Misc Photography Platitudes

I shot this image late in the late afternoon on my first trip to Great Sand Dunes, using a deep red filter and a Pentax 67.


Maybe the absolutely most difficult thing is revealing a woman's face using just one tungsten light. 8x10 Tri-X negative developed in Pyro, 16x20" print on Agfa vc paper, developed in Amidol.


A photographer much wiser than me once explained, "If titles are necessary to explain your images, then you have failed as a photographer." I stopped shooting color a few minutes later.
8x10 Tri-X negative developed in Pyro, 11x14" print on Agfa vc developed in Amidol.

Really Bored? I mean, really really bored?

Open your Diet Coke, grab your Mentos and click here right away.

Who thinks of this stuff?

Opposites

I asked Ian to pull over on our way back from the Hebrides when I saw this shot might happen. I had about 90 seconds to climb out, pick a lens, assemble & focus the camera (tilting the rear standard) and meter the exposure. I exposed one sheet before the rainbow vanished, and kept my fingers crossed for a month till the developed film arrived in the mail. Camera: early 1950s 8x10 Deardorff field (with front swings). Lens: Nikkon 450mm, Agfa 8x10 transparency, graduated ND filter.

























Shooting at Great Sand Dunes involves a week of scouting out likely locations, getting up every morning at 4:30am, hiking 3 or 4 miles from the campground with 50 pounds of gear through freezing darkness, setting up and waiting to see what happens in the 40 seconds of shootable light. It's not unusual to go all week without exposing a single frame. Deardorff 8x10, Nikkor 450mm, Unfiltered Fuji 8x10 Velvia transparency.

More about Deardorff cameras.

3 More from the Road

Three color landscapes from a few years back.




















Sunrise at Great Sand Dunes, Colorado 8x10 Fuji Velvia Transparency.




















Twilight Storm, Great Sand Dunes Pentax 67 with polarizing filter. Fuji Velvia transparency.





















Raven Cliff Falls, North Carolina Pentax 67 Fuji Velvia transparency

Cat Cam Dream Come True

Ernest Hemingway, the most influential writer of the 20th century, once owned more than 57 cats. Could anything possibly be more literary than watching a webcam monitoring Hemingway's 6-toed cats live from Key West?

Nada.

Say "Isn't it pretty to think so," walk back to your hotel in the rain, then click here truly as in the old days.

What's Meanest?

I'm puzzled and at a loss to decide what's the meanest, the absolutely most evil & cruel, of these three beasties:

1) Alaskan King Crabs. A single pincer can snap off a finger like stale cornbread ("The Deadliest Catch") and King Crabs have two. A mature King Crab can weigh up to half a ton and move across the sea floor at almost 80 miles an hour. Or maybe I'm thinking of zebras.

2) Lobsters. Totally ornery & obstinate, probably from being hassled by yankee-talking dudes with long hair and Boston accents. Every lobster I've seen acts like it's got a grudge and would toss you into a vat of boiling water if it could. If I had claws I'd feel the same way, for sure.

3) Household Cats. Ah, the stories I could tell. But no one would believe me. I've heard an adult male cat can consume an adult human being in 15 minutes, give itself a bath, and meow to go outside while purring the whole time. That's just plain scary, and wrong in the worst possible way.

Buttery Flavored Jiffy Blisters

Unbelievable. A few minutes ago I tried making popcorn during a commercial break in "The Deadliest Catch." Almost 3 minutes later I could tell I was facing a crisis because the bag looked sadly deflated, sorta like the month-old bleu cheese omelet I've been saving in the fridge for emergencies.

More than aggravated about missing my story, I jerked open the microwave & yanked out the bag .............. which proceeded to pour its contents of boiling butter straight onto my outstretched hand. Sure, I screamed.

It was loud and I danced The Chicken Dance and slammed a few doors. I'm not ashamed. Maybe you're thinking I said bad words but I didn't.

