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Jimmy’s Notes on Episode 70: The Drifters vs. ‘Pacific Rim’

Published May 9, 2023

We had yet another semi-chaotic episode. That’s what happens when you have multiple guests on the show for as huge a film as Pacific Rim (episode 70). I was surprisingly silent because I was taking notes and enjoying the conversation. What can I say? The Drifters are some of my favorite guests we’ve featured. So, here are my notes:

  • My opinions on Nate’s promotion…are not safe for public consumption.
  • Reb is a queen who slays. I don’t normally like using that phrase, but for her, I’ll make an exception.
  • I WILL rant about that Bouncing Betty! Reb’s design is excellent. It’s rare that such a large number of influences could be combined into one machine without looking like an ugly mess. The Pan-Pacific Defense Corps should definitely hire her for future designs to combat the Kaiju menace. While I will say Vulcan cannons are a classic and a standard mecha armament, additional weapons would improve the design. Overall, it’s not as beautiful as Gipsy Danger (because, yes, I’d marry that robot, if it was a woman—although, probably not now), but it’s a piece of work in the best possible way.
  • I was remarkably silent for reasons I’ve already outlined above.
  • You caught it, Nate, because I trained you well. And no, J.R., you will hear more from me!
  • #CancelTheApocalypse
  • I knew how to say it…whatever it was. It’d been too long since that broadcast.
  • Those “Yes, quites” did concern me.
  • I want what J.R. has…whatever that is.
  • It’s not a rhesus monkey but a rhesus macaque, which has six to nine subspecies native to South, Central, and Southeast Asia. You can read more about them on Wikipedia. Here’s a link.
  • At least I don’t read comics all day at work like J.R.! I prefer technical manuals.
  • I had some Clonaid once. I don’t want to talk about it. It’d make Nate’s “transporter accident” look like a traffic ticket.
  • The answer to which U.S. states have anti-cloning laws is a bit more multifaceted than I expected. Let me explain:
    • Federal law doesn’t prohibit human cloning. (Don’t tell Cameron Winter).
    • Eight states prohibit cloning for any reason: Arizona, Arkansas, Nate’s home state of Indiana, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Virginia.
    • Four states prohibit state funding of human cloning for any reason: Arizona, Indiana, Michigan, Louisiana.
    • Ten states have “clone and kill” laws, which prevent clones embryo implantation for childbirth but allow these embryos to be destroyed (California, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, Rhode Island).
    • Two states include “human cloning” as a practice health professionals can’t be force to participate in because of healthcare rights of conscience laws (Idaho and Louisiana).
  • Watch your mouth, J.R.! I take slander about my SCIENCE very seriously! I do not engage in cloning experiments…as far as you know….

Here’s Nate’s complete research document for your reading and studying pleasure:

S3E70-Pacific-Rim-NotesDownload

There’s more blogs where this came from! (Namely, Monster Island’s detention center).

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Jimmy’s Notes on Episode 69: ‘Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster’ | Ft. Luke and Jason Jaconetti

Published May 8, 2023

“Sixty-nine, dudes!” That’s the first thing that comes to my mind reflecting back on this episode. I thought Nate’s personality was huge. Having the Jaconetti brothers on overwhelming. I was amused watching poor Nate try to keep up. That might explain why my notes are short for episode 69: I was too entertained to write as much. Regardless, let’s see what I have.

  • Nate was thinking of a Blue Hawaii, not a Blue Mountain. He doesn’t drink coffee. (This was pointed out by Luke).
  • Venus does trigger me…but I can’t complain about Wakabayashi. What (straight) man would? But obviously, I’m more partial to Kumi Mizuno…because reasons.
  • I used to watch Everyone Loves Mechani-Kong every week as a kid. His “brother,” Mechagodzilla, was always jealous of him because his father, Dr. Who, liked the robo-ape more. 😛
  • I knew I’d need the dump button (aka Jet) for this episode with them Jaconetti boys. Sometimes the muzzle slips off their mouths.
  • MY BROTHER IS DEAD!!! (I was PTSD-ing a bit at the time).
  • I’m definitely playing “Fazers” in the Monster Zero episode. (Except I didn’t. Oops).
  • My off-air language? SLANDER! No, it’s true. People think sailors are foul-mouthed. You should hear space sailors (that’s what “astronaut” literally means) like me. We’d make seamen blush.

Here’s Nate’s research. As you’ll see, the Jaconetti brothers dominated the conversation so much, he didn’t get to a lot of it.

