John Carpenter's
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COOL STUFF
A various assortment of all THING's sent
into Outpost #31.
Outpost #31 license plate!
Outpost #31 Goes To Antarctica!!
Bob Zook, a radio
operator who is going back to McMurdo Station in Antarctica for the summer
rotation is bringing a copy of the DVD, video game poster and patch donated by Outpost
#31 down
to "The Ice". Bob is going to get us exclusive photos with these items
in Antarctica. Viewing the film is an annual tradition on the mid-winter
solstice, June 21st.
Bob in Antarctica (copyright Bob Zook.)
The Thing DVD, video game poster (rear), and patch going to McMurdo Station, Antarctica
Byrd Camp, the REAL Outpost #31??
There has been
speculation among peoples who have been stationed in Antarctica that in
the most popular movie on "The Ice", the fictional Outpost
#31 is actually modeled after Byrd Camp, a remote U.S. outpost. Strange
and eerie events have gone on there. The following recounts are by Bob
Zook, a radio operator who works at McMurdo over the summer and has been
stationed at Byrd Camp.
News I have heard on The Ice
is that Outpost #31 was contrived from Byrd surface camp located on the
West Antarctic ice sheet at 120E 80S. Back in the 60's they wintered small
crews there and they had many problems. One year in the eternal darkness
of mid-winter Carl Dish wandered into the rec room drunk and called
everybody a bunch of unfriendly assholes. He said you can all fuck
yourselves I want to go visit my friends at the south pole. Carl then
wandered away from camp with one of the dogs never to be seen again. 2
years ago we started a traverse from Byrd camp. We were looking at the
sub-surface layers with radar. We all spent hours looking at the radar
screen hoping to see that blip that was Carl. But no such luck...
Byrd camp has a really bad radio hole. One
year we went two weeks with out any contact. They finally flew a plane
over and we talked on the VHF radios to the plane just so they would know
we were ok. They classified it as a SAR Search and Rescue mission even
though they didn't land. Byrd camp has by far the most strange stories.
Later that same year in McMurdo I stumbled on to an old tape from the TV
station recorded in the early 70's. They were doing a weather forecast
with the weather person in front of a map of Antarctica. Each stations
location had a temperature on the map except Byrd camp it had a question
mark. As the weather man worked his way through the camps talking briefly
about the temp and weather at each one when he came to Byrd camp he simply
said well we haven't heard from them in a while so we don't really know
what's going on over there. It's like the place is in a time warp and it
leaves the planet for a week or two every now and then.
It's a strange place. Last year I was on the
put-in team. We were the first deep field camp to go in, it was still real
early in the summer, maybe too early. The temps were about -40 but the
C-130 still landed on the ski-way and as they were still moving when they
released our cargo pallets they simply slid out the back of the plane and
plopped into the snow. The plane stopped, we got out, and as they kept the
engines at about 20% power we were required to set up a tent, start a
stove and set up a radio and contact McMurdo. This took about 15min as we
had practiced it. With all that good they just waved good-bye and and got
the hell out of there. We watched them fly over and waggle their wings
then there was nothing...no noise, no sign of the camp, only 2 piles of
gear and 5 people bundled up real well standing in the middle of the polar
plateau
900 miles from the next living person. We had to find the camp and dig out
the buildings. I was scheduled to stay there for 2 weeks but the next
plane didn't come for more than 6 weeks! It is a real pretty place
in a Kansas sort of way, flat and white in every direction. We each lived
in normal tents because the current camp is only big enough for dining and
the science equipment. The old camp itself is completely buried under 30
feet of snow.
Bob Zook
R.J.
MacReady at Halloween F/X Party
MacReady costume. Thanks
to Dan for the pic!!
THE THING Video Game Store
Display
EB Games display for the video game in Orange, CA.
Nice work guys!!
Saucer in the ice homage in
ICE AGE
THE THING Vs. E.T.
Playboy's Julia Ann & Inari Vachs autographed pics to Outpost #31
.
Jessica Rabbit is accosted by the Norris Creature...
J&B Scotch - to keep you warm on a cold night
Outpost #31 patches- We cover everyTHING...
Outpost #31 - The THING THONG
THE THING Drinking Game
1. Every time someone says
"MacReady" - Drink 1
2. Every time some one says "Mac" - Drink 2
3. Write your favorite quote down, when it is said - Drink 3
4. When anybody say's "THING"- Drink 1, If you
fail
to drink because you weren't paying attention,
taking a leak, flapping your gums, etc - Drink 2
5. Whenever some one dies - Drink 1
6. Whenever some one dies, WHO IS NOT A THING (No debating
FUCHS, he left a human corpse) - Drink 2
7. Whenever PALMER questions WINDOWS humanity - Drink 1
8. Whenever PALMER tokes up - Drink 2
9. Whenever any one THING's out - Drink 1
10. When the movie ends - Fall down and pass
out.
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