Remember I'm the guy who still hasn't learned any better than to hold his hand against a clothes iron to see if it's hot. I wonder sometimes whether I'm co-ordinationally challenged.

Now I think I'm gonna sit still for a while, and not touch anything ... at least not without adult supervision.

Memo to Self

Either start wearing shoes, or completely quit stepping on splinters and hidden glass chips.

3 times in 3 days should be sufficient to prompt corrective action, dummy.

Don't Stop the Music

Started having anxiety yesterday that maybe Monday's post was much too vague. On the other hand, a thorough explanation would bore both of us senseless but I'm tacking on a little PS at the end, just in case.

All I'm gonna say about Today's Playlist is that it's one of the best ever ... and it ain't even mine. If your robots don't stand up and start dancing for this, you need new robots.

The Portuguese Woman's AM Mix Vol. 3

Put On A Happy Face - Blossom Dearie
It's Time For Action! - Yoko Ono
Baby I'm A Star - Prince
Move Any Mountain ' 91 - The Shamen
Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen) - Baz Luhrmann

What was the point of linking to a racing video? That was just weird and we're starting to think you are, too. Are you trying on purpose to be funny, b/c you're NOT. And btw, stop writing such long blogs.

Yesterday's video clip was Ayrton Senna driving a 2.08-mile qualifying lap in the 1991 Formula 1 Grand Prix of Monaco (imagine you're driving through downtown Anderson at 170 mph with 20 other cars chasing you for 90 minutes). It doesn't seem humanly possible anyone could survive such a challenge.

But between 1987 and 1993 Senna won Monaco a record 6 times ... a miracle, which positively proves I'm not qualified to know limits about anything.

Yesterday's video showed me that some people are capable of doing super-human things. The video reminded me that limits exist only as long as we accept them, and that each time we "touch the limit" and go beyond anything we've done before a little voice is already challenging How far can I go next time?

If we're driving for God's team are we limiting ourselves on every lap, content to nurse His car through the race "just being careful" to make sure nothing breaks? Maybe we're terrified of going too fast and spininng out, or of suddenly crashing into a brick wall and getting hurt, or of simply not being good enough to take on the impossible.

That's my point: comparing ourselves to others and thinking I can't! sets limits on what's possible, when we ought to come roaring onto the track with four screaming tires and the throttle wide open, determined to go all-out on every lap and witness first hand the miracles God's capable of achieving.

But I Can't! ...

Been feeling out of control recently? Life been coming at you a little too fast?

But I Can't! seems like a safe answer when we're faced with unexpected challenges, especially if we're faced with doing something that seems downright scary to "normal people."

Stop whatever you're doing. Turn up the speakers and do this. Don't say you can't.

I want you to promise that once we've started you won't touch anything for the next 90 seconds. I mean it. Sit back and click here.

Then tell me who's controlling your limit, and how high God wants you to fly.

Home of the Blue Book

This is the digital kitchen where The Blue Book is baked fresh daily.

Thought I was in the photo somewhere; now I'm just not sure.

Today's the Canadian Grand Prix!

Formula One World champion Fernando Alonso seized the pole position for today's Canadian Grand Prix as Renault swept the front row for the second time this season.

The 24-year-old Spaniard will start from the pole for his fifth consecutive race as he chases a fourth straight victory. Speed TV's coverage starts live at 12:30 PM, so you've got plenty of time to drop by here before the race starts.

Coming tomorrow ...

"How Do You Get A Splinter Out Without Tweezers?" (I wouldn't tell ya the answer if it wasn't true.)

"I Got Your Complaint Department Right Here" Department

I was surprised at how many folks wrote in demanding Today's Playlist. Well, it's been too hot the past few days to burn down the walls. We'll fix that right now.

Donna the Buffalo

Life Is Strange

Tides of Time

Conscious Evolution

Funky Side

Man of Constant Sorrow

Seminole Wind

Once again we're reminded the good things in life are worth waiting for. Welcome to "The Herd."

