Captain's bLog 1118.10

•  I've been gradually doing some maintenance on the blog over the last couple months, going back and updating a lot of the older YouTube embeds with larger/better quality versions and replacing the dead ones when possible. I've also replaced a few photos here and there with better scans, including this Space Babes entry.

•  We're closing in at warp speed on 200 posts, 200 Blogger "Followers" and 400 Facebook "Fans." Wow.

•  I did manage to track down inexpensive used copies of the first two 1980 Flash Gordon novels by David Hagberg online. I actually gave up on the Buck Rogers novel, That Man on Beta, because it was just so awful - I don't know whether most of the blame falls on Richard Lupoff (a/k/a "Addison Steele") for his abysmal, fanfic-quality prose or the writer of the original teleplay for the crappy story.

Either way, I've set it aside indefinitely and started reading Massacre In the 22nd Century. I'm only a couple of chapters in, so I can't really speak as to the quality of the story, but Hagberg's prose is vastly better than Lupoff's. The characterizations and backstory aren't in line with the Alex Raymond comic strips (or the serials/movie/Filmation cartoon), but are very reminiscent of the 50's television series starring Steve Holland. So far, I'm okay with it.

•  Sometime next month, I'm planning my first Space: 1970 "theme week," The End of The World As We Knew It. Every day for seven days, I'll be posting a review of a different 70s post-Apocalyptic movie or TV show. Titles will most likely include The Omega Man, The Ultimate Warrior, A Boy & His Dog, and maybe the Gene Roddenberry Genesis II/Planet Earth pilots. Too bad Damnation Alley isn't available on DVD yet.

• I am continuing to ponder a Space: 1970 podcast. I'm trying to work out an entertaining and informative format, and I'd like to get a better microphone. I'm also still concerned about music issues. I would like to include a handful of rare tracks in each 'cast, but I want to do it right.

• Finally, I want to remind folks that I'm still looking for photos of Jean Marie Hon from Ark II and Man From Atlantis, and Maggie Cooper from Space Academy. I'm also looking for a videotape or DVD of The Questor Tapes. Additionally, there's a Paypal donation button over there in the sidebar if anyone wants to contribute to the Space: 1970 fund - I'm still trying to scrape up money for the Message From Space DVD and some other material for the site.