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One of my all-time favorite films, A Thousand Clowns, will air on TCM on Monday, January 4th.
http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title.jsp?stid=17805
And, for ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) a_kosmos, I saw that they're also running a tribute to the films of Jennifer Jones, on the 7th.
http://www.tcm.com/movienews/index/?cid=282733
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It's time once again for yet another look over into the great beyond ...
With the Dead People Server .
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Tomorrow I start the new decade. I got to dig around th barn and find some coaxial cable and make repairs to my R7 Cushcraft. I'll then do some desk cleaning, route the coax, and fire up my Yeasu FT890-AT and try out ham radio again.
I'll also take a bike ride around the neighborhood, on the dirt roads/tracks that make for streets out here in the boondocks.
I got to move some boxes, and shift some stuff around. I'll start filling trash bags and start a mountain of bags as I start clearing the top floor of the barn. My parents (especially my Dad) were packrats.
That's enough for tomorrow. |
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Jan. 1st, 2010 @ 01:22 am
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Seems the majority of Americans feel it is okay to torture the Detroit Underwear Bomber... so what does this say about society? Have we been conditioned to accept inhumane treatment of others we deem the enemy?
I shudder to think that we will see he next Hitler running for public office in 2012.... all the key elements are in place. |
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Something just brought back a memory...
I recall the days when I was part of the intelligence machine... days as a spook. We all had our specialties, each had some assigned duties. Everything we did was on six-ply (that's six sheet thick carbon paper interlaced paper) so it could be read by all with a need to know. We worked in a concrete building with no windows near the Berlin Wall in a small village called Marienfelde.
We collected, transcribed, analyzed what was happening behind the nearby Iron Curtain. We worked on the bleeding edge of technology, with some stuff I'm still waiting to see 'in real life'. Considering this was 1969 to 1972, I wonder what 'toys' spooks have today.
We controlled everything, even keeping stuff from the President, as everything was on a 'need to know' basis. During that time I got to meet Nixon and Goldwater, and a wide variety of other politicians of note. My other duty was to drive a Mercedes Benz 300 SEL sedan as a escort to visiting dignitaries.
We knew of the silent war going on around us. People died, on both sides, in a battle to know or keep secrets.
This week I read of the death of some American agents of the CIA in Afghanistan. These were warriors in the 'secret war' that is ongoing as a civil war engulfs Afghanistan. I can relate to being near a border, surrounded by the enemy. While my enemy would bring tanks and mortars and have games in the field across the wall, not 100 yards from my site, these men worked in an area surrounded by Taliban. It is a lonely job, being constantly watched, by both sides. It is a special duty only for those who believe in their work, and who see things as black and white, not shades of gray.
That is long past, just a memory now. My old work site is now a grassy hill, all the stuff we did is stored away in boxes somewhere. We fought the cold war, and that has now ended. Their are alumni groups out there of the men and women who served (when I served, no women were in service at the remote sites). There are memorials to those who died during this silent war, and some of those memorials took years to be built because our government did not want to acknowledge that this silent war had casualties.
During those times I was a believer, it was us vs. them, I voted for Nixon, I didn't vote for Goldwater. I sacrificed with the wage and price freeze (that delayed a promotion for one year), and fought the 'good fight'. I lived at Templehof Airport in what were former Nazi SS living quarters, we lived with our fellow warriors, we partied and partied hard, it was all part of keeping our sanity. We were young.
Those times left us all with secrets we keep in the back of our minds, things we cannot tell, things that still haunt. We know that war is not good, and while society seems to live with rules, we did not have any. Some of the enemy died because they were a threat, others were just collateral damage in the larger fight.
After discharge, many times I was asked what I did during the Viet Nam War... but I couldn't say. I remember being recruited a short time after discharge by 'the company' and saying no. I wanted a normal life, not a life where my every call was monitored and my every move was tracked. Where I was restricted in my travels, and where I never knew privacy.
Enough of this.... a few people I know can relate, most cannot. I trained for almost two years to do less than two years of duty. While others were dying in Viet Nam, I was working shifts and drinking myself blotto during my off duty hours half world away.
That is a chapter from my past.... |
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Seems that all I get in return is the proverbial form letter reply and a pitch to have 'faith' in a failed system. You can read the bullshit behind the cut.
