Terrifying Tuesdays: Attack of the Mushroom People (1963)

From Movie Goods

"Menacing Mushroom Week" continues with an odd little movie from Japan.  "Attack of the Mushroom People" (1963), also known as "Matango" or "Fungus of Terror", is a movie I remember seeing when I was very young, and it absolutely terrified me!  According to Wikipedia, this movie has developed a cult following due to its bleak and unusual theme, and I for one can understand why.  The story starts in Tokyo, where a professor being held in a psychiatric ward begins to tell a very strange tale.  A Japanese yacht out for a day trip gets caught in a bad storm, and eventually the disabled vessel ends up stranded on a remote island with its five passengers and two crew members (I know this sounds like the beginning of "Gilligan's Island", but bear with me here!).  The stranded yachters include the skipper, his assistant, the yacht's celebrity owner, a writer, two women (a singer and a student), and the professor who is relating this tale.  The group explores the island in search of food and water.  They do find water, but the only potential food source is an abundance of unusual mushrooms, which the skipper warns them not to eat as they may be poisonous.

A fungus-covered ship wreck is found, which the seven people attempt to clean up so that they can stay on the boat.  Some meager provisions are also discovered, and the group tries to survive by rationing out this food source.  However, hunger and fear soon drive some in the group to desperation, and a previously unseen menace begins to threaten them as well.  Slowly but surely group members are killed, commit suicide, or succumb to consuming the mushrooms, which may be the worst fate of all.  The final scenes were the most shocking for me when I first saw this movie, and they still never fail to get to me.  The violence in this film is minimal, but as mentioned previously it is a bleak story, so don't expect a happy ending!  It is, however, a well told tale and certainly made a lasting impression on me, so I do highly recommend it.

You can watch a subtitled version of this movie online here.

Interesting Fact:  This movie is based on a 1907 short story by William Hope Hodgson called "The Voice in the Night", which you can read here.

Gore Guide (0=none to 5=extreme): 0

Terrifying Tuesdays will return on a regular basis in October.  In fact, to celebrate Halloween I plan to watch one terrifying movie a day for the entire month of October -- some will be movies I have already reviewed, but others will be new to my blog, and will eventually be described here.  I hope I am up to the challenge!
               

Mystery Mondays: Maria Hudgins' Dotsy Lamb Travel Mystery Series

September is National Mushroom Month, so what better way to ease back into Mystery Mondays than by starting with a "Menacing Mushroom Week"!  The Dotsy Lamb Travel Mystery series by Maria Hudgins includes one novel featuring some fearsome fungi.  The first in the series features Dotsy Lamb, a recently divorced history professor and "woman of a certain age", vacationing in Italy with her dear friend Lettie Osgood.  She manages to solve the murder of two sisters and still enjoy the remarkable architecture, countryside, and cuisine of Italy, and even manages to fit in a little romance!  The second novel finds Dotsy and Lettie in Scotland, staying in an old Scottish castle while Dotsy assists at an archeological dig.  An unfortunate graduate student who specialized in mycology is found stabbed to death, and later the archeologist in charge of the dig dies in a manner suspiciously resembling mushroom poisoning.  Dotsy must learn all about mushrooms to find the murderer and save an innocent student from being tried for a crime he did not commit.  I have not yet read the third in the series, which is set in Greece, but I am looking forward to sharing Dotsy' further adventures and travels.  It helps that I have always wanted to visit both Scotland and Greece, and wouldn't mind a trip to Italy as well!

Mystery Mondays will not officially return until October when I will have more time to read, but "Menacing Mushroom Week" is a preview of things to come, and I am looking forward to reading more mystery novels!

    

Weekend Wonders: Hippo on the Lawn

By Dena Crain

Every once in a while I come across something on the web that just makes my day.  This photo and story on Dena Crain's blog is one of those things.  Can you imagine living in a place where a hippopotamus grazing on your lawn is even a possibility?  And the photograph is priceless!  Thank you, Dena Crain, for posting this and bringing a smile to my face today!
   

