DAILY CALL SHEET: NOVEMBER 11, 2025

 

Pajama Party (1964) Teen-aged Martian Go-Go is sent to Earth to act as an advance scout for an invasion. As so often happens, though, Go-Go becomes enraptured with beach babe Connie, and decides to put off his duties to help save her aunt from being swindled by the terrible trio of J. Sinister Hulk, Chief Rotten Eagle, and the statuesque Helga, who apparently owns little clothing other than bikinis. As if that wasn't enough plot, surfer-hating biker Eric von Zipper shows up once again to do the things he does. If you're a fan of AIP's other beach party movies, there's no reason you won't find a little something to like in this one, though Tommy Kirk is a definite step down from Frankie Avalon and musical guests The Nooney Rickett 4 shouldn't even be mentioned in the same breath as Little Stevie Wonder. Really, most of the fun is simply spotting all the appearances of stars from Hollywood's heyday.

TIL: Pajamas as the two-piece sleepwear we think of them today really only emerged during the Victorian era. They certainly didn't exist in Biblical times. Back then, the tunic which served as the primary undergarment for men and women both was worn night and day, and worked just fine for bedtime. If things got a little chilly, folks might keep their daytime cloaks on as well. This all-purpose clothing was so important that both Exodus and Deuteronomy contain demands that if a poor person surrendered their cloak as collateral for a loan, it still had to be brought back to them before sunset so they wouldn't be vulnerable to the cold while they slept. Not doing so was considered an unrighteous act in the eyes of God. Even when it comes to something as mundane as pajamas, God expects us to treat others charitably.

Faces of Death (1978) This pseudo-documentary follows a phony pathologist as he travels the world gathering footage of "real" deaths. His finds include a guy getting eaten by an alligator, Nazis dying in battle, parachuting accidents, lots of animal slaughter, an electrocution, and decadent diners beating a monkey to death with tiny hammers so they can eat its brains. Most of the gross stuff in the movie was eventually admitted to have been faked, but the real things like footage from an actual autopsy will still be too much for many. It's hard to explain to the YouTube generation what a big deal this collection of clips was in the pre-Internet days, especially since the whole exercise is pretty dismal in hindsight, but back then Faces of Dearth was a must see for curious teens. My friends and I even skipped class to watch the VHS once we found a copy. Of course, we also skipped class to watch Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, but the point remains.

TIL: If you want a more adult, less sensationalist way of looking death in the face, the Church recommends the spiritual practice of memento mori, a Latin phrase meaning "remember you must die." Based on the advice of Ecclesiastes 7:2 where it says, "It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting," memento mori is the act of meditating on the reality of death, not as a source of fear, despair or cynicism, but as a catalyst for living a holy, purposeful life detached from materialism. Practical ways of doing this include praying the Litany of the Dead, contemplating the Last Things (death, judgment, heaven, hell), or wearing a memento mori medal. If you want to go a little more extreme, you can always copy St. Charles Borromeo and sleep with a skull next to your bed. No matter how you engage in memento mori, though, remember the end goal isn't just to remember you will die, but also memento vivere, to remember to live.