Saturday variety mix

Lots of cool stuff arriving in the mail lately, but I want to give a special shout-out to numbat, who surprised me with a care package comprised of a photocopy of Leigh Brackett's short story, "Shadows in the Woods," from the fanzine Venus #1 by Lora Crozetti, which was published in June 1944. He also included a CD single by someone named Fatt Dex. Kim says, "Imagine it as being a tiny hip-hop film noir story." This is all very cool. Thanks, dude!

I was also fascinated this morning by DVD Savant's screening notes on Kosmicheskiy reys: Fantasticheskaya novella -- a Soviet SF movie from 1935 that I'd never heard of before. It just showed at the American Cinematheque in LA, and it may be the first time it has been shown in the US. The title apparently translates as Cosmic Voyage, although Savant says there's some indication that there's a Japanese DVD that calls it The Space Voyage. It was shot as a silent movie, so I guess like most of the rest of the world the Soviets lagged behind the US and Europe in adopting sound in the cinema. I'd love to see this movie!

Later today I'm joining daveon, akirlu, and libertango at the Elysian for a few cool refreshing beverages. If anyone else wants to join us, we will be meeting there around 3pm.

Oh, and happy b-b-b-birfday, johnnyeponymous, you young sprat!