More Mac Than Ever

Mac OS X on Intel

Intel Core Duo: the next generation in processor design from the world’s leading chip maker. Making your Mac feel even more like a computing heavyweight.


At 15 lbs, the new Mac Portable tips the scales at only a bit more than half the weight of a Yamaha EF1000iS 900-watt generator.

Touche Right Here

Have you seen Mac's new "Touche" commercial yet? During my excitement last night I may've failed to quote the the ad exactly, but you can click here and then scan across for "Touche" to see for yourself.

Notice that a slightly revised version of the commercial now has fine-print reading "Purchase of Windows and Parallels software Required" instead of "Purchase of Windows XP required."

I'm guessing installing Windows XP after doing an OS X uninstall definitely helps clear the air.

And So's Your Motherboard

MacBook Pro Owners Promised Less Whining

Thursday, 22 June 2006

Apple Exchanging Motherboards on MacBook Pro 1.83 Ghz

Topic: Hardware
A certain MacBook Pro owner heavily afflicted by the processor whine let me know that Apple is reportedly swapping out defective motherboards on the 1.83 Ghz edition of the machines.

According to reports, the new MacBook motherboards look something like this:

Dude, like ... for MacReal?

What Day Is It? Department
Folks, here's the heads-up right off the bat: Today's gonna be Attack Mac All Day Feeding Frenzy Friday.

But Why Are You Always Slamming Macs?
Just for fun. And because I hate them.

Well, I Have a Mac and I Love it
My bias against Mac is based on both personal experience and first-hand reports from friends who've wasted thousands of bucks on Macs. If you're pleased with your Mac then I am, too. Really. Now let's have some fun.

Here's the Mac Advantage:

1. You already know the Mac programs.

Mac only runs four programs, so you’re something of a Mac expert already.

2. Adding Peripherals is easier than ever.

Most popular applications for Mac and PC use the same file formats, making it simple to exchange move existing files from a PC to a Mac. Replacing OS X with Windows XP and learning to type makes the process even easier.

3. No, Macs aren’t slow.

The latest Intel Core Duo processors put Mac's previous Motorola chips to shame, no matter what our previous ads told you. And a Mac just loves that second core, since Mac OS X has been trying to catch up with Intel processors from the start. Try burning a DVD while watching a TV show on iTunes ... it just might work!

5. No, you don’t have to buy new stuff.

Your printer, camera, keyboard, and mouse will work with a Mac. PCs and Macs can usually share peripherals if they connect via USB, FireWire, or Bluetooth. But face it, since PCs already use so many perpherals there's really no reason to consider buying a Mac in the first place.

6. Yes, you can even run Windows.

Sure, it took Apple 20 years, but we finally caught on.

I Nearly Broke My Hip from Laughing

Have you seen the new Mac commercials on TV? Especially the one where the stereotypically cool Mac guy tells the doofy PC dude "Now you can run PC programs on your Mac." The PC guy looks bewildered and answers "Touche."

The Mac dude patiently explains, "You don't say touche unless I've made your point."

I fell off the couch from laughing, and hit the floor so hard I almost broke my hip. I guess Mac's point is that while a PC Can't Run Mac software, the new Macs are capable of running both.

Maybe what Apple means is that since Macs began using Intel chips, Apple's library of proprietary-only software titles may be quickly becoming obsolete.

Maybe this is the point where the Mac guy shrugs and says "Touche."

Post Match Wrap-Up

A few minutes ago the USA lost convincingly to Ghana 2-1 and was eliminated from the FIFA World Cup.

Six Important Things Every American Should Know About Soccer:

1) The rest of the world calls soccer "football" but real football involves tackling, sacking and going deep with the bomb.

2) In real football the players don't wear short pants, or hold hands after scoring.

3) There are no penalties in soccer; they're called fouls, offenses or infringements. A sanction may cause a player to be "expelled from the field of play and its immediate surrounds."

Call me a sandwich short of a picnic, but I couldn't handle the sanction of getting expelled from the immediate surrounds for an infringement. Especially not if I was wearing short pants and another man was holding my hand at the same time.

