On the anniversary of the attacks of September 11th, 2001, I remember that the United States of America stands for one thing above all else:
FREEDOM.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Tuesday, July 05, 2011
Movie etiquette
Dear Moviegoers,
It is NOT okay to come in after the lights have gone down and ask those who are already comfortably settled in to change their seats when there are plenty of STILL EMPTY seats to choose from.
Thanks!
It is NOT okay to come in after the lights have gone down and ask those who are already comfortably settled in to change their seats when there are plenty of STILL EMPTY seats to choose from.
Thanks!
Friday, July 01, 2011
Foreign Correspondent
Someday I'm going to write about my all-time great movie-going experiences and Foreign Correspondent is going to be near the top of my list, along with The Empire Strikes Back and Forbidden Planet!
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1940, Foreign Correspondent is one of my favorite movie-going experiences not so much because of the theater where I first saw it some thirty years ago - the Valley Art in Tempe, Arizona - but because it was an absolutely dazzling print! I would not consider it an exaggeration to compare the quality of the print to that of a well-cut diamond. I could not possibly begin to convey just how sharp and crisp it was, or the range of contrast which gave it an illusion of depth that made it almost three dimensional. I'll never forget the sheer lucidity with which Rudolph Mate's cinematography conveyed the sense of space in the interior of the windmill, nor the sparkling elegance of the hotel conference scenes at the beginning. It's too bad those qualities don't come through on video, but Hulu does have a pretty good copy. I watched it - again! - last night - which is why I'm writing about it this morning!
Whether you watch it online or on DVD it's a great movie for the 4th of July weekend! It's one of those movies - along with Casablanca - that perfectly captures the mood of a world on the brink of war. The ending - where Joel McCrea delivers a great patriotic speech in a London radio studio while bombs are falling and the lights are going out, and yes, the chorus does start singing "The Star Spangled Banner" - always gets to me.
So if you're looking for an example of genuine, cynicism-free patriotism, here ya go!
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1940, Foreign Correspondent is one of my favorite movie-going experiences not so much because of the theater where I first saw it some thirty years ago - the Valley Art in Tempe, Arizona - but because it was an absolutely dazzling print! I would not consider it an exaggeration to compare the quality of the print to that of a well-cut diamond. I could not possibly begin to convey just how sharp and crisp it was, or the range of contrast which gave it an illusion of depth that made it almost three dimensional. I'll never forget the sheer lucidity with which Rudolph Mate's cinematography conveyed the sense of space in the interior of the windmill, nor the sparkling elegance of the hotel conference scenes at the beginning. It's too bad those qualities don't come through on video, but Hulu does have a pretty good copy. I watched it - again! - last night - which is why I'm writing about it this morning!
Whether you watch it online or on DVD it's a great movie for the 4th of July weekend! It's one of those movies - along with Casablanca - that perfectly captures the mood of a world on the brink of war. The ending - where Joel McCrea delivers a great patriotic speech in a London radio studio while bombs are falling and the lights are going out, and yes, the chorus does start singing "The Star Spangled Banner" - always gets to me.
So if you're looking for an example of genuine, cynicism-free patriotism, here ya go!
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Has Oklahoma lost an architectural treasure?
The unrepeatable experience that is Bruce Goff's Bavinger House appears to be gone now - whether forever or not, I do not know.
According to a story in The Oklahoman, the house recently sustained serious and extensive damage. For many years I read that the Bavingers were a private family and did not allow visitors. I did not know that the house had been open to the public in the last few years. Had I known this, I certainly would have made the pilgrimage.
I can't help but wonder about the effectiveness of Bob Bavinger's effort to promote the house as a tourist attraction. I have been on an email list for Frank Lloyd Wright's Price Tower for some time now. The first I ever heard about the Bavinger House being opened to the public was this morning when I read the story about the damage.
If the damage to the Bavinger House is irreparable, the loss will certainly be equal to that of Shin'enKan, the house Goff designed for Joe Price outside of Bartlesville, which was detroyed by fire in 1996.
According to a story in The Oklahoman, the house recently sustained serious and extensive damage. For many years I read that the Bavingers were a private family and did not allow visitors. I did not know that the house had been open to the public in the last few years. Had I known this, I certainly would have made the pilgrimage.
