EARLY KAIJU FANDOM and Other Hot Stuff

A week or so ago, I posted a blog ("Early Kaiju Fandom Strikes!", June 19, 2025) about Bradford Grant Boyle's work showcasing daikaiju-themed fanzines from the 1970s, aptly titled Early Kaiju Fandom. The latest edition—Volume Four—is now in the house! The cover art is a drawing I did sometime between 1981 and 1983 (I think) of Gaila, the green, carnivorous gargantua from Toho's 1966 monsterpiece, War of the Gargantuas.

 

This edition includes reproductions of every page of every issue of the fanzines Oriental Cinema, Nipponese Fantasy Films, Giant Japanese Monsters, Giantdom, Japanese Monsters, and Japan's Giant Monsters. Talk about a labor of love!

 

You can order this one, as well as the previous three volumes, from Amazon.com here. 

 

Also in today's mail delivery: a bottle of Frog's Point Honey's REAPER, made by friend, fellow author, and bee-wrangler Patrick Freivald. I've tried numerous varieties of the hot honey, and the reaper version is probably my favorite. It's hot, but not too hot. I'm told it's really good for drizzling onto the rim of a tumbler for an Old Fashioned, and since I love Old Fashioneds, that's gonna be my inaugural effort for this stuff!

 

Check out Frog's Point Honey here.

Taco Time and Other Treatz

No, that's not a messy taco in the photo above, but my homemade spicy Thai ahi tuna. TacoTime is the name of a geocache (GC9JC1T) I picked up in Reidsville on my way to Martinsville last night. It was essentially a park & grab — one of those that you generally don't have to look for very long because it's pretty obvious. It was a pleasing enough cache, but like so many that are hidden near otherwise abandoned or deserted areas, somebody decides that they absolutely must sit in their freaking cars for extended spells right there near the cache. I think I'm going to start a website that features coordinates for non-existent caches and call it www.muggleswhositincarsalldayfornoapparentreason.com. Wonder if it'll get much traffic.

Once I got to Martinsville, I made a supply run at the nearby Food Lion, headed home, and cooked up the lovely Thai dish you see above. It was quite delicious — and definitely HOT!

Friend Samaire stopped by bearing a couple of goodies she had picked up in New Jersey from mutual friend and fellow writer, Patrick Freivald. First was a Concord grape pie, which is apparently a regional dish; I wasn't aware Concord grape pies existed. I'm glad they do because this sucker was delicious. I followed the baking directions, but I was afraid the crust came out a bit overdone. It was dark, but by gummy, the texture was perfect. So, Concord grape pie is a dandy dish I would love to sample again. Second was a bottle of hot maple syrup, from Patrick's label, Frog's Point Honey. I've had Patrick's hot honey before, and it's fantastic. So is the "Spicy, Eh?" maple syrup. I put it on pancakes this morning, and it had just the right amount of HOT for my palette (your mileage might vary). To try these sweet/hot treats out for yourself, visit www.frogspointhoney.com. I bet you'll be glad you did.

So, Friday evening was good for treats. Today, my brother's friend and estate executor, Jane, came for a visit to see some of Phred's old stomping grounds and cover a few points of business regarding the estate. It was a little sad, but we did have a good conversation; plus, I enjoyed taking her to a few nearby locations where my brother and I had spent much time together in our youths.

So, until next time, be good to yourselves and be good to others. Ciao!

The Concord grape pie, fresh out of the oven