Rich Firth
@richdfirth72.bsky.social
IT trainer with a history degree (military, political and US history), happy to chat about classic TV and the legendary E Street Band.
Some of the desert scenes were also shot in Wales, oddly enough.
www.atlasobscura.com/places/merth...
www.atlasobscura.com/places/merth...
Merthyr Mawr Sand Dunes
This huge coastal nature reserve in Wales was a stand-in for the Arabian Peninsula in 'Lawrence of Arabia.'
www.atlasobscura.com
December 16, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Some of the desert scenes were also shot in Wales, oddly enough.
www.atlasobscura.com/places/merth...
www.atlasobscura.com/places/merth...
So to be clear, Fox says there were13 cases in 2020. So they are saying that vaccinations, masks and lockdowns prevent diseases spreading...?
December 14, 2025 at 9:39 AM
So to be clear, Fox says there were13 cases in 2020. So they are saying that vaccinations, masks and lockdowns prevent diseases spreading...?
Mind you, I didn't spot that auto correct had inserted a space in Jungleland. I need to nitpick myself, now..
December 13, 2025 at 10:26 AM
Mind you, I didn't spot that auto correct had inserted a space in Jungleland. I need to nitpick myself, now..
I saw a vid recently of Gene Simmons showing how to do the Kiss make up. He said it takes 2 hrs at first, but with practice you can get it down to about 45 mins.
Does that mean Bond stopped looking for the nuke for 2 hrs? Or, does he put on clown makeup so often he's now really quick at it?
Does that mean Bond stopped looking for the nuke for 2 hrs? Or, does he put on clown makeup so often he's now really quick at it?
December 13, 2025 at 7:29 AM
I saw a vid recently of Gene Simmons showing how to do the Kiss make up. He said it takes 2 hrs at first, but with practice you can get it down to about 45 mins.
Does that mean Bond stopped looking for the nuke for 2 hrs? Or, does he put on clown makeup so often he's now really quick at it?
Does that mean Bond stopped looking for the nuke for 2 hrs? Or, does he put on clown makeup so often he's now really quick at it?
To nit-pick, the swamps of Jersey were featured in Rosalita (and Wrecking Ball), rather than Jungle land.
December 11, 2025 at 8:34 PM
To nit-pick, the swamps of Jersey were featured in Rosalita (and Wrecking Ball), rather than Jungle land.
Look at the colour of his arm, compared to the nurse's skin. Is he made up of parts of stolen bodies stitched together?
December 11, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Look at the colour of his arm, compared to the nurse's skin. Is he made up of parts of stolen bodies stitched together?
Especially seeing as Hegseth went on TV and said you couldn't even see survivors as the boat was so badly on fire 🤷♂️
December 5, 2025 at 9:50 AM
Especially seeing as Hegseth went on TV and said you couldn't even see survivors as the boat was so badly on fire 🤷♂️
Isn't he already boycotting the BBC?
December 4, 2025 at 11:22 PM
Isn't he already boycotting the BBC?
"I got a coin in my palm
I can make it disappear
I got a card up my sleeve
Name it and I'll pull it out your ear."
Magic?
I can make it disappear
I got a card up my sleeve
Name it and I'll pull it out your ear."
Magic?
November 29, 2025 at 7:19 AM
"I got a coin in my palm
I can make it disappear
I got a card up my sleeve
Name it and I'll pull it out your ear."
Magic?
I can make it disappear
I got a card up my sleeve
Name it and I'll pull it out your ear."
Magic?
$5m, plus by the late 70s his career was declining a bit and needed a bump. Also, he was involved in the script and casting, so it gave him a chance to 'make' a film as opposed to just being in one.
November 27, 2025 at 2:31 PM
$5m, plus by the late 70s his career was declining a bit and needed a bump. Also, he was involved in the script and casting, so it gave him a chance to 'make' a film as opposed to just being in one.
Linking back to FYEO, McClory claimed to have created Blofeld and SPECTRE, which is why we didn't see him for 10 years whilst the case was going through the courts.
November 27, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Linking back to FYEO, McClory claimed to have created Blofeld and SPECTRE, which is why we didn't see him for 10 years whilst the case was going through the courts.
...McClory was eventually awarded the rights to the story and remade the film, independently of the Broccolis.
November 27, 2025 at 2:13 PM
...McClory was eventually awarded the rights to the story and remade the film, independently of the Broccolis.
Hi, kong story short - Thunderball was going to be a pre-Dr. No film. Fleming collaborated with a screenwriter called Kevin McClory on the script. When the film didn't get made Fleming wrote the script up as his next novel. McClory sued Fleming for using some of his ideas without crediting him...
November 27, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Hi, kong story short - Thunderball was going to be a pre-Dr. No film. Fleming collaborated with a screenwriter called Kevin McClory on the script. When the film didn't get made Fleming wrote the script up as his next novel. McClory sued Fleming for using some of his ideas without crediting him...
I was reading that aircraft of that era like the F-117 were the same - designed on early computers that could only draw wireframes made up of straight lines.
November 27, 2025 at 2:07 PM
I was reading that aircraft of that era like the F-117 were the same - designed on early computers that could only draw wireframes made up of straight lines.
"Last night I stood on your doorstep,
Tryin' to figure out what went wrong"
Long Walk Home?
Tryin' to figure out what went wrong"
Long Walk Home?
November 27, 2025 at 7:54 AM
"Last night I stood on your doorstep,
Tryin' to figure out what went wrong"
Long Walk Home?
Tryin' to figure out what went wrong"
Long Walk Home?
He hates lip-synching, so he has done it on every video since.
November 23, 2025 at 12:53 PM
He hates lip-synching, so he has done it on every video since.
"Well the church bell rings from the corner steeple
Man in a monkey suit swears he'll do no evil"
Part man, part monkey?
Man in a monkey suit swears he'll do no evil"
Part man, part monkey?
November 23, 2025 at 6:51 AM
"Well the church bell rings from the corner steeple
Man in a monkey suit swears he'll do no evil"
Part man, part monkey?
Man in a monkey suit swears he'll do no evil"
Part man, part monkey?
Same for me - Bramall Lane, Sheffield.
November 21, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Same for me - Bramall Lane, Sheffield.
One of the prerequisites of his $1t pay deal is selling a million of these. No wonder he's back to sucking up to Trump.
November 20, 2025 at 9:03 PM
One of the prerequisites of his $1t pay deal is selling a million of these. No wonder he's back to sucking up to Trump.
Indeed. My mum's dad was an RAF pilot during the war, who thought highly of Churchill. My dad's dad was a coal miner who wouldn't have his name spoken in the house...
November 20, 2025 at 7:31 PM
Indeed. My mum's dad was an RAF pilot during the war, who thought highly of Churchill. My dad's dad was a coal miner who wouldn't have his name spoken in the house...
I did point out that the big difference was that Churchill fights them on the beaches, whilst Johnson hides from them in the fridges, but he was adamant 🤷♂️
November 20, 2025 at 7:27 PM
I did point out that the big difference was that Churchill fights them on the beaches, whilst Johnson hides from them in the fridges, but he was adamant 🤷♂️