Easter Greetings

 You'll probably get a proper update tomorrow. But for now have a happy Easter to those that celebrate and for those that don't, hey tomorrow means cut price chocolate.

Spiral bridges.

 We're up to the based numbers, as this is number 8 in the series here. 

The story this time is that the Prito construction company has been suffering sabotage attempts on a bridge building project out in Kentucky. Fenton Hardy is out of commission, due to him suffering at the hands of the crooks, so its down to the lads (and it is the lads) to bring them in by joining the project.

There are the usual small edits such as a few spelling edits and baseball terms and bum of course being tramp now. But it's still quite a powerful story and one were the boys face genuine malice and threat. Fenton isn't all powerful in this as his near death experience attests. We could have done without the "Con speak", though I've heard one of two of the terms used normally. Arkintay indeed.

Anyway UK version is here and Original, here.

Offbeat oddities. Samh

We are reading through Panorama of Saudi Arabia, a badly edited book on, well, Saudi Arabia. Its a mish mash of Islam and poetry and black and white photos of various bits and pieces of Arabian life. There is however a list of plants with Latin names and their corresponding names in Arabic. 

The upshot of this is, well we have a mesemb, Mesembryanthemum Forskahlei (now Cryptanthum or Opophytum Cryptanthum according to my trusty Hartmann pdf.). Along with a few Asclepiads and Glassworts. Its Arabic name is Samh and seems to have some sort of medical potential for ulcer control and a ethnobotanical use for controlling blood sugar. It also seems to be used in cooking as the seed is ground to make flour. I quote 'and samh, a wild seed, is collected in northern Arabia to make coarse bread. 

Mesembryanthemum is now this weird mix of annual and non annual plants now. Can remember the BCSS journal when it proposed that the species Aptenia Phyllobolus and Browannthus were part of it now along with Sceletium which is used for chewing tobacco in South Africa. Opophytum as it was, is one of the weird annuals that nobody grows. I'll probably side with Heidi Hartmann that they are separate from Mesembryanthemum proper, as its an annual and such. But I'm willing to reconsider if we get a big DNA analysis showing familial lines

The book, well the best thing I can say about it is that it needs a bloody good proof read. So that you don't get stuff like this sneaking through on every page. 

Edit. Pic working now. 

Necrolog: Toriyama

 This was a complete surprise, Akira Toriyama was, as if he needed any introduction a Mangaka. In fact the Mangaka of the modern age. You ever watched Dragonball  or Dr Slump he did that. You played Dragon Quest or Chrono Trigger, those were his art designs. 

The Dragon Quest's slime, Goku and Piccolo, along with Bulma and Master Roushi, so many great characters. World feels a lot worser with him gone.  

Can remember having a few Dragon Ball memories as a teen, nothing in English, a French Tankobon and a Spanish floppy cover as they had more Manga than us in the 90s. A long forgotten memory of a live action version on MTV also from that time, that no one remembers. And later on assorted Dragonball games and anime on various small channels. The last time  I saw this was Dragonball Super on, I think Pop, in Mallorca last year at 6am.  

The game side was also in Mallorca, seeing the games on import going for 18,000ptas in 93. Oh and an actual Dragonball, ball that I may still have somewhere. Along with a DBZ shirt. Dragon Quest came a lot later. An official DQ8 for PS2 is the first Euroland ever got along with the originals for DS and 3DS.

Chrono Trigger was the first ever ROM that I got a first party PC pad to trigger a multi button input. And outside a limited run for NDS still isn't widely known here. 

Oh and a final thing about Chrono Trigger. Yuji Hori is the only member of the Dream team still alive.

Interbang and stuff.

 I'm pretty sure we've written about Interbang before on here. Part of the old Children's Channel before it was turned into Trouble. For those not invested already, it was an adventure show where two lads had to find mini towers of Pisa hidden throughout the world. Never quite sure of the payoff for this as I've never seen the end, but the whole thing is up on Youtube. 

Also Pulp Librarian, posted up a bunch of Hardy Boys covers on X, which were mainly from the later mainline entries (100 plus) and the case files series. The strangest thing I took away from this is a scan from a comic book from Gold Key comics.  Apparently a tie in to a Saturday morning cartoon, it comes off as Scooby Doo but a rock band. And yes there are film scans up on Youtube as well.