Total Eclipse of the Lyrics

Back in the mid 80's I was a huge fan of Bonnie Tyler. I went through the angst thing a bit late in life and this song spoke to me in some totally deep and incomprehensible way:



Well I was thrilled when a friend of mine turned me on to this incredible remake. It has all the depth of the original and will speak to your stupid teenage heart:



You're welcome. Actually thank you RC for facebooking this. It made my day.

Oh and full discloser (This was taken about 10 minutes ago)



Yup, still listening to her.

Bang!

Nothing like blowing up an anvil to start your day.



I go every year. This event is part of the yearly Hyack Festival.

I forgot my camera, but Global BC was kind enough to film it for me.

At the start Archie Miller asks for a show of hands from newbies. Those are the people to watch at the first blast to see how high they jump.

This event is not loved by babies and dogs.

Another amusing side effect: each blast is followed by a chorus of car alarms

Kryten Drives a Car

Robert Llewellyn may not be regular on local tv these days, but he isn't sitting on his butt.

as I wrote in this post, we have new Red Dwarf episodes to look forward to in the not too distant future (I hope)

But for now why not indulge in ‘Car Pool’ and short podcast starting Llewellyn as the driver and a number of well known British celeb types as the passenger.

Llewellyn drives his passengers to their errands while they chat about, well, stuff!

Do I know how to sell something or what. Some of it I don't get, but a lot of it is funny as hell.

Hey it's free to check out, so why not. Main site is Llewtube, but you can also subscribe via iTunes if you prefer to watch on your iPod / iPhone

And For Adults It's Exciting!

From the makers of Ass Kicker.

This is where backwards compatible marketing would come in handy.



A fine Mego product.

A Century In Video - 1923

Probably one of the earliest (If not the earliest) examples of a "making of" featurette.

This short details some of the trials and tribulations of trying to film a feature film in Death Valley.

The film they were making was 1924 Erich Von Stroheim's movie Greed based on the book McTeague.

"The plot follows an honest dentist whose wife wins a lottery ticket, only to become obsessed with money. When her former lover betrays the dentist as a fraud, all of their lives are destroyed."
(From the Wikipedia entry)

Out of curiosity I also watched this bit from the end of the movie:



Now I have a few comments:

• Yellow?


• For crying out loud, cut the dead guy's hand off


• If the horse / mule is dead. So is the canary

It's Been a Thrill(er)

[DianesDigitals's Photos]

Michael Crichton - 1942 - 2008

My first Michael Crichton experience was watching the movie Andromeda Strain on TV around 1973 or so. It scared the shit out of me. Especially the scene where a dead guy gets his wrist cut open, and only powdered blood comes out. Ewwwwwwwh!

[The Andromeda Strain (1971) TRAILER]


Fun fact: Crichton has a brief cameo as a doctor in the original. The director made him sit down because his height (6'9") was too distracting.

(IMHO the remake sucked several different types of suckiness.)
Since that first viewing I've enjoyed most of Crichton's books. I first read the book Andromeda Strain when I was about 13 and loved it.

Yes I know he didn't write serious literature, and he got criticized for some of the science. But he knew how to write a engrossing thriller.

Your fans will miss your work Michael.

A Century In Video - 1922

Just in time for Hallowe'en I bring you a vampire classic.

Warning. This is the entire movie. So don't start if you don't have 1:25 to waste on a bald vampire.



Here is the Wikipedia entry.

And from IMDb.

Fun Fact!
If the lead actor Max Schreck was still alive, he'd be 129 years old. Of course since vampires are immortal, his age doesn't matter.

Happy Hallowe'en everyone, and watch out for the scary shit.

It Was an Itsy Bitsy, Teeny, Weeny...

...minuscule piece of art

Willard Wigan literally creates art in the eye of a needle.



See his site for more examples of his work.

Apparently enough people doubted his art that he rated a Snopes entry.

Oh Those Alaskan Neighbours

[ jeromekaplan's Photos]

This video is scary, scary shit.

How can anyone elect this woman? Here she is trying to prove what she knows about foreign relations. But only manages to prove the opposite.

All the while having great difficulty stringing together words into a comprehensive sentence.


(Sorry about the stupid 30 second CBS ad)

Of course I'm not qualified to vote in the American election. But if I was, I would vote Palin. The other Palin



Better choice isn't it?

T-shirts & other swag here

(Sarah Palin video found on Dooce)

I Get By With A Little Help From My Fred?

I love much of the music of the 1960's, and I think I may have enjoyed Woodstock. Not sure though as I lean a bit more towards psychedelic or pop music from that time, and less towards what I call stoner rock.

