This month, we interview Theresa Perkins!

Introduce yourself to the Mihmiverse!
When and how did you discover the films of Christopher R. Mihm?
If you had to pick just ONE, which of the Mihmiverse films would be your favorite?
Tell us how you, in particular, show your "Mihmiverse pride!"
Where would you like to see the Mihmiverse go in the future?

Directed by Kurt Neumann
Starring Vincent Price, Al Hedison and Patricia Owens

Though remade extremely well in the 1980s as a graphic horror film starring Jeff Goldblum, the original is rightfully considered one of the best of the 1950s. The film is told mostly in flashbacks following the death of the main character—which doesn't give anything away since he dies within the first five minutes! The meat of the story revolves around ambitious scientist Andre Delambre as he discovers the secret to instantaneous teleportation. Numerous experiments with the technology go off without a hitch, prompting the scientist to hastily test it on himself. Unfortunately, during one of these tests, a common housefly ends up in the teleportation chamber with him. The device malfunctions and mixes the two creatures up, resulting in two distinct half-human, half-fly creatures—one possessing most of the body of the scientist (sans human head and hand). The full "fly-head mask" is kept hidden throughout most of the run time, but its reveal is exceedingly effective. Vincent Price gives a solid performance as the scientist's brother who tries desperately to figure out what happened. The film is surprisingly suspenseful with a very well crafted story. The special effects are perfect for the era, and none are so bad as to detract from the overall greatness of the movie. After seeing the original, you'll be surprised how much it has influenced popular culture since its release. If you've never seen it, you need to! I can't recommend this film enough!

"The Monster of Phantom Lake: The Musical!" Trivia

The Mihmiverse recently celebrated the 2nd anniversary of the stage debut of "The Monster of Phantom Lake: The Musical!" Let's look back on some not-so-trivial aspects of the show. (If you didn't see it in person, don't forget you can see the performance video now on Amazon Prime...or buy your own copy from sainteuphoria.com!)

12. SUPER EXTRA HARD BONUS QUESTION: At the end of the "The Monster of Phantom Lake: The Musical!" (just like in the film)...a Canoe Cop crawls out of Phantom Lake as the next monster. For years, people have wondered whether it was Sven or Gustav, but in the musical finale, both Mike Cook and Greg Kernkamp were on stage as other characters, so we still don't know which one it was. But who was wearing the monster suit? Hint: It was one of the crew...and SHE was designated in the program as one cop or the other. To answer this one, you'll have to watch the credits for crew members (or look at your saved program) and make a guess.

Roadside attractions and single-screen Main Street movie theaters are fun, kitchy day trips or overnight getaways that you and your family and friends can enjoy. They're also a great way to enjoy a little nostalgia and an opportunity to make some fun memories!

I'm going to present a very special person this month. I've talked about computers before, but I'm taking you back to the birth of computer programming and the woman who wrote the first program: Ada Lovelace. Sit back and buckle in because we're going way back this month!

First off, the person we commonly call "Ada Lovelace" actually has a completely different name! She was named Augusta Ada King-Noel, Countess of Lovelace! She was also the only daughter of the famous British poet Lord Byron and his wife, Anne Isabella Milbanke, during their one-year marriage. Baby Ada was born December 10th, 1815. I'm not going to go into much detail about her childhood and family life, but I do encourage you to read up on it as she lead a strange, fascinating life. Suffice it to say, she was very sickly and had a strained relationship with her family, but above all that, she was a mathematical genius! This is what caught the attention of Charles Babbage and that is what we want to talk about!

Charles Babbage invented the "Difference Engine," which could be thought of as an early mechanical scientific calculator. He was so impressed by Lovelace's intelligence that he showed her an early prototype of this machine in June of 1833 when she was only 17 years old! She understood the workings of the machine and spent time with it as much as possible. Babbage began work on the successor to the Difference Engine immediately; his "Analytical Engine" would have been considered the first computer...if he had ever been able to get it built successfully. With it being a fully mechanical device with drums and gears, it would have been quite different from the digital computers of today, but it would have worked on the same principles of input, output, a central "processor" and, most importantly: a way to be programmed to do different things.

The complexity and cost of the mechanism meant Babbage never actually built it, but that didn't stop mathematicians from talking about it and what it could do. In 1842, Ada Lovelace was translating Luigi Federico Menabrea's paper on using the Engine and annotated it profusely with instructions on how to get the computer to calculate Bernoulli numbers. This is considered the first computer program. It's even more impressive considering Lovelace didn't actually have a working computer to test her code! This would be like looking at the schematics for the circuit board of a digital computer and being able to write a program for it!

Sadly, Ada Lovelace died of uterine cancer in 1852 at the age of only 36. She never got to see how much of an impact computers would have on the world, but she has been posthumously honored over the years: there is a computer language named for her, the Ada Initiative is a non-profit organization promoting women in open technology, and the Lovelace Medal is the top award for computing in the United Kingdom. She was a shining example of intelligence and when she wrote the first computer program ever, that was truly an Important Moment in SCIENCE!

Did you know that "The Monter of Phantom Lake: The Musical!" is now available to be performed by schools and theatre companies nationwide?!

We offer carefully prepared materials of similar (or higher) quality than what you would receive from one of the big Broadway theatrical licensing companies. However, our independent licensing model allows us offer individualized service catered to your organization. When you decide to license a show with us, the success of your production becomes our number-one priority! Heck, the authors might even fly out to see one of your shows!

Production packages include scripts, orchestra books, and conductor/accompanist scores (condensed and full score options), all professionally printed in a beautiful and clean format. We even include rehearsal backing tracks that fully match the music printed in the libretto and on the cast recording CD! This is a great option for productions where using a live orchestra isn't possible, for "black box" style theaters, or when your group doesn't have a rehearsal accompanist regularly available.

We also include free logos for use in your advertising materials, and we can offer personalized graphic design as well as transpositions of vocal and orchestra parts on demand. Visit monsterofphantomlake.com to hear songs from the show, learn more about the script, and request a quote, perusal script, or license agreement.

"The Monster of Phantom Lake," "It Came From Another World!," "Cave Women on Mars," "Terror from Beneath the Earth," "Destination: Outer Space," "Attack of the Moon Zombies," "House of Ghosts," "The Giant Spider," "The Late Night Double Feature," "Danny Johnson Saves The World," "Weresquito: Nazi Hunter," "The Monster of Phantom Lake: The Musical!," and "Demon with the Atomic Brain" DVDs are now available at SaintEuphoria.com, the online home of the films of Christopher R. Mihm.

In addition, exclusive movie posters, collectibles and other merchandise are now in stock. Everything is available in extremely limited quantities, so get yours today before they run out!