Foodie Fridays: Lemon Bars with Chocolate Crust

From The Flying Olive

It all started with a recent post on HGTV's "Design Happens" blog extolling the virtues of decorating with the color yellow when entertaining.  A picture of lemon bars was shown.  One of my favorite color combinations is sunny lemon yellow with rich chocolate brown.  So I thought, "I wonder if I can find a recipe for lemon bars with a chocolate crust?"  Unfortunately, while I could find pictures of such a creation, there were no recipes.  That's when I decided I had to come up with one.  After a couple of tries, here is the result.  Not bad, if I do say so myself.  The key here is to use the pan size indicated, since the proportion of filling to crust as well as the thickness of both are important, and these will change depending on pan dimensions.  Next time I may use more lemons to increase the tartness of the filling.  I hope you enjoy these as much as I do!

Lemon Bars with Chocolate Crust

Crust:

4 pieces Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Miniatures

8 T. (1 stick) butter, cut into eight pieces

1 C. flour

2 T. cocoa powder

1/4 C. sugar

Filling:

1 1/2 C. sugar

6 T. flour

2 lemons, zested and juiced

4 eggs, beaten

Microwave chocolate pieces 30 seconds.  Add butter and microwave another 30 seconds.  Stir until chocolate and butter are completely melted and blended (microwave an additional few seconds if necessary).  Combine dry ingredients.  Stir in the wet ingredients until a smooth dough forms.  Press dough evenly into the bottom of a 9-inch square pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool slightly.

Combine all filling ingredients and whisk until smooth.  Pour over crust.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until filling is set but not hard.  Cool completely on wire rack (filling will firm up).  Cut into 16 squares and dust with confectioner's sugar if desired.

    

This 'n That Thursdays: The Color Purple

From China Daily

Despite the fact that lavender is my favorite herb, purple has never been one of my favorite colors.  Nevertheless, every so often I discover a purple object that I find oddly appealing.  Below are a few such objects -- these items might even convince me that purple has a place in my home!

There is just something about this purple Paolo Sofa from Sitcom Furniture that makes me happy -- the color, the style, and even the addition of the black and white leaf pillows all please my eye.  I could see decorating a living room around this sofa.

This lilac Astro chandelier by Metal Lux reminds me of a big beautiful allium flower.  I would be delighted to have one hanging in my dining room.

More purple flowers bloom on this glorious wool rug -- I think I sense a theme here!  It would look beautiful in the living room or master bedroom.

Speaking of the master bedroom, this purple bed in microsuede or velvet looks colorful, sleek, and comfortable -- a perfect choice for the room!

A final touch -- these vibrant purple Lumisource Scooper Bar Stools for the kitchen eating area.

I guess if there's one thing I've learned about interior design, it's "Never say never"!  The color purple could definitely find a place somewhere in my home in the form of any one of these items -- or maybe all of them!
 

Wish List Wednesdays: Fyrkat Cone Charcoal Grill

From Uncrate

I have never been very interested in grilling, but this attractive and portable Fyrkat Cone Charcoal Grill could very well change my attitude.  Besides great color choices, this grill comes with two grilling levels as well as a battery-operated rotisserie for cooking chickens!  Available from Bodum and CB2 in addition to Amazon.com, the cost is for one of these beauties about $180.  It may be a little late to purchase one for Labor Day, but think of all the future holidays and summer weekends that the Fyrkat grill can be put to use!
 

Foodie Fridays: Greek Pasta

By BarbryT

My favorite meals are quick and easy pasta dishes, and this is one of them.  I like to use linguine, but spaghetti, fettuccini, or vermicelli can be substituted.  Also, even though I know it is not Greek, I prefer to use queso fresco instead of feta cheese because I find the latter to be too salty.  If feta is your favorite, by all means use it!  Any sort of black olives can replace the canned variety, and will probably add more authentic flavor (Kalamata olives would be perfect).  I also leave out the salt and pepper since the olives are salty and I don't care for pepper, but season to suit your own taste.  Serve some tzatziki with pita chips or crusty bread as an appetizer and some baklava for dessert, and you might feel as if you've just spent the evening on a beautiful Greek isle!

Greek Pasta

1/3 C. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. oregano
3 tomatoes, diced
1 can (6 oz.) small ripe olives, halved (about 1 C.)
8 oz. linguine, cooked and drained
6 oz. feta cheese or queso fresco, crumbled

Sauté garlic in oil.  Add next three ingredients, season to taste with salt and pepper, and simmer 5 minutes.  Stir in hot pasta and then cheese.  Serves 4.