S3E69-Ghidorah-the-three-heaeded-monster-notesDownload

Slowly but surely, I’m catching up! At least it’s faster than Nate with the episodes. 😛

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Jimmy’s Notes on Episode 68: Nick Hayden vs. ‘Cloverfield’

Published May 8, 2023

Cloverfield is a film that is gaining more of my interested because of the theories that Clover is a space monster. Or at the very least extraterrestrial. (Contrary to popular belief, those aren’t quite the same things). As for the episode itself, Nick needs to be on the show more often; he’s a pleasant guy. All that to say, I didn’t have many notes on this episode, and none of them pertained to Nick. But correcting the guests is secondary to me keeping Nate honest. Ha! So, here are my additions to episode 68.

  • Yes, Rob Hawkins was offered a job by Monster Island in 2008. The Island was in the early stages of rebuilding and reopening at the time, and Rob was hired as its first director of public relations. Obviously, that didn’t work out. (By the way, I got this directly from the Board, so take that with a kaiju-sized grain of salt).
  • I had a MySpace page once. And don’t let Nate fool you—so did he! (Believe it or not, the site still exists!)
  • Nate, you’re worrying me with that “Yes, quite.” I remember an old…adversary of ours saying it a lot.
  • “Blue Harvest” was actually a fake working title for Return of the Jedi. And the title of a Family Guy Star Wars parody.
  • From what I can tell, the tie-in manga, Cloverfield/KISHIN, wasn’t officially translated and published outside Japan, but there is a fan translation available here (ch. 1-3) and here (ch. 4).
  • Oh, the senseless things Nate does every day. Don’t get me started on the infamous “cockroach” incident involving Elijah Thomas and Daniel DiManna. That audio will stay buried.
  • Sometimes I don’t want to be Nate’s “people.” Especially at this time with him climbing higher in the Monster Island corporate hierarchy. Just saying.

Speaking of Nate, here are his notes for the episode so you can see what he didn’t get to:

S3E68-Notes-on-CloverfieldDownload

That’s all for now. I have a mecha in desperate need of a tune up. Later!

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Jimmy’s Notes on Episode 67: ‘Little Shop of Horrors (1986) | Ft. Damon Noyes & ‘5th Wednesday Bonus Episode #12: ‘Beware! The Blob’ | Ft. Travis Alexander

Published April 5, 2023

I’m giving you a double dose of the Jimbo Notes today since we had a bonus episode right after “Damon Noyes Month.” It’s hard to compete with the Giant Claw episode, but these two were worthy efforts. It’s funny how Damon took a throwaway comment from a livestream and made it into an episode. Little Shop of Horrors remains one of the few kaiju musicals, at least on film. There’s a King Kong Broadway show, but the music is mediocre and you stay for the life-size animatronic ape. So I hear. I haven’t been able to visit home in New York to see it…mostly because I was in jail, and now I’m globetrotting as a kaiju wrangler. Yep, my storied life continues.

So, about that tiny store filled with scary things:

  • I have firsthand experience with alien plants. You know how Biollante dissolved and flew into space? Well, I followed her trail in an FTL ship I’d…borrowed from the Garogas (long story; I don’t want to talk about it). This led me to an unknown planet a few hundred lightyears away. Biollante had since spawned several generations of seedlings and was living peacefully with her “children.” (Don’t tell Dr. Dourif. I refuse to be that weirdo’s space Uber). I landed to take some photos, but some of her offspring attacked me and broke my camera. I barely escaped.
  • I do a lot of secret tours, Nate…ones I can’t talk about (not “don’t want to”). Double-hush-hush-top-secret stuff. I don’t want to have to kill you. Or maybe I do? 😛
  • My life is now complete: I gave a badge of honor to Damon. May he wear it well.
  • You are crazy, Nate. I’ve known this since we met.
  • I’ve taught you well, Damon, correcting Nate like that. Just call me Jimbo Kenobi.
  • I have to sanitize the mics after every broadcast. That’s why no one ever gets sick from COVID or Nate’s cooties when they guest host on the show. You’re fine, Damon.
  • “Frank Oz is frankly…” Ha!
  • The other optical effect was in the theatrical ending, Nate. It’s when Seymour kills Audrey II.
  • Apparently, I need to get Nate noise-making toys for him to use on the show for his birthday. But I’m not sure our listeners are prepared for that.
  • Or are Damon and Raymund the same person?! (Dun-dun-DUN!)
  • I don’t want anything cooked up by Dr. Dourif, let alone eat it. I’m already a “fun guy.”
  • Clover makes me and others sick because he’s UG-LY! He might be the worst-looking kaiju on the Island!