I can't help but wonder about the effectiveness of Bob Bavinger's effort to promote the house as a tourist attraction. I have been on an email list for Frank Lloyd Wright's Price Tower for some time now. The first I ever heard about the Bavinger House being opened to the public was this morning when I read the story about the damage.
If the damage to the Bavinger House is irreparable, the loss will certainly be equal to that of Shin'enKan, the house Goff designed for Joe Price outside of Bartlesville, which was detroyed by fire in 1996.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Trailers
Muppets: I've been following the new Muppet movie trailers & the newest one, "Being Green" is classic, old-school Muppet Show subversiveness. Absolutely hilarious. But will the whole movie be this funny?
Moneyball: "Moneyball", the book, was about how Billy Beane re-invented the game of baseball. In "Moneyball", the movie, Brad-Pitt-as-Billy-Beane throws desks and chairs and seems to leave the thinking to Jonah Hill. What would be so wrong with a movie that shows one, single character as an integrated human being who can think and take action based on his own thinking? And actually be the good guy! Pass.
Moneyball: "Moneyball", the book, was about how Billy Beane re-invented the game of baseball. In "Moneyball", the movie, Brad-Pitt-as-Billy-Beane throws desks and chairs and seems to leave the thinking to Jonah Hill. What would be so wrong with a movie that shows one, single character as an integrated human being who can think and take action based on his own thinking? And actually be the good guy! Pass.
Tuesday, June 07, 2011
LET'S KILL . . . who?
Okay, I don't normally find these Hitler YouTube mashups amusing at all. In fact, I think all too many of them are just plain stupid.
BUT: as a Doctor Who fan (YAY MATT SMITH!!!!), I found myself literally ROFLMAO after seeing these new videos:
It starts when? September? AAAAAAAAAAGH!)
CAVEAT: If you're not that familiar with the show, I'm sure your response will more likely be WTF?
FOLLOW-UP @3:22PM: It's been confirmed that Matt Smith is returning for at least one more season as The Doctor!
As has Steven Moffat!
AND I would also like to throw in this tidbit - which I meant to post earlier: as far as I'm concerned, Russell T Davies' new official motto is:
BUT: as a Doctor Who fan (YAY MATT SMITH!!!!), I found myself literally ROFLMAO after seeing these new videos:
http://www.combom.co.uk/2011/06/more-doctor-who-and-hitler-mash-ups.htmlDAMN YOU STEVEN MOFFAT! (Just kidding, Mr. Moffat! You're brilliant & I CAN'T WAIT for the second half of the season!
It starts when? September? AAAAAAAAAAGH!)
CAVEAT: If you're not that familiar with the show, I'm sure your response will more likely be WTF?
FOLLOW-UP @3:22PM: It's been confirmed that Matt Smith is returning for at least one more season as The Doctor!
As has Steven Moffat!
AND I would also like to throw in this tidbit - which I meant to post earlier: as far as I'm concerned, Russell T Davies' new official motto is:
"Twice the pathos!"Love you RTD! You're brilliant!
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
"Your account has been temporarily suspended
Suspicious activity has been detected on your Facebook account and it has been temporarily suspended as a security precaution. It is likely that your account was compromised as a result of entering your password on a website designed to look like Facebook. This type of attack is known as phishing."
I've lost track of how long it has been since I've been able to access my Facebook account. 3 weeks? 4? Facebook wants me to "confirm" my identity with some ridiculous "face recognition" type of test: I have to correctly identify a certain number of the faces in photographs of people on my "friends" list. The problem with that is I have 100 people on my "friends" list and I don't even know most of them by sight. The vast majority of them are people I have connected with on the Internet and have never met personally.
So Facebook expects me to be able to identify these people. What are they thinking? I guess I'm lucky I only have 100 "friends" on Facebook - imagine being one of those people with several hundred or even thousands of "friends". Again: what are the people at Facebook thinking?
And of course they are not about to give me an easy or obvious way to contact them about my account. Who knows if I'll ever find out what happened? Was it actually phishing or was it something else?
Yeah, I know: what do I expect for free?
This is why I stopped using MySpace years ago. Too many bugs kept it from coming anywhere near fulfilling the potential usefulness I thought it might be able to have for me. Is Facebook going the same way? Is it time to start looking for the next social network?