Moot point in any case as my Mom wouldn't let me go. Something about only being 4.

One singer I've never been a huge fan of is Joe Cocker. I don't hate him, just not my cup 'o tea.

However I've always hated his version of With a Little Help From My Friends. He trashed a perfectly good Beatles song.

I did, however, presume that he knew the words. Turns out he was singing (literally) his own song.

For your 1969 enjoyment:



Here are the actual lyrics:

What would think if I sang out of tune,
Would you stand up and walk out on me.
Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song,
And I'll try not to sing out of key.
Oh I get by with a little help from my friends,
He gets high with a little help from his friends,
Oh I'm gonna try with a little help from my friends.

What do I do when my love is away.
(Does it worry you to be alone)
How do I feel by the end of the day
(Are you sad because you're on your own)
No, I get by with a little help from my friends,
Mmm I get high with a little help from my friends,
Mmm I'm gonna to try with a little help from my friends

Do you need anybody?
I need somebody to love.
Could it be anybody?
I want somebody to love.

Would you believe in a love at first sight?
Yes I'm certain that it happens all the time.
What do you see when you turn out the light?
I can't tell you, but I know it's mine.
Oh I get by with a little help from my friends,
Mmm I get high with a little help from my friends,
Oh I'm gonna try with a little help from my friends

Do you need anybody?
I need someone to love.
Could it be anybody?
I want somebody to love
Oh...
I get by with a little help from my friends,
I'm gonna try with a little help from my friends
I get high with a little help from my friends
Yes I get by with a little help from my friends,
with a little help from my friends

I'z In Yur Computerz, Racin Yur Bikes

[ Jimbo3DC's Photos]

Hey kids, remember Tron?

No? Why not, it's only been 26 years since it came out.



Well if you, like me, saw it when movies were still cranked by hand. And if you liked it. Then you have this to look forward to. The possibly a sequel, possibly a remake (depending on what you've read): Tr2n (Tron 2)



Here some info from firstshowing.net

And yes I know the trailer is pretty shitty (quality wise), but it's a Russian bootleg and the best I could find.

Also will probably disappear before too long. Disney already had the YouTube copies yanked.

George Carlin: 1937 - 2008

[schwinghammers'Photos]

I'm a big fan of George Carlin's.

Although I didn't always agree with everything he said, he always said it in a funny way.

I saw him live once in the late '80's, and it was an incredibly funny show. I'm sure my seat was a titch damp afterwards.

Have a look @ his site, especially the media section (can't link directly), and try to keep a straight face.

Here are a few bits (the first one is oh so very NSFW!)

Early (ish) stuff!:


And from last year:



George died last night @ the age of 71. He was raised a Catholic, and I don't think he held any religious beliefs as an adult. But I would like to think that he's sitting with God and saying:

A Rabbi, and Priest and an asshole walked into a bar...

P.S. If you enjoyed that shit - try this!

Gurgle, Gurgle, Whoosh!

9:15 P.M. update: F.I.X.E.D!

