Godzilla (46/54) - Sound Effect of Godzilla Cassette Tapes, Volume I and II (1984)

This is a very cool pair of cassette tapes chock-full of great Godzilla sounds. The cassettes are in illustrated slipcovers...

And feature fold-out inserts (in Japanese, of course). 

Volume I Track Listing (and enjoy on YouTube):

Godzilla (1:24)

A1a     cry/longest

A1b     cry/long

A1c     cry/short

A1d     growl

A1e     suffering

A1f     scream

A1g     footsteps

A1h     radioactivity

A1i     hand

A1j     tail

Minilla (1:44)

A2a     scream

A2b     birth cry

A2c     No, no

A2d     anger

A2e     sadness

A2f     sweet voice

A2g    scream

A2h    surprise

A2i     radioactivity

Mothra (0:38)

A3a     Adult insect/call

A3b     Adult/Flight sound

A3c     Adult/wings

A3d     Larva/Crying

A3e     Larva / Thread spitting sound <A type / B type> ~ Larva / action <A type / B type>

Radon (1:22)

A4a     cry

A4b     Flight sound/approach, passing sound, flight, wing sound

Anguirus (0:20)

A5a     cry/long

A5b     cry/short

Jet Jaguar (1:26)

A6a     voice/life size

A6b     Voice/Giant size

Tank (1:29)

A7a     running sound/A type

A7b     Running sound/B type

A7c     firearm attack sound

Fighter (1:09)

A8a     flight sound/start, 2 types of passing sounds

A8b     In-flight sound

A8c     missile launch sound

Submarine (0:42)

A9a     navigation sound

A9b     Detection sound <A type/B type>

A9c     sonar sound

A9d     alarm sound

Helicopter & explosion sound (0:59)

A10a     Passing sound

A10b     in flight <A type/B type>

A10c     Various explosion sounds

A10d     Various destruction sounds

Undersea warship = Goten (4:00)

B1a     Underwater passing sound

B1b     engine sound

B1c     rising sound

B1d     Air passing sound

B1e     internal sound

B1f     cold wire gun firing sound

B1g     submarine beam launch sound

B1h     alarm buzzer

B1i     search sound

Earth Defense Force Alpha (1:05)

B2a     passing sound

B2b     in flight

B2c     in-flight sound

B2d     electron gun firing sound

α & Kurosame (1:08)

B3a     α・Underwater passing sound

B3b     control room noise

B3c     Air passing sound

B3d     in-flight sound

B3e     Barrier

B3f     Kurosame/underwater passing sound

B3g     engine sound

B3h     Laser <A/B type>, main gun firing sound, torpedo firing sound, underwater missile firing sound

B4     Storm & Lightning 1:42

B5     Earthquake 0:53

B6     Volcanic eruption sound & rumble 1:22

Situation drama by B7 SE (sound effects) (Scourge in the Pacific ~ Godzilla Landing ~ To the Sea) 0:32

Volume II Track Listing (and enjoy on YouTube):

A1 King Ghidorah 1:24

A2 King Kong 1:44

A3 Giant Octopus 0:38

A4 Varan 1:22

A5 Magma 0:20

A6 Dogora 1:26

A7 Matango 1:29

A8 Baragon And Frankenstein 1:09

A9 Sanda And Gaira 0:42

A10 Ebirah 0:59

A11 Gorosaurus 0:28

A12 Kamakiras And Kumonga 1:19

A13 Ganime, Gezora, Kameba - YOG 1:35

A14 Gabara 1:11

A15 Hedorah 4:36

A16 Gigan 0:49

A17 Megalon 0:59

A18 King Shisar 1:20

A19 Titanosaurus 0:26

B1 MechaGodzilla 4:00

B2 MechaniKong 1:05

B3 Moguera 1:08

B4 Transmitto-Machine 1:42

B5 Human Gas 0:53

B6 Mysterian Dome 1:22

B7 Maser Tank Firing Sounds 0:32

B8 A-Cycle Light Ray 0:40

B9 UFO Flying Sounds 4:16

B10 Situation Dramas Utilizing Sound Effects 8:42

As cool as these are, there's a definite downside to them being on cassette. To avoid burnout by repetition, these sorts of things really benefit from the random access of a CD, or even needle-drops on vinyl. It's challenging to sit through several similar variations of a monster's call before being able to get to the next. Still, a very cool and unique collectible!

 Check back next week for another item from my Godzilla collection!

I Am Legend (46/54) - New York City Film Premiere, Red Carpet and Party Tickets & Invitations (2007)

Though unable to attend the premiere of the Will Smith film on December 11, 2007, I was able to procure this collection of tickets and invites to the event, held at Madison Square Garden.

This includes three general admission tickets to the film...

... two Red Carpet access passes to Madison Square Garden...

... and a ticket to the party at Hiro at the Maritime Hotel. 

The invitation is the coolest part of this collection, folding open with details on the screening and the pre-screening cocktail party at Nick & Stef's Steakhouse. 