4) The most sloppily dressed team usually wins.

5) In soccer, every time a team loses it's always blamed on either (a) the coach or (b) a controversial call from a Referee ... as though for 90 minutes the players had all they could do just running around chasing & pointing at the ball.

6) Soccer's fun to watch ... for about 4 minutes (if you include a Cadillac commercial). Then you start wishing a brawl would erupt and start spreading across the stands.

... just a few reasons why soccer's still a drag, and the USA's still #1.

Shame on You!

Did ya take off from work this morning with some flimsy excuse about having to rush Mr. Boots off to the vet for his kitty root canal ... so you could lay out and watch the US vs Ghana in the World Cup?

Splan 2 Tings Department:
How come they only let one guy on each team use his hands ... and why do the US uniforms look like something you'd expect to see the tennis pro wearing at the Cozumel Raquet Club?

jockey lot treasure

I can't turn down a deal when I see one. That's why I traded a loose box of tube socks and a pair of Little Mermaid sunglasses for a slightly-used Zhejiang King-Mazon roller machine like this one.

Need a new fender for your '56 Chevy Bel Aire restoration proect? Gimme a call and I'll hook ya up cheap.


Now I'm looking for a 85 psi pneumatic riveter with a 1/4" inlet. Riveting's cool.

Total Tech Tuesday

Apple Computer Inc. is in talks with most of Hollywood's studios to offer movie downloads via its popular iTunes Music Store Web site, show business newspaper Daily Variety reported on Monday.

Citing unnamed sources, Variety said iTunes might begin offering film downloads by the end of 2006, but currently a price on iTunes is a sticking point in negotiations.

Amazing what a Mac can do once it's got Intel Inside.

Sony's First Blu-ray Disc Player

The Sony BDP-S1 is the first Blu-ray Disc player listed on Amazon.com

The BDP-S1 features 1080p (1920 x 1080) full HD-video output for brilliant HD imagery and upscaling of regular DVDs to 1080p output. It sports a sophisticated design and exceptional build quality with rigid beam construction, as well as finely tuned audio and video parts and circuits. The player offers HDMI output and advanced digital audio support, including MPEG-4 compression compatibility.

Great ... right after I decided to go with VHS.

The NetGear Wi-Fi Skype Handset is the coolest Skype phone around. No PC required. It's the first phone to combine the power of VoIP calling, wireless technology, and Skype's easy software. The result is a phone that you can use anywhere in the world there's a Wi-Fi signal available to call other Skype users for free. No monthly fees and no contracts required.

Now we can look forward to telemarketers spamming us on our Skype phones.

Sony Vending Machines Out Now

"Push C-4 for Wireless Headphones".

It's not the typical vending machine repertoire, but via these high-tech "robotic stores", you will be able to purchase PSP software, Sony brand blank media, headphones, and other accessories. Two versions of these machines are being introduced: a 4-foot-wide version and an 8-foot-wide version.

You will only be able to pay via credit/debit card (no cash allowed), in effect restricting them from the under-18 crowd. One idea that's being considered is to attach a USB port to allow people who buy an MP3 player to download music files on the spot.

I wish Sony could figure out how to build a newspaper machine that'd make change from a dollar.

What Was That Number Again?

Thought I'd post some of my photographs from 2002 on Flickr but turns out I can't remember my username, password or e-mail address. Maybe it's written down somewhere. By tonight I'll probably be locked out of The Blue Book, too. Oh well.




Two Cannas
8x10"Kodak Tri-X negative developed N+1 in Pyro. Archival contact print on 8x10" Azo paper developed in Amidol.

Say, La Vie

Just Say WOW For Now Department
"For the money, this is quite probably the world's best engineered, best built low volume car." - Car & Driver Magazine

Papa's Almanac Department

Did ya know that between yesterday and today a Panoz Esperante spanked Porsche and won the GT2 class in the 24 Hours of Le Mans (that's in France).

