Oliver PostMortem...

Tragedy struck yesterday as beloved children's animator, Oliver Postgate, died, aged 83, in a nursing home in Kent; it took staff some time to notice, as they were unsure if he was just moving very slowly, frame-by-frame.
His work, including 'Ivor the Engine', 'Noggin the Nog' (still illegal in many countries), 'The Clangers' and of course 'Bagpuss', will be remembered by many generations for its strangeness and gentle humour, although it was not completely untouched by controversy - an election special of 'The Clangers', called 'Vote for froglet', shown in 1974 was subsequently 'lost', in a scandal labelled 'Postgategate'.
The pall-bearers are likely to be the mice from 'Bagpuss' (who coincidentally celebrate their 40th birthdays today), who will lift the coffin aloft and chant "We will fix it, we will fix it."

In related news, the keepers of the world's atomic clocks have decided to add a leap-second to this year, to compensate for a slowing down of the Earth's rotation, making it the longest year since 1992. The change, however, comes too late for poor Mr Postgate, who could have had an extra 24 frames of life.

Today's Haiku Film Review:

Re-Animator (1985) -

Stuart Gordon's take
On H P Lovecraft's classic
Is simply gore-geous.