And now for my notes on S.O.B., er, Son of Blob, er, Beware! The Blob (Bonus Episode 12).

  • I still think both of you have cases. For what, I don’t remember. I’ve slept once since this broadcast.
  • Travis, the original film was shot in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, and the towns of Chester Springs, Downingtown, Phoenixville, and Royersford.
  • 14 years, Travis. That’s how long after the original this was (1958 to 1972).
  • The kitten’s name is Sam.
  • Making a citizen’s arrest is both less complicated and more complicated than I thought. Read about it on WikiHow.
  • Ice rinks are a bit of an engineering marvel, as I read here.

As usual, here are the documents with Nate’s research on both films.

S3E67-Little-Shop-of-Horrors-NotesDownload
Beware-The-Blob-NotesDownload

All right, time to keep this Jimmy train a-rollin’ (all night long!) What? I couldn’t resist.

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Jimmy’s Notes on Episode 66: Damon Noyes vs. ‘The Giant Claw’

Published April 4, 2023

I wasn’t sure, given how Nate barely survived “The Year of Gamera,” if he could handle The Giant Claw for episode 66. But he insisted that its infamy and not its quality necessitated we cover it. Besides, Damon jumped at the chance to discuss it. “Crazy Bernice,” as we call this kaiju, is known for her strange behavior, as you heard when Nate and Damon commentated on H.E.A.T. narrowly escaping the Beta Site with the creature chasing them down. Good thing Zilla Junior is a loyal son…guard dog…. Anyway, here are my follow-up thoughts (finally) on that episode.

  • I double checked. Dirty Harry said, “Go ahead. Make my day,” in 1983’s Sudden Impact.
  • Actually, Nate, it’s not Mitch Marrow. The actor’s name is Jeff Morrow, and he played Mitch MacAfee. I know, your alliteration-loving brain conflated the two. This is why you keep me around.
  • Really, Damon? You’d die defending Reptilicus? Speaking as someone who has died once and seen that movie…there are worse causes for which to give one’s life.
  • “Protoplastic”? You meant, “Promoplasmic”!
  • It’s a book, not a movie, Damon. (Now if I could only remember what he was talking about…).
  • Giant Claws in space? Let me tell you, they’re far more terrifying in their natural environment. Well, in the antimatter galaxy, anyway. You see, a few years ago, I stumbled upon a wormhole between Jupiter and Saturn. It led to the antimatter galaxy. Like the proverbial curious cat, I flew my ship into the wormhole and barely survived my exit into that dangerous part of space because, as you know, I’m made of regular matter, which doesn’t mix well with antimatter. As my ship’s instruments screamed at me, the giant maw of, well, a Giant Claw filled my windshield. I barely dodged its bite and escaped through the wormhole. This is why I don’t visit the Beta Site much.
  • I looked at a couple sources (Wikipedia and the Romanian Culture Institute) that both discussed the origin of the word/name Nemesis. It’s meaning as a term for an enemy is more a recent development. The Greek goddess did punish mortals for hubris (i.e. arrogance before the gods), but she was also seen as a dispenser of justice; a judge who maintained order in the universe. In other words, she has a dualistic nature. So, Damon was correct.
  • It’s a good thing I can math. It’s a requirement to work at NASA. That’s another reason Nate keeps me around. He can’t math his way out of a paper bag.
  • What? I like hot dogs! Antimatter hot dogs! They used to serve them at parties in NASA!

Finally, here’s the obscenely huge file with all of Nate’s notes on this movie. I still can’t believe they spent 2.5 hours discussing it. The antimatter segment was fantastic, though. But again, I’m a NASA guy.

S3E66-The-Giant-Claw-NotesDownload

All right, time to get tomorrow’s blog ready! I’m catching up, baby!

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Jimmy’s Notes on Episode 65: ‘Mothra vs. Godzilla’ | Ft. Daniel DiManna

Published April 3, 2023

Nate’s been calling these blogs my “prison epistles” because I wrote them while in the Island’s detention center. I’m no Apostle Paul nor am I religious, but it’s a funny comparison. I admit it’s hard to write when there’s a gorgeous Planet X lady in the cell next door. The problem is she sleeps a lot. A good kiss would fix that. Glen gave me some pointers on kissing. (No, he didn’t kiss me! Get your head out of the gutter!) Anyway, here are my notes from Episode 65: ‘Mothra vs. Godzilla.’