Did ya know Panoz is made in Georgia, just a few miles outside Atlanta?

Did ya know Adrenaline makes offshore racing boats in Dahlonega, or that Maule airplanes are made in Moultrie, Georgia?

And So That Tells Us What? Department

No more blogging for me ... I'm quitting to pursue my childhood dream of becoming a steeplechase jockey in France.


(That's me on the left.)


It Is All About Turning Passion into Performance.

Mac OS X Vulnerable to Oompa Loompa Worm

I'm ignoring my bias (not to mention personal experiences & disgust) with Macs to warn all my mac-buds about this threat from the Leap-A Worm:

A new piece of malware called Leap-A or the Oompa Loompa worm targets Mac OS X, the first known worm to hit up Mac users. While everyone is making a big deal about the fact that computer baddies are now no longer in an monogamous relationship with Windows, Oompa Loompa's really not that bad, and won't infect those who practice safe computing. Mac users, here's what you need to know in a nutshell:

Get A One of These Instead!

Dell Precision 690 Workstation G5 Destroyer

Now ... why can't we all just live in peace?

A Simple Inquiry

Let me get something outta the way before going any further: my feet look like bear claws.

I don't mean my walkers are hairy like bear feet. I mean mine look like the gooey pastries they sell in the bakery down at Publix.

So there. Glad we got that out in the open, and can still be friends.

But I've seen lots of folks wearing sandals, flip-flops ... whatever you wanna call them. I actually have a pair and tried wearing them 2 or 3 times. What I don't understand is this:

How do you keep from stubbing your toes when you walk into stuff like chainsaw blades, half-open doors, speaker cabinet corners, or the bottoms of kitchen appliances like dishwashers and refrigerators? I just don't get it.

Somebody help me out. Please ... I been spending way too much on band-aids and Lysol.

Playing Catchup

Digital House-Keeping 101
Folks e-mail in with questions & comments I keep forgetting to respond to.

In no particular order here we go:

1) Yeah, it's my hair. I mean I guess it's mine, I paid for it.

2) You're probably right I just don't remember. I lost interest before the popcorn got cold. I'll try watching it again ... but first ya gotta promise not to hit me.

3) Don't buy a boat. What you want is a friend who's already got a boat and is still enthusiastic about trying to make it run ... without sinking or catching fire.

4) About 2.5 hours a day but I'm trying to cut back. Wordage is a struggle.

5) It's what I'm listening to at that moment. Loud enough to kill flying insects.

6) Why haven't you been posting, Mr. Spears? Diddy's watching. (Don't make me have to drive over there ...)

7) No one. Just whatever grabs my attention when I sit down at the keyboard.

What Fun! Department
Imagine you turbocharged your LinkSys WRT54GL wireless router and then hooked it up to the boat in your driveway's Icom IC-M802 150 watt SSB marine transceiver. Why, by simply writing a few lines of code and adjusting the antenna gain you'd have no trouble at all joining wireless networks say, from I-85 Exit 27 south all the way past Main Street.

You'd not only have noise-free Wi-Fi service from as far away as Venezuela, enjoy both XM and Sirius service simultaneously on your PC, connect to Globalstar satellites, but could also program your lawn tractor to do the front yard just by using the TV remote.

But here's the best part ... cutting your Mac pal's After Effects rendering times in half by simply adding the processing power of an Atari 800 to his watch folder. Technology is amazing, really.

Notes on Being Blind-Sided

Why Did That Happen?
I get blind-sided every once in a while. Fact is, I get blind-sided a whole lot more than seems necessary.

Getting Blind-Sided ... being caught unaware by a difficult situation or painful event you totally didn't see coming, whether an unexpected problem involving family, finances, work, health or with a relationship, has a way of leaving us feeling hurt, helpless and all alone.

Here's the Good News
There's one thing for certain I've learned out about being blind-sided: having painful unexpected stuff happen is pretty inevitable. The conversation I've been having with myself recently goes something like this ...

