Songs of Sex and Power

While the greatness of 1970's sci-fi cinema is universally accepted let us not forget greatness in literature. Check out these eBay scores. Remember: Always buy in bulk.

The Pleasure Tube (1979)
Tagline: Beyond the Star Range: infinite sex & ultimate horror

Sure, there's lots of good sci-fi books these days. My man Wrong Turn Journal, for instance, says Greg Bear is pretty good. But OTD doesn't want hard science. OTD wants hardcore science. Mr. Bear might have some interesting thoughts about nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, etc., but does he spend the time to discuss sluts of the future? I bet not. From the teaser page:

"Riding the PleasureTube without a trip to the sun is like...jumping from a cliff and never reaching the sea,"-the woman says.

"We're talking about direct electrical stimulation of the orgasmic center of the brain," Collette says. She smiles.
"But that could...kill you."

"Come with me to the sun," the woman says. She shows her teeth , and touches them with her tongue.

The Spawn of the Death Machine (1974)
Tagline: Was he a barbaric superman--or a computer-created monster?

I don't know who thought a Romance book style cover would be good for sci-fi but behind the dagger-wielding "spawn" lies a ruined West 26th Street--and apocalyptic 1970's fiction must always be read. It seems our hero awakens in an underground bunker only to have a mysterious stranger--or is it a computer?--send him topside to investigate a ruined Manhattan ruled by retarded savages. The kicker? He has Terminator-like powers. But, like, without special effects. I think the author should sue James Cameron.


CenterForce (1974)
Tagline: In a nightmare world of tyranny and unspeakable depravity, he was the last hope against the terror of CenterForce

This could be The One. The gem of lost sci-fi. I give you the teaser page:

Ben Reed is stoned.
Ben Reed is armed.
Ben Reed is alone on the highway on his BMW
and
Ben Reed is under surveillance.

A man sits in his office a thousand miles away from Ben Reed. He watches a screen. Ben Reed is a white dot on that screen. The man can kill Ben Reed by pushing a button on his desk. It will be legal.

Because Ben Reed is alone on the highway on his BMW. And because he's a longhair freak.

Gotta be The One.

These Asshole Companies Keep Trying to Take My Money

With friends over, I want to rent a game for the Xbox right? So I go to Blockbuster, get the game, clerk rings me up: $8.24. $8.24 for a rental?! Oh, but I get to keep it a week when I need it for one day.

Blockbuster's racket used to be to charge a full rental fee for items returned one day late but now they've turned to this. Netflix cannot put you out of business soon enough, Blockbuster. For their mandatory one-week rentals, OTD says: FUCK YOU, BLOCKBUSTER!


I go to Key Food for some groceries, lots of sales in the flyer, right? I show up and you need a "Savings Club" card? I need to give my personal information to Key Food to get the stuff in the flyer? And every supermarket does the same thing? I hope you overcharge Eliot Spitzer one day and he comes down on you, Key Food. For requiring customers to surrender personal information to get the better class of price, OTD says--wait for it--FUCK YOU KEY FOOD!


I go to Kentucky Fried Chicken for the first time in ten years. It seems the menu has been replaced by large photos of "meals" (order by number, please). It's impossible to find out what one piece of chicken costs. McDonalds is only slightly better. A single hamburger price is in the fine print. But I enjoyed this highlighted listing: "Two Small Shakes $3.38". The price for one shake? $1.69. To KFC for bundling and McDonalds for pretending the price of an extra shake is a deal, OTD says FUCK YOU!