  • I can’t find a reason to be upset with Danny. It’s scientifically impossible to be angry at Pollyanne Danny.
  • “Big Willy 3.” Not bad. I doubt he can rap, though. I should know: I’m a connoisseur of gangsta rap. 
  • Hey, I thought that lost recording was funny. It’s not fit for public consumption like a lot of off-air conversations we have on this show, but still funny. If people knew…well, let’s just say Kaiju Kim won’t just be canceling Michael Hamilton.
  • Mocking Nate is definitely in my contract. It didn’t take much to convince the Board to add that clause. Even after I lost respect for my evil bosses, I insisted they keep it in. Again, it didn’t take much convincing.
  • The Mothra vs. Godzilla novelization was written by Takamasa Ueda and published by Kodansha in 1984 (yes, 20 years later).
  • The pamphlet has no fake news, despite stereotypes. I double- and triple-checked.
  • Typhoon Vera caused $5.82 billion in 2023 money. Insane!
  • Which Mothra is the biggest? That depends on what you look at.
    • Largest larva: Showa at 180 meters long (Mothra, 1961)
    • Largest imago: Showa at 80 meters long (Mothra, 1961)
    • Largest wingspan: Showa at 250 meters (Mothra, 1961) (MonsterVerse version is close at 244.8 meters)
    • Heaviest: Millennium at 25,000 metric tons (Godzilla: Final Wars)
  • Just doing my job…whatever that was when I wrote this….
  • Prequels?!
  • Can you blame me for loving Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machines?

If you want to know what Nate didn’t talk about during the episode (which was a lot), here are his leftover notes:

S3E65-Mothra-vs.-Godzilla-NotesDownload

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have an X-lady to wake up. No, not that kind of X-lady!

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Jimmy Notes on Episode 64: Kaiju Weekly vs. ’20 Million Miles to Earth’

Published January 11, 2023

To say the episode 64 broadcast on 20 Million Miles to Earth was chaotic would be an understatement. I still get angry e-mails from listeners about how crazy it was. Let’s just say there are reasons we edit stuff out for the podcast editions—and two of them are named Travis Alexander and Michael Hamilton! Listening back on this reminds me why Michael and I used to butt heads: he’s a bit like Commander Hell and thinks he owns any place he walks into. Travis, on the other hand, is an agent of chaos (and I don’t mean the Get Smart kind).

This episode was just a month before the Kaiju Weekly podcast went on an extended hiatus. Despite my issues with Michael, I was sad to see it go. Kaiju Weekly was the first kaiju podcast Nate and I guested on, and we’ve been tight with Travis and Michael ever since. I’ve lived a storied life, but sometimes I feel “nostalgic” for things that happened three years ago. Does that count as “nostalgia”? Michael would know: he’s addicted to it. (Just listen to The Power Trip podcast: he says he “mainlines” it). 😛

Anyway, on to my notes:

  • Michael always wanted to be a Power Ranger, so I figured the hazmat suit would be a good start to a costume. It’s what he gets for denying my existence. 😛
  • Host privileges, Nate? Perhaps you should check some of them at the door.
  • I can vouch for…Travis’s assertion…whatever it was.
  • I met Billy Cranston once. I’d found my way to Aquitar after narrowly escaping a Natarl cruiser. We were the Double Dragons of intellect.
  • I did learn Latin, Marchand. I went to the best schools in New York and Japan!
  • Yes, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad was Harryhausen’s next film after this.
  • He can’t cut me off here: Nate’s weird. Beyond weird, even. You should see what his apartment looks like. I think his decorator is a nerdy teenage boy. (Oh, wait…).
  • Kinko and Sexypus: the latest kaiju porn. And I’m sure Michael watches it daily.
  • I think Michael is jealous I saw Ymirs in their native habitat. And then I fixed their native habitat. You’re welcome, Venusians!
  • Jimmys are from Venus. This one is, anyway…well, sorta.
  • I like space candy. My favorite is Astro-taffy, which is flavored with literal stardust. We call it “Star-Stuff.” We’re all made of it, you know.

Now for Nate’s rather extensive notes. He almost never gets through all of them.

20-Million-Miles-to-Earth-NotesDownload

Two in one day! I’m on a roll! Now if only Nate could get caught up on uploading audio. This is what happens when you get promoted to working two jobs.