But It's Not What I Wanted!
I'll bet that's a first ... cause the universe's been all about wonderful ME until now.

If Only I'd Done This or Changed That ...
We like to blame ourselves, imagining if only we'd done just one little thing differently then the outcome would've been different as well. We tend to agonize, imagining and reinventing the past until we've convinced ourselves that changing the outcome was actually within our control. Real Life is a bit more complicated than simply substituting action x to arrive at outcome y, and has more hidden variables than we can either predict or manipulate.

We play the If Only Game to maintain a fantasy of control, but we're taking a vacation from reality if we grant ourselves that much privlege: indulging in If Only daydreams amounts to being selfish and egocentric, not to mention being spiritually wasteful.

But Why ME ... I'm a Christian!
Even players on God's team don't get to skip wind sprints or spring training.

God Hates Me
Not for a minute. Only the enemy hates you ... and actually enjoys seeing you falter and doubt God's will just because poor you didn't get the outcome you assigned for yourself.

But It's Not Fair! I Didn't Do Anything to Deserve What Happened!
Not that long ago unfair, humiliating stuff happened to someone who truly didn't deserve it. If your suffering seems undeserved and your life's been unappreciated, some of these accounts are pretty descriptive and may change your perspective: John 19: 1-30, Mark 15:17-37, Luke 23:25-46, Matthew 27:26-50

Before This Happened, I Thought God Would Protect Me
Then who's changed their mind ... God, or you? Unless you've got X-Ray FutureVision you couldn't possibly see what else was coming round the bend, and the potential anguish God helped you avoid.

Was It Part of God's Plan to Let This Happen?
God's purpose is called a Plan for a reason, and you're neither entitled to see nor capable of grasping His big picture.

But I Hurt So Bad Inside
Just my guess, but injured pride's probably what's been getting your attention. Pride is a sin because it inflates our egos, focuses us on self-importance by boosting our sense of entitlement, and then causes us to feel short-changed, humiliated and cheated when life doesn't go exactly as we planned. Pride's a deep, fast-moving current separating us from God's will.

So build stilts ... and walk over it.

You Just Don't Understand What I'm Going Through
Probably not, but there's someone who's told us He does: After you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you; and he will place you on a firm foundation. All power is his forever and ever. 1 Peter 5:10-11

That's God's promise ... and one less thing to be worrying about.

The 1920s Roared for A Reason

For Sale in West Palm Beach: Surf Rider - 1923 Custom 69-foot trawler. Cruises at 8 knots; 550 gallon fuel capacity. Includes master stateroom, with guest cabin and 3 individual berths.



Nassau is only 203 miles from West Palm; we'd catch the sunset if we left this afternoon.

Moonlight cruising on a nightime passage to the Caribbean? Yeah, the romantic, thoroughly impractical side of me says I think we should do it.

Thursday's Tropical Moonlight Let's Tango To The Transom Playlist:
Volvio Una Noche - Carlos Gardel (bring your blackest, longest evening dress ... and a single long-stemmed red rose)

Is This A Sin?

I know better than to let feelings of rage or wrath control me, and I'm much improved when it comes to entertaining fantasties of payback and retaliation. Still ...

The last movie to evoke my gag reflex was Sideways ... which amounted to a grandiose, predictably indulgent 123 minute pity party with about as much emotional depth as a gum wrapper.

Then this morning NetFlix asked me to rate Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Nevermind that imdb.com listed an 8.6/10 rating with 77,734 votes, placing Eternal Sunshine #38 in the all-time Top 250 list. The film amounted to an over-directed & manipulative mind-trip to nowhere.

Although rating Eternal Sunshine with one star was deliciously gratifying, I wish I coulda gone much farther ... like personally penalizing Jim Carrey with a huge career fine. Even if pulling Bruce Almighty and Ace Ventura off DVD rental shelves for a year sounds a lot like revenge.

Eternal Sunshine's tagline is Would You Erase Me?

