Slime Fungus

Magic Myxies

Mary Field and F Percy Smith's delightfully 

anthropomorphic study 

of the life-cycle of 

the myxomycete, or slime fungus.

Secrets Of Nature - Magic Myxies (1931)

Wardour Films Ltd. presents a British Instructional Films production.  

Myxies are small mushroom like growths to be found on rotting wood or decaying leaves.  Part of their lives they are vegetables, part of their lives they are animals (!).  C/U shots of the toadstool-like growths.    If the cells from the Myxies fall into water they turn into animals.  Microscopic shot of tiny moving specks in water.  They are tiny water creatures with a little tail.  Microscopic shot of a human hair to compare with the tiny creatures floating around it.  Myxies gather around floating rubbish.  They split into two.  C/U of Myxie pulling in its tail and changing shape.  Through time lapse photography we see the change in form.  It has no fixed shape and eats by surrounding its food.  Very bizarre shot of the blob eating.  Myxies join together into pairs and then "parties".  Only Myxies in couples are allowed to join the parties.  

The narrator comments: "If the Myxie has been so bad tempered that it has failed to find a partner, it is not allowed to become one of the party, but is eaten up!  This is a far greater encouragement to matrimony than any tax on bachelors".  

When the party of Myxies is large enough it decides to leave the water and venture on to dry land.  Shot of pulsating Myxie thing!  It turns back into an animal.  Psychedelic shots of a changing, evolving Myxie creature.  The shape is continually changing as it moves along.  Microscopic shots of the cells of the Myxie.  Myxies advancing and meeting.  They join up and flow away together.  Beautiful patterns are made by the moving Myxie cells.  We see the Myxie devouring a decaying leaf.  We see it quiver.  The Myxie eats a toadstool stalk - seen through time lapse photography.  The Myxie has no sense of smell.  A drop of arsenic is put in front of the Myxie, it moves over it and "is taken very ill".  We see the Myxie disintegrate.  

A Myxie faced with a drop of Epsom Salts immediately retreats "leaving behind in his hurry a lot of good food that it had already swallowed".  When there is not enough moisture the Myxie dries up - we see this through time lapse.  Myxie comes to life with "the autumn rain".  Myxie growing.  Frozen Myxie thawing out.  We see a hungry group of Myxies balance across a single cobweb thread to get to a mushroom and eat it.  Myxie fruit - Time lapse photography of the Myxie growing into toadstools.  Cells grow on the outside of the caps. 

Note: this is a bizarre film about a bizarre entity!  The time lapse photography is very good, with beautiful patterns being made by the Myxie.  Weird!

 FILM ID:2953.01

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British Pathé also represents the Reuters historical collection, which includes more than 136,000 items from the news agencies Gaumont Graphic (1910-1932), Empire News Bulletin (1926-1930), British Paramount (1931-1957), and Gaumont British (1934-1959), as well as Visnews content from 1957 to the end of 1984. All footage can be viewed on the British Pathé website. https://www.britishpathe.com/

Something Which Represents The Best in Each and Every One of Us

Genesis 11:3

“And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. 

And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.”

“I remind myself of A Navajo Story — 

Twin War Gods 

come to Their Father, 

seeking Magic and Weapons 

to eliminate 

The Monsters of The World.

My Hope is the same for You, 

and that We might reconcile 

the differences between Us.

Your Loving Father.”

Ghostbusters 2 (1989) - No Dent, A Symbol

RAY: 

(half-heartedly)

Pull 'em.

EGON: 

Full neutronas.

RAY : 

Let's cook!

They open fire on The Shell but it becomes apparent 

they are shooting in vain.

RAY : 

Save 'em.

The crowds boo and hiss at them.

PERSON: 

C'mon!

PERSON: 

Aw, c'mon Ghostbusters!

EGON : 

That slime mold is PULSING with Evil. 

It would take a TREMENDOUS amount of Positive Energy to Crack That Shell 

and I seriously DOUBT 

there's enough Goodwill left 

in This Town to DO it.

Ray plants his face on Ecto-1A's hood in frustration 

then stands back up.

RAY : 

You know, 

I just Can't Believe Things have gotten 

So BAD in This City 

that there's 

No Way BACK. 

I mean, sure, it's Dirty, it's Crowded, it's Polluted, it's Noisy 

and there's People all around 

who'd just as soon step on your face 

as look at you. 

But Come on! 

There's gotta be a FEW Sparks of Sweet Humanity 

left in This Burned-out 'burg 

and WE just have to figure out 

A Way to MOBILISE it.

EGON : 

He's Right. 

We need Something that 

EVERYONE 

in This Town 

can GET Behind --

We Need... A Symbol.

They all started looking downwards.

RAY: 

Something that appeals to 

The Best in Each and 

Every One of Us.

Egon squats down.

EGON: 

Something GOOD.

WINSTON: 

Something DECENT.

VENKMAN: 

Something PURE.

The camera POV shifts down to Ecto-1a's license plate. 

It features An Image of 

The Statue of Liberty.

“Don’t Look for it, Taylor — 

You may not Like 

What You Find….”

Evening. Liberty Island. 

The Ghostbusters stare at The Statue.