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Jimmy’s Notes on ‘Episode 63: King Kong vs. Godzilla | Godzilla Redux | Ft. AlyssaGojiGeek’

Published January 11, 2023

Now I’m only ten episodes or so behind! Ha!

I wondered if having Alyssa Charpentier on episode 63 was a good idea, but Nate insisted he had to have her on. I wasn’t going to argue with having a Navy woman on the show (I worked extensively with naval aviators while in the Air Force back in the day), which Nate took as filtration. Given that she’s also a writer and a nerd, I told him I could say the same about him. But we behaved ourselves, and despite Goji-kun and Bro Kong mucking around with the equipment during that broadcast, the episode turned out well. I only took a few notes.

  • I can handle Alyssa…although, she is a short girl. You have to watch out for those.
  • Oh, man. The beeps. So. Many! Freakin’ mascot gremlins!
  • I prefer Nick Adams as my spirit animal. This is a well-established fact on the show.
  • Noh theater does not use puppets; it uses dance and minimal props. Bunraku uses puppets.
  • It wasn’t the satellite from Battle in Outer Space but the Mysterian Space Station that was passed off as the U.N. satellite in the U.S. version. It’s an easy mistake to make, Nate, because the former is a pseudo-sequel to the latter.
  • Alyssa is a “fangirl,” Nate! Get the terminology right! She may be a tomboy, but she’s still a woman!
  • Episode 13 was The Three Treasures, Nate.
  • I’m not wounded by her not seeing 20 Million Miles to Earth. Ego? Bah! Even if I had one, it wouldn’t compare to Michael Hamilton’s! 😛

Here are Nate’s notes…which is recycled from his past podcast life. No judgment here, though.

MIFV63-NotesDownload

Let’s see if I can crank out a few more this week if not today!

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Jimmy’s Notes on Episode 62: Eric Anderson vs. ‘The Blob’ (1958)

Published January 4, 2023

Here we go! Time to share my notes on one of the most Americana monster movies ever made: The Blob (1958). Something I forgot to mention during the episode 62 broadcast was that I’ve been a huge fan of Steve McQueen since I was a kid. Him and James Dean and, of course, Nick Adams (my “spirit animal”). Those should come as no surprise to anyone. Hell, I once took a martial arts lesson as a youth in the 1970s from Mr. McQueen, who was trained by Bruce Lee. So, you could say I vicariously learned from the best.

Anyway, let’s get into my notes:

  • “Kaiju doo-doo”? Let’s not insult the Blob like that! Besides, I’ve talked with Ricky the kaiju zookeeper, and he says kaiju crap is different from monster to monster.
  • I let Nate have it every day. It’s part of my job description as his “intrepid producer” and his friend.
  • I checked the filming locations for the film, which, according to Wikipedia, were “around Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, principal photography took place at Valley Forge Studios. Several scenes were filmed in the towns of Chester Springs, Downingtown, Phoenixville, and Royersford, including the basement of a local restaurant which is today named Downingtown Diner.”
  • I hereby challenge Nate to Unmatched! Now I just need to decide who is my main….
  • Blobfest was held this year.
  • The game you were thinking of, Nate, was De Blob.
  • It’s “One-Eyed, One-Horned, Flying Purple People Eater,” Eric. You got the order wrong.
  • I taught Eric everything he knows about fact-checking radio hosts. He’s a good padawan.
  • My ego has recovered from the fact-checking. My storied life has made me resilient in mind and body.
  • The timeline for the sequels and remakes is 1972 and 1988.
  • I found Blobermouth on YouTube. We should have Eric on for a follow-up.
  • Whatever, Blobermouth (aka Nate—if that is your real name! Are you an alien? That’d explain some things).
  • The Blob will scare the hell out of you—at least according to the church-folk who made it. I confirmed this with Rev. Mifune.
  • “Frog and Toad” thing, huh? Haha!
  • SpaceGodzilla scat? That’s a theory, all right. I doubt there are any scientists who would agree with it…except maybe Dr. Dourif.
  • If I was Cobra Commander, I’d be ruling the world by now. I’ve read the “Evil Overlord List.” Be glad I have refrained from universal conquest.
  • “Presetellar,” Nate? You meant, “prestellar.” As in, “before stars.” This NASA man knows this! Typos are your kryptonite, it seems, writer-boy. 😛

Here are Nate’s uncut notes:

The-Blob-1958-notesDownload

Hot diggity-dog! Two in one day! If working in the space industry has taught me anything, it’s to coast on your zero-G momentum. Onward!

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