Gladly. If only I could.

Here's Our Destination

You've been bored witless skimming through my last few blogs, right? Sure ya have, admit it.

Nooooobody cares about silent movies, and maybe you're thinking spending 3 posts on the subject seems weird. You're right, it is weird. But we're almost home.

Let Papa Read Your Mind and Make A Few Predictions Department:
Answer True or False to these 3 questions. Keep score and see how I do.

-You've never seen a Rudolph Valentino movie, and have no desire to.
-You're familiar with Mary Pickford, and already knew that besides having been the richest and most powerful woman in Hollywood, she also started a little studio called United Artists.
-You enjoyed reading about Hollywood's greatest unsolved murder even though it happened back in 1922, and intend to do further research on your own.

You answered True, False, False.

See, That Was Easy
Because what happened 80 years ago's pretty dull & boring compared to what's happening right now with MySpace, YourTube, American Idol, Brad & Angelina ... and anyway, the idea of reading subtitles during a movie is not only boring, it's plain stupid.

So, What's the Point?
The fact remains that we cannot possibly comprehend how famous and obscenely wealthy silent movie stars were in their time, nor can we imagine the impact their lives had on millions of Americans (who didn't mind reading subtitles, either). No living celebrity on earth even comes close.

No one. Period.
Stars like Valentino and Pickford seemed immortal, bigger than life and became like gods to their audiences.

The gossip magazines called them Movie Idols.
Only now the idols are dead. Their mansions and castles are gone, along with their wealth, beauty, and their belief that the wild parties, money, fast cars and fame would go on forever. But today their names are just a whisper.

Another eighty years from now only a few people will know who Brad or Angelina or J-Lo or even Bill Gates was. Believe it.

We're mortal after all, and no amount of fame, money, romance, prestige or popularity will ever change us into anything else.

The Post You Never Expected

GOO-GOO GAA-GAA ABOUT BRAD AND ANGELINA!

Reckon they really went all the way to Namibia to have that baby?
Does anybody really care? Just curious.

Brad Pitt
recently remarked, "Fatherhood has already changed me in ways I never would've dreamed possible."













Angelina Jolie
added, "Everything was much more than I imagined."











Bored very now. Let's make things interesting again.
Imagine it's 1927, and you've gotta decide which car you'll buy next:







Bentley








Rolls-Royce Phantom Windovers
















1927 Mercedes





Did ya make the right choice? Find out tomorrow!

Oh Goody Goody

Netflix just notified me they're shipping these 3 movies today:

Spider
Queen Kelly
Jeeves and Wooster Season 4 Disc 1

You already know how I feel about the 1920s and that Eric Von Stroheim was truly THE MAN ... but who knew an English Depression-era butler could be so funny?

Lotions and Spa Products I'd LIke to See

Before I get back to wrapping up silent films, here's a confession: I'm odor intolerant.

Artificial scents, like the ones that stink up stuff like body scrubs, hair sprays and hand lotions make me ... well, you get the idea.

But I'd love to handle their marketing campaigns anyway.

Intense SunSores Indoor Tanning Lotion- A Fake Tan's No Good Without Welts

BeachBodyBlister Tanning Solution- Less streaking means more shrieking!

FriedFace Finishing Paste- We're Not Sure What It Does, Either

Almond Mist Armpit Sanitizer- Like Folks Really Need Another Reason to Think You're Nuts

Ferric Oxide Exfoliating Body Polish [US Army Contract #G-112]- Keep Your Pores & Hummer's Undercarriage Rust-Free

Nature's Miracle Naugahyde Face Improvement Mystery- Previously Available Only in European Animal Husbandry Clinics!

Amazon Botanical Curare-Blend Skin Resurfacing Paste- Kills Wrinkles, Age Spots, Frown Lines & Blemishes, Literally! Also stuns fish and temporarily incapacitates small fur-bearing mammals.