 Though I had to settle for the midnight screening at our local theater on December 14, 2007, it's pretty cool to have these items in the Archive.

Check back next week for another Premiere-related item in the Archive!

Creature from the Black Lagoon (45/54) - Funko Mystery Minis Blind Box Creature (2015)

Blind boxes. I hate 'em. If you're not familiar with the concept, it's a chance-based purchase (i.e. gambling) within a known subset of products. In this case, Universal Monster figures. As much as I liked this Creature, I didn't want to buy endless boxes in the hopes of snagging what was obviously going to be the most popular figure. Fortunately, I was able to pick one up at a toy show for less than the cost of two boxes! If only it were always so easy and cost-effective!

Check back next week for another item from my Creature collection!

Godzilla (45/54) - Criterion Showa Era Blu Ray Collection (2019)

No Godzilla collection would be complete without the Criterion Showa Era (1954-1975) Blu Ray collection.

While a horrible fit for the shelves, the oversized book-style packaging is very nicely illustrated.

It's hard to complain about what's included, it isn't quite definitive, particularly for the fan who grew up watching the US dubs of the films on television. Some films, such as the original Godzilla and King Kong vs Godzilla, are present in both their Japanese and US versions. And while some of the films do include US dubs in addition to subtitles, not all do, and those that do are not always the dubs audiences will be familiar with. But it's a small price to pay to have Godzilla's first 15 outings in high-definition!

Be here next week for another item from my Godzilla collection!

I Am Legend (45/54) - Author signed extract: "THE OMEGA MAN — A Modern Allegory of Love and Plague" from the Journal of Orgonomy (1980)

You never know exactly what you'll find searching on eBay. Several years ago, this Omega Man-associated item caught my eye. 

It's a saddle-stitched extract of an article published in the Journal of Orgonomy titled "The Omega Man — A Modern Allegory of Love and Plague" by John M. Bell. What made it even more interesting was the fact that it was inscribed by the author. 

According to orgonomy.org, Orgonomy is the natural science of orgone energy and its functions. "This energy obeys certain laws, and Wilhelm Reich described the functions of the energy and its effects very specifically."

Um, okay? So not exactly, "'Biowar Pathology Parameters in Urban and Semi-urban Environment,' Journal of Military Medicine, June, 1974, 'Incremental Effects Countermeasures to Toxic Agents in Liquid Systems Delivery' Microbiological Letters,' January, 1975." (And shame on you if you don't get the reference!)

If you're intrigued, as I was, I invite you to read the article, which is available in its entirety here!

Check back next week for another item from the I Am Legend Archive.

Creature from the Black Lagoon - (44/54) Halloween Cards (2020)

Universal monsters on greeting cards aren't exactly uncommon, but this particular card featuring the Creature from the Black Lagoon and foil highlights is a personal favorite!

As a bonus, here's a Halloween card that I received from Vonna as an anniversary card (timed perfectly since we were married on Halloween weekend, 1997). 

 Check back next week for another item from my Creature collection!

Godzilla (44/54) - Shinji NIshikawa 60th Anniversary Bullmark Button (2014)

Yes, we just celebrated the 70th anniversary of Godzilla last weekend, but today we're showcasing an item going back 10 years. 

It's a pinback button celebrating 60 years of Godzilla from 2014, with art by Shinji Nishikawa.

As a bonus, here's a Godzilla pin I've had even longer!

Be sure to check back next week for another item from my Godzilla collection!

I Am Legend (44/54) - I Am Legend Film Cast and Crew Hats (2006)

I got my first I Am Legend crew hat, with a cool IAL logo, from the same crew member from whom I purchased all of my screenplay revisions. I subsequently picked up a second that still had the original tag.

Years later, I came across a Panavision New York hat with the embroidered title, and couldn't pass it up. 

 Check back next week for another item from the I Am Legend Archive. 

Happy 70th Birthday Godzilla (43/54) - Clear Card Collection (2024)

In honor of Godzilla's 70th Birthday, I thought I'd focus on a very cool new trading card set from Japan that I recently added to my collection.

Technically, the packs and packaging all refer to Clear Card Collection Gum — and sure enough, you'll find a stick of gum in every pack of two cards. Each 16 card box also contains a bonus Box card (I don't know how many Box cards there are, as the one I opened was #1).

While I knew each box contained 16 packs of 2 cards, and that there were 32 cards in the set, I didn't want to take it for granted that each box contained a complete set, so I purchased a few, just to be safe. 

I was pleasantly surprised to find that I did in fact receive a complete set in the first box I opened (plus the bonus Box card). Best of all, the cards exceeded my expectation. I didn't realize they were clear cards, printed on transparent plastic. In the photos below, I purposefully held the cards so you could see my fingers behind the card, and get a clear sense of how the transparency was handled.

It's a great set of cards, with both classic and cool images spanning the length of the Big G's career.

The only question that remains is whether I open the extra boxes I procured in order to assemble a set of the Box cards, or if I should be satisfied with the complete set and one Box card that I've opened.

Check back on Wednesday for another item from my Godzilla collection!