VENKMAN: 

Kind of makes you wonder, doesn't it?

RAY : 

Wonder what?

VENKMAN: 

Whether she's naked under that toga. 

She's French -- You know that.

VENKMAN: 

Oh darn it. Oh, darn it.

Vigo raises Oscar in His Arms. 

Oscar cries.

VIGO: 

NOW We Become ONE --

"Auld Lang Syne" can be heard from The Skylight. 

Vigo recoils in Pain.

RAY : 

Where's that singing coming from?

WINSTON: 

It's The People OUTSIDE.

The crowds of people outside the Manhattan Museum of Art celebrate New Years TOGETHER.

Louis passes through The Crowd and makes His Way to The Front. 

The Statue of Liberty is on her back on The Street.

LOUIS : 

Sorry folks! Excuse me. 

Ghostbusters. Wow. 

I'm Here with You Guys.

Louis readies his particle thrower.

EGON : 

He's Weakening! 

The singing is neutralizing The Slime!

RAY: 

I can move!

Peter hobbles forward.

DANA : 

Oscar!

Vigo is forcibly propelled back into The Painting. 

Peter catches Oscar just in time.

DANA : 

Oh, sweetie.

EGON : 

He's back in The Painting!

VENKMAN: 

All right, go find a shady spot.

Ray turns towards The Painting and locks eyes with Vigo.

VENKMAN:

Vigi, Vigi, Vigi. 

You have been a BAD monkey!

Ray suddenly walks up to The Painting 

and stares at it.

EGON : 

Ray? We'd like to Shoot The Monster, 

Could you move, please?

VENKMAN: 

Ray?

WINSTON : 

Ray?

PETER, EGON, WINSTON: 

Ray?!!!

Ray turns around to reveal 

he is possessed by Vigo 

and transmogrified to resemble 

his True Ghost Form.

VIGO: 

No! I, Ray, am Vigo, shall rule the earth! 

Be gone, you pitiful half-men!

VENKMAN: 

Now!

Peter and Egon fire at The Painting. 

Winston slimes Ray.

At the same time -- 

in front of an ELECTRIFIED Crowd of THOUSANDS -

- Louis fires on The Slime Shell.

Ray drops to The Ground as Vigo is ejected 

out of His Body and back into The Painting 

as The Giant Floating Head. 

They continue to fire on him. 

Vigo is drenched in the positively charged

psychomagnotheric ectoplasm.

VIGO: 

No!

Vigo is sent spiraling further into The Painting 

until there is an explosion and a bright 

white light is projected. 

The Slime Shell disintegrates and shoot up into the sky. 

The people cheer. Several congratulate Louis.

LOUIS : 

I did it! I did it!

MAN: 

That was great! I loved it!

LOUIS: 

I'm a Ghostbuster!

EGON : 

What did you say Your Name was..?

LOUIS : 

Vinz Clortho, 

Keymaster of Gozer.

JANINE : 

[She looks at Louis's wallet] 

Well, according to this, 

His Name's 'Louis Tully'. 

Lives on Central Park West.

The River of Slime

 

“And they said one to another, 

Go to, let us make brick, 

and burn them throughly. 

And they had brick for stone, 

and slime had they for morter.”

Wesley's Notes for Genesis 11:4

11:2 And they found a plain in the land of Shinar - A spacious plain, able to contain them all.

11:3 Go to, let us make brick, let us build us a city - The country being a plain, yielded neither stone nor morter, yet that did not discourage them, but they made brick to serve instead of stone, and slime, or pitch, instead of morter. Some think they intended hereby to secure themselves against the waters of another flood, but if they had, they would have chosen to build upon a mountain rather than upon a plain. But two things it seems they aimed at in building. To make them a name: they would do something to be talked of by posterity. But they could not gain this point; for we do not find in any history the name of so much as one of these Babel - builders. 

Philo Judeus saith they engraved every one his name upon a brick; yet neither did that serve their purpose. They did it to prevent their dispersion; lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the earth - It was done (saith Josephus) in disobedience to that command, #Gen 9:1|, replenish the earth. God orders them to scatter. No, say they, we will live and die together. In order hereunto they engage themselves and one another in this vast undertaking. That they might unite in one glorious empire, they resolve to build this city and tower, to be the metropolis of their kingdom, and the center of their unity.

11:5 And the Lord came down to see the city - 'Tis an expression after the manner of men, he knew it as clearly as men know that which they come upon the place to view. And the tower which the children of men builded - Which speaks, Their weakness and frailty, it was a foolish thing for the children of men, worms of the earth, to defy heaven. Their sinfulness, they were the sons of Adam, so it is in the Hebrew; nay, of that Adam, that sinful disobedient Adam, whose children are by nature children of disobedience. Their distinction from the children of God, from whom those daring builders had separated themselves, and built this tower to support and perpetuate the separation.

11:6 And the Lord said, Behold the people is one, and they have all one language - And if they continue one, much of the earth will be left uninhabited, and these children of men, if thus incorporated, will swallow up the little remnant of God's children, therefore it is decreed they must not be one. And now nothing will be restrained from them - And this is a reason why they must be crossed, in their design.