( the letter ) |
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Live From the Moon: Stan Lebar, Lunar TV Camera Creator Dies
Westinghouse invention credited with ushering in era of live news broadcasting
Stanley Lebar, who designed the TV camera that recorded astronaut Neil Armstrong’s moon landing 40 years ago and whose engineering breakthrough is credited with ushering in the era of live TV news broadcasting, has died. He was 84.
Lebar, a retired electrical engineer with Westinghouse Electric Corp. and a Servena Park, Maryland resident, died Wednesday from complications following surgery, The Capital newspaper first reported.
In 1964, NASA tasked Lebar with managing a Westinghouse team that would need to invent a camera that could withstand 250 degree Fahrenheit temperatures during the lunar day and minus 300 degrees at night. The mission also required shrinking a 400-pound studio camera to the “Flip” equivalent of its day, a 7-pound point-and-shoot.
Five years later, the Lebar-led team of 75 engineers and technicians and more than 300 manufacturers had met the challenge. In the process they had pioneered something called integrated electronic TV circuitry, which would transform news broadcasting, according to Newseum.org.
“Soon, the words 'Live' and later, 'Live Via Satellite' became the norm instead of a rarity,” a Newseum-produced tribute to Lebar and the lunar camera reads. “TV stations brought viewers news as it was happening -- on the other side of town, or the other side of the world. The need to be first with the pictures pumped up competition.”
More than 500 million people on Earth witnessed Neil Armstrong’s lunar landing, and heard for the first time: “That’s one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind.”
Lebar went on to accept an Emmy for "Outstanding Achievement in Coverage of a Special Event" on behalf of his team in 1970.
After the mission was completed, the original telemetry tapes of the moon landing were misplaced. For years, Lebar searched to recover the tapes because the footage was much higher quality than what was broadcast with limited TV network technology at the time.
When that failed Lebar and his colleagues hired famed Hollywood restoration guru John Lowry to do his best with available footage. Two days before Lebar's death he saw a DVD of the restored footage, his NASA colleague told The Capital.
“Just imagine if you had video of the Pilgrims landing on Plymouth Rock. Wouldn’t you want to see that? Wouldn’t you want that for everyone? That is what it is, and we’re trying to preserve it for history and future generations,” Lebar told his son Scott, an editor at The Sacramento Bee.
Lebar is survived by his wife Elaine Lebar, three children and five grandchildren.
Link to Story
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Dec. 31st, 2009 @ 11:53 pm
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Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you are all having a good time. I just had the best sex ever. Normally I'd filter that, but I am full of whiskey and beer so WHATEVER. I'm in love, I'm happy, and that's all I can ask for. What more do I need? Nothing. I felt so brave and pretty and sexy tonight. I love that after-period when we are just holding and touching each other and laughing. I feel beautiful and appreciated.
I guess I should stay awake for the next ten minutes or so just since I am so close to the ball dropping, but I think I will sleep well tonight. That's a gift in itself, I need it.
LOVE YOU GUYS.feelin' kinda:  grateful |
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1) Anyone know who does this song? It's a nice rendition of "Carol of the Bells," I just have no clue who it's by, because its artist tag is blank, its album tag is unhelpful (no one who produced an album called "My Christmas Album" has a version of "Carol of the Bells" that sounds like this, leading me to believe someone else stuck that tag on it), and I can't find where I downloaded it because I think I'd cleared my downloads by the time I realized I didn't know the artist. So if by some random chance someone recognizes the song, that would be fabulous. ETA: Solved by [Unknown LJ tag]--it's by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
2) So Mary Chapin Carpenter has a song called Christmas Time in the City (off Come Darkness, Come Light), right? And apparently it's really not that well-known, which surprised me, because it happens to be one of a handful of songs that stores around here play during the holidays (one of the better ones, too--only others who've worked in retail hell can imagine just how sick I got of "Jingle Bell Rock" and "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" and the like when I worked retail during Christmas). Only thing is, the version linked above is the only one I could find--I don't think it's well-known enough for any covers, it's barely even listed on Wikipedia--and it's way less jazzy, or upbeat, or something, than the one I heard in stores, and that's the version I preferred. Anyone have any idea what that other version might be? ETA: Possibly solved. Anyone have the version of this song from the "Today's Christmas" compilation?
