Brian Yuzna

Brian Yuzna's career is a jack-of-all-trades affair. His work as a producer, actor, screenwriter, film editor, perhaps as a result of this, has been a strange mixture of hit and miss. A clear fan of hardcore horror, much of his output is focused on HP Lovecraft's work: the classic film Re-Animator was a memorable success for Yuzna, though its spawning of a myriad forgettable sequels is less notable. Other-Lovecraft related projects include From Beyond, Dagon and Necronomicon; while never truly unsuccessful, such films never truly achieved widespread success.

Yuzna was born in the Philippines in 1951, though he was educated in Central America and the United States. His love of horror fiction was obvious from an early age, and his family's involvement in cinema is equally obvious: Brian's four children have all gone on to become actors and actresses, with varying levels of success.

Intriguingly, amongst Yuzna's filmography is the rather bizarre inclusion of Honey, I Shrunk The Kids, which he worked on in 1989 with director Joe Johnston. This family comedy was, however, a mere blip in Yuzna's career - it was swiftly followed up with Bride Of Re-Animator, the first of those dreadful sequels. The Honey, I Shrunk The Kids Disney project did mark the beginning of a collaboration with Stuart Gordon, however, who would work with Yuzna on Dagon.

Those wishing to investigate Yuzna's work for themselves would be wise to begin with Society, a subtle, psychological horror that only spills over into out-and-out gore at the very end of the film. Re-Animator, too, is well worth the time.

The Fun They Had - Isaac Asimov

The Fun They Had is a short short story by Isaac Asimov. Its length of roughly one thousand words is nigh on perfect, however, for in those one thousand words Asimov produces a perfect children's story with a point that's just twisty enough for most kids. And it is aimed at children, there's no doubt, and the premise is almost laughably simple. Or it would be if the story didn't make an intriguing social comment on the nature of education as a socialising influence with such gleeful innocence.

Asimov was, apparently, rather at a loss to explain the popularity of the story, which was originally written in 1951 for a newspaper and later published in Science Fiction And Fantasy Magazine. Of course, the story's length and simplicity lends it well to school literature texts for younger readers, and the story received more requests for inclusion in anthologies than any of his other stories.

In the story, Margie finds a book. And books, in 2155, are pretty peculiar. 'I guess you throw it away once you're done with it.' her brother says, and they muse on how much better their electronic book readers are - you can use them over and over again. But this mysterious object from the attic is quite fascinating to Margie, and to Tommy too. Much more interesting, in fact, than the mechanical teacher, which Margie secretly hopes might break down forever. In Margie's book it tells her all about school, about meeting friends in the playground, about homework and sitting together with your own desk. You'll have guessed the point by now - it is aimed at children after all...

"Margie was thinking about how the kids must have loved it in the old days. She was thinking about the fun they had."

Short Back And Sides

The short back and sides is quite probably the best-known classic British hair style, particularly favoured for young boys as it was supremely easy for mother to maintain with appropriately brusque combings just after breakfast. It was especially common prior to the 1960s; following this popular influences such as The Beatles made it more acceptable for males to sport longer styles of hair, and the desire for a short back and sides decreased accordingly. This trend for longer hair continued through the 70s, eventually giving way to shorter styles through the eighties, including an increased trend for shaved hair styles.

The short back and sides ought to be awarded something in recognition of clear speech. In a world of bangs, ringlets and devilocks it's a refreshing change to come across a hairstyle with a plain, descriptive name. Upon requesting a short back and sides, one could expect the fringe to be trimmed to a respectable level, and the sides and back of the neck to be cropped to a rather severe length, usually with a razor of some description. Sideburns were optional, but usually extended to around the middle of the ear.

The short back and sides also forms a basis for some more outlandish styles. The Eton flop (or 'floppie'), for example, would feature a short back and sides with a long sweep of hair dangling in the eyes.

The Veldt - Ray Bradbury

The Veldt is a short horror story, part of the 1951 anthology The Illustrated Man, written by American author Ray Bradbury. It fits neatly amongst other Bradbury works which explore the peculiar relationships engendered by parenthood. Like The Small Assassin, in The Veldt two perfectly loving parents come under threat from their offspring and, forced ultimately by the blind trust of parental instinct, forfeit their lives: Bradbury's point being that although on the surface parents appear to control their children, without realising it parents are perhaps in reality controlled more by their children through instinct and, indeed, love. No-one would dare believe their children would kill them just to get their own way.
The veldt in question is a classic, dusty grassland of southern Africa, inhabited by the appropriate fauna and generated in its entirety by the Nursery, a computer-controlled playroom for the children. It's not actually real, and nor are the lions, though no-one seems to have told them that. It's not supposed to be generating a veldt, of course, so with the playroom going wrong like that, it's quite natural to venture in and investigate. Finding your partner's bloody bones on the floor ought to hint that something's not quite right, but... well, then it's too late; the kids had to do something to stop you turning the damn thing off.
It's a good story. Seek it out and read it... it will not be hard to find. Bradbury is an immensely popular writer, and for good reason.