Comments on: What I had for brunch

By: Greg Laden

Greg Laden — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 02:23:47 +0000

Commies are not allowed to watch Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.

By: Equisetum

Equisetum — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 02:09:38 +0000

“. . . although I did enjoy watching the maiden voyage of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea last night.
You must watch this at some time.”

I would, were it not for the fact that Hulu discriminates. I am a U.S. citizen, with just as much right to watch hoaky old American science fiction as any other citizen, but since I choose to live in a country with universal health care they deny me that right. Fie on them all!

By: HP

HP — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 21:16:37 +0000

If you enjoy Cold War films (and who in our age cohort doesn’t?), you need to track down a 1959 Brazilian film called “O homem do Sputnik” (The Sputnik Man). AFAIK, as a USAian, you can only get this on the Internet, and only via bittorrent feeds. (It’s not exactly illegal, but I would call it “grey market.”)

It’s a classic Cold War comedy, with all the usual tropes, but told from the point of view of a non-aligned nation. The plot involves a chicken farmer in the hills outside Rio de Janeiro who believes that the Sputnik satellite has fallen on his chicken coop. When an unscrupulous journalist leaks the story, agents from the U.S., France, and the USSR descend on Rio to try to get the satellite back. I couldn’t find any English subtitles when I watched it, but if you’re vaguely familiar with romance languages, you should be able to follow it, since most of it is physical comedy.

Also, capoeira! Woot!

Very good for convalescence, unless it only hurts when you laugh.