3) I heard a version of "Angels We Have Heard on High" on KLOVE (national Christian radio station, so it was probably some kind of Christian group, although...with Christmas music, who knows) the other day, and I don't know who sang it, but they did this funny thing with the gloria's where they shortened them instead of stretching them out like normal, and also they added a few additional lyrics, which...would help me look up the song if I could remember them. Which I can't. |
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( time travelled away from my vagrant world
now it lives in a time of one's own
my glaring future habit . .
my glare moon beamed on a waste specturm )
( glare at trash trucks with night vision )
( travelled on a time ship away from minutae .... )
of course time is not the road
time is only the ship
travel on time but leave time eventually when you get there ..
yes
yes
( the hive mind slipping into such delicate cracks between concepts as that )
( the easiest truth takes the largest to find
the hardest to see is the most visible )feelin' kinda:  ..awake listenin' to: &ionship iota-omniscientient |
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the tropical full moon has the entire caribbean lit yellow-orange, in its bid to out-do the light and balloon show being put together on the beach by our resort. i think nature is winning, and pray it continues to (i know, like it needs my support).
may this eclipsed blue moon bring you and yours the personal transformations (or transmigrations) needed to get through the times to come. if any of you find your way through Texas (specifically South ATX), drop a line. we'll lift a glass or a bowl while sharing stories and company.
here's to a fresh start to a fresh now, and using our pasts to make our futures brighter.
in Love and Friendship,
The Parrnolds |
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Dec. 31st, 2009 @ 06:19 pm
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2009
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Dec. 31st, 2009 @ 05:01 pm
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Well its not hard to say that even with its ups and downs and stresses and dispair, 2009 was far better than 2008!
Urbex fame, Photography, roadtrips, Job change, Sold Mom's house, State pen, Dated a bit, heart broke, clockpunked, car changed, new friends, old friends, weight loss, phone change(went from palm to android), PhotoShow, Press club Member, Networking with history buffs, ghost towns, science, geekery, and financial stability.
or if you prefer see a small sampling of what my prosthetic eye did catch,
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/killbox/sets/72157623101885580/
Will be adding some more on the end of the photo stream later.
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The first draft of this list was about 90% Fleischer Brothers shorts. So other than the #1 movie, I decided to cut them out, and just mention that the Fleischers were fucking geniuses and I absolutely adore all of their work from the 30's. Some other ones I have to mention are Snow-White (1933), Mysterious Mose (1930), Minnie the Moocher (1932), Swing You Sinners (1930), and nearly every single Popeye cartoon.
Also, 1939 is overrated.
TOP 21 MOVIES OF THE DECADE - 1930s
1. Bimbo’s Initiation (1931, Dave Fleischer)
2. Freaks (1932, Tod Browning)
3. The Mascot (1934, Wladyslaw Starewicz)
4. Mad Love (1935, Karl Freund)
5. M (1931, Fritz Lang)
6. It’s a Bird (1930, Harold Muller)
7. The Story of the Fox (1930, Wladyslaw and Irene Starewicz)
8. The Black Cat (1934, Edgar G. Ulmer)
9. Child Bride (1938, Harry Revier)
10. King Kong (1933, Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack)
11. Bride of Frankenstein (1935, James Whale)
12. Modern Times (1936, Charles Chaplin)
13. Anna Christie (1930, Clarence Brown)
14. Swing Time (1936, George Stevens)
15. Ninotchka (1939, Ernst Lubitsch)
16. The Navigator (1936, Wladyslaw and Irene Starewicz)
17. The Wizard of Oz (1939, Victor Fleming)
18. The Women (1939, George Cukor)
19. The 39 Steps (1935, Alfred Hitchcock)
20. Triumph of the Will (1935, Leni Riefenstahl)
21. Scarface (1932, Howard Hawks) |
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2009
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Dec. 31st, 2009 @ 02:07 pm
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1. Was 2009 a good year for you?
Mostly. I was very productive this year. I took an acting class, appeared prominently as an extra in a feature that will be released in 2010, appeared in a short film that has yet to be edited where I gave what I believe to be my greatest and funniest performance, made 2 short films that I'm really happy with (STAR TREK: The Motion Picture Film and Cut Her Open), made two episodes of a web series that I'm also really happy with and hope to continue working on (Capturin' the Freedmans Episode 1 and Episode 2), and had screenings of STAR TREK: The Motion Picture Film and Christmas Movie at ATA and Red Vic.
I also wrote the most important thing I've ever written, and I got a raise at work.
2. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before?