Self-Correcting Fire Dance Renewal Treatment Scrub- Apply liberally to face, neck and scalp in well-ventilated room. Wait 30 seconds, then light with match. Results typically occur within seconds. Repeat procedure as necessary until desired improvement occurs.

Are We There Yet?

What an awesome weekend! I locked all the doors, took the phone off the hook and sat down for an uninterrupted triple DVD silent movie feature.

No I didn't. But probably I shoulda ... because what's playing down at the local magna-plex isn't worth an empty popcorn box.

“The best way to be boring is to leave nothing out.” - Voltaire
I know, I know ... but just a few more tidbits before leaving silent films and finally getting down to the point:

-After sex symbol Rudolph Valentino died suddenly in 1926 an estimated 100,000 mourners attended his funeral procession. Adjusted for today's population that figure would equal 255,000 fans.

















-Mary Pickford is traditionally regarded as the most popular performer in film history. In 1917 Mary's contract earned her $350,000 per week. In today's dollars that's about $3.5 million a week ... and remember there wasn't any income tax back then, either.












-During the 1930s MGM chief Louis B. Mayer (known simply as "LB") was the highest paid executive in the United States, earning $1.5 million annually ... significantly more than President Roosevelt or the president of Standard Oil.













-After grocery stores and automobile sales, movies were America's third largest retail business. In an average week in the 1940s, 90 million people (out of America's 151 million population) went to see at least one movie. The average ticket price was 40 cents.

-Today the average person sees one movie every 13 weeks. Last year the average ticket price was $6.41.

Almost All Gone Department:
-Historians estimate between 80 and 90 percent of the thousands of silent films made have been lost forever. Movies were considered to have no commercial value after they were shown in theaters and over the decades their prints crumbled into dust (or goo).

-Compared to modern movies, original black and white silver nitrate films were said to sparkle and glow on the screen "like faerie dust." Perhaps appropriately enough, the last major film shot on silver nitrate was 1950's Sunset Boulevard.

They Don't Build 'Em Like They Used To Department:
Movies weren't always shown in the cramped cubicles we know today as "multiplexes." Once upon a time, movies were presented in movie palaces ... with pipe organs and orchestra pits. Here's a shot of The Tampa Theater, built during the movie heyday in 1926. Much of my misspent youth was squandered here:













What's the point of all this silent film business?

Totally Visual Taylorology

This is silent film director William Desmond Taylor.




















This is where 49-year old Taylor lived at the time of his murder in 1922.













Taylor's butler Henry Peavy found the director dead on the floor of his Alvarado Street bungalow upon arriving for work at 7:30am the morning of February 2.












Comedy actress Mabel Normand was the last person known to have seen Taylor alive. An alcholic, cocaine addict and close friend of comedians Charlie Chaplin and Fatty Arbuckle, Mabel became a prime suspect ... and saw her film career ruined as a result.




















Police also suspected 21-year old actress Mary Miles Minter.












Because of her obsessive fear that Mary had become romantically involved with Taylor, her mother Charlotte Shelby was also considered a prime suspect.
Officially the murder remains unsolved, but in 1964 actress Patricia Palmer (a recent convert to Catholicism) purportedly made a deathbed confession admitting she'd fired the shot that killed Taylor. No possible motive was ever mentioned.















Several modern-day authors have re-investigated Taylor's murder:
William Desmond Taylor : A Dossier - Bruce Long
Dishing Hollywood: The Real Scoop on Tinsel Town's Most Notorious Scandals - Laurie Jacobs
Murder in Hollywood: Solving A Silent Screen Mystery - Charles Higham

images scanned from
A Cast of Killers - Sidney D. Kirkpatrick 1986

Saturday's "Play One for Mary" playlist:
The Wind Cries Mary - Jimi Hendrix (Monterey Pops live version, if you can find it)
Along Comes Mary - The Association
Mary - Blackbone
Mary - Take 6 (live)

Links & Resources for Taylorologists:
www.literateweb.com/taylor/index.htm
www.angelfire.com/az/Taylorology/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Desmond_Taylor