Turns out the whatzit was a titch too short, so the hubster used a nurble to extend the flangoid. In any case: das Wasser ist hier.

~~~~~ Original Post ~~~~~

Well I was going to post something proper tonight. But the main water line broke (maybe), and now I'm only thinking about the potential lack of water for a few days.

Wonder how gross the showers are at work?

In any case the hubster was in the shower when the water pressure died. He went outside and noticed water flowing freely from under the car where the main water shut-off is.


(For dramatization purposes only - not actual break. Like we could afford a back-hoe)

He's now outside draining the water shut-off hole thingy to check out the damage. If we are lucky it's only a connector - Please, please, please, please, please!

I Love Facebook, But....

...This is why I'm picky about who is on my friends list.


(From Idiots of Ants)

The PacMan screen grab is from my Facebook account, and that is a current friend request. I have no idea who the person is. We have no friends in common and don't live in the same city, or even the same part of the country.
So, bye bye!

Only vaguely related bit: While looking for a pacman image I ran across this:



This post on Geekologie.

Please to enjoy!

A Century In Video - 1919

[ Pat Peeve's photostream]

Note: Original clip was removed. I replace it with a Chaplin clip. It's from 1919. It has a car. Close enough.

Of course none of my text makes any sense now.

Whatever

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
Here is a 1919 New York City street scene. Traffic was very chaotic.



I can't see any traffic lights in the film, although they were in existence by then.

If you look closely you'll notice that the cars have both right and left hand drive even though everyone drove on the right side of the road.

New York started driving on the right in 1804 but...

Early American motor vehicles were produced in [right hand drive], following the practice established by horse-drawn buggies. This changed in the early years of the 20th century: Ford changed to [left hand drive] production in 1908, and Cadillac in 1916.

Source

Admit it, even if they were slow and a titch drafty, wouldn't it be pretty cool to have just about any of those cars?

A Century In Video - 1917

Hot trendy fashion - 1917 style!



New handbag, or strangled chicken?



I guess they couldn't find her size. Notice how her foot is almost oozing out the sides of those painful looking shoes?



I finally got fluffy to stay!



This is my Walkin suit. My Christopher Walkin suit. It's torture to wear.

When you watch the video you have to wonder if A) The model was in a great deal of pain, or 2) They hadn't figured out the catwalk yet.
(And yes I KNOW Mr. Walken spells his name with an "E". Shut up already!)



New for 1917 - Acorns with mosquito netting.



Aways - Extra protection for your "delicate" areas.



Uhmmm, madam? Zee gown iz stuck in zee knickers.



And some things just don't change much over time. Take off the buckle and you could buy these now



And here is the actual video. I warn you, you will be in sympathy pain by the end.

A Century In Video - 1916

A bizarre little cartoon about Krazy Kat and Ignatz Mouse visiting the circus.



Krazy Kat was originally a comic strip started in 1912 but was animated starting in 1916.

I can't get a clear answer from imdB on exactly how many films were created, but it looks like lots! There is an imdB entry for the above film.

This Wikipedia entry has a tonne of info in you're interested, and YouTube has quite a few videos (although many are not relevant).

Maybe it's just me, but does Krazy Kat come across like a monkey channeling Zsa Zsa Gabor?

A Century In Video - 1915

Here is another Edison short. This one is 3:42 of people coming out after a show in the Claremont Theater in NYC.

This is the type of film I love finding - a little slice of everyday life.



Many of the theatre goers seem to be aware of the camera filming them as they leave, but since they are watching Edison films (perhaps even a few of the ones posted in the series), they may have been told about the camera. You'll notice a few people wave at the camera as they leave.

The clothing is, of course, very different than today. For one thing ALL the young boys are dressed in knickerbockers and ALL the women are in long dresses. But everyone acts pretty well the same as they would now for the same sort of "event"

If you take a closer look at the clothing you may note as I did that the clothing seems rather formal. Keep in mind that going to the movies was a big deal in 1915. Most of these people probably had never seen a film before.

Good news - the building is still around: Remembering an Architect Who Shaped the West Side

Here is a comparison. The old one is a screen shot from the film and the new one is from the above NYT article. (click to embiggen)



More info about the film via the Library of Congress can be found here

There's Nothing to Watch @ 11:30

[Vidiot's photos]

To tell you the truth I haven't noticed the ongoing WGA strike much the last couple of weeks. New programming is usually a little scarce this time of year anyway with nothing but repeats until after the holidays.

But I often watch The Late Show with David Letterman @ 11:30, and if it's not a work night, follow it with The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

Needless to say it's been repeat hell.

However I have found a bit of relief through The Late Show Writers On Strike site.

The site is both a blog on how the strike is progressing as well as some quite funny bits about the strike how it is effecting everyone.

A sample:

Friday, November 30, 2007:
AN INSIDE LOOK AT THE NEGOTIATIONS
BY TOM RUPRECHT

As you may know, the writers and producers were back at the negotiating table this week. While the talks were shrouded in secrecy, a friend of mine on the inside agreed to give me a snippet of what went on.

WGA REPRESENTATIVE: All we're asking for is a small percentage of the billions our work has made for you.

STUDIO REPRESENTATIVE: Go fuck yourself.

MODERATOR: I think we're making some progress.

There are also a whole load of videos. This is my fav:



If you watch the show you'll know that Rupert Jee is usually pretty reserved and maybe even a bit shy, so this video seems (at least to the viewing public) quite out of character.

Have a look I think you'll be both educated and amused - a great combination.

A Century In Video - 1913

During the 1913 California State Fair a couple of locomotives were launched towards each other (on the same track) going 90 miles per hour.

I guess they wanted to see what would happen, the best reason to try anything I think.

Well what happened is they broke the trains.



There is a longer version on the Internet Archive courtesy of the Preminger Archives (For some reason I couldn't successfully embed the 2nd video)

I could imagine that if someone was on one of those trains (with a video camera from the future), it would have looked a bit like this:



The only info I can find informs me that this is a BNSF accident due to a switching error. The worst injury was a broken leg. I think the video camera died though.

If you look closely you'll see someone jump from the oncoming train at -24 seconds. I guess that who got the broken leg.

God I'm chipper tonight.

Ok. Fine. Have some cute. Seven minutes, 41 seconds of Cute Knut



Happy?