the impassive menace of his earlier incarnation. Indeed that portrayal a passed into cinematic iconography but the Blofeld that really resonates with me is the one portrayed by Telly Savalas.

Telly Savalas was a rather under exploited character actor who's probably best known for the 70's TV series Kojak, which was waning from its height of popularity when I first sneaked out of school early to catch the early evening double bill. Unfortunately this didn't stop the cat calls of, "Who loves ya baby?" on almost every screen entrance. Thankfully a selective memory filters these trivial details from my recollection of the experience, aided no doubt by the numerous occasions I've re-watched OHMSS. Savalas's Blofeld is rather different from that which preceeded it, Savalas is urbane, occasionally sardonic with a hint of the effete about him as he indulges in curious affectations, such as the manner he holds his cigarettes. I'm reminded of Gorshin's Riddler to some extent, as Savalas's Blofeld displays obvious satisfaction, if not glee, as he torments Bond with the revelation of his dastardly doings. Savalas's Blofeld is no clown though, Blofeld's amusement is a dark and chilling indication of his callousness and brutal conviction, as casually he jokes about the murder of Bond's colleague.

In this scene, George Lazenby doesn't come off too well against Savalas, it's probably his weakest in the film even though it's a key scene. You'll notice that when Savalas is framed the camera is angled up, a cinematic device to infer menace or potency, while it's either level or angled down when Lazenby is the focus of the scene. Lazenby's Bond seems vulnerable and impontent, which is a reasonable way to portray the scene and relfects Connery in Dr. No but Lazenby lacks Connery's veiled agression, his demeanour of a cornered animal looking for an opportunity to strike out.

It's interesting to note that OHMSS was the story that Fleming wrote for Connery but when it came to film it, he'd left the franchise, albeit temporarily. Fleming even filled in some of Bond's biography to reflect Connery, who's portrayal of Bond he admired. Anyway, here's the, let me tell you all about my plan to conquer the world scene from OHMSS and see what you think.