Laser disc clock

My latest project: A laser disc clock.

The hubby, see Explosive Action, has a huge movie collection that includes some odd and rare laser discs. One of which got cracked for one reason or another. On a whim he decided he wanted it made into a clock but he really has no idea how to do such a thing so he handed it onto me. So, with a spare piece of masonite from the blackboard project, I made a circular backing board, painted it black, cut out a section for the mechanism to sit in as the clock was too thick to just whack it on the back and fix the hands in place, created a hanger to balance the mechanism, glued and nailed it all together, got the mechanism running and polished it up. Here's the finished project. It was a bit fiddly in parts and I have to admit to using the sink as a stand and dust catcher while drilling because the hubby's movie collection has taken over the garage, including my work bench. Half a dozen random objects also had to be moved out of the way to reach my drill bits too... Hmm... Can you tell I miss having a workshop? Oh well, this was fun to make. 

10 differences between serial killer fiction and reality

The best of the best fictional serial killers are written and sometimes acted well enough to escape some, but rarely all, of the below problems. Fiction just can't reflect the true horror of reality in the case of serial killers, no matter how much they make you, the audience member, squirm.

1. In fiction, there isn't enough shock in the discovery of hidden horrors.

2. In fiction, the serial killer is glorified.

3. The extended efforts everyone makes to try to understand why is, for the most part, absent from fiction.

4. In fiction, the slow development of the killer and his crimes is cast aside for sudden gory awakenings.

5. The mix of victim and killer often present in the serial killer's personality and experience is underplayed or non-existent in fiction.

6. The serial killer's often overpowering, disturbing personality and misfit nature is ignored in fiction for the killer's ability to blend in and appear normal.


7. The serial killer's dysfunctional psychology is underplayed in fiction for a functional pattern of behaviour that leads to a repetition of kills.

8. The unplanned and rather opportunistic nature of many of the real serial killer's kills is lost for a pattern and a comprehensible reason to kill.

9. The lasting filth and bodily remains surrounding a serial killer is often left out of the fiction for a focus on initial gore and a clean disposal that justifies why everyone around them didn't notice.

10. The physical appearance of the real serial killer is often far less attractive, though frequently normal enough, than those of fictional killers.

Iconic shoes in fiction

Ruby slippers from The Wizard Of Oz

Cinderella's glass slipper

Princess Leia's slave shoes

Doc Martins from Romper Stomper

Sideshow Bob's giant shoes

Leela's boots from Futurama

Jennifer Grey’s Dirty Dancing Keds

Marty Mc'flys future Nikes with power laces

Robocop's metal boots

Robin's green boots from Batman And Robin

Flash's yellow boots

Charlie Chaplin's worn out shoes

Mickey Mouse's yellow shoes

Lisa Simpson's red sandals

The faces of the James Bond film villains

Joseph Wiseman as Dr. Julius No in Dr. No

Lotte Lenya as Rosa Klebb in From Russia, with Love

Anthony Dawson as Ernst Stavro Blofeld in From Russia, with Love

Gert Fröbe as Auric Goldfinger in Goldfinger

Adolfo Celi as Emilio Largo in Thunderball

Anthony Dawson as Ernst Stavro Blofeld in Thunderball

Donald Pleasence as Ernst Stavro Blofeld in You Only Live Twice

Telly Savalas as Ernst Stavro Blofeld in On Her Majesty's Secret Service

Charles Gray as Ernst Stavro Blofeld in Diamonds Are Forever

Yaphet Kotto as Dr. Kananga (Mr. Big) in Live and Let Die

Christopher Lee as Francisco (Paco) "Pistols" Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun

Curt Jürgens as Karl Stromberg in The Spy Who Loved Me

Michael Lonsdale as Sir Hugo Drax in Moonraker

Julian Glover as Aristotle Kristatos in For Your Eyes Only

John Hollis as Wheelchair villain (possibly Ernst Stavro Blofeld) in For Your Eyes Only

Steven Berkoff as General Orlov in Octopussy

Louis Jourdan as Kamal Khan in Octopussy

Christopher Walken as Max Zorin in A View to a Kill

Jeroen Krabbé as General Georgi Koskov in The Living Daylights

Joe Don Baker as Brad Whitaker in The Living Daylights

Robert Davi as Franz Sanchez in Licence to Kill

Sean Bean as Alec Trevelyan/Janus in GoldenEye

Jonathan Pryce as Elliot Carver in Tomorrow Never Dies

Philip Kwok as General Chang in Tomorrow Never Dies

Sophie Marceau as Elektra King in The World Is Not Enough

Robert Carlyle as Renard/Viktor Zokas in The World Is Not Enough

Toby Stephens and Will Yun Lee as Gustav Graves (Colonel Moon) in Die Another Day

Mads Mikkelsen as Le Chiffre in Casino Royale

Jesper Christensen as Mr. White in Casino Royale

Mathieu Amalric as Dominic Greene in Quantum of Solace

Joaquin Cosio as General Medrano in Quantum of Solace

Jesper Christensen as Mr. White in Quantum of Solace

Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva (born Tiago Rodriguez) in Skyfall