Had wisdom teeth removed. That may not sound very exciting, but it was also the first time I've ever gotten sick pay, which was awesome. Getting paid to sit around at home not doing anything is a lifelong dream, and even if it was only for three days, and even if one of those days was spent vomiting for 15 hours after having an unexpected allergic reaction to Vicodin, it was totally amazing. I do actually like working and having a job, I just wish I didn't have to do so much of it to pay the bills.
3. What was your favorite moment of the year?
Every wonderful second of The Final Destination 3D.
4. What was your least favorite moment of the year?
Every excruciating second of New York, I Love You.
5. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
My New Year's Resolution for 2009 was to watch more TV and make a movie (these were also my Resolutions the year before, and possibly the year before that), and to read 10 books. I've only read 9 and a half books, but definitely succeeded with the other two. I still haven't watched Lost, The Wire, True Blood, 30 Rock, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Deadwood, Heroes, The Office (US), Curb Your Enthusiasm, Gossip Girl, or roughly one hundred other shows I'd like to see and that people get mad at me for not having seen yet, but I did watch most of 24, and I love the shit out of it.
My Resolution for 2010 is to figure out what I want to do with my life, and take action to actually achieve whatever that may be. And also, to not just make a movie, but to specifically make Girlmar Gets An Abortion. You hear that, Omar? We're fucking doing it this year. Literally.
6. What are your plans for 2010?
Figure out what I want to do with my life, and take action to achieve whatever that may be. This may entail moving to L.A. to pursue acting or something comedy-related. But we'll see. I'm terrified of change.
7. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes.
8. Did anyone close to you die?
Patrick Swayze and Brittany Murphy.
9. How many weddings did you go to?
None.
10. What countries did you visit?
None.
11. What date in 2009 will remain etched in your memory?
None. Start asking better questions please, quiz.
12. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
See Question 1.
13. What was your biggest failure?
Not watching even more TV? Still not being able to write reviews in a timely fashion?
14. Did you suffer any illness or injury?
Just the wisdom teeth thing. And I currently have a cold.
15. What was the best thing you bought?
Nothing. I was fucking broke this year.
16. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Quentin Tarantino and Sam Raimi, who both have incredible filmographies behind them, each made their greatest film this year.
17. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
Ryan Jenkins. In case you don't know who this prick is, he was a contestant on Megan Wants a Millionaire, who (after the show was filmed, obviously) killed his wife, and later himself. Because of this, VH1 took Megan Wants a Millionaire off the air (there had been three episodes, I think, maybe four). This was unfortunate, as I thought it was a pretty good show, but whatever, I'll live without ever seeing it. However, it turned out Jenkins was also a contestant on I Love Money 3, which was scheduled to air in January. And on top of that, he won, so it's not like VH1 has the option to edit around him. Chances are, I Love Money 3 will never be seen, and this seriously drives me fucking crazy, and has been on my mind a lot as we approach the month it would have aired. I Love Money is one of the greatest fucking television shows to have ever existed, as well as one of the most addicting, and it completely fucking tears me up that I won't get to see this season. Especially because I recently found out who some of the other finalists are, and they include Weasel from Daisy of Love and fucking BUBBLES from Real Chance of Love and Charm School! Bubbles is one of my favorite contestants who has ever been on any of these shows, and I need to see her making it to the end on I Love Money. I do not fucking care that I already know who the winner and finalists are, that will barely affect my enjoyment of the show. I want to fucking see it! Why can't they just reshoot the ending or something, so it looks like Bubbles wins, and then give her the money? I understand where VH1 is coming from, but they need to understand my desperation to see this fucking thing. Just release it on DVD, and give the proceeds to the victim's family or something. And now it seems like they're not sure what to do with I Love Money 4, either, which was already filmed. Presumably because it includes references to ILM3 or late-season MWAM. But who fucking cares!? It wasn't won by a disgusting murderer, so at least grant us that, VH1! Just show us something. So anyway, fuck you, Ryan Jenkins. You've ruined my life.
18. Where did most of your money go?
Most of it always goes to rent and bills, but this year, I had even more expenses, like the wisdom teeth removal, and I also had to put a lot into my car this year. I had to fix some oxygen thing in order to pass a smog test, and then there was a late fee on my registration, as well as a parking ticket with a huge late fee, and then I had to get my lock fixed after someone busted it in to steal my iPod and GPS. I also got new glasses, which ended up costing a lot more than I had prepared for. It seemed like the whole year just brought on one huge expense after another.
19. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Wow, three "really"s? I don't know. I was really, really excited about My Bloody Valentine 3D and going to Great America on my birthday. Oh, I guess I was really, really, really excited about meeting Linda Blair!
20. What songs will always remind you of 2009?
All I listened to this year was Lady Gaga. So Bad Romance, because I think the video is one of the best movies of the year.
21. Compared to this time last year are you:
Fatter or Thinner?
Slightly thinner, maybe, but pretty much the same.
Happier or Sadder?
Sadder, honestly. The aforementioned productivity, the acting class, and something else that happened where I was asked to audition for a TV show (based on my videos online), while clearly great things, also got me thinking a lot more seriously about my life and aspirations. This is a really good thing, but it's also terrifying and intimidating, and has made me constantly frustrated and stressed at work.
Richer or Poorer?
Even with a raise a couple months ago, I'm significantly poorer. This also may contribute to being sadder. I don't mean to take my situation for granted, though, I am grateful to have job security.
22. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Not anything, necessarily. I accomplished a lot.
23. What do you wish you'd done less of?
I don't know.
24. How will you be spending Christmas?
Spent it in San Diego. Opened presents with the family at my Grandma's in the morning, went back to my Mom's and took a nap, had Jewish food for dinner with the family, went back to my Mom's and watched He's Just Not That Into You, then hung out with Jennifer for the rest of the night.
25. How did you see in the New Year?
Am I supposed to be filling this out after the New Year, or before Christmas? I will be spending it at work until 9:30 or so, and then I'll come home and watch TV or some movies (I rented New Year's Evil and Poseidon Adventure (which takes place on New Year's)) with Erin.
26. Did you fall in love in 2009?
Constantly.
27. What was your favourite month of 2009?
The coldest one.
28. What was your favourite TV show?
24, I Love Money 2, and Parks and Recreation.
29. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Ryan Jenkins.
30. What was/were the best books you read?
Flowers in the Attic and Zeroville.
31. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Lady Gaga.
32. What was/were the best concerts you went to?
Britney Spears, GWAR, and A Camp.
33. What did you want and get?
A raise.
34. What did you want and not get?
A role on that TV show I auditioned for.
35. What was your favourite film this year?
The Final Destination 3D, Inglourious Basterds, Drag Me To Hell, Orphan, and Crank: High Voltage.
36. What did you do on your birthday and how old were you?
Turned 27. On the day before my birthday, I went to Great America with some friends, and it was fucking great. And on the day of, Erin took me bowling and to dinner, and then we watched Crank. It was one of the best birthdays I've had.
37. What one thing would have made your year more satisfying?
Not being broke.
38. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
A poor attempt at professionalism.
39. What kept you sane?
Knowing all year that I had this quiz to look forward to.
40. Which celebrity did you fancy the most?
Amy Adams.
41. Which political issue stirred you the most?
My theater suffered a bit due to the economy, so that, I suppose.
42. Who did you miss?
This question always makes me feel guilty. Time flies by so fast I never get around to missing people.
43. Did you treat somebody badly in 2009?
I put Anthony through a lot while filming STAR TREK: The Motion Picture Film.
44. Did somebody treat you badly in 2009?
The person who broke into my car.
45. What was your job this year?
Assistant manager and projectionist at the Balboa, projectionist at the Red Vic.
46. Did you have any encounters with the police in 2009?
I got pulled over for running a stop sign. But the cop let it slide, and gave me a ticket for expired registration instead. But I had actually just renewed my registration, so I only had to pay $25 as a service fee or whatever. I also watched a little bit of Steven Seagal: Lawman, and it was alright.
47. Any new additions to your family?
No, but I did meet my sister's sister for the first time.
48. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned this year?
Movies are better in 3D.
49. What would you like to have in 2010 that you didn't have in 2009?
More time and money.
50. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year...
"Show me your teeth." You got it, Lady Gaga:
 feelin' kinda:  melancholy |
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Dec. 31st, 2009 @ 11:48 am
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Just listed a new rubber ducky jacket on Etsy!
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VOTD
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Dec. 31st, 2009 @ 11:13 am
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Dec. 31st, 2009 @ 10:06 am
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May the Fates smile upon you and bless you during the New Year! ~Madame Alexis~
An optimist stays up until midnight to see the New Year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves. ~Bill Vaughan~
New Year's Day… now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual. ~Mark Twain~
A New Year's resolution is something that goes in one Year and out the other. ~Anonymous~ |
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hopeful![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small}