Seems that way to me.
Sunday, September 06, 2009
Atlas Life
Here's a story in the Tulsa World about a building with a nifty name.
It's being converted into a Marriott hotel.
Love the sign! Looks like they plan to keep it.
It's being converted into a Marriott hotel.
Love the sign! Looks like they plan to keep it.
Monday, August 24, 2009
NetworkedBlogs
I'm experimenting with NetworkedBlogs on Facebook. This is a test entry to see how it looks.
Friday, August 21, 2009
A Colt Is My Passport
How could this not be one of the all-time great movie titles?
No, I haven't seen it. Yet. I just opened today's email from Criterion and there it was:
No, I haven't seen it. Yet. I just opened today's email from Criterion and there it was:
A Colt Is My Passport
Monday, July 06, 2009
Bruce Goff
Here's an article about Goff's Bavinger House in Norman.
It's one of Goff's most famous works and I was unsure of its status until I read this story.
It's one of Goff's most famous works and I was unsure of its status until I read this story.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Military tactics in Star Trek
OK, as much as I'm loving the new Star Trek movie - I've seen it twice already! - I also like this "analysis" of the military tactics depicted. Let's just say they could use some improvement!
If you haven't seen it yet, don't let this stop you! The new Star Trek is all kinds of fun - and more!
If you haven't seen it yet, don't let this stop you! The new Star Trek is all kinds of fun - and more!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Friday, March 06, 2009
Doctor Who is coming! Doctor Who is coming!
Euros Lyn is on Wired.com NOW!
He's talking about the new season of Torchwood AND David Tennant's final episode as Doctor Who!
AND there's the new Torchwood trailer!
Director Euros Lyn Talks Torchwood, Tennant's Doctor Who Farewell
He's talking about the new season of Torchwood AND David Tennant's final episode as Doctor Who!
AND there's the new Torchwood trailer!
Director Euros Lyn Talks Torchwood, Tennant's Doctor Who Farewell
Friday, February 27, 2009
City of Ember
WHY did I wait so long to see this movie? City of Ember is magnificent, glorious, majestic, electrifying, stupendous - at times, physically overwhelming, and above all, very Romantic!
While the story can be seen as dealing with some of the same themes and situations as Anthem, in that it takes place in a rigidly-controlled future society that its protagonists seek to escape from, City of Ember is nowhere near as intellectual, but it soars with the spirit of the rebellious youths who are determined from the beginning to undermine the social system which determines their future by the luck of the draw.
The film is very deliberately paced and atmospheric, propelled by soaring music, aided by a huge, richly detailed set built in the same place as the original Titanic, City of Ember is a puzzle that rewards those who can get into its mood: a triumph for the film's creators and its audience alike!
While the story can be seen as dealing with some of the same themes and situations as Anthem, in that it takes place in a rigidly-controlled future society that its protagonists seek to escape from, City of Ember is nowhere near as intellectual, but it soars with the spirit of the rebellious youths who are determined from the beginning to undermine the social system which determines their future by the luck of the draw.
The film is very deliberately paced and atmospheric, propelled by soaring music, aided by a huge, richly detailed set built in the same place as the original Titanic, City of Ember is a puzzle that rewards those who can get into its mood: a triumph for the film's creators and its audience alike!
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Torchwood
Yes, I had to resist using the title "Captain Jack is Back!"
Just caught the first trailer for the upcoming Torchwood mini-series (thank you, io9).
This series has been extremely uneven, to say the least. At first I was very disappointed in the dark direction it took after all the swashbuckling Captain Jack did on Doctor Who.
But the show has had some good spots.
And some pretty bad ones, too, unfortunately.
Just caught the first trailer for the upcoming Torchwood mini-series (thank you, io9).
This series has been extremely uneven, to say the least. At first I was very disappointed in the dark direction it took after all the swashbuckling Captain Jack did on Doctor Who.
But the show has had some good spots.
And some pretty bad ones, too, unfortunately.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
I just wanna say . . .
. . . Nestor Carbonell is GORGEOUS!
(Yeah, I know, he's married, and all.
But, still . . . )
(Yeah, I know, he's married, and all.
But, still . . . )
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
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