ALIEN SEX FIEND isn't the name of this e zine blog, but someone could be using it.

There are some movies that when initially released got bad reviews but public reaction and circumstances caused critics to waffle and reverse whatever commentary they made. An interesting thick book could be made from clippings from films from all periods.

THE WIZARD OF OZ did not make money when it was released. Ditto ITS A WONDERFUL LIFE was a box office bust.

When the movie CHRISTMAS STORY was released it was savaged as an unfunny worthless flick. The director, Bob Clarke, had previously released PORKY'S, BLACK CHRISTMAS and CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS. I think critics were going after his resume, and not the Jean Shepard story...

I wonder how many film critics are trying to hide the initial reviews of STAR WARS, because I recall the film as getting two ** in a local paper or two, instead of the revised later views of *** 1/2, or more.

Just wondering over this thinking because NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM was given a ultimate "ho hum" when it was released.

GOING POSTAL: IN THE POSTAL ZONE : squirrel goes postal. This news item is from a British news line, which has many tags about "the squirrel menace". They're kind of obsessed with squirrels in England, because the Royals are behaving themselves.

Thursday, November 2, 2006

Tiny, furry demon: a squirrel, just waiting for the right moment to strike.

The squirrel menace – believed by many to have gone away – returned with a vengeance on Monday, when a rogue squirrel attacked a postal worker as she delivered letters.

The terrifying incident occurred as Barb Dougherty was delivering mail in Oil City, Pennsylvania. 'I saw it there on the porch, put the mail in the box and turned to walk away and it jumped on me,' she explained.

The squirrel then ran up her leg and onto her back, scratching and biting her as it went.

It was a freak thing. It was traumatic.

Dougherty said: 'It was a freak thing. It was traumatic.'

Dougherty related how she battled the squirrel. 'I eventually got a hold of the tail and pulled it off me,' she told Oil City newspaper The Derrick. 'No one was home at the house where I was delivering the mail, but the neighbor lady heard me screaming and came over.'

Dougherty had to be treated for cuts at hospital, where she was also given a rabies shot. The squirrel was killed with a gun after the attack, and will now be tested for the disease.

Postal authorities were worried that this was an unprecedented escalation in the squirrel-human wars. 'In about 230 years of postal history, I bet it is not the first, but I've personally never heard of another squirrel biting,' said Postal Service spokesman Steve Kochersperger.

Meanwhile, Steve Jolley, a Postal Service manager in Oil City, noted: 'We are not issuing a squirrel alert, but everyone is aware of the incident.'

GOING POSTAL: IN THE POSTAL ZONE:

It's been a while since I was frequently writing and adding to this e zine. Hopefully, this will change. As a postal worker, I could not resist tapping this into the system. It was dated the 10th of Jan 2007. ::::

WAUKESHA, Wis. - A mail carrier had a blood-alcohol level nearly four times the legal limit when he was arrested for driving his delivery truck into oncoming traffic and crashing into a sign, police said.

Thomas Lahiff was incoherent Friday when he returned to the post office, where he was arrested about an hour after the crash, Police Capt. Mike Babe said. He said tests showed the 46-year-old’s blood-alcohol level was 0.31 percent.

Lahiff now faces a drunken driving charge and was ticketed for hit-and-run causing property damage, Babe said. Police said Lahiff’s postal truck had crossed into oncoming traffic, jumped a curb and hit a “no parking” sign.It happened about an hour before he returned to the post office, and it’s not clear where he was in the meantime, Babe said.

Postal Service spokeswoman JoAnne Blackburn said Lahiff was involved in an accident and would not be delivering mail pending an investigation, but she would not elaborate.

A few years back, a NYC postal clerk was arrested for prositution, but Postal Officials declined to answer charges she would be fired, because "she wasn't on the clock."

I think I got carried away with posting at THE COMICS CURMUDGEON, but I'll lay on some of that commentrary here as well. Someone asked, "what Bands have been named after comic strips?" I was reminded by a DVD that showed up recently, THE BONZO DOG DOO DAH BAND 40th anniversery celebration. Sans Vivian Stashall, who grew old too quick and died too young (as hanging out with Keith Moon would do to anyone trying to keep up with his consumption of booze).

It is raining, and I'm kind of happy that it is. Were it snow, I don't think I would be able to reach the car, much less get it out of the driveway. Normally at this time of day I'd crane my head to the right and watch the cardnal slam into the window, trying to defend his territory from his reflection. Too much rain.

Last afternoon, the family gathered and watched NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM, which we liked. The movie should have been set in a larger museum, I think. The previews for SHREK 3 and THE FANTASTIC FOUR 2 were shown and got good responses from the audience. The Reed Richards vehicle is to introduce the Silver Surfer to the screen, which will probably weigh heavily on the actors, compeating for special effects time.