View Obscura

  "Our tale begins dramatically amidst the smoldering ruins of what was once a great city. Twisted girders, cracked, blistering sidewalks and the skeletal frames of demolished buildings paint a grim portrait of this smoldering memorial to the unknown. Tokyo, once a proud metropolis of six million people, is now a graveyard." - Steve Martin - United World News Godzilla, King of the Monsters! is a 1956 kaiju film directed by Terry O. Morse and Ishirō Honda. This "Americanization," is a heavily re-edited version of the 1954 Japanese film Godzilla. The film was a Japanese-American co-production, with the original footage produced by Toho Co., Ltd, and the new footage produced by Jewell Enterprises. Starring Raymond Burr, Takashi Shimura, Momoko Kōchi, Akira Takarada, and Akihiko Hirata, with Haruo Nakajima and Katsumi Tezuka as Godzilla, the film follows an American reporter covering a giant reptilian monster's attack on Japan.

Photos and Story by Ken Hulsey A couple of weeks back, I was passing through Kinder, Louisiana, when I spotted Union Pacific Heritage Locomotive #1982 switching a block of railcars onto a siding. I was surprised to see such a locomotive relegated to switching duties. I pulled off the highway to get a few shots of the locomotive, which is quickly becoming one of my favorites.

Photos and Story By Ken Hulsey Yesterday, Terri and I had a magical day. After days of eager anticipation, it finally snowed 2-3 inches here in Alexandria, Louisiana - a rare and wondrous occurrence. Earlier in the week, weather reports had predicted up to 9 inches of snow, and we had both been hoping for that epic winter wonderland. Alas, the storm system veered south, blanketing areas like Lake Charles, Lafayette, and Baton Rouge in blizzard-like conditions instead.

 Written By Ken Hulsey Cookie Monster Strikes! As an expert in monster films, I'm excited to feature some of the best, like "Creature From The Black Lagoon" and "Them!," as well as some of the worst, such as "Green Slime" and our present topic, "Creature From The Haunted Sea." Both types of films can be enjoyed for various reasons. "Creature From The Haunted Sea" is no exception to the rule that bad movies have their own charm. The sheer weirdness of this film is simply too much to overlook. Only the legendary low-budget filmmaker Roger Corman could have concocted such a strange mix of camp, cheesy rip-offs, cliche characters, and the most poorly designed movie monster ever. At least the Ro-Man from "Robot Monster" had some charisma!

August 29, 2010 - London Colony, United Kingdom On the evening of Sunday, August 29th, a man in London Colney reported seeing some peculiar lights in the sky above St Albans around 10:15 pm. He observed more than 10 fast-moving objects traveling in a straight line, which he did not believe were Chinese lanterns, as they were moving at a high speed. Around the same time, Rob Stichbury, who lives in the Roundwood Park area of Harpenden, saw a similar bright object moving extremely fast from the direction of St Albans/Redbourn. Stichbury said the object seemed to be following the path of the Nicky Line and disappeared towards Luton Airport in less than 15 seconds, noting it was too large, bright, and fast-moving to be a commercial plane.

 By Ken Hulsey It's Friday, folks - in case you somehow didn't know. That means it's time for another episode of Friday Night Videos! Now, I usually like to share a little story to explain why I've chosen a particular artist to feature. But this week? I got nothin'. Zilch. Nada. I wish I could regale you with some wild tale about Stevie Nicks - you know, like how we met in a hotel bar one night and totally hit it off. And to make a long story short, we had this hot and heavy weekend together, and she started falling for me, but I just wasn't ready for a serious relationship, so I had to let her down easy. Alas, none of that ever happened.

 Written By: Ken Hulsey In 1984, Carl Macek sought to import a Japanese anime series, the famous Chôjikû yôsai Macross, to the United States for syndication. However, the series was only 36 episodes long, shorter than the standard 65-episode American syndicated show. To remedy this, Macek obtained two additional unrelated series, Chôjikû kidan Southern Cross and Kikô sôseiki Mospeada, and hired a team of writers to weave the three shows into a grand, epic narrative. The resulting story followed three generations living through a mass alien invasion. The final arc would revolve around Robotech pilot Scott Bernard, who was sent back to Earth to organize resistance against the Invid. This time, the aliens were not after a missing warship, but rather intended to harvest Earth's bio-energy in the form of Protoculture (a "Prototype Culture" derived from the Macross series) and enslave the remaining human population

 Written By Ken Hulsey In the summer of 2008, I developed a strong interest in the UFO phenomenon and began collecting reports of possible sightings from around the world. I published several articles about these alleged encounters, which drew significant attention. Many witnesses contacted me personally, and I shared their stories with my readers. The reports poured in from eyewitnesses and news outlets globally. During the period from summer 2008 to summer 2010, there were numerous credible sightings by individuals who reported seeing the same objects in the sky, despite being thousands of miles apart. The most intriguing of these came from the UK in November and December 2008, when sighting reports were received almost daily. I believe this collection of sightings will be quite thought-provoking for you.

 Written By: Ken Hulsey One of my fondest memories from living in New Mexico was exploring the stunning Jemez Mountains. The area was ideal for summer motorcycle rides, hiking adventures, and camping trips. The region is dotted with captivating geological wonders like the Soda Dam (and its picturesque waterfall), the Sulphur Hot Springs, and the towering Battleship Rock. The natural beauty of this place is not only visually breathtaking, but also has a profound, almost spiritual, quality to it. Here are some must-visit spots if you find yourself in the Jemez area.

 Written By Ken Hulsey I decided to take a slightly different approach with this week's Friday Night Videos feature. After some consideration, I selected a video that I'm fairly certain you've never seen before. And as per the laws of rock and roll, I must make the obligatory introduction: “You wanted the best and you got the best, the hottest band in the world … KISS!”

Over the past couple of decades, my life has taken an interesting journey. In the early 2000s, I worked as an entertainment reporter and journalist, primarily covering the Japanese science fiction movie scene. That eventually led me to reporting on anime and, later, low-budget independent sci-fi and horror films here in the U.S. This work allowed me to establish valuable contacts at major studios like Warner Bros. and Universal, and I had the opportunity to contribute to publicity for some of their releases. It was a wild ride